On Sunday, January 26, 2025, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, two Iranian political prisoners, were forcibly transferred from Wards 4 and 8 of Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar Prison, signaling an imminent threat of execution. This development follows the recent upholding of their death sentences by Iran’s Supreme Court on January 7, 2025, for alleged membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Background on the Sentences
The death sentences for Ehsani, 70, and Hassani, 48, were originally handed down on September 16, 2024, by Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. The charges included “rebellion against the state,” “enmity against God,” “spreading corruption on earth,” “membership in the PMOI,” and “illegal possession of firearms.” Both prisoners endured torture and solitary confinement during their detention in Ward 209 of Evin Prison to extract forced confessions.
Protest Inside Evin Prison
Following the sudden transfer, inmates in Ward 4 of Evin Prison staged a protest, chanting slogans such as:
- “This is the final message; if you execute, there will be an uprising.”
- “Death to the dictator.”
- “By the blood of our comrades, we stand to the end.”
- “I will kill the one who killed my brother.”
The protests reflect the mounting anger among prisoners and the broader Iranian public against the regime’s escalating use of executions as a tool of repression.
Profiles of the Prisoners
Behrouz Ehsani: Aged 70, Ehsani is a former political prisoner from the 1980s. Arrested in Tehran on December 6, 2022, he was subjected to brutal torture in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. In a message to the Iranian people after his death sentence, he declared: “This execution-driven regime cannot offer anything else. I will not bargain over my life with anyone and am ready to sacrifice my insignificant life for the liberation of the Iranian people.”
Mehdi Hassani: A 48-year-old father of three, Hassani was arrested on September 11, 2024, in Zanjan. Like Ehsani, he endured torture during his detention in Evin Prison.
International Outcry
Amnesty International has issued multiple urgent appeals for the cancellation of their death sentences. The organization emphasized that their trial was grossly unfair and noted that both men were subjected to torture to extract self-incriminating statements. Amnesty called for immediate international action to halt these executions.
On January 23, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Iran’s systematic human rights violations. It called for the release of political prisoners and urged the European Council to expand sanctions against key Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.
Ghezel Hesar Prison: A Site of Horror
Ghezel Hesar Prison, located in Tehran, is notorious for carrying out executions, often in secrecy. The transfer of Ehsani and Hassani to this facility has heightened fears that their executions could be carried out at any moment.
A Call to Action
The plight of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani underscores the urgency of international intervention. Governments, human rights organizations, and global citizens must raise their voices to demand an immediate halt to these executions and pressure the Iranian regime to end its campaign of state-sponsored violence.
The world must not stay silent in the face of these atrocities. Every moment counts in saving their lives.
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