In Iran, the toll of the death penalty falls not only on those executed but also on their families, both before and after the execution. This week marked yet more executions of protesters who participated in the December 2025–January 2026 protests. One of the men executed was Alireza Sepahi. He had been due to be publicly executed alongside two other protesters in Isfahan’s Alikhani Square on 28 July, but he suffered a heart attack shortly beforehand and was taken to hospital. Since then, he and his family had lived under the constant threat of execution, without a clear understanding of when it might happen. This Monday, that wait ended (see my post on public executions: xitter.cf/drmaisato/status/21070…). The worst had happened, yet for his family the horror continued. His body was reportedly not returned to his family for burial in Isfahan. Instead, it was transferred to Kashan, 200 km away from his home. Sadly, this is not an isolated example. Sepahi’s case shows that families are at the forefront of the suffering not only while their loved ones are in detention, but also after their execution. Losing a loved one is painful, but being unable to speak about their story, honour their life, or come together to mourn inflicts further needless suffering. Withholding a body or forcing a family to bury elsewhere is a tactic to control the narrative, silence the living and supress remembrance. Similar tactics were used following the December-January protests. Families of those executed were often pressured to accept the state’s portrayal of their loved ones as terrorists or murderers rather than protesters. Families of those killed in the protests were similarly pushed to claim their relatives were Basij members. When families speak up, they often face repression, and in some cases detention and prosecution. Others are left to carry their pain in silence. In my communications to the Government, I have stressed that intentionally inflicting such suffering on family members through uncertainty, denial of information, refusal to return bodies, restrictions on mourning, or denial of a final visit, may amount to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment of the relatives (see below communications on this matter). Since the December-January protests, many families have been reluctant to give their consent for my mandate to raise the cases of their loved ones with the authorities, even when those loved ones were already on death row. They feared that this could have adverse consequences for their loved ones or lead to the further arrest and persecution of other members of the family. Such intimidation undermines not only the right to freedom of opinion and expression, but also the right to truth and, ultimately, the pursuit for justice and accountability. Losing a loved one is difficult. Families should not be made to suffer further through secrecy, uncertainty, restrictions on mourning, or the denial of a final goodbye. An execution should not be followed by further punishment of the family. The authorities should return the bodies to their families, allow them to bury their loved ones with dignity, and respect their right to tell their story, mourn and remember. My mandate’s communication regarding Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… Government’s response: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… My mandate’s communication regarding Behrouz Alkhani: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… Government’s response: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… My mandate’s communication regarding Habibollah Golparipour: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe… Government’s response: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMRe…