Iran’s Judiciary Rejects ‘Fabricated News’ by Hostile Media About Death Penalty for Rioter

Thursday, 15 January 2026 10:33 AM

Photo shows a sign of the Iranian Judiciary.

Iran’s judiciary has dismissed claims about the death penalty for detained rioter Erfan Soltani as “fabricated news,” saying the rumor even deceived Washington.

The Judiciary’s media center released a statement on Thursday, two days after the US State Department alleged on its Persian-language X account that the death sentence against Soltani will be implemented on January 14.

The Judiciary said Soltani, 26, was arrested on January 10 during recent riots and formally charged with “assembly and collusion against the country’s internal security,” as well as “propaganda activities” against the Islamic Republic.

If he is convicted following due legal process, it added, “the punishment would be imprisonment. Fundamentally, the death penalty does not exist in the law for such charges.”

It further noted that Soltani is currently being held at the central prison of Karaj, a city northwest of the Iranian capital of Tehran.

Also in its statement, the Judiciary slammed the “blatant and irregular act of news fabrication” by hostile media that have been supporting terrorists in foreign-linked riots across Iran.

The rumor led the US Department of State to adopt an incorrect and misguided position, it said.

“The dissemination of such rumors by opposition groups funded by the US, along with their ability to mislead that government, demonstrates that those collaborating with the US administration and supporting Zionist interests are unreliable and even deceive their own financial and political sponsors.”

Meanwhile, the Judiciary stressed that hostile media have long been engaged in spreading deliberate and false rumors about Iran, citing the latest claims about receiving money from the families of those killed in riots to deliver their bodies and estimates about the number of victims.

Some shopkeepers last month staged peaceful protests in different cities over economic issues, but the demonstrations were steered toward violence after public statements by US and Israeli regime figures—amplified by Israeli-linked Persian-language outlets—encouraged vandalism and disorder.

Authorities have acknowledged the legitimacy of economic grievances and vowed to address them, while denouncing foreign-backed elements for exploiting people's livelihood concerns, which are directly linked to unilateral US sanctions.

Security and judicial bodies say they have dismantled several armed cells and arrested foreign‑linked operatives during the unrest, including agents of the Israeli spy agency Mossad.