The Iranian regime has escalated its brutal crackdown on dissent by sentencing six political prisoners to death. This alarming decision, announced by Judge Iman Afshari of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, follows months of interrogation and alleged torture. The condemned individuals—Abolhassan Montazer, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amrian, Babak Alipour, Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar, and Mohammad Taghavi—face charges including “membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK),” “collusion against national security,” and “armed rebellion against the government”.
Profiles of the Condemned:
– Abolhassan Montazer (65): An architecture graduate and political prisoner since the 1980s, he suffers from severe health issues and has been arrested multiple times.
– Pouya Ghobadi (32): An electrical engineer arrested in March 2024, he has faced repeated detentions reflecting the regime’s targeting of young professionals.
– Vahid Bani-Amrian (32): A management graduate arrested in January 2024, he has previously spent four years in prison since 2017.
– Babak Alipour (33): A law graduate arrested in January 2024, he was previously detained in 2018 and served four years in prison.
– Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar (57): A civil engineer arrested in January 2024, facing execution for his alleged political activities.
– Mohammad Taghavi (58): A political prisoner from the 1980s, he was last arrested in 2020; his family is also targeted due to his activism.
These sentences are part of a broader strategy by the Iranian regime to suppress dissent and instill fear among citizens. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has urgently called on the international community to intervene. They demand that the United Nations Security Council and human rights organizations take immediate action to halt these executions and protect the lives of these prisoners.
The global community must unite to defend the fundamental rights of these individuals. Failure to act could lead to further abuses and set a dangerous precedent for human rights violations in Iran. The lives of these six innocent people hang in the balance as their execution looms closer. Immediate action is crucial to prevent this tragedy from unfolding.
