More than 300 prominent international figures have issued a joint statement calling on the United Nations to take action to stop politically motivated executions in Iran.
This statement, released on Friday, May 2 by the campaign “Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran,” expresses concern over the rise in politically motivated executions under Iran’s regime and describes it as a flagrant violation of international law.
The signatories of this statement—which include UN special rapporteurs, Nobel laureates, diplomats, judges, legal scholars, and human rights organizations—have urged the UN to immediately intervene to stop the executions of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. These two political prisoners have had their death sentences upheld by the regime’s Supreme Court, and their requests for retrial have been denied.
Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani at risk of execution
According to the statement, the two men were tried in a five-minute court session on August 10, 2024, on charges including membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, “propaganda in support of the group,” and “producing and sharing videos.” These charges are categorized by the clerical regime’s judiciary as “moharebeh” (waging war against God) and “corruption on earth.” Amnesty International had previously strongly criticized this process and called for their immediate release.
At the same time, several other political prisoners—including Abolhassan Montazer, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour, Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani Amerian, Pakhshan Azizi, Varisheh Moradi, and Sharifeh Mohammadi—have been transferred to Ghezel Hesar prison, which is notorious for its widespread execution of death sentences.
According to the annual report released in 2024, at least 975 people have been executed in Iran, marking a 17% increase compared to the previous year. Reports indicate that women, minors, ethnic and religious minorities, and political dissidents are the primary targets of these executions. Critics view this trend as a clear attempt to suppress dissent and block demands for democratic change in Iran.
The signed statement also calls on Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and other relevant bodies to take immediate action to halt executions in Iran and to impose sanctions on officials responsible for human rights violations. According to the signatories, the abolition of the death penalty and the release of political prisoners should be a prerequisite for any improvement in relations with Iran’s regime.
“The Iranian authorities’ systematic targeting of political prisoners is rooted in a culture of impunity, fuelled by the failure to hold perpetrators accountable for past atrocities,” the report states. This was documented in the July 2024 landmark Atrocity Crimes report by UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Prof. Javaid Rehman, which found that the 1981-82 mass killings and the 1988 massacre constituted crimes against humanity and genocide. Per the statement, “No Iranian official has been held accountable for these atrocities; instead, the perpetrators have been promoted to the highest levels in the government, judiciary, and security apparatus.”
Currently, at least 50 Iranian political prisoners—including three women and six protesters linked to the 2022 protests—are on death row awaiting execution.
