A man arrested in connection with the current wave of protests in Iran has been sentenced to death and told he faces imminent execution, his family and a human rights group say.
Erfan Soltani, 26, was arrested last Thursday in the city of Fardis, just west of Tehran. Days later, authorities informed his family his execution had been scheduled for Wednesday without giving any additional details, according to Norway-based Kurdish human rights group Hengaw.
Iran's judiciary has not yet commented on Soltani's case or announced any execution in connections with the protests. The internet blackout imposed by the government has also made obtaining information on his status - and others in potentially similar situations - difficult.
Awyer Shekhi of Hengaw told the BBC she feared there were "many" cases like Soltani's, highlighting the scale and speed to which Iranian authorities were carrying out violent crackdowns compared to previous protests.
On Tuesday, one of Soltani's relatives told BBC Persian that a court had issued a death sentence "in an extremely rapid process, within just two days".
