Responding to the arbitrary executions of tortured political dissidents, Behrouz Ehsani, 69, and Mehdi Hassani, 48, in secret in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, Alborz province, on 27 July, Kristine Beckerle, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said: 

“Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani were executed arbitrarily amid Iran’s horrific execution crisis, which has resulted in nearly 700 people hanged this year. They were executed in secret without notice to them or their families after a grossly unfair trial by a Revolutionary Court. They were denied access to their lawyers for nearly two years before a trial that lasted only five minutes and during which they were not allowed to speak in their own defence. Forced ‘confessions’ extracted through beatings, prolonged solitary confinement and threats to further harm them and their families were used as evidence to convict them.” 

“The Iranian authorities have intensified repression at home following the latest escalation of hostilities with Israel in June. Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani had protested against the death penalty from inside prison by going on hunger strike every Tuesday for 18 months as part of the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign. Their executions highlight the authorities’ ruthless use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression in times of national crisis to crush dissent and spread fear among the population.” 

“Amnesty International renews its call on Iranian authorities to immediately halt all planned executions and establish an official moratorium on all executions with a view to completely abolishing the use of the death penalty.”  

“These executions also underscore the need for other states to initiate criminal investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction against all those suspected of responsibility for torture and other crimes under international law, including senior Iranian officials. The authorities have repeatedly shown that, without concrete accountability measures, they will persist in committing crimes under international law and other grave human rights violations.” 

Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani were sentenced to death on overly broad and vaguely defined charges of “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi), “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) in relation to alleged affiliation with the banned opposition group, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). 

On 27 July 2025, the judiciary’s news agency announced the execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, claiming, without providing any details, that the men had “manufactured launchers … causing damage to civilians, homes, administrative buildings, as well as educational and charity centres.” According to information gathered by Amnesty International, the men repeatedly denied these accusations, saying they were based on forced “confessions” extracted through torture and other ill-treatment.  

Others at risk of execution 

The latest executions, coupled with recent state media calls for repetition of 1988 prison massacres in which thousands of political dissidents were secretly executed, have sparked fears that the authorities may execute other individuals on death row for politically motivated charges. These fears emerge amid a campaign of repression that the Iranian authorities have waged since the “12-day war” with Israel, with mass arrests, alarming official orders to expedite trials and executions, and an emergency bill awaiting final approval that will expand the scope of the death penalty. 

Amnesty International has documented the cases of 19 people who are at risk of execution for politically motivated charges. 

Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali has been subjected to enforced disappearance, a crime under international law, since 23 June when Iranian authorities moved him from Evin prison to an unidentified location after Evin prison was hit by Israeli air strikes. The authorities’ ongoing refusal to reveal his whereabouts has raised fears that he is at risk of secret execution. 

At least three women are at risk of execution: women’s rights defender Sharifeh Mohammadi, Kurdish humanitarian worker Pakhshan Azizi, and Kurdish dissident, Verisheh Moradi. 

At least nine people are at risk of execution in relation to the Woman Life Freedom protests: Fazel Bahramian, Mehran Bahramian, Milad Armoun, Alireza Kafaei, Amir Mohammad Khosheghbal, Navid Najaran, Hossein Nemati, Alireza Bamerzpournak, Mehrab (Mehran) Abdullahzadeh. 

At least six people are at risk of execution on allegations of being affiliated with the PMOI: Abolhassan Montazer, Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour, Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani Amerian. 

Amnesty International has also received the names of 13 other people who are at risk of execution: Razgar Babamiri, Pezhman Soltani, Soran Ghasemi, Kaveh Salehi, Tayfour Salimi Babamiri, Manouchehr Falah, Amin Farhahvar Gisavandani, Ehsan Faridi, Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani, Masoud Jamei, Alireza Merdasi, Farshad Etemadi Far, and Yaghoub Derakhshan.  

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unconditionally for all crimes and under any circumstances.