While international organizations, human rights defenders, and families of political prisoners had been working for months to prevent political executions, at dawn on Sunday, July 27, 2025, the ruling regime in Iran led to the gallow two political prisoners, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani, in silence, without notifying their families, without granting them a final visit, and in blatant violation of judicial fairness.
At the same time, special forces, under the command of security officials, raided the political wards of Qezel Hesar Prison. Dozens of prisoners were beaten and transferred to solitary confinement. Saeed Masouri, the longest-held political prisoner in Iran, was suddenly and unlawfully exiled to Zahedan Prison—a transfer that fellow inmates call the beginning of a new “silent massacre.”
Saeed Masouri’s sister wrote on her verified X account:
“Today, after 25 years in prison, Saeed was transferred to Zahedan without prior notice or legal order—a remote and harsh location. This transfer puts his life at serious risk.”
The signs are deeply concerning. The similarities between these actions and the events of August 1988, when 30,000 political prisoners were executed without trial, are undeniable.
Another massacre is looming — and if the world remains silent once again, thousands more lives will be lost.
The 1988 Genocide Pattern: How It Began
The massacre of political prisoners in the summer of 1988 remains one of the darkest and most thoroughly documented atrocities committed by the mullahs’ regime. In the last official report of his mandate as UN Special Rapporteur, Javaid Rehman wrote that the 1988 executions in Iran constitute “crimes against humanity,” and international jurists have described them as “ongoing genocide.”
That massacre followed a specific and organized pattern:
- Complete disconnection from families: All phone calls, visits, and correspondence were abruptly cut.
- Sudden transfers: Prisoners were moved at night or in secrecy to designated locations.
- Minutes-long trials: Prisoners were asked a single question—”Are you still loyal to your beliefs?”
- Executions in complete silence: Families were not notified; victims were buried in mass graves.
- Threats and denial: Families were forbidden from mourning or seeking legal truth.
That same pattern—executed with precision and violence—is now being reactivated.
Evidence of Pattern Repetition in 2025
Widespread arrests:
During the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, more than 2,000 people were arrested across the country.
18 girls under the age of 18 were detained in Mahabad alone.
7 foreign nationals were arrested in various provinces.
Escalating executions and continuation of the death cycle:
A new wave of executions was carried out in July 2025, including 82 executions that month and 487 executions in the first four months of the year.
New death sentences have been issued for political prisoners including Masoud Jamei, Alireza Mordasi, and Farshad Etemadi-Far.
Transfers to notorious prisons and unknown locations:
Saeed Masouri was exiled to Zahedan Prison.
Ali Younesi, violently removed from Ward 4 of Evin Prison, was forcibly transfered to an unknown location which later was confirmed as being Fashafouyeh. A trial in absentia has been held for him—raising serious concern that a death sentence may soon follow.
Bijan Kazemi, Mohammad Akbari Monfared, and Arghavan Fallahi have also been transferred to undisclosed locations and placed in prolonged solitary confinement.
Severed communication and total blackout:
After the raid on Qezel Hesar’s Ward 4, all phone contact was cut.
At Qarchak Prison, over 60 women political prisoners are being held under inhumane conditions, without phone access or visitation.
Torture, beatings, and mass intimidation:
Over 100 armed forces stormed Ward 4 of Qezel Hesar.
Prisoners were beaten, handcuffed, blindfolded with sacks over their heads, and transferred to solitary confinement.
Sudden, unannounced executions:
Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani were executed at dawn on July 27, 2025, without family notification or legal counsel.
Their trials lacked appeals and were conducted by Judge Iman Afshari at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court.
Amnesty International, in January 2025, warned:
“These two prisoners have been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement and torture to force confessions. Their trials were grossly unfair.”
“Carrying out these sentences would constitute a flagrant violation of international law.”
Despite this warning, the executions proceeded; without accountability.
Ideological promotion of political executions:
State-run media outlets have openly defended the 1988 massacre and described it as a “successful experience.”
On July 7, 2025, Fars News Agency, affiliated with the IRGC, wrote:
“Today is the time to repeat that successful historical experience.”
“A Crime Is in Progress” ; Letter from Saeed Masouri
From within prison walls, Saeed Masouri, Iran’s longest-held political prisoner, wrote a historic and chilling letter:
“This operation is not about control or transfer. It is about suppression and death… Just like in 1988. Let the world hear this time that a crime is in progress.”
He describes his transfer not as a bureaucratic relocation, but as a prelude to silent execution.
This letter is a living document; an urgent, firsthand warning that today’s political prisoners are fully aware that another massacre is being orchestrated, step by step.
Legal Analysis: Gradual Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity
According to Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the following acts constitute crimes against humanity:
- Organized killings
- Enforced disappearances
- Systematic torture
- Persecution of individuals based on political belief
These patterns are currently being carried out across Iranian prisons.
In his July 2022 report to the UN Human Rights Council, Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, declared:
“The 1988 mass executions in Iran may amount to crimes against humanity and possibly genocide.”
“The regime’s official denial and continued impunity indicate the ongoing nature of these crimes.”
He called for an independent international investigation into the 1988 massacre.
That same structure; the same intent is now being reactivated.
Conclusion and Global Call to Action
The evidence is now undeniable:
- A systemic architecture of political executions
- A framework of torture, isolation, and silent elimination
- The judiciary and security apparatus in full complicity
- Open ideological endorsement of mass killings
The ruling regime in Iran, on the brink of collapse, has once again resorted to genocide as a tool of survival.
And if the world remains silent again, the consequences will be catastrophic and unforgivable.
Immediate Demands
We call on the UN Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, and democratic governments around the world to:
- Deploy an independent fact-finding mission to Iranian prisons
- Launch an international inquiry into the recent executions
- Immediately halt all political executions and release at-risk prisoners
- Hold Iranian judicial and security officials accountable for crimes under international law
Final Message
No one can now claim they were unaware.
A crime is in progress. Only swift, coordinated international action can prevent another historical atrocity; before it is too late.
