A wave of high-level international condemnation has erupted over the Iranian regime’s latest crackdown on political prisoners, with former Costa Rican President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez describing the situation in Iran as a “nightmare” of “legalized murder” and “state-sponsored” killings. This alarm was echoed by Amnesty International, which issued an urgent warning on August 8, demanding that Iranian authorities “must immediately halt any plans” to execute five political prisoners affiliated with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
https://twitter.com/AmnestyIran/status/1953811747308999049
The global outcry signals a growing recognition that the regime is escalating its campaign of political terror, turning its prisons into systematic killing fields.
The catalyst for global alarm
The immediate trigger for the international warnings was the regime’s brutal action on Friday, August 8. During a transfer of inmates, security forces violently separated five death-row political prisoners—Shahrokh Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour, Mohammad Taghavi, Pouya Ghobadi, and Vahid Bani-Amerian—and moved them to Ghezel Hesar Prison, a site notorious for carrying out executions.
The five men were sentenced to death in December 2024 by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court on charges including “membership in the PMOI,” “assembly and collusion against security,” and “armed rebellion against the state.” Their transfer to a dedicated execution facility makes the threat to their lives imminent and undeniable.
A terrifying and premeditated campaign
This latest move is not an isolated act but part of a calculated campaign of state terror. The regime used a June airstrike that damaged parts of Evin Prison as a pretext to reshuffle political prisoners, using the chaos to intensify its repression. The brutal separation of the five PMOI supporters on August 8, and the severe beating of fellow inmates who protested, exposed the regime’s zero-tolerance policy for dissent.
The transfer to Ghezel Hesar follows a horrifying blueprint. On Saturday, July 26, regime forces stormed the same prison and summarily executed two other PMOI members, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. This recent history confirms that Ghezel Hesar has been designated as a killing ground, and the transfer of these five men is a clear precursor to another state-sanctioned murder.
A “genocidal regime” using a “systematic killing machine”
In his August 5 article, former President Rodríguez condemned the Iranian judiciary as “nothing but a showcase,” where the Ministry of Intelligence and IRGC fabricate security cases. He cites a letter smuggled out by Saeed Masouri, a political prisoner of 25 years, who warned that thousands are executed after “sham trials, without a lawyer, without evidence, and without the right to appeal.”
Rodríguez notes that with over 170 executions reported between June and July 2025 alone, these are not mere acts of a violent state, but of a “genocidal regime.” He draws a direct parallel to the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners, stating that the regime is once again using the death penalty as a “mass mechanism to eliminate opponents.”
A call for resolute action
The international alarm is a clear sign that the world is watching. The Iranian Resistance has urgently called on the UN to take decisive action to save the lives of these five men. As former President Rodríguez declared, “The heritage of Iran—the land of Cyrus the Great—demands a resolute response. We must not allow this millennia-old history of human dignity to be buried under the weight of fundamentalism.” The world must support Iranians fighting for freedom and hold the regime accountable for its legalized murder.