According to the state-run Mizan news agency, on the morning of Sunday, July 27, 2025, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani, two political prisoners, were executed in Iran’s Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj. The charge against them was “membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).” This comes despite widespread violations of fair trial standards in their legal proceedings. Their requests for retrial were repeatedly and summarily rejected by the regime’s Supreme Court without thorough review.
The PMOI is the largest opposition group to the Iranian regime. Since 1979, the regime has executed 120,000 of its members.
In mid-September 2024, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani were sentenced to death by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. The verdict was upheld on January 7, 2025, by the Supreme Court without holding a court of appeals.
Les Moudjahidine du peuple #BehrouzEhsani et #MehdiHassani ont été exécutés à l’aube de ce dimanche 27 juillet par les bourreaux de Khamenei. Ils rejoignent ainsi la caravane des lumières éternelles.
Comme le tyran légendaire Zahhak, Khamenei, aux derniers jours de son règne… pic.twitter.com/GsfwC7om3q— Maryam Radjavi (@Maryam_Rajavi_F) July 27, 2025
Human rights observers emphasize that this process reflects a lack of judicial transparency and a disregard for the rights of the accused.
The families of the two political prisoners had stated that over the past few months, their access to independent lawyers was severely restricted, and many aspects of the legal proceedings were conducted in a highly securitized environment, away from public scrutiny. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the charge of “membership in opposition groups” has become a tool used by the Iranian regime to suppress political and ideological dissent.
The execution of these two prisoners has sparked a wave of domestic and international condemnation. Human rights organizations have called for an immediate halt to political executions, a review of judicial procedures, and adherence to international legal standards in Iran.
Political prisoner Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo, born in 1965, was 70 years old, originally from Urmia and residing in Tehran. He held a high school diploma, worked independently, was married, had two children, and was the head of a household that included an elderly mother.
Mr. Ehsani was arrested at his home in November 2022, during the height of the nationwide uprising, and was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is operated by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence.
After three and a half months of torture and interrogation, he was moved to Ward 4 of Evin Prison.
In mid-September 2024, after 22 months in limbo, Behrouz Ehsani was finally sentenced to death alongside fellow political prisoner Mehdi Hassani by Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. The court informed his lawyer of the sentence.
The charges against Mr. Behrouz Ehsani were listed as “armed rebellion, waging war against God, corruption on Earth, membership in the PMOI, collecting classified information, and assembly and collusion against national security.”
Political prisoner Mehdi Hassani, born in 1976 in the city of Zanjan, was 48 years old, married, and the father of three children.
Mr. Hassani was arrested on September 11, 2022, in Zanjan County and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. He was subjected to prolonged physical and psychological torture before being moved to Ward 8 of Evin Prison.
In January, Amnesty International issued an official statement calling for an immediate halt to the executions of political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. In its statement, Amnesty said the prisoners had been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment following their arrest—including prolonged solitary confinement—to force confessions, and that their trial in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court had been grossly unfair.
