In a chilling escalation of its campaign against dissent, the Iranian regime’s judiciary has sentenced six political prisoners to death on charges tied to their alleged support for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The verdict, delivered by Judge Iman Afshari of Tehran’s so-called Revolutionary Court Branch 26, underscores the regime’s increasingly harsh measures against its critics.
The condemned individuals—Abolhassan Montazer, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amrian, Babak Alipour, Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar, and Mohammad Taghavi—face accusations of “membership in the PMOI/MEK,” “armed rebellion against the government,” and “collusion against national security.” Two others, Mojtaba and Ali Taghavi, were sentenced to imprisonment and exile, allegedly for their familial ties to one of the condemned. The sentences follow months of brutal interrogation and torture in Evin Prison, infamous for its treatment of political detainees.
The individuals sentenced to death span a wide range of ages and backgrounds, united in their shared history of opposition to the Iranian regime:
Abolhassan Montazer (65), an architecture graduate and former political prisoner from the 1980s, has been repeatedly detained over decades. Montazer suffers from serious health issues, including heart and kidney diseases, which the regime has been using as a means to torture him since his imprisonment.
Pouya Ghobadi (32), an electrical engineer, was detained in March 2024, marking his third arrest.
Vahid Bani-Amrian (32), holding a master’s degree in management, was arrested in January 2024. With four years of imprisonment across multiple arrests since 2017, he symbolizes the regime’s relentless pursuit of activists.
Babak Alipour (33), a law graduate, was previously detained in 2018 before his latest arrest in January 2024.
Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar (57) is a civil engineer and Mohammad Taghavi (58) is a veteran political prisoner from the 1980s and 1990s. He was arrested in 2020 and spent three years in prison on charges of being associated with the PMOI. He was forcibly brought to court directly from Evin’s Ward 209 but refused to participate in the session. He has been on hunger strike for a month, protesting the pressure and torture in solitary confinement, as well as against a guard holding a knife to the throat of a helpless Afghan prisoner.
Mojtaba Taghavi, who has been in prison since March 2024, was arrested solely for being Mohammad younger brother.
The sentencing of these six individuals is not an isolated incident but part of a broader crackdown on political dissidents in Iran. The regime has systematically increased its use of the death penalty, particularly targeting members and supporters of the PMOI/MEK, which it views as a significant threat to its hold on power.
In September 2024, PMOI supporters Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani were sentenced to death by the same court and judge, demonstrating a pattern of judicial bias and severity. The regime’s judiciary has also upheld the death sentence of PMOI supporter Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani for the third time. This wave of repression coincides with a spike in executions under the presidency of Massoud Pezeshkian, whose administration has already overseen more than 250 executions since July 2024.
At the same time, the regime is raising pressure on political prisoners, as evidenced by cases like that of Maryam Akbari Monfared, one of Iran’s longest-serving female political prisoners. Monfared, who has endured 15 years of imprisonment, continues to face harassment and fabricated charges as the regime seeks to extend her incarceration.
The regime’s continued increase of repressive measures highlights its willingness to use extreme measures to maintain its grip on power. The international community faces a critical test: whether to condemn these actions with words or to take decisive steps to protect the lives of these individuals and others like them.