On the morning of March 31, 2026, the Iranian regime hanged 33-year-old PMOI members Pouya Ghobadi and Babak Alipour. Their deaths were part of a brutal 48-hour wave of executions that also claimed the lives of two other political prisoners and PMOI members, Mohammad Taghavi and Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar.
But Pouya, a 33-year-old electrical engineer, was not just a victim of the regime’s flawed judicial system; he was a deeply conscious intellectual. While the regime attempted to silence him by cutting off communications and sending him to the gallows, his secretly penned letters from Evin and Fashafouyeh (Greater Tehran) prisons have survived.
These writings offer a profound glimpse into the mind of Iran’s youth, showcasing a man who consciously chose the dangerous path of resisting tyranny and maintained his unwavering support for the PMOI until his last breath.
Refusing the comfort of an “ordinary life”
In a manifesto written in Evin Prison on March 24, 2025, Pouya reflected on his youth and the moral calling that drove him to political activism. He explained that his journey was not accidental, but driven by an internal refusal to ignore the suffering around him. “I could not allow myself to drown in an ordinary life, succumb to basic desires, and remain indifferent to the oppression and injustice inflicted upon the destiny of my people,” he wrote.
He fiercely condemned the clerical regime for weaponizing religion to maintain its grip on power. “For over 45 years, the heirs of tyranny have had their hands steeped in the blood of my compatriots,” Pouya declared. “They have chained and crushed the freedom and dreams of a nation… and all these crimes are committed in the name of God and religion.”
The only path to freedom: Unwavering support for the PMOI
Pouya’s search for justice and truth led him directly to the Iranian Resistance. He credited the PMOI and its fallen martyrs for giving him the strength to stand up to the bloodthirsty regime of the mullahs.
“I found the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) to be… the most worthy and only movement that can bring freedom to these people,” he wrote. His vision for a free Iran was rooted in a total rejection of all forms of dictatorship, both past and present.
Expressing his commitment to a democratic future, he wrote: “I reject the mullahs and the Shah, who have brought nothing to the Iranian people but murder, plunder, and the slaughter of values. I offer my blood to join the roaring river of 120,000 martyrs for freedom, dedicating it to the overthrow of Khomeini’s regime, the freedom of the people under a democratic republic.”
Fueling the fire: Inspired by fallen comrades
The regime’s brutal tactics only strengthened Pouya’s resolve. In a letter dated August 2, 2025, from the Greater Tehran Penitentiary (Fashafouyeh), he wrote about the executions of his fellow PMOI cellmates, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. Rather than instilling fear, their deaths fueled his defiance.
“The regime’s executioners have not yet realized after years of massacring the Mojahedin that executing people like Mehdi and Behrouz will only add to our faith. It will only add to our courage and fighting spirit,” he noted.
Embracing his own potential fate, Pouya made a solemn vow: “If the freedom of these people is made possible by the blood of someone like me, I will gladly offer my blood with an open heart for the liberation of my people.”
Even under the heavy shadow of the death penalty, Pouya’s letters contained no regret or fear. Instead, they revealed a man entirely at peace with his choices and armed with an unbreakable resolve.
In the closing lines of his Evin manifesto, he offered a prophetic and chilling vision of his own execution—a promise to the Iranian people that he would never break. “I swear that in the final dawn of my life, with my head held high while gazing at the sky… I will endure the pressure of the noose until the last beat of my heart,” he wrote.
On the morning of March 31, 2026, Pouya Ghobadi fulfilled this ultimate vow. He leaves behind a legacy of courage that will continue to inspire Iran’s rebellious youth long after the fall of the regime that took his life.