At dawn on Monday, September 29, the state-run Mizan news agency, affiliated with the Iranian regime’s judiciary, reported the execution of Bahman Choobi Asl in Ghezel Hesar Prison on charges of espionage.
He was an employee of the Telecommunications Company. He had been arrested in 2023 on espionage charges.
Escalation of executions after the ceasefire
The execution of Bahman Choobi Asl took place amid reports showing that following the recent ceasefire between Iran’s regime and Israel, a wave of executions in Iran’s prisons has intensified. Independent sources say the regime has once again turned to the policy of “demonstrating power through the gallows” by exploiting this seemingly calm atmosphere. In recent months, dozens of prisoners have been executed in various prisons across the country, including Ghezel Hesar, Adelabad in Shiraz, and Dastgerd in Isfahan.
According to human rights activists, this sudden increase in executions is not aimed at delivering justice but at creating an atmosphere of fear and preventing social protests. The experience of recent years has shown that whenever signs of public discontent or political crises appear, the regime tries to keep society under control by raising the number of executions.
Execution as a political tool
Cases like that of Bahman Choobi Asl are only one example of the broader policy of using executions as a tool. Experts say that charges such as “espionage,” “enmity against God” (moharebeh), or “corruption on earth” are repeatedly used to instill fear and suppress society. In many cases, there is no transparency regarding the judicial process, and families are not informed of the date or location of the execution until the very last moment.
This practice has not only destroyed judicial security for citizens but also shows that in Iran, execution has been transformed from a judicial instrument into a political and security tool for systematic repression.
International organizations have repeatedly stressed that Iran has one of the highest execution rates in the world. According to these bodies, the continuation of such practices not only violates Iran’s international obligations but also shows that the regime has no intention of reforming its criminal laws or moving toward justice.
Outlook for the future
The execution of Bahman Choobi Asl, regardless of the specifics of his case, reflects the regime’s general policy of using the death penalty as a means of political survival. However, this policy cannot suppress protests and public anger forever. With increasing economic pressures, social inequality, and human rights violations, the people’s tolerance threshold is dropping day by day, raising the likelihood of a new wave of protests in the near future.
