Iranian clothing store owner’s family faces final humiliation at age 26

The world has expressed outrage at the planned execution of Iranian shop owner Irfan Sultani, 26, who was given just 10 minutes to bid farewell to his heartbroken family.

Irfan Sultani, 26, faced execution after being arrested during a wave of anti-government protests and immediately sentenced to death by an Iranian court.

Irfan, a resident of Fardis near Tehran, was detained on January 8 during protests that have gripped Iran since late December 2025. He was charged with moharebeh—”waging war against God,” a capital crime under Iranian law that is often applied against perceived threats to the state.

His family reportedly waited for several days to learn what had happened to him, only to be informed that he had been sentenced to death and would only be allowed a 10-minute goodbye. Human rights groups have raised concerns over the speed of the process and the practice has been widely condemned by human rights organisations due to the lack of due process.

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Irrfan has only been allowed to talk to the family for a short while (Image: Facebook)

Reports indicate that Irfan was refused legal advice, and his licensed attorney was prevented from accessing his case file. His death date was set today, January 14, and as the countdown draws closer, the psychological impact on Irrfan and his loved ones will be immeasurable.

And criminal psychologist Alex Issat told the Mirror that prosecutors design the system to cause maximum harm and terror to those arrested and their loved ones.

Alex says, “To be told that you will be killed in a matter of hours while following a sham legal process creates a psychological double blow.” “The brain doesn’t have time to adjust from the initial shock of the arrest to the reality of being told you’re going to die, and this contingency can force it into extreme survival mode, oscillating between intense hyper-anxiety and profound dissociation.”

Ms Iszt explains that in such moments, victims may oscillate between fear of pain and the unknown and emotional numbness, where the mind dissociates as a protective mechanism against the overwhelming terror. This type of sudden psychological shock leaves no room for gradual emotional processing.

The cruelty of enacting very short farewells – often monitored and scripted – makes this trauma all the more acute for Irrfan and his family. “The specific brutality of the farewell call compounds this trauma; the calls are short and monitored and deprive both him and his family of any real or authentic final moments or truth,” says Alex, highlighting the impossible emotional balancing act of those final minutes.

Rather than offering closure, the last monitored conversation often becomes a frozen image—a final memory of forced stillness or visible distress that family members continually replay in their minds. And the suddenness of the announcement and lack of control over almost every aspect of the matter have become further sources of anguish.

Alex explains, “For the family, contingency is also a psychological weapon, a power play by the state.” “This reinforces their complete lack of control and also indicates that the same fate could befall others.”

Izzet says, “This behaviour is a recognised tool of political terror, designed not only to break down the individual’s sense of self but also to project power outward.” “The psychological suffering inflicted forms a central part of punishment rather than an unintended consequence.”

Throughout Iran and around the world, there is intense outrage over Irfan’s impending execution. Rights organisations call his conviction a clear example of how the state is weaponising its justice system to suppress dissent amid a growing crackdown.

US President Donald Trump has warned Iran that the US will take “forceful action” if it executes protesters. The unrest that began more than two weeks ago when shoppers took to the streets of Tehran has escalated, with a human rights group estimating that more than 2,400 protesters have been killed in the government crackdown.

Originally, the demonstrations began on December 28 over a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian currency but turned into anti-government demonstrations calling for the end of the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to sources, now the protests seem to be slowing down, while the internet has also been shut down. Several European countries, including France, Spain, Finland, Belgium and Germany, have summoned Iranian ambassadors because of the violence. Britain has also done so, citing the “brutal killing of Iranian protesters”.

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