Amnesty International has raised alarm over the imminent risk of execution faced by two political prisoners following their transfer from Tehran’s Evin prison to Ghezel Hesar prison in Alborz province on Sunday.
Within two weeks, the number rose to at least 46—that is one life taken every 8 hours. Human rights groups believe the real toll is even higher.
It was clear that the Islamic Republic had no intention of slowing down after it executed more than 900 in 2024, a record since 2015, as reported by the United Nations human rights office.
On January 30, 2024, a Tuesday, political prisoners in the women’s ward of Tehran’s Evin prison announced that they would go on hunger strike every Tuesday to protest the rising executions, and in solidarity with ten others who had done so in Ghezel Hesar prison.
The move was triggered by the execution of Mohammad Qobadlou and Farhad Salimi just a week prior. A new campaign was born: No to Execution Tuesdays. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi backed the move on Instagram.
In the one year since that Tuesday, hundreds of political prisoners from over 30 prisons have joined the campaign, refusing to eat or drink on Tuesday. They accuse the Islamic Republic of weaponizing the death penalty to silence dissent.
Their demand? The abolition of what they call "state-sponsored premeditated murder”.
“This is the first time prisoners from diverse political backgrounds have united to consistently protest executions,” Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Director of IHR NGO told Iran International, hailing the campaign as a “milestone” in Iran’s fight against the death penalty and calling on Iranian civil society to join the campaign and express opposition to executions every Tuesday.
The long death row
At least 54 political prisoners are currently on death row in Iran, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), with 19 having their convictions upheld by higher courts of the Islamic Republic.
One is Pakhshan Azizi, a Kurdish-Iranian human rights activist and social worker, who has been sentenced to death for "armed rebellion against the state." Amnesty International has condemned her sentence, calling it another example of a broader pattern targeting minorities and activists.
Leading in capital punishments
The Islamic Republic of Iran carries out three-quarters of all executions globally—outside China, which classifies capital punishment numbers as state secret, according to Amnesty International. It’s worth noting that Iran holds around 1 percent of the world’s population.
In 2024, a total of 31 women were executed in Iran, the highest annual number in 17 years. Many were convicted of murder in cases stemming from domestic violence or forced marriage. Iran also leads in executions of ethnic minorities, who often face systemic discrimination and lack access to fair trials.
Executions for drug-related offenses have surged since 2020, reversing a brief decline following the 2017 Amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Law. IHR NGO reported that drug-related executions in 2023 were 18 times higher than the annual average between 2018 and 2020. Ethnic minorities disproportionately bear the brunt of these executions.
In December 2024, political prisoner Ahmadreza Haeri issued a chilling warning from Ghezel Hesar prison about an impending "massacre" of drug offenders.
“Prosecutors in Tehran’s surrounding areas have decided to execute ALL drug offenders with final death sentences before Norouz [Iranian New Year, March 21],” Haeri warned, highlighting that the prison holds three times its official capacity.
Road ahead: collective responsibility
The campaign No to Execution Tuesdays represents an act of resistance by political prisoners and a step in the long march to the abolition of the death penalty in Iran.
But stopping, even slowing, Tehran’s execution machine requires an urgent and unified response from various players, according to Amiry-Moghadam.
Political advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and targeted sanctions on judicial officials could all be part of a collective effort to challenge the Islamic Republic on its continued executions.
Iranian political prisoners have sparked a movement of hope and defiance. But ending the death penalty in Iran is a tall order that those involved in the campaign say requires sustained efforts at every level—domestic, regional, and international.
Whether or not they can attract the widespread solidarity they seek remains to be seen.
The platforms, heavily advertised across Tehran, target lower-income individuals seeking to protect their dwindling savings amidst a falling currency that wipes out their cash savings.
With gold prices soaring to approximately 55 million rials per gram, many Iranians now find traditional methods of purchasing gold increasingly out of reach.
For decades, gold has served as a trusted form of savings and financial security, especially during economic crises. However, with the average worker earning just above 100 million rials per month ($130) and living costs rising sharply, purchasing even a small amount has become unattainable.
The platforms’ promise of affordability has drawn interest but also skepticism. Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the Judiciary, has warned that “fake sales and fraud are among the dangers lurking for gold buyers via online platforms.”
Public trust remains low, partly due to past scandals like the 2016 collapse of Samen Coins, a gold trading company that embezzled 150 trillion rials, devastating thousands of customers and deepening fears about the trustworthiness of online sales.
The company engaged in fake sales, selling assets it did not possess, leading to widespread financial losses. The scandal prompted public outrage and legal action, resulting in the arrest and prosecution of key figures. It also highlighted significant regulatory weaknesses in Iran's financial oversight, particularly of online trading platforms, and eroded public trust in such services.
The uncertainty about the platforms is further exacerbated by the relentless depreciation of the rial. Despite hopes that the dollar’s upward trend would stabilize following Donald Trump's comments of resolving Iran issue without military conflict, the US dollar has surged to approximately 850,000 rials, breaking new records. Economic expert Ali Sadeghin notes that while negotiations between Iran and the US remain uncertain, inflationary expectations continue to drive the dollar’s rise.
Sadeghin explained to Titre-Avval-e Eghtesad website, “If negative news is injected into the market, the dollar's price will move to a higher threshold. Overall, the dollar could rise above its current level.”
The broader impact of the economic crisis extends beyond finance. Sociology professor Zahra Ojagh observed that rising poverty and currency devaluation are eroding social trust and increasing conflict. “When a society becomes poorer, healthy interactions decline, leading to heightened mistrust and conflict,” she added.
"Their grossly unfair trial was marred by allegations of torture and forced confessions," Amnesty said in a statement Monday.
Behrouz Ehsani, 69, and Mehdi Hassani, 48, had their death sentences upheld by Iran's Supreme Court earlier this month.
Mostafa Nili, a lawyer representing Ehsani, said on Monday that the Supreme Court had ordered a temporary halt to Ensani's execution.
"Today, along with my esteemed colleague Mr. Babak Paknia, we visited the Supreme Court branch. We learned that the branch, in accordance with the law, issued an order yesterday to halt the execution of Mr. Behrouz Ehsani Aslamlou's sentence. The sentence will not be carried out until the review of the retrial request is completed," Nili wrote in a post on X.
No such announcement has been made regarding Hassani, leaving his fate uncertain.
According to Norway based rights group, Iran Human Rights (IHR), the two men were arrested at the height of Iran's nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom protests in 2022 sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.
IHR said Ehsani and Hassani were notified of their death sentences on the second anniversary of the protests in September 2024. According to IHR the two men were sentenced to death on charges of baghy (armed rebellion) and moharebeh (enmity against god) through “membership in Mojahedin Organisation [MEK] and collecting classified information.”
“In recent days, officials of the Islamic Republic have linked the murders of Judges Moghiseh and Razini to MEK, paving the way for the execution of prisoners associated with the organisation," said IHR director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam in a statement.
"For this reason, the risk of these prisoners' execution is very serious. We call on the international community, human rights organisations, and the people of Iran to increase the political cost of these executions through their efforts," he added.
Judges Mohammad Moghiseh and Ali Razini, assassinated in Tehran on January 18, had decades-long histories of handing down death sentences and lengthy prison terms to dissidents in numerous cases.
According to Amnesty, Ehsani was held in solitary confinement for 50 days in section 240 of Evin prison, where agents pressured him to make forced confessions under psychological torture, including threats of flogging, execution, and harm to his family, which he resisted. He was later moved to section 209 for 75 days before being transferred to a general ward.
Similarly, Hassani was held in solitary confinement for six months and forced to write self-incriminating statements under torture. According to Amnesty both men were denied contact with their families during these periods.
Amnesty urged Iranian authorities to halt the executions immediately and quash their convictions and sentences.
