The US State Department on Tuesday denounced what it called the suspicious death of Iranian human rights lawyer Khosrow Alikordi, saying his case highlights the severe risks faced by those defending basic freedoms in the Islamic theocracy.
Alikordi, a 46-year-old prominent lawyer for jailed protesters and a former political prisoner, was found dead under unclear circumstances on Friday night, prompting some attorneys and activists to suggest possible Islamic Republic involvement.
"He devoted his life to defending Iranians who were fighting for freedom — including imprisoned protesters and the families of those killed by the Islamic Republic — even though he knew it meant putting his own life at risk," the State Department said in a post on its Persian-language X account.
"Years ago, he wrote: 'If I am killed, I am just one person — it is nothing. Do not let my homeland fall into the hands of the vile.' He never fought for himself alone; his struggle was for the people of Iran and for his country."
His death, the State Department said, "is a stark reminder of the dangers faced by those who fight for their rights in Iran."
"The United States continues to stand with the people of Iran in their pursuit of freedom and justice."
Alikordi died of cardiac arrest in his office in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, according to a report on Saturday by Iranian lawyers news agency (Vokala Press).
His body was transferred to the forensic institute for determination of “the main cause of cardiac arrest,” while police restricted entry to and from the office, according to media reports.
However, fellow lawyer Marzieh Mohebbi wrote on X that Alikordi died from “a blow to the head”, according to what she called "trusted contacts". Security officers, she said, removed cameras from the area and that access to his family had become impossible.
Alikordi, originally from Sabzevar and living in Mashhad, had represented political detainee Fatemeh Sepehri, several people arrested during the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, and bereaved families including that of Abolfazl Adinezadeh, a teenager killed during protests.
“We find his death highly suspicious and do not believe he died of a heart attack," Adinezadeh's sister Marziyeh said in an Instagram post about their lawyer's death.
Goli Kouhkan hails from Iran's Baluch minority in the country's southeast, where poverty and traditional social practices present special challenges for women's rights in the Islamic theocracy.
Mizan News Agency, the outlet affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, published a video on Tuesday showing the late husband's relatives formally recording their forgiveness in the presence of judicial officials and signing the necessary documents.
In the video, a local judiciary official says all the legal formalities for carrying out the execution had been completed, but mediation efforts led to a settlement and the victim’s family ultimately chose to pardon her.
The victim’s father also appears in the footage, saying they decided to forgive her after repeated requests from mediators and discussions with his wife.
“The family of the murder victim, with extensive cooperation from the provincial prosecutor’s office and the Dispute Resolution Council, and with both financial and moral support from philanthropists, has taken a magnanimous step and relinquished its legal and religious right,” the official said.
He did not clarify how much money — if any — was ultimately paid to the husband’s family. However, according to UN experts, the family had previously agreed to forgo the execution only if she paid 100 billion rials (about $80,000) in blood money, “an amount considerably higher than the recommended rate and far beyond her reach, especially as an undocumented woman who has been rejected by her family.”
Last week, UN human rights experts urged Iran to halt her execution, saying Iranian courts "failed to consider the sustained pattern of abuse or assess specific circumstances surrounding her actions."
Kouhkan was forced into marriage at the age of 12 to her cousin and endured years of physical and psychological abuse while working as a farm laborer, they said.
According to the experts, which include Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran Mai Sato, Kouhkan gave birth at home at 13 without medical care. Attempts to escape the marriage failed because of her lack of legal identification documents and societal pressure.
In May 2018, her husband beat both her and their five-year-old son. After a relative was called to help, a confrontation ensued that resulted in her husband’s death, according to the experts.
The experts said at least 241 women were executed between 2010 and 2024, including 114 sentenced to death for homicide, many of whom had allegedly killed a husband or intimate partner after years of domestic violence or child marriage.
In Iran, the legal marriage age for girls is 13, and even younger with a guardian’s and judge’s approval. Rights groups say girls and women have little protection from domestic violence, and women face major obstacles when trying to divorce.
Iranian media on Monday described the charges against Esmail Kahrom as relating to making “false statements” and actions “against national security.”
Prosecutors also opened a case against the editor-in-chief of the Jamaran news site, which published Kahrom’s interview.
In the November 30 conversation, Kahrom said that each missile costs roughly two million dollars and argued that if public health mattered to officials, they could redirect the equivalent of 10 missiles to upgrade fuel standards. He said authorities refused because “their priorities lie elsewhere.”
Iran, one of the largest oil and gas producers in the world, is facing a severe natural gas shortage. That shortage has prompted refineries to bulk out the fuel's volume with other substances, like mazut which environmentalists believe has played a major role in Iran's worsening air pollution.
Kahrom warned that the mazut used in Iran contains sulfur levels “seven times the global standard,” and that domestic fuel quality is also inadequate. His comments triggered sharp pushback from state-affiliated outlets.
Mazut, the non-standard gasoline contains harmful additives and has significantly contributed to the air pollution crisis in the country.
The use of the low-grade fuel mazut by power plants in Iran has been linked to severe harm to public health and even fatalities, with Iranians frequently expressing frustration over the worsening air quality and pollution in many cities.
State media dismiss environmental concerns
Young Journalists Club, tied to state broadcaster IRIB, wrote that “certain groups believe defense budgets should be spent on the environment,” calling national security a nonnegotiable necessity and portraying environmental debates as a distraction.
Farhikhtegan, a newspaper affiliated with the state-run Islamic Azad University, similarly argued – referencing the 12-day war with Israel – that critics forget “without deterrence, the cost of war would far outweigh any air pollution.”
Environmental warnings have frequently been downplayed or mocked by officials and pro-government media. Past concerns over water scarcity, energy crises, deforestation and land subsidence have met similar resistance.
A prominent example was the campaign against hydrologist Kaveh Madani, who faced accusations of espionage after warning of impending water collapse and ultimately left the country.
Iran has faced worsening air pollution in recent years alongside severe water and energy shortages, with experts tracing the crisis to aging infrastructure, poor fuel quality and policy inaction.