Execution of Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh Amid Ongoing Judicial Review
23-June-2025
Category: executions
23 June 2025
News category: Execution
Breathing in Confinement – At dawn on Monday, 23 June 2025, the death sentence of Mohammad Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh was carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison, Karaj, despite the fact that his case was still under judicial review and the legal process had not yet concluded.
Mahdavi Shayesteh, aged 21, was arrested in autumn 2023 and sentenced to death by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Salavati. He faced charges including “managing a cyber network affiliated with Mossad in Iran,” “espionage for Israel,” and “insulting sacred values.” According to his lawyer, his request for a retrial had previously been accepted by the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, despite the ongoing judicial process and the absence of a finalised verdict, the sentence was carried out early Monday morning. Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, had previously reported on Saturday, 21 June, that he had been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for execution.
State-affiliated media have confirmed the execution. This marks the third case in recent days involving the execution of individuals accused of similar charges. The acceleration of these executions appears to be linked to recent security developments and the judiciary’s response to Israeli airstrikes. The head of Iran’s judiciary had recently called for faster processing of such cases—an order that has raised serious concerns about violations of fair trial standards and the rights of the accused.
Annual Report on Executions in Iran
According to the annual report by the Statistics Centre of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, at least 1,170 individuals were executed in Iran in 2024. Among them, six people were executed in public, and the executed also included 38 women and 9 juvenile offenders.