A group of political prisoners from various prisons in Iran has issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold the death sentences of three political prisoners: Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish activist, and Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, accused of affiliation with the opposition group Mojahedin-e Khalq (MEK). The prisoners describe the executions as part of the government’s broader campaign to suppress dissent and instill fear in society.
In the statement, the prisoners strongly criticized the Iranian government, saying:
“The government, worried about the emergence of new protest movements, seeks to maintain a climate of fear in society by dramatically increasing executions. With over 1,000 executions in 2024, Iran accounts for 75% of all executions worldwide this year.”
The statement goes on to label the death penalty as “state-sanctioned murder” and calls for its complete abolition. It expresses concern that the death sentences for Azizi, Ehsani, and Hassani may be carried out imminently and urges Iranian citizens and the international community to take immediate action to prevent the executions.
Iran has seen a sharp increase in executions over the past year, a trend that human rights organizations attribute to the government’s efforts to suppress political dissent. Ethnic minorities and political activists are often disproportionately targeted. The Supreme Court’s confirmation of these sentences is the latest example of how the death penalty is used as a political weapon.
The signatories of the statement demand the complete abolition of the death penalty in Iran, referring to it as an “inhumane and reactionary punishment.” They appeal to international organizations, human rights defenders, and the global community to exert pressure on the Iranian government to halt the executions and work toward ending the use of capital punishment in the country.
Signatories of the Statement
The statement was signed by 68 political prisoners from various prisons across Iran. The full list of signatories is as follows:
Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, Hossein Estaji, Shiva Esmaili, Reza Akbari Monfared, Sepehr Emam Jomeh, Loghman Aminpour, Siamak Amini, Mahmoud Ojaqloo, Golrokh Iraee, Mohammad Araki Ashtiani, Shahriar Barati Nia, Vahid Beni Amerian, Yadi Bahari, Sakineh Parvaneh, Morteza Parvin, Mohammad Hassan Pooreh, Hossein Piri, Mohammad Taghavi, Forough Taghipour, Isa Chulandim, Ahmadreza Haeri, Mohammad Habibi, Nahid Khodajo, Nasrin Khezri Javadi, Shahrokh Daneshvarkar, Meysam Dehbanzadeh, Mehran Raouf, Reza Rezaei, Kamran Rezaeifar, Davood Razavi, Khosrow Rahnama, Khashayar Safidi, Hamzeh Sowari, Shiva Shah Siah, Mohammad Shafiei, Hossein Shanbehzadeh, Hossein Shahsavari, Moloud Safaee, Zahra Safaee, Sepehr Ziaei, Fatemeh (Hoorieh) Ziaei Azad, Hooman Taheri, Jamshid Azizi, Babak Alipour, Marzieh Farsi, Nasrollah Fallahi, Elaheh Fouladi, Pouya Ghobadi, Azar Korvandi, Esmail Gerami, Saeed Masouri, Reza Mohammadhosseini Tameh, Mohammad Ali Mahmoudi, Amirhossein Moradi, Varisheh Moradi, Babak Moradi, Farzad Moazami Goudarzi, Javad Manbari, Abolhassan Montazer, Mohammad Najafi, Tahereh Noori, Hoora Nikbakht, Asadollah Hadi, Ali Haroon Alrashidi, Maryam Yahyaei, Ali Younesi, Mir Yousef Younesi.
