In the early hours of Wednesday, May 28, Pedram Madani, a 41-year-old prisoner, was executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. This act has sparked a wave of protests from human rights activists and his family. The judiciary of Iran’s regime carried out the execution based on vague charges and a case filled with legal flaws.
Pedram Madani was arrested in 2020 and charged with activities related to intelligence and security. According to his family and human rights defenders, the accusations were not backed by documented evidence but were instead based solely on “confessions” obtained under pressure and without access to a chosen lawyer. In a video message, his mother emphasized the illegal torture and pressure during interrogations, saying: “My son only had a court-appointed lawyer, and his case is full of ambiguity and flaws.”
On May 25, Madani was transferred from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar. At the same time, his family was summoned for a final visit, a sign that human rights activists interpreted as confirmation that the execution was imminent. Pedram Madani’s death sentence was overturned three times by the Supreme Court, yet each time the parallel branch reinstated the death penalty.
In this context, Olivier Grondeau, a French citizen and former inmate of Evin Prison who was imprisoned in Iran for over two and a half years, released a video message in Persian calling for the execution of Madani to be stopped. He said: “Pedram was one of the kindest cellmates I had. I cannot believe such a person deserves to be executed. He was the twentieth of my friends taken to Ghezel Hesar for execution.”
Pedram Madani’s mother, who had previously lost her husband due to the sorrow caused by their son’s imprisonment, tearfully warned: “Don’t let another family be plunged into mourning. This sentence is unjust.”
Despite repeated warnings from international bodies, Iran’s regime once again moved ahead with an execution, without a fair trial—a course that has claimed the lives of many young people in recent months. The execution of Pedram Madani took place amid a legal and judicial environment that, according to experts, is increasingly drifting away from standards of justice, transparency, and accountability.
Earlier, on April 29, Mohsen Langarneshin was also executed under similar charges without a public and fair trial in one of the country’s prisons. According to observers, this reflects a growing pattern of brutal suppression under the guise of “law” against political and ideological detainees in Iran.
