Iran weekly news December 21, 2025

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Iran weekly news

December 21, 2025

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The Execution of Aqil Keshavarz.

Mizan News Agency, affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, announced the execution of Aqil Keshavarz, an architecture student at Shahroud University, on charges of ‘spying for Israel.

According to the report, the 27-year-old was arrested while traveling to Urmia during what authorities called the ‘12-day war.’ He was held at Urmia Central Prison and, in a fast-tracked process, tried and sentenced to death.

Reports say his family was allowed a final visit just one day before the execution.

Meanwhile, Tasnim News Agency, linked to the IRGC Intelligence Organization, described him as holding ‘monarchist views.

The speed of the arrest, trial, and execution has sparked widespread outrage and alarm among the public and human rights advocates, once again raising serious questions about due process, the right to defense, and transparency in Iran’s security cases.

-Bita Shafiei in Legal Limbo.

Bita Shafiei, a pro-monarchy political prisoner from Shahinshahr, has been detained for over a month and remains in legal limbo, held in solitary confinement at Dolatabad Prison in Isfahan. Her mother, Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo, has also been detained for 36 days and is being held in the same prison without a clear legal status.

According to shared reports, both women are being held without formal charges or judicial clarification. A source close to the family said bail for Bita Shafiei’s temporary release was set at 4 billion tomans, an amount the family cannot afford, leaving her detention ongoing.

Bita Shafiei was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents at a relative’s home in Khorramshahr. She had traveled there after her mother, Maryam Abbasi-Nikoo, was arrested in Shahinshahr.

Despite repeated follow-ups, security and judicial authorities have provided no clear information about the charges, legal status, or case process for either woman, deepening concern among their family and loved ones.

-The Death Sentence of Seyed Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani.

The death sentence of Seyed Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, a political prisoner held in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, has once again been upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court after his request for a retrial was rejected.

A person close to Mr. Vafaei Sani said that the Supreme Court’s rejection of the retrial request was formally delivered to him in prison.

Following the notification, prison officials informed his family that his case had been sent to the Mashhad Office for the Implementation of Sentences. It was also reported that his mother was unexpectedly granted an in-person visit.

According to informed sources, the final confirmation of the death sentence, the transfer of the case to the execution unit, and the sudden approval of a family visit all signal that Seyed Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani’s case has entered an extremely critical and alarming stage.

-Arrested And Transferred To Prison.

Maryam Basir Tavana, the sister of slain protester Mehran Basir Tavana from Iran’s nationwide uprising, was arrested by security forces and transferred to Lakan Prison in Rasht to serve a prison sentence.

During her arrest, authorities gave no explanation to her or her family about which court issued the ruling or how it was to be enforced.

No charges were mentioned in the report. Ms. Basir Tavana had previously received a 45-day suspended sentence and a fine in two separate cases and has a prior record of arrest due to her activism.

Her brother, Mehran Basir Tavana, a 29-year-old protester, was killed by gunfire during nationwide protests in Sowme’eh Sara.

Her arrest has once again raised serious concerns over mounting security pressure on the families of those killed in the protests.