Iranian authorities have set January 14 for the hanging of 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, marking the first execution linked to the escalating anti-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei protests. A resident of Fardis in Tehran's Karaj suburb, Soltani was snatched from home on January 8 during street clashes fueled by soaring inflation and rial freefall. Rights monitors like Hengaw Organization flag this as a chilling precedent, shifting from shootings to public hangings for dissent. The charges—"waging war against God"—stem from his protest role, tried in opaque IRGC courts with no defense counsel.
