New Account of Coerced Confessions and Execution of Ali-Sina Mostafavi in Kerman

Fresh reports have shed light on details of the case and the final days of Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a mountaineer and monarchist political prisoner who was executed in Kerman prison on October 13, 2026. According to informed sources, just two days before his execution, he was subjected to hours of pressure at an intelligence agency to make confessions against himself on camera—confessions that were partially broadcast on state television.

According to Iran Wire’s report, Ali-Sina Mostafavi was transferred to an intelligence center on October 11, 2026, just two days before his execution was to be carried out, and was pressured from morning until around 7 p.m. to confess against himself. The report’s sources also indicated severe beatings during arrest, pressure placed on his wife and sister, multiple inconsistencies in the case file, and the deprivation of defendants from receiving written court documents.

An informed source stated that the confessions broadcast in the television program “Crime’s Price” on the Islamic Republic’s state media, including statements attributed to Mostafavi about believing in “Reza Pahlavi’s empty promises,” were extracted the same day under severe pressure.

According to this source, after returning to prison, Mostafavi contacted his family and, while crying, spoke about the pressures he endured to write, sign, and word-for-word repeat the material interrogators wanted.

The source also told Iran Wire: “He was under so much pressure that he was crying over the phone. He said they put a paper in front of me, they wanted me to write it and sign it and also recite it verbatim, and they filmed it. They said unless you recite it word-for-word, we won’t let you go.”

One of the most striking parts of this report is an account of the final message Ali-Sina Mostafavi sent to his case judge before his execution. According to released information, he had asked prison officials to tell the judge: “I did not have war with God and enmity, which you charged me with—my war was with you.”

This statement was reported even as the judiciary of the Islamic Republic had sentenced him to death on charges of “enmity against God” for allegedly carrying out armed activities in Kerman.

The “Mizan” news agency, the official media of the judiciary, had claimed that Mostafavi fired shots in Kerman’s Azadi Square on March 25, 2026, wounding a citizen and a young girl. The agency also claimed he fired at duty soldiers and passing vehicles on April 14, and that a search of his residence uncovered several firearms, 246 rounds of ammunition, and 30 Molotov cocktails.

Judicial officials also accused him of contacting foreign media, sending images of strike sites during the war, and announcing readiness to carry out operations at Kerman Airport. The judiciary stated that the death sentence was carried out after confirmation by the Supreme Court.

In contrast, an informed source stated that Mostafavi had no accomplices, no operational equipment, and no plan to attack Kerman Airport. According to this source, what was presented in his confession video was the expression of his thoughts and words, not an account of a carried-out operation or operational planning.

Iran Wire, referring to a three-minute-eight-second video released by Tabnax, wrote that Mostafavi’s statements in the video were repeatedly cut and spliced together from different sections. In parts of the video, while his voice is played, images of several weapons and a distant view of Kerman Airport are shown; however, it is unclear who the displayed weapons belonged to.

Mizan News Agency claimed these weapons were found at Mostafavi’s residence and that the released video demonstrated his readiness to carry out operations at Kerman Airport.

Mahshid Nazemi, a human rights activist from Kerman, stated that the entrance to Kerman Airport’s grounds is heavily secured, and an attack by a single ordinary person without resources and assistance would not appear feasible.

The confession video was recorded on October 11, just two days before the execution, and Mostafavi was under pressure to repeat the interrogators’ desired statements.

According to information disclosed by Mahshid Nazemi, Ali-Sina Mostafavi was arrested around 3 a.m. on April 5, 2026, at his home in Kerman. At the same time, security forces raided his mother’s house and his sister’s fiancé’s residence.

According to Nazemi, approximately 50 to 60 security personnel participated in the operation. Mostafavi was severely beaten in front of his wife and eight-year-old daughter; the injuries were so severe that the family was concerned about damage to his eyesight.

The human rights activist stated that at the first meeting, Mostafavi’s eyes were bloodshot and half his face was bruised.

Mahboubeh Rahimi, his wife, Sima Mostafavi, his sister, and Mojtaba Pourmanamin, his sister’s fiancé, were also arrested that same night. According to Iran Wire’s source, the arrest of family members was used to coerce Mostafavi into confessing and signing the material desired by the interrogators.

According to this source, Mostafavi believed that if he wrote and signed what was requested of him, his wife and sister would be released. However, when he saw them again after about ten days, he was shocked by their continued detention.

According to the same report, Mahboubeh Rahimi and Sima Mostafavi were each sentenced to seven months and six days in prison on charges of “propaganda activities against the system” in connection with content in their Instagram stories. Mojtaba Pourmanamin was also sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of cooperating with Mostafavi.

One of the important aspects of this report is the existence of contradictions between official accounts of events attributed to Mostafavi. Voice of America had previously pointed out the difference between initial police reports of the March 25 shooting and subsequent accounts by security agencies. In initial reports, the incident was described as “non-terrorist”; however, later security officials spoke of arrests of individuals on terrorist charges. Additionally, there are discrepancies in various agency reports regarding the composition of male and female defendants.

Iran Wire also reported, citing Mahshid Nazemi, that the defendants in this case did not even have access to standard court documents and notifications. According to her, signatures of the defendants were obtained on blank pages, and the pages later shown to them in prison lacked details of charges and judicial provisions.

The report states that the First Branch of the Kerman Revolutionary Court, headed by Hadi Agha-ei, issued the death sentence against Mostafavi. Based on available information, the proceedings were accompanied by allegations of torture, pressure during arrest and solitary confinement, and lack of effective access to case documents.

The judiciary announced that the case was heard with the presence of a lawyer and the sentence was carried out after confirmation by the Supreme Court; however, this official announcement alone does not address questions about the actual access of the defendants to a lawyer, the ability to review evidence, and the credibility of confessions attributed to them.

Mahshid Nazemi, citing sources she described as reliable, stated that at the moment of execution, Mostafavi himself placed the noose around his neck and did not allow the officers to do so. She also said that a cleric named Shams, who was responsible for religious procedures before the execution, told prison staff after the sentence was carried out that he had never seen anyone with such fearlessness, and that Mostafavi climbed the steps to the execution site with confidence.

These details are also based on accounts from sources who spoke with Iran Wire and Mahshid Nazemi and cannot be independently verified.

Ali-Sina Mostafavi was born on November 29, 1987, was from Bam, and resided in Kerman. He was the father of an eight-year-old daughter, a professional mountaineer, and a devotee of traditional Iranian music who played the tar. According to his public Instagram page, Mostafavi posted content about environmental protection, tree planting, preventing littering in nature, and preserving biodiversity. He had also posted content in support of the Pahlavi family, particularly Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi.

An informed source, in describing his character, stated that Mostafavi had abandoned his work in the real estate field because he could not accept dishonesty and had financially assisted needy families. The same source stated that after the December protests, he was no longer the same as before and was deeply affected by the suffering of the Iranian people.

The execution of Ali-Sina Mostafavi on October 13, 2026, ended a case whose official narrative was based on serious armed and security charges; however, Iran Wire’s fresh report raises serious questions about the timing and circumstances of obtaining confessions, the likelihood of pressure on the defendant and his family, the credibility of the television video, contradictions in official accounts, and the defendant’s access to court documents.

In a case where the punishment was the taking of a human life, clear answers to these questions are of fundamental importance: Were the confessions attributed to the defendant obtained freely and without pressure? Have the alleged evidence of shootings and plans to attack the airport been independently examined? And did the defendant and his family have real opportunity to defend themselves and access to the judicial process?

The execution of the sentence has permanently deprived the defendant himself of the ability to answer these questions. What remains is the necessity of independent investigation of the case and clarification of the truth about the process that led to the execution of a father, a mountaineer, and an Iranian citizen.