Erfan Soltani, the 26-year-old Iranian protester who was sentenced to death by the regime last week, was visited by his family on Sunday, according to the Norway-based Kurdish-Iranian watchdog Hengaw.
"Until today’s brief visit, however, the family had no direct confirmation that Erfan Soltani was still alive," Hengaw wrote in a Sunday post to X/Twitter, noting that his family "has confirmed that he is currently alive and in stable physical condition."
"The execution did not take place on the announced date. Following widespread concern and inquiries, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran subsequently denied that a death sentence had been issued against him."
Soltani was arrested during public protests in Karaj on January 8, Hengaw explained, and "several days later, authorities informed his family that they must report to the prison on Wednesday, January 14, for a final visit prior to his execution, strongly indicating an imminent death sentence."
He was the first protester to be sentenced to execution, an Iranian official told Reuters. The NGO groups Iran Human Rights (IHR) and National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFD) reported that he would be killed by hanging.
Trump threatens Iran over Soltani death sentence
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday evening that he had been told that killings in Iran’s crackdown on nationwide protests were subsiding, and that he believed there was currently no plan for large-scale executions.
“The killing has stopped. The executions have stopped. There’s no plan for executions or an execution," he said in the Oval Office. "I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about it. I’m sure if it happens, I’ll be very upset.”
Trump's comments came after he told CBS News that the United States would “take very strong action” if the regime began executing anti-government protesters.
“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen… When they start killing thousands of people. And now you’re telling me about hanging. We’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good,” he said.
Speaking to Fox News, the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "there is no plan" by Iran to hang people. "There is no plan for hanging," the foreign minister said. "Hanging is out of the question."
Danielle Greyman-Kennard and James Genn contributed to this report.