Comité Français pour un Iran Démocratique (CFID) (French Committee for a Democratic Iran) has issued an urgent appeal calling for immediate international intervention to prevent the imminent execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, two Iranian political prisoners. The CFID warns that their forced transfer on January 26, 2025, from Evin Prison in Tehran to Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj strongly indicates that their executions are imminent, as Ghezel Hesar is notorious for carrying out death sentences.
In a letter addressed to the French government and international organizations, CFID President Jean-Pierre Brard condemned the Iranian regime’s actions and called for diplomatic measures to halt the executions. “We must not remain silent in the face of these flagrant human rights violations. Every hour counts in saving these lives,” Brard emphasized.
Unjust Trials and International Condemnation
Ehsani, 70, and Hassani, 48, were arrested in 2022 and sentenced to death on September 16, 2024, by the so-called Revolutionary Court of Tehran on fabricated charges, including “waging war against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on Earth” (efsad-e fel-arz). Their sentences were upheld by the regime’s Supreme Court on January 7, 2025, despite overwhelming evidence of torture, lack of due process, and forced confessions.
International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have condemned these sentences, calling the trials “grossly unfair” and denouncing the use of torture to extract confessions. On January 23, 2025, the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning Iran’s human rights abuses and demanding an end to the death penalty.
CFID’s Call to Action
The CFID is urging the French government, European institutions, and international human rights organizations to take swift diplomatic action. Their demands include:
- Immediate diplomatic pressure on Iran to halt the executions.
- Expansion of EU sanctions against Iranian officials responsible for human rights abuses, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.
- Raising international awareness to mobilize global opposition against the executions.
Brard concluded the letter with a powerful plea:
“The brutal decision to transfer these condemned men must be met with an equally determined international response. The world cannot stand idly by as the Iranian regime carries out yet another atrocity. The time to act is now.”
This latest escalation comes amid a broader crackdown on political prisoners in Iran, particularly supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). At least six other political prisoners have recently received death sentences, highlighting the regime’s systematic use of capital punishment to suppress dissent.