Iran Executes Kerman Musician on Enmity Against God Charges
Kerman – Iran carried out the execution of Ali-Sina Mostafavi, a 38-year-old musician and mountaineer from the city of Kerman, on Wednesday. The judiciary identified him as an armed agent linked to American-Israeli operations and convicted him of enmity against God, a capital charge in Iranian law used to suppress dissent. Mizan news agency, the official outlet of the judiciary, stated that Mostafavi opened fire on civilians at Azadi Square in Kerman on March 24, wounding one person and a young girl. The agency further accused him of shooting at conscript soldiers and passing vehicles on April 21, causing additional injuries to civilians.
According to Mizan, prosecutors also charged Mostafavi with participating in the December 2025 and January 2026 demonstrations, which authorities labeled the Dey protests and characterized as a coup attempt. He was additionally accused of transmitting footage to Persian-language media outlets based abroad, which Tehran designates as hostile entities. The judiciary reported that security forces seized a Brno rifle equipped with a telescopic sight, two unlicensed shotguns, 246 rounds for the Brno, and 30 Molotov cocktails from his possession. Mostafavi, originally from Bam, was known for playing the tar and had achieved a solo ascent of Island Peak in the Himalayas, reaching an altitude of 6,600 meters during an attempt on Ama Dablam.
Mostafavi was detained at Shahab prison in Kerman, where he was placed in solitary confinement in his final days before his family was summoned for a last visit. Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last shah, described him on X as a patriotic young man who endured forced confessions extracted under torture during show trials. Pahlavi urged international attention for political prisoners facing execution. The charge of moharebeh, or enmity against God, involves taking up arms against lives, property, or honor in a manner that creates insecurity, a legal tool Tehran has deployed for decades to intimidate opponents.
Two days prior to Mostafavi’s execution, Mizan confirmed the death of Omar Dorastaran, 25, a member of the Sunni militant group Jaish al-Adl. Dorastaran was accused of facilitating the entry of group members into Iran, arranging accommodation and transport, and supporting attacks on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces in Sistan and Baluchistan province. These attacks included the assault on the Paroud base and March 2024 strikes on military installations in Chabahar. Halvash, a local media outlet in Sistan and Baluchestan, reported that Dorastaran was arrested without a warrant and held without access to visits or phone calls while security agents attempted to extract forced confessions through torture.
Sistan and Baluchistan, one of Iran’s poorest provinces, has experienced intensified armed clashes between security forces and Sunni militant and Baloch armed organizations in recent weeks. Amnesty International condemned the execution of five men within a single week in Iran linked to the January protests, calling for coordinated international pressure to halt further executions. The organization stated that the Islamic Republic uses the death penalty systematically to raise the cost of protest. According to Amnesty, Iran executed at least 2,159 people in 2025.
This report was produced in the Europe Brief News newsroom.
