UN human rights experts have urged Iran to halt the imminent executions of six political prisoners, citing allegations of torture, prolonged solitary confinement and unfair trials — claims Tehran denies.
Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, said on Wednesday in a post on X that she had written to the Iranian government in early September expressing “grave concern” over the cases.
The letter, co-signed by UN experts on enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions, freedom of religion or belief and torture, cited reports of the six men's beatings, forced confessions and medical neglect in detention.
Their names are Babak Alipour, Vahid Bani Amerian, Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvarkar, Pouya Ghobadi, Abolhassan Montazer and Seyyed Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi.
They were arrested between December 2023 and February 2024 for alleged links to the exiled People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran and later sentenced to death by Tehran’s Revolutionary Court in November 2024, the experts said.
Several were allegedly held in solitary confinement for months and denied access to lawyers until trial day.
Tehran rejects report
The experts warned that “the judicial proceedings in all six cases did not fulfil the requirements for due process and a fair trial,” and that imposing the death penalty under such conditions would render the sentences arbitrary and unlawful under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Iran, in its October 24 response, rejected the allegations as “unsubstantiated,” defending the convictions as based on “confessions corroborated by material evidence.”
Iran said the defendants were represented by lawyers of their choice during the proceedings and were “treated in accordance with domestic law and international standards,” adding that prison transfers were made for “security and logistical reasons.”
Sato on Wednesday reiterated her call for Iran to stay the executions and launch impartial investigations into the torture allegations.
"The death penalty for baghi (armed rebellion) is unlawful under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which limits capital punishment to only the most serious crimes involving intentional killing,” Sato said.
"I urge the authorities to halt executions in these cases and to impose a moratorium on all executions with a view to abolition," she added.
Last month, Iran executed at least 241 prisoners were executed in one month— a nearly 50% rise compared to the same month last year — marking the highest monthly toll in two decades, according the Norway-based right group Hengaw.
US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said at least 1,537 people were executed by hanging in Iran between October 2024 and October 2025, marking the highest figure in a decade.
