On October 11, 2026, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) released the names and details of 12 supporters and relatives of members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), who have been arrested by the Iranian regime in different cities across the country.
The detainees include former political prisoners, relatives of executed PMOI members, workers, and citizens from different backgrounds. The arrests come amid an escalating campaign of executions and repression targeting political prisoners and members of the organized opposition.
The disclosure raises serious concerns about the safety and fate of the detainees, particularly given the regime’s recent executions of PMOI members and its continuing refusal to provide information about other imprisoned or missing dissidents.
Twelve detainees from different cities and backgrounds
Among the identified detainees is Nasrollah Fallahi, 69, from Pakdasht, Tehran, arrested on October 4. A former political prisoner from the 1980s, Fallahi was arrested again in 2022 and had recently been released after serving four years in prison. His daughter, Arghavan Fallahi, is also a political prisoner who has been sentenced to death.
Two other detainees belong to the family of executed PMOI member Ali Saremi. Zeinab Saremi, his daughter, was arrested in Tehran in October 2026. His brother, Gholamhossein Saremi, 70, was arrested in Tehran on October 1. Gholamhossein, who holds a master’s degree in social sciences, was also imprisoned for political reasons in the 1980s.
The list also includes Yasser Bahrami, 37, a rebar worker from Azadshahr, arrested on August 23; Yasser Salimpour, 42, from Shahsavar, arrested on August 8; and Leila Barzegar, 49, from Torbat-e Jam, arrested on August 5.
Mohammad Javad Hajinejad, 30, from Jiroft, was arrested on August 1, while Malek Mohammad Shahbakhsh, 35, from Zahedan, was arrested on July 29.
Four other detainees have been identified: Sadegh Saffari, 34, from Estahban in Fars Province; Rasoul Parsanahad, 34, from Mashhad; Reza Badavi, 40, from Arak; and Hadi Safari, 50, from Delijan, who holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
The identities reveal the broad geographical scope of the arrests and the regime’s continued targeting of families with histories of political imprisonment and opposition activity.
Growing concerns over the fate of detained PMOI supporters
The arrests are particularly alarming given the regime’s record of concealing information about detained members of the opposition.
The Iranian Resistance has withheld the names of additional detainees for security reasons but has provided their identities to the United Nations and international human rights organizations.
The statement also highlights the unresolved fate of 82 PMOI members who entered Ali Khamenei’s compound on February 23, 2026. More than seven months later, the regime has provided no information about them.
Furthermore, the authorities continue to refuse to return the bodies of nine PMOI members executed in 2025 and 2026, while withholding the locations of their graves from their families.
These practices underscore the dangers facing political dissidents in custody and the urgent need for independent scrutiny of the newly identified detainees’ whereabouts and conditions.
Escalating executions heighten the danger for political prisoners
The arrests come amid an unprecedented escalation of executions under the Iranian regime, particularly targeting political prisoners and people associated with the opposition.
During the Iranian calendar year ending March 19, 2026, the regime carried out at least 2,657 documented executions, compared with 1,159 in the preceding year—an increase of approximately 130 percent.
Between March 19 and October 6, 2026, at least 46 political prisoners were executed, including nine PMOI members and 37 individuals arrested during nationwide uprisings and social protests.
Six PMOI members were executed at Ghezel Hesar Prison between March 30 and April 4. Three others were executed at Karaj Central Prison between April and July.
These executions demonstrate the growing danger facing individuals associated with the PMOI. Against this backdrop, the detention of 12 additional supporters raises pressing concerns about their safety and the possibility of further politically motivated prosecutions.
A judicial system used to suppress political dissent
The dangers facing detained PMOI supporters are compounded by the regime’s judicial practices, which systematically deny political defendants fundamental legal protections.
Political prisoners face vaguely defined charges such as moharebeh (enmity against God), efsad-e fel-arz (corruption on Earth), and baghi (armed rebellion). Prosecutions have been marked by coerced confessions, torture, restricted access to independent counsel, and accelerated proceedings.
In April 2026, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Eje’i instructed judicial authorities to handle security-related cases under extraordinary wartime procedures, demanding expedited investigations and summary trials.
Regime officials have also explicitly invoked the 1988 massacre of political prisoners when discussing measures against the opposition. During that massacre, more than 30,000 of political prisoners, predominantly PMOI members, were executed.
Urgent international intervention needed
The Iranian Resistance calls on the United Nations, particularly the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on Iran, to take urgent action to establish the status and conditions of the detainees and gain access to their places of detention.
Amid mounting executions, arbitrary detentions, and continued persecution of PMOI members and supporters, international scrutiny is essential to protecting the lives of political prisoners.