Iran's Judiciary Media Center denied reports regarding the issuance of a death sentence for Erfan Soltani, a young protester whose family had communicated this news to human rights organizations. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic claimed that these reports were "fabrications by opposition media abroad" and that Erfan Soltani "is currently being held in the central prison of Karaj." This comes as the family of the young man had informed human rights organizations that judicial authorities had notified them that his death sentence had been "issued and finalized" and was set to be carried out on January 13.