Ilya Benrashid execution case: family says IRGC Intelligence built it

The family of Ilya Benrashid, a 23-year-old protester of the January (Dey) uprising in Shahin Shahr who has been sentenced to death by the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, on Saturday, 24 October 2026, named the IRGC Intelligence Organization as the main architect of his case. DIAR previously published the news of the death sentence handed to this young protester.

Pouya Benrashid, Ilya's uncle, who lives outside Iran, says his nephew was first arrested during the protests in Shahin Shahr and released on bail, but after his release IRGC Intelligence put together “a new scenario” for him and, months later, on 22 January 2026, arrested him again. According to him, the court's verdict was issued on the basis of a report by IRGC Intelligence in Shahin Shahr county, and this body played a direct role in the handing down of the heavy sentences.

Tried without a lawyer of his choice

According to the family, Ilya was denied the right to choose his own lawyer and was tried with only a court-appointed lawyer at Branch 5 of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court. Ilya, born in summer 2003, worked at a gaming café before his arrest and had no criminal record. He is now held in Isfahan's Dastgerd prison.

On 30 January 2026, the US Treasury Department had named the IRGC Intelligence Organization and its head, Majid Khademi, among the main bodies responsible for the widespread violence, arbitrary arrests and intimidation of protesters of the January (Dey) uprising.

Background of the case

The Isfahan Revolutionary Court sentenced Ilya Benrashid to death on the charge of “moharebeh” (“waging war against God”) through “destruction of public property” during the protests of 8 January, and, on the charges of “assembly and collusion” and “propaganda against the system”, to more than four years in prison and a two-year ban on leaving the country. In recent months, the Isfahan Revolutionary Court has also handed down other heavy sentences to protesters of the January uprising, including in the case of Taraneh and Romina Rahimi.

Ilya Benrashid's family says his death sentence was issued on the basis of an IRGC Intelligence report and without a lawyer of his choice.