The Iranian regime has intensified its repressive measures against political prisoners, especially the supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). In its latest series of repressive measures, the regime imposing harsh restrictions and denying these prisoners access to essential medical care. Nejat Anwar Hamidi, a 68-year-old PMOI supporter in Sepidar Prison, Ahvaz, is suffering from severe heart disease and requires urgent surgery, but the authorities have repeatedly refused to transfer her to the hospital despite her family’s pleas.
Additionally, 17 political prisoners in Sheiban Prison, Ahvaz, have been banned from receiving visits since April 13th, following a brutal attack by prison guards on Ward 5.
Another critical case is that of political prisoner Mehran Gharebaghi, a 32-year-old PMOI, whose life is in grave danger due to a severe heart condition at Sheiban Prison. Despite his critical condition, the regime’s henchmen are preventing his temporary release and transfer to a hospital for access to a doctor and medication. Gharebaghi also suffers from eye pain and scabies, exacerbated by the poor sanitary conditions in the prison. Gharebaghi was arrested in January 2020. He was charged with insulting regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei and spreading propaganda against the regime. The regime has also accused him of participating in the destruction of public property, disturbing public order, and “corruption on earth,” a bogus crime that the regime uses against dissidents.
At the same time, the Iranian regime’s brutality has escalated with a recent wave of executions targeting even minors. On April 11th, the regime executed Marjan Hajizadeh, a 19-year-old woman who was barely 16 at the time of her arrest, along with her husband, Esmail Hassaniani. This heinous crime coincided with the Eid al-Fitr celebrations, underscoring the regime’s disregard for human life and religious values.
The regime executed three other prisoners between on April 13 and 14. Furthermore, five prisoners in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj were transferred to solitary confinement on April 14th, awaiting the execution of their death sentences.
On March 12, Mehran Akrami, a 32-year-old prisoner arrested during the 2022 uprising, lost his life due to brutal torture at the Intelligence detention center in Saqqez. He was severely beaten by prison guards in the previous week, leading to kidney failure. Despite being hospitalized, he was returned to the detention center before recovering, ultimately resulting in his death.
The Iranian Resistance has repeatedly called on the United Nations, European Union, and human rights bodies to strongly condemn these criminal executions and take immediate action to save the lives of prisoners sentenced to death. The Resistance has also emphasized the necessity of an international investigation delegation to visit Iranian prisons and document the human rights violations occurring within their walls.
The international community must take decisive action to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its egregious human rights abuses and support the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom and democracy. The perseverance of political prisoners in the face of unimaginable cruelty epitomizes the unyielding defiance against both the Shah and the clerical dictatorships that have oppressed the Iranian people for decades.
The deteriorating conditions in Iran’s prisons and the rising rates of executions are a direct result of the regime’s desperate attempts to maintain its grip on power. As the Iranian people’s resistance grows stronger, the regime is resorting to increasingly brutal tactics, including torture, executions, and the denial of basic rights to political prisoners.
But the regime’s increasing pressure on political prisoners has failed to stop the growing support for the Iranian Resistance and its activities inside Iran. The PMOI, as the democratic alternative to the ruling theocracy, poses an existential threat to the regime’s grip on power. The activities of the PMOI Resistance Units inside Iran is also cause for more concern for the regime, which has led extensive efforts to discredit the Iranian Resistance and dissuade Iran’s youths from joining the resistance. Despite the regime’s brutal crackdown, the Iranian people’s desire for freedom and democracy remains strong.
