A group of political prisoners in Tehran’s Evin Prison issued a statement, condemning the issuance of death sentences for six political prisoners accused of membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Several women political prisoners from the women’s ward of Evin are also among the signatories of this statement published on December 4, 2024.
Excerpts from the statement are as follows:
The 2022 uprising, as a pivotal chapter in the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom, has shaken the regime’s foundations to such an extent that it sees no option but to intensify its repression in various forms.
The alarming surge in death sentences for political prisoners over the past two years not only echoes the state’s brutal crackdowns of the 1980s but also reveals the ruling elite’s deep fear of a determined and justice-seeking society on the rise.
The collective death sentence for six political prisoners—Abolhassan Montazer, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani Amerian, Babak Alipour, Mohammad Taghavi, and Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvar-kar—comes in the wake of death sentences issued for young Iranian protesters detained during the 2022 uprising, in a case called, “Ekbatan.”
Additionally, since the beginning of 2024, several other political prisoners, including Pakhshan Azizi, Varisha Moradi, Shahriar Bayat, Behrouz Ehsani, Mehdi Hassani, and Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, have faced death sentences and remain in prison under threat of execution.
We, the undersigned political prisoners of Evin Prison, categorically oppose the death penalty and express our unwavering support for all political and ideological prisoners facing this brutal punishment.
We firmly believe that the fight for freedom requires collective solidarity to uphold human rights and build social resistance against the death verdicts.
We call on all Iranians from every social stratum to join political prisoners in protesting these inhumane and reactionary sentences by all possible means. The time to stand together in the streets against executions is now. It is time to save the lives of political prisoners—it is time to say, ‘No to executions.’”
Signatories (in alphabetical order):
– Azar Korvandi
– Asadollah Hadi
– Esmail Gerami
– Elaheh Fouladi
– Amir Hossein Moradi
– Babak Moradi
– Javad Manbari
– Hossein Piri
– Hossein Shanbehzadeh
– Hossein Shahsavari
– Khosro Rahnama
– Khashayar Safidi
– Davoud Razavi
– Reza Akbari Monfared
– Reza Rezaei
– Zahra Safaei
– Sepehr Ziaei
– Sakineh Parvaneh
– Shiva Esmaeili
– Tahereh Noori
– Ali Moezzi
– Ali Younesi
– Fatemeh Ziaei Azad
– Farzad Moazzami Goudarzi
– Fouad Fathi
– Forough Taghipour
– Golrokh Iraee
– Maziar Seyednejad
– Maryam Banoo Nasiri
– Mohammad Habibi
– Mohammad Massoud Moeini
– Mohammad Najafi
– Marzieh Farsi
– Moloud Safaei
– Mehran Raouf
– Mir Yousef Younesi
– Narges Mohammadi
– Nasrollah Fallahi
– Yadi Bahari
Seven other female political prisoners in Evin’s women’s ward, whose names are withheld, are signatories to this statement.
