Iranian regime authorities have cut off phone access for five political prisoners sentenced to death; pressure is increasing to forcibly transfer them to Ghezel Hesar prison
Five political prisoners sentenced to death in Evin Prison—Akbar Daneshvarkar, Seyed Mohammad Taghavi Sang-dehi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi Bistonī, and Vahid Bani-Amerian—have been denied the right to phone communication with their families since Sunday, April 20, 2025.
Forced Transfer of Five Political Prisoners Sentenced to Death in Iran
A source close to the families told HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency) that prison authorities have blocked these inmates’ phone and bank cards. According to the source, this is part of a broader pressure campaign to forcefully transfer them to Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj.
Earlier, on April 16, an attempt to transfer these prisoners was thwarted due to their resistance and that of other inmates.
These five prisoners, along with Abolhassan Montazer, were sentenced to death in November 2024 by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on the charge of “baghi” (armed rebellion) through membership in opposition groups. Additional charges including “collusion and assembly,” “property destruction,” “founding an illegal group,” and “illegal border crossing” have resulted in prison and exile sentences. Their main charge is membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the largest Iranian opposition group.
These prisoners, some of whom have prior arrests and convictions from the 2000s and recent years, were arrested by intelligence agents between fall 2023 and spring 2024 in Tehran and Chaldoran and transferred to Evin Prison.
