From 1988 chain murders to Omid Sarlak's ‘suicide’: Iran's history of alleged dissident killings

An Iranian man was found dead hours after he posted an image of himself burning the picture of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, as per opposition media based outside the country.

Omid Sarlak, the deceased individual, had posted a story on Instagram of himself burning an image of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a forested area, and was found dead hours later.

IRNA news agency, which is Iran's state media, carried a report which cited the Aligudarz police chief as saying that a man has been found dead in a car and that he had taken his own life using a pistol.

However, Reuters cited opposition media like Iran International and Radio Farda to reveal that a number of mourners shouted “they killed kim!” and “death to Khamenei” during Sarlak's funeral.

The United States' State Department has also condemned the death.

Iran's history of alleged dissident killings

This is not the first time allegations have been made against the Iranian government of killing dissidents.

From 1988 to 1999, a number of murders and disappearances of intellectuals opposing the Islamic Republic's system of governance were reported from Iran.

Khamenei had then denied the allegations, calling them the work of “Iran's enemies”. Later, due to international pressure, Iran found one Saeed Emami leading ‘rogue elements’ in the country's intelligence ministry guilty for the offences. Three agents working for the intelligence ministry were sentenced to death for the murders in 2001 while 12 were sent to prison.

The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran has also reported that there has been domestic crackdown on the public after Israeli strikes in the country.

Investigators appointed by the UN's Human Rights Council reported that thousands have been arrested after the attacks, including human rights defenders, lawyers, and journalists.

2025 has also seen a rise in executions by the Iranian government, which has been the highest since 2015.

“If executions form part of a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population, as a matter of policy, then those responsible – including the judges who impose capital punishment – may be held accountable for crimes against humanity,” Fact-Finding Mission rights expert Max du Plessis told the UN.

One of the chilling instances of an Iranian agent killing a dissident happened in Istanbul in November 2019, when former intelligence operative Masoud Molavi Vardanjani was shot dead.

Vardanjani had reportedly accused the Iranian law enforcement and judiciary of corruption and killing of opposition figures.

In 1992, four dissidents who were Kurdish-Iranian, were shot to death at Mykonos restaurant in Germany's capital, Berlin. A German court had then ruled that the assassinations were ordered by the 'highest levels' of Iran's leadership, as per an NYT report.