A group of male and female political prisoners detained in Evin, Ghezel Hesar (Karaj), Lakan (Rasht), and Greater Tehran prisons has issued an open letter urging international organizations and institutions to use their full capacity to take effective action to halt the execution of three political prisoners: Pakhshan Azizi, Mehdi Hassani, and Behrouz Ehsani.
On January 8, 2025, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the death sentences for Pakhshan Azizi, Behrouz Ehsani Eslamlou, and Mehdi Hassani, all imprisoned in Evin Prison. The Revolutionary Court of Tehran, under Judge Iman Afshari, had previously sentenced them to death.
The full text of the letter, signed by 68 political prisoners in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, is as follows:
68 Political Prisoners from Iran’s Prisons Call for the Abolition of the Death Penalty
As the ruling regime in Iran continues its destructive domestic and international policies, it has plunged the country into a horrifying state of crisis. The regime’s solution has been to escalate repression across social, political, and cultural spheres.
Alarmed by the possibility of renewed protests, the regime seeks to maintain its grip on power by intensifying the use of the death penalty, creating an atmosphere of fear and terror. In 2024 alone, over 1,000 executions were carried out in Iran, accounting for nearly 75% of all executions worldwide.
The Supreme Court recently upheld the death sentences for three political prisoners—Pakhshan Azizi, Behrouz Ehsani, and Mehdi Hassani—raising fears of their imminent execution.
We, a group of political prisoners from Evin, Ghezel Hesar, Lakan, and Greater Tehran prisons, unequivocally condemn the death penalty as a form of state-sponsored murder and call for the complete abolition of this inhumane and reactionary practice.
In addition, we express our full support for Pakhshan Azizi, Behrouz Ehsani, and Mehdi Hassani. We appeal to the Iranian public and international organizations, particularly human rights bodies, to leverage all their resources to save the lives of these political prisoners facing imminent execution. We also call for collective efforts to eradicate the death penalty in its entirety.
Signed by:
68 Political Prisoners imprisoned inEvin Prison, Ghezel Hesar Prison (Karaj), Lakan Prison (Rasht), Greater Tehran Prison
