Silent Scream: Almost 50 Political Prisoners Sentenced to Death in Iran

Introduction: 49 Lives on the Brink of Death

Imagine a 12-year-old child, with small hands and eyes full of dreams that never had the chance to blossom, confined for years in a cold cell with the shadow of the gallows looming overhead.

Recall a 70-year-old father, his body worn by illness and the scars of torture yet unyielding, standing tall with a heart full of hope for justice, awaiting execution.

These are real glimpses into the lives of 49 freedom-seeking individuals across Iran—from Kurdistan to Baluchistan, from Ahvaz to Tehran, and from Khorasan to Isfahan. These are people imprisoned, tortured, and threatened with death not for committing crimes, but for the “sin” of dissenting against the mullahs’ regime, for their courage, and for their cries for freedom. This report is not merely a collection of statistics; it is a testament to hearts that still beat, voices that echo within prison walls, and a world that cannot turn a blind eye to this injustice. These 49 individuals fought for justice and now stand on the edge of execution. The world must hear, see, and act.

The Scale of the Tragedy: Executions That Crush a Nation’s Heart

In 2024, 993 people were executed in Iran, of which 915 were carried out in secret, and 14 were political prisoners. Now, 49 more await the same fate.

These figures reveal a human rights catastrophe that demands urgent international intervention. Secret executions, lack of transparency in official statistics, and pressure on families to remain silent deepen the complexity of this crisis. These numbers are the stifled cries of a nation suffocating within its prisons.

Blatant Violations of Fair Trial Standards

Most political prisoners sentenced to death in Iran have been stripped of their basic rights during the judicial process:

• Opaque Trials: Court sessions are frequently held behind closed doors, without the presence of media or independent observers.
• Lack of Access to Independent Counsel: Defendants are often forced to accept government-appointed lawyers.
• Vague Charges: Accusations such as “enmity against God” (moharebeh) or “actions against national security” are leveled without clear, verifiable evidence.

Protests Met with Blood

Many of these individuals, such as Milad Armoun and Navid Najaran from Ekbatan Township, were arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022 (starting September 16, 2022), when the people of Iran cried out for freedom and were answered with the noose. Approximately one-third of these arrests occurred in 2022 or thereafter. These executions are not mere punishment—they are a message: anyone who rises against oppression will pay with their life.

Inhumane Prison Conditions: Double Punishment Before Execution

• Denial of Medical Care: Many prisoners suffer from serious illnesses but are denied access to doctors or medication.
• Prolonged Solitary Confinement: This is used as a tool of psychological torture.
• Sudden Transfers to Execution Prisons: Reports indicate unannounced transfers to facilities like Qezel-Hesar, where death sentences are carried out.

Impact on Families and Society: The Human Dimension of the Crisis

The execution of political prisoners does not end with the individual—it reverberates through families, communities, and generations, leaving deep wounds. When one person is sentenced to death, a family, a society, and an entire generation bear the scars. This pain extends far beyond prison walls, gripping the heart of Iran.

• Pressure on Families: Threats, arrests, and forced silence imposed by authorities have been widely reported.
• Climate of Fear: Executions serve as a tool to suppress civil and political dissent.
• Erosion of Hope for Justice: The lack of accountability has shattered public trust in the judicial system.

Torture and Trials: Justice Under the Boot

Every sentence issued by the regime’s judiciary tells a story of an unjust trial:

• Merciless Torture: Prisons have become torture chambers—from beatings to denial of medical care. Pouya Ghobadi suffered internal bleeding for a month; Vahid Bani-Amerian endured eye damage in solitary confinement. Amnesty International reported: “On December 22, 2023, agents beat Vahid… he spent two months in solitary.” Vahid cried out: “This isn’t a cage—it’s a grave.”
• Sham Trials: Charges like “rebellion” (baghi) or “enmity against God” are issued without evidence in closed courts. Amnesty International noted: “Confessions were extracted under torture, yet no investigations followed.”

Executions: The Suppression of a Nation

These executions follow a pattern—from the 1988 massacre to today. These crimes repeat, but now the world is watching. These 49 individuals show that the regime knows no boundaries—not age, gender, nor ethnicity.

Human Diversity and Voices of Freedom Against Repression

These 49 political prisoners reflect Iran’s ethnic, age, and class diversity and stand as symbols of resistance. They hail from varied faiths, beliefs, ages, educated elites, diverse ethnic groups, and include women and men who have courageously stood against tyranny.

Diversity of Faiths and Beliefs: Voices from Different Convictions

These prisoners, spanning a wide range of beliefs and religions, highlight the suppression of every dissenting voice in Iran:

• Seyyed Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani: A young athlete from Mashhad, accused of “insulting the Prophet,” wrote from prison: “Truth cannot be silenced with a noose.”
• Edris Ali: A leftist accused of assassinating Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who shouted during interrogations: “I remain loyal to my ideals, even if they take my life.”

Age Range: From Childhood to Old Age, No One Is Spared

From children to the elderly, these cruel sentences spare no age:

• Soleiman Shahbakhsh: Arrested at 12, now 20, he told his family from Zahedan Prison: “I still have dreams—don’t let them kill them.”
• Pouya Ghobadi: A 32-year-old engineer from Sanandaj, sentenced to death after torture in Evin, wrote secretly: “Every wound is a cry for freedom.”
• Behrouz Ehsani: A 70-year-old father of two, held in Ghezel Hesar, told loved ones: “My life was for justice, and so will my death be. I won’t beg for my life.”
• Milad Armoun: A youth from Ekbatan, arrested in the 2022 protests, shouted from Rajai Shahr Prison: “We fought for Iran’s future.”

Critically Ill: Double Suffering Under the Shadow of Death

Many of these prisoners face serious illnesses yet are denied treatment:

• Abolhasan Montazer: A 65-year-old political prisoner with critical conditions including open-heart surgery, diabetes, prostate issues, kidney stones, and a chest hernia, yet steadfast and defiant.
• Ahmadreza Jalali: A dual-nationality doctor with chronic illnesses, held in Evin’s solitary, wrote: “Each day weakens my body, but strengthens my resolve.”
• Vahid Bani-Amerian: A university elite who suffered eye damage from beatings, told cellmates: “They took my sight, but my vision of freedom lives.”
• Pouya Ghobadi: After torture, battling internal bleeding, he cried: “These wounds are my medals of honor.”

Imprisoned Elites: Silencing a Nation’s Future

The intellectuals on this list are Iran’s intellectual capital, locked away:

• Vahid Bani-Amerian: A graduate of Khajeh Nasir University, said in solitary: “I used my knowledge for my people, not the oppressor.”
• Ahmadreza Jalali: An international researcher, wrote from Evin: “My science became my crime, but my conscience is clear.”
• Pouya Ghobadi: A young engineer, shouted in prison: “I fought to build Iran, not to be destroyed.”

Ethnic Diversity: Suppressing Iran’s Rainbow of Peoples

These prisoners from various ethnicities reflect the systematic oppression of diversity:

• Pakhshan Azizi and Varisheh Moradi: Kurdish women; Varisheh said: “Prison won’t break me—I am Kurdistan’s voice.”
• Soleiman Shahbakhsh and Eido Shahbakhsh: Baluch, among society’s most oppressed. Eido cried: “We die for Baluchistan’s rights.”
• Abbas Deris: An Arab from Khuzestan, who, after losing his wife, said: “My pain is my people’s pain.”
• Hatem Ozdemir: A Turkish citizen, shouted from Urmia Prison: “Tyranny knows no borders.”

Women and Men: Courage Beyond Gender

The women and men on this list stand shoulder-to-shoulder against oppression:

• Sharifeh Mohammadi: From Adelabad Prison, said: “I am the workers’ voice, even if they silence me.”
• Vahid Bani-Amerian: Cried: “Men and women of this land fight together for freedom.”

International Condemnation and Urgent Call: Don’t Let These Voices Be Silenced

The plight of political prisoners facing execution in Iran is an urgent human rights crisis that cannot be ignored. Every day of delay means the loss of lives to an unjust, opaque system. The international community must respond decisively to halt this tragedy and prevent the repetition of past atrocities.

Amnesty International, in its 2024 report titled “Don’t Let Them Kill Us”: Iran’s Relentless Execution Crisis Since the 2022 Uprising, highlighted the execution of six men linked to the 2022 protests, underscoring the alarming pace of these killings and urging: “Stop the executions immediately, overturn the sentences, release them.”

Other UN bodies, including UN experts in May 2023, strongly condemned the execution of political prisoners, warning: “Every death sentence violating a state’s international obligations is unlawful and amounts to arbitrary execution.” They called on Iran to immediately halt executions and amend its constitution and penal code to abolish the death penalty.

Conclusion: The Noose or a Beacon of Hope?

Fifty-seven human beings hang in the balance. This report is a call for global solidarity to defend the right to life and justice.

We demand the cessation of executions, independent investigations, support for families, and sanctions on responsible officials.

Attachment: List of Political Prisoners Facing Execution (pdf)

Source: iran-hrm.com, Staff, April 13, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde