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Iranian authorities on Wednesday executed a man in his early 30s convicted of spying for Israel, marking the sixth execution on such charges since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
Iranian judiciary outlet Mizan Online identified the man as 32-year-old Ehsan Afreshteh and described him as “a spy trained by Mossad in Nepal who sold sensitive information to Israel.”
However, the Norway-based rights groups Hengaw and Iran Human Rights (IHR) disputed the accusations in separate statements, saying Afreshteh denied sharing classified information with Israeli intelligence services.
The groups also alleged that he was subjected to televised “forced confessions” obtained under torture.
According to Hengaw, Afreshteh, who specialized in cybersecurity, maintained that he had only “warned independent websites about cyberattacks.”
The rights organizations said Afreshteh had been living in Türkiye before returning to Iran after reportedly receiving assurances from authorities that he could safely return home.
He was arrested upon arrival, placed in solitary confinement and later sentenced to death in June 2025 by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, a judge widely criticized by rights groups for issuing harsh sentences in political and security-related cases.
Both IHR and Hengaw said Afreshteh’s father, who had helped facilitate his return to Iran based on the alleged guarantees, died of a heart attack after learning of the death sentence.
According to IHR, Afreshteh is the sixth person executed in Iran on accusations of spying for Israel since the outbreak of the war.
The organization also said Iranian authorities have executed 25 additional prisoners described by the group as “political prisoners” during the same period.
These included 13 people linked to January protests, one person connected to the 2022 demonstrations and 11 individuals accused of ties to banned opposition groups.
“These executions are intended to create fear among the Iranian people,” IHR Director Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam said.
He added that Afreshteh had been sentenced to death “on false espionage charges, based on coerced confessions.”
Iranian authorities also executed 29-year-old graduate student Erfan Shakourzadeh on Monday on charges of espionage for Israel and the United States, accusations he denied, according to rights groups.
Iran remains one of the world’s leading countries in executions, according to international human rights organizations.
Iran Human Rights said at least 1,639 people were executed in Iran in 2025, while the group has recorded at least 194 executions so far in 2026.
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