Rights groups are investigating the death of Ali Rahbar as a potential extrajudicial killing. Iran denies executions have taken place.

By Sanam Mahoozi and Erika Solomon

The New York Times

When Ali Rahbar disappeared as antigovernment protests swept across Iran last month, there were only two facts his family knew for certain.

He was alive on Jan. 8 when security forces arrested him at demonstrations in the city of Mashhad. And he was dead two weeks later.

Relatives say the only call the family received from the authorities about Mr. Rahbar — a 33-year-old fitness coach who loved posting weight lifting videos and poetry online — was instructing them to collect his body.

The circumstances of Mr. Rahbar’s disappearance and his death remain murky. But his case is one of several that rights groups are investigating as potential extrajudicial killings of protesters held in state custody.

The deadly crackdown on protests have stoked outrage in Iran, as the Islamic Republic faces one of the most vulnerable moments in its 47-year history, amid widespread discontent and the looming threat of a U.S. attack.

The government has shown it has no intention of backing down. Rights groups estimate that thousands of protesters have been killed and that around 40,000 have been detained, so far, and they say they are concerned that the authorities may execute some protesters to dissuade others from further dissent >>>