Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, a political prisoner sentenced to death, was recently transferred from Evin Prison to a solitary confinement cell in Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj for the execution of his sentence.
The Iranian Human Rights Organization, on December 13, announced the transfer of Mahdavi Shayesteh to solitary confinement. They reported that he was tried by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, and sentenced to death on charges of “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “collaborating with the enemy.”
This human rights organization emphasized that the case against this political prisoner is so lacking in evidence that a “single empty pistol magazine” and “a pepper spray” were used as proof of “collaborating with the enemy” to substantiate the charges.
In recent months, the issuance of death sentences for political prisoners in Iran has increased.
Since the beginning of the nationwide uprising against the Iranian regime in September 2022, the government’s suppression of civil, political, and protest activists has intensified and continues to this day.
The Iranian Human Rights Organization stated in its report that Mahdavi Shayesteh, after his arrest in the fall of 2023, confessed to collaborating with Israel under pressure and torture by Iranian regime security forces during interrogations.
According to this report, these confessions formed the basis for many charges against him, including “insulting Islamic sanctities,” in his indictment.
The human rights organization stressed that the “charge of collaborating with Israel was used to issue a hasty death sentence” based on confessions obtained under torture.
The Iranian Human Rights Organization described the regime’s determination to execute Mahdavi Shayesteh as “a political decision related to recent tensions with Israel” and called on the international community to take timely action to prevent his execution.
The Iranian regime is experiencing the greatest crises in its history and resorts to intimidating its populace by executing defenseless prisoners to prevent public protests and cover up its regional failures. The global community must strive to prevent the execution of prisoners in Iran.
In recent weeks, the issuance of death sentences for political prisoners and the increased execution rate in Iran have sparked widespread protests both domestically and internationally. Over the past two months, the Iranian regime has executed more than 300 individuals.
Also Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh, a Kurdish political prisoner from Sanandaj, who had previously been sentenced to death by the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) through “membership in opposition groups,” has been transferred to solitary confinement in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj for the implementation of his death sentence. His family has been summoned for a final visit.
