On the first Tuesday of the Iranian new year, families of political prisoners Vahid Bani Amerian and Pouya Ghobadi—both sentenced to death—held a peaceful protest in front of Evin Prison, demanding the revocation of their loved ones’ death sentences.
Holding portraits of Vahid Bani Amerian, Pouya Ghobadi, and other political prisoners on death row, including Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo and Mehdi Hassani, the families called for an immediate halt to all executions. Protesters also carried handwritten signs reading “No to Execution” and “Abolish the Death Penalty Now.”
This demonstration coincided with the 61st campaign of “No to Execution Tuesdays,” an initiative ongoing in 38 prisons across the country, aimed at ending the use of capital punishment in Iran.
The gathering followed a similar protest held one week earlier in the city of Sonqor (Kermanshah Province) by families and supporters of Bani Amerian and Ghobadi, which took place on the final Tuesday of the previous year in the Iranian calendar
Six Political Prisoners Sentenced by Tehran Revolutionary Court
In December 2024, six political prisoners—Vahid Bani Amerian, Pouya Ghobadi, Shahrokh Daneshvarkar, Seyed Abolhassan Montazer, Babak Alipour, and Seyed Mohammad Taghavi—were collectively sentenced to death, imprisonment, or internal exile by Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court.
Vahid Bani Amerian
Born in 1992 in Sonqor, Bani Amerian holds a master’s degree in management from Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology in Tehran. He has been previously detained, including in 2018, when he was sentenced to five years in prison for “propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.”
In March 2021, he was re-arrested and later sentenced by Judge Mohammad Moghiseh of Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court to 10 years in prison and 2 years of internal exile. Charges included “acting against national security through membership in and cooperation with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK),” “destruction of public property,” and “assembly and collusion.”
He served time in Evin and Gohardasht prisons and was released from Gohardasht in March 2023. Upon release, he was exiled to the southeastern city of Bashagard. He suffers from irritable bowel syndrome, immune system deficiencies, and severe respiratory infections.
Pouya Ghobadi
Also born in 1992 and from Sonqor, Ghobadi is a graduate of electrical engineering from Sanandaj University. He was arrested on February 23, 2024, while attempting to cross the border at Chaldoran and was initially held in Maku Prison. On March 1, 2024, he was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, where he remained for several months.
Ghobadi had previously been arrested in May 2018 by security forces in Tehran. In two separate cases, the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to a total of 18 years in prison and internal exile to Nikshahr in Sistan and Baluchestan Province.
Babak Alipour
Born in 1991 in Amol and residing in Tehran, Alipour holds a bachelor’s degree in law. He was arrested in December 2023 and held in Ward 209 of Evin for four months without formal charges.
Alipour had previously been detained alongside his brother, Rouzbeh Alipour, in November 2018 at a produce market in Rasht. He was sentenced by Branch 1 of the Rasht Revolutionary Court to seven years in prison for “membership in the PMOI” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.” He was released from Evin Prison in 2023 after serving two years of that sentence.
Shahrokh Daneshvarkar
Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvarkar, born in 1966, is a civil engineer from Tehran. He is married and has a 12-year-old son. He was arrested at his home on January 3, 2024.
Seyed Mohammad Taghavi
A 57-year-old graphic design graduate of the University of Tehran, Taghavi was previously imprisoned in the 1980s and again from 2020 to early 2023 for alleged ties to the PMOI. He was arrested again in March 2024 and detained in Ward 209 of Evin Prison.
Seyed Abolhassan Montazer
Born in 1959 in Tehran, Montazer is an architect and father of two. He was arrested on December 22, 2023, and held in Ward 209 before being transferred to Ward 4. A former political prisoner from the 1980s, he had previously been sentenced to five years in prison in 2018.
The case of these six prisoners highlights the continuing use of capital punishment against political dissidents in Iran. Human rights organizations and families continue to call for the abolition of the death penalty and the release of all political prisoners.
