Iranian man arrested amid protests sentenced to death, say human rights groups

Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old Iranian man, has been sentenced to death in Iran, according to human rights groups. It comes amid widespread protests in the country and a deadly government crackdown.

Soltani's case is gaining visibility as potentially the first death sentence of this latest wave of protests against the Iranian regime run by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

There have also been reports of police shooting into crowds of protesters. So far, the number of dead has climbed to at least 2,003, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. An Iranian state official similarly told Reuters on Tuesday that about 2,000 people had been killed.

"People fell where they stood," one witness told BBC. 

Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based non-profit, said Soltani's family was informed on Monday that he had been arrested in Fardis, a city west of Tehran, on Jan. 8 and sentenced to death. The group cited a source close to the family.

They were told the sentence would be carried out Wednesday, the source told the group. There was no trial for his case, they said, and it isn't clear what charges Soltani is facing. 

"Iran Human Rights expresses deep concern about the escalation and continuation of the killing of protesters, and the risk of mass executions of protesters and calls for an immediate response from the international community," the group said in a statement. 

The non-profit said officials of the Islamic Republic have described protesters as mohareb (a legal term meaning "war against God"), terrorists and agitators, linking them to Israel and the United States, offences it said are punishable by death.

The demonstrations began a little over two weeks ago due to anger over Iran's ailing economy. They soon grew to target the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Khamenei.

Another Norway-based rights group, Hengaw, said a source close to the family told the group that Soltani's sister is a lawyer, but has been denied access to her brother's file. 

"Since his arrest, Erfan Soltani has been deprived of his most basic rights, including access to legal counsel, the right to defence, and other fundamental due process guarantees. His family has also been deliberately kept uninformed about the judicial process," the group wrote. 

It said the family has been granted just one final visit with Soltani ahead of his planned execution.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday, saying he had cancelled planned meetings with Iranian government officials "until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” (Trump's post wasn't in specific reference to Soltani's case.)

Top Iranian security official Ali Larijani responded by naming the U.S. president and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "the main killers of the people of Iran."