The clerical regime in Iran is rapidly accelerating its campaign of state-sanctioned terror against dissidents. In a heinous act of state murder, the regime has just executed two political prisoners and members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), Vahid Bani Amerian and Abolhassan Montazer.
These executions come in the immediate aftermath of a bloody 48-hour period on March 30 and 31, 2026, when authorities hanged four other PMOI members: Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour, and Pouya Ghobadi. Driven by profound weakness and reeling from its weakening grasp on power following recent nationwide uprisings, the clerical establishment is desperately using the gallows to physically eliminate its organized opposition and terrorize a restless society.
In an attempt to justify these political executions, the regime’s state-run media unleashed a barrage of fabricated allegations. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Tasnim News Agency labeled the victims as a “terrorist team of the enemy,” claiming Montazer and Bani Amerian were executed for “baghi” (armed rebellion) and actions against internal security. Tasnim specifically alleged that Montazer, guided by the PMOI, used cryptocurrency to rent safe houses and build explosives, while Bani Amerian was purportedly arrested with four rocket launchers. Tasnim also explicitly linked Montazer to the recently executed PMOI member Mohammad Taghavi.
However, these political prisoners that the regime branded as “terrorists” were dedicated freedom fighters who had dedicated their lives to liberate their country and people from the mullahs’ regime. Abolhassan Montazer was a 66-year-old architect and former political prisoner from the 1980s. Vahid Bani Amerian, 33, held a master’s degree in management and had already spent a total of four years in prison since 2017 simply for seeking freedom.
Flawed judicial process, torture, and brutality
The execution of these PMOI members was the culmination of a grossly flawed judicial process devoid of any legal legitimacy. Following their arrests in January 2024, both men were subjected to months of severe physical and psychological torture in Evin Prison’s notorious Ward 209 to extract forced confessions.
Their death sentences were handed down by the notorious criminal judge Iman Afshari in Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. During their retrial on November 16, 2025, Afshari completely ignored defense lawyers’ pleas to try the six co-defendants together. Instead, he forced through separate hearings for each individual that lasted only a few minutes each. The regime’s Supreme Court confirmed the sentences in December 2025.
The regime’s cruelty was further amplified by horrifying events inside Ghezel Hesar prison. On the night of March 29, 2026, anti-riot guards violently raided Ward 4, brutally beating political prisoners—including Bani Amerian and Montazer—and severing all phone lines, holding them entirely incommunicado right before the killings began.
Executions carried out despite global outrage and condemnation
The regime rushed these executions despite fierce warnings from the international community. Just days prior, Amnesty International warned that Bani Amerian and Montazer faced imminent execution following a “grossly unfair torture-tainted trial,” pointing out that authorities had hidden their whereabouts from their families.
Four other men – Abolhassan Montazer, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani Amerian – who are sentenced to death in the same case are at grave risk of execution. This morning, phone lines in Ghezel Hesar prison were cut off, raising further fears. 3/7 pic.twitter.com/LPbdrwfwIX
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) March 30, 2026
Lawmakers across the United States and Europe have identified these executions as a transparent attempt to crush political dissent. U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman emphasized the bravery of the victims, noting they were killed “after being tortured and undergoing a sham trial.” U.S. Representative Laura Friedman accused the regime of using the chaos of the ongoing conflict to “accelerate its repression,” while UK MP Jim Shannon declared the executions a “moral outrage.”
These atrocities highlight a broader campaign of state terror under Masoud Pezeshkian’s presidency, during which the regime has ramped up executions to unprecedented levels, shattering any illusion of moderation.
A paralyzed regime acting out of fear
The timing of these consecutive hangings exposes a profoundly vulnerable regime paralyzed by the fear of being overthrown. Between December 2025 and January 2026, massive nationwide uprisings brought the ruling establishment to its knees; the state only managed to maintain power through the massacre of thousands of protesters. Now, exploiting the domestic chaos and the fog of war following the death of supreme leader Ali Khamenei in a February 28 airstrike, the clerics are quietly eliminating their most capable adversaries. Driven by its terminal weakness, the regime relies on the gallows to maintain its illegitimate rule.
The threat of mass slaughter remains horrifyingly real. Other PMOI members and supporters face imminent execution on the exact same fabricated charges of “baghi,” placing their lives in immediate danger. By isolating political prisoners, cutting off communications, and carrying out rapid, secret hangings, the regime’s behavior chillingly mirrors the buildup to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
Friends of #FreeIran call on the European Union and its Member States to strongly condemn these
executions and take urgent measures to protect all political prisoners, including PMOI members
currently facing execution in Iran pic.twitter.com/zmVlWCSZiF— Petras Austrevicius (@petras_petras) April 2, 2026
As Members of the European Parliament Petras Auštrevičius and Milan Zver warned, there is a coordinated effort to empty the prisons of PMOI affiliates while the world is distracted. Statements of concern are no longer enough. The United Nations and global leaders must take concrete, punitive actions to hold the perpetrators accountable and stop the regime’s killing machine before another massacre unfolds.