Maryam Rajavi’s Speech at London Conference on World Day Against the Death Penalty — A Call to End Executions in Iran

At the international conference organized by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) in London on October 11, 2025, to mark he World Day Against the Death Penalty, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the NCRI’s President-elect, delivered a powerful address calling for global action to stop the ongoing wave of executions in Iran. She outlined a democratic vision for Iran—one free from executions, torture, and religious tyranny.

Honoring the Victims of the Struggle for Freedom

Mrs. Rajavi opened her remarks by paying tribute to all those executed for fighting for freedom.

“On this day,” she said, “the world’s outrage and revulsion are directed at the religious tyranny ruling Iran—a regime of executions and massacres, a monster of death.”

She emphasized that despite the regime’s brutality, the Iranian people and their organized Resistance have kept alive the promise of freedom, ensuring that the inevitable overthrow of the clerical dictatorship will be a victory not just for Iran, but for human rights worldwide.

The Middle East Crisis and the Regime’s Role

Referring to regional instability, Mrs. Rajavi stated that while the world seeks peace in the war-torn Middle East, Ali Khamenei fears peace the most. His collapsing regime, faced with domestic uprisings, has intensified executions as a weapon of terror against Iranian society.

The New Wave of Political Executions

Mrs. Rajavi cited the recent execution of seven political prisoners from Iran’s Arab and Kurdish minorities on October 4, and the death of Somayeh Rashidi, a political prisoner deliberately denied medical care.
She noted that in the notorious Qarchak Prison, three women had died under similar circumstances in just two weeks.

Mrs. Rajavi condemned the torture and execution of PMOI (People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran) members, including Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, who were executed after refusing to renounce their beliefs.

“Their only crime,” she said, “was seeking freedom for an enslaved nation.”

Sham Trials and Judicial Violations

Highlighting the lack of due process, Mrs. Rajavi described how prisoners face torture, are denied legal defense, and are sentenced in summary trials dictated by Khamenei himself.
She challenged the regime to open political trials to public scrutiny and allow international delegations from the UN or Red Cross to visit prisoners, exposing the fabricated charges and brutality inflicted upon them.

Calls to Repeat the 1988 Massacre

Mrs. Rajavi warned that regime-controlled media are now openly calling for a repeat of the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
Citing UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman, she reminded the audience that the mass killings could amount to genocide and urged the international community to prosecute those responsible.

She revealed that the regime is staging “in absentia” death trials for Resistance members living abroad to intimidate youth from joining the opposition.

“This is the regime’s desperate attempt to prevent its overthrow,” Mrs. Rajavi said, “but it will fail.”

Standing Firm Against Executions and Repression

Mrs. Rajavi reaffirmed that imprisonment and executions cannot break the spirit of Iran’s people. Instead, they fuel public outrage and accelerate the regime’s downfall.
She praised the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign by political prisoners and the Resistance Units across Iran, which continue to defy tyranny and inspire nationwide uprisings.

A Call to the International Community

Mrs. Rajavi declared that political executions in Iran are a test for the world’s democracies.
She welcomed the reactivation of UN Security Council resolutions on Iran’s nuclear activities but warned that the regime will never abandon its nuclear ambitions or repression while in power.

“Stop auctioning off human rights for a nuclear deal,” she urged. “Make your relations with Tehran conditional on halting executions.”

She revealed that in the first nine months of 2025 alone, Iran had carried out 1,200 executions — the highest number in 36 years — calling this a defining test for Western governments.

A Vision for an Iran Without Executions or Torture

Speaking for a Resistance that has lost over 100,000 members to the regime’s brutality, Mrs. Rajavi outlined her movement’s plan for the future:

• Abolition of the death penalty and torture

• Dissolution of all repressive and espionage institutions

• Separation of religion and state

• Equal rights for all citizens regardless of faith or belief

She recalled that the Resistance has always rejected the clerical regime’s inhuman penal codes, including the “law of retribution (Qesas),” as incompatible with Islam’s true teachings of mercy and compassion.

True Security Through Justice and Freedom

Mrs. Rajavi stressed that real security for Iranians will come only through justice, democracy, and equality before the law.
In a free Iran, she said, all trials will be public, all defendants will have access to defense, and the death penalty will be abolished.
Officials responsible for torture, killings, and corruption will face fair public trials with jury participation and international observation.

Holding up a book documenting the 1988 genocide of PMOI members, she concluded:

“We have risen to turn this dark page in Iran’s history. By rejecting all forms of dictatorship—whether the Shah or the Mullahs—we seek to establish a democratic republic founded on freedom, democracy, and equality.”