Iran's judiciary has rejected claims that an execution date was set for 26-year-old detainee Erfan Soltani, who was arrested in connection with recent protests. Norway-based Kurdish human rights organisation Hengaw had said the family were told he faced execution on Wednesday; later the group reported the execution was postponed but warned serious concerns remained.
State broadcaster IRIB quoted judicial officials as saying Soltani faces charges of colluding against national security and propaganda activities against the establishment - offences they said are not punishable by death. The judiciary described reports by foreign outlets of an imminent execution as fabricated.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no plan to hang people. In Washington, US President Donald Trump said he would take very strong action if executions occurred and later called reports of a halt good news, adding that he hoped it would continue.
Hengaw told the BBC that Soltani had been denied access to a lawyer and that his family were unaware of any official charges. The organisation and relatives said he was arrested at his home last Thursday in the northern city of Fardis, west of Tehran, where he ran a clothes shop.
The judiciary offered a different account, stating he was detained during riots on Saturday and is being held in a prison in the neighbouring city of Karaj. The discrepancy over the arrest date and location has not been resolved.
Iran's chief justice, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, has advocated for swift trials and punishments for those he described as rioters. In a video statement on Wednesday he said those accused of extreme violence must be tried quickly to ensure deterrence.
Legal framing is central to the death-penalty question. The charges set out by the judiciary - collusion against national security and propaganda against the establishment - are not capital offences under Iranian law. In previous protest cases, capital sentences have generally been associated with different charges, such as moharebeh or efsad fil-arz, which are not alleged in this instance.
The current wave of protests began after shopkeepers in Tehran went on strike over rising living costs and currency depreciation. Demonstrations spread nationwide and increasingly targeted Iran's clerical establishment, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Authorities responded with force, alongside a near-total shutdown of internet and communications, according to activists. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports at least 2,435 protesters killed since the unrest began, as well as 13 children and 153 people affiliated with the security forces or government, and 18,470 arrests.
With official statements rejecting any planned execution but with the detainee's legal position unclear, the situation remains fluid. Key indicators to watch are any formal indictment, confirmation of legal representation, and whether the charges change in a way that would alter the potential penalties.