Erfan Soltani not sentenced to death, says Iran amid international outcry to save his life

Erfan Soltani, the young protester from Iran, whose name has become the rallying cry around the world after reports emerged that he was facing imminent execution for his role in the ongoing anti-government protests, has not been sentenced to death, Iranian authorities have claimed. Protesters hold up placards with pictures of victims as they demonstrate outside Downing Street, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung) Iran’s judiciary said on Thursday that 26-year-old Soltani, a protester detained earlier this month, has not been sentenced to death. The judiciary said Soltani is being held at the central penitentiary in the city of Karaj and has been formally charged with “collusion against internal security” and “propaganda activities against the system,” according to state media. According to the state media, no death sentence has been issued, and capital punishment does not apply to those charges under Iranian law. The judiciary said that if the charges are upheld by prosecutors and a court issues a legal ruling, the punishment by law would be imprisonment. Earlier, his family had claimed that Soltani, a clothing shop employee, who was arrested north-west of Tehran on January 8 for participating in protests, was due to be executed on Wednesday . BREAKING: Erfan Soltani, a young Iranian arrested after Thursday’s protests and sentenced to death, was not executed yesterday thanks to massive international mobilization. - Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) His family was told the execution had been postponed. Now, Iran’s judiciary claims he was never sentenced... pic.twitter.com/7WUvynMBok January 15, 2026 They had alleged that he was not given a trial and was allowed to meet his family, one last time, for just 10 minutes. According to Iranian human rights groups, Soltani was the first known protester to be sentenced to death over the current unrest. However, in the past few days, the Iranian regime has come under considerable international pressure, including warnings from the US of military intervention if Tehran went ahead with the execution of protesters. On Wednesday, Soltani’s family said they were informed that his execution had been postponed. In a social media post on Thursday, Trump responded to a news report that an Iranian protester was no longer being sentenced to death, writing: “This is good news. Hopefully, it will continue!” It is yet unclear if Soltani was sentenced to death under the Islamic Republic’s penal code for “waging war against God,” and it has been put on hold due to pressure, or if he is in fact awaiting trial, as the regime claims.

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