Death Sentence of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh Upheld by the Supreme Court
20-December-2025
Category: Prisoners
20 December 2025
News Group: Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement — The death sentence of political prisoner Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, held in Urmia Prison on charges of “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz), has been upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, on Thursday, 18 December 2025, the judge responsible for the implementation of sentences at Branch 9 of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Urmia formally notified Mehrab Abdollahzadeh that his death sentence had been confirmed by the Supreme Court.
In October 2024, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh was sentenced to death by Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Urmia, presided over by Judge Reza Najafzadeh, on charges of “corruption on earth” through alleged participation in the intentional killing of a Basij member. This sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court without annulment or approval of a retrial.
Mehrab Abdollahzadeh had previously been arrested by security forces during the nationwide protests of 2022. The issuance and confirmation of this sentence come amid a marked increase in death sentences, particularly against political and security-related prisoners — a trend that has raised serious concerns among domestic and international human rights organisations.
From a human rights perspective, the issuance of death sentences in cases of a political or security nature, especially within the framework of Revolutionary Courts, has consistently been accompanied by serious doubts regarding compliance with fair trial standards. These standards include the right to effective access to an independent lawyer, the right to a public trial, judicial impartiality, the prohibition of forced confessions, and the right to meaningful appellate review — principles to which the Iranian government is bound under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Human rights observers argue that the escalation of executions under such circumstances does not serve the pursuit of criminal justice, but rather functions as a tool for control, intimidation, and the suppression of a society facing deep political, economic, and social crises. In this process, judicial transparency and independence have been severely undermined, and justice has become subordinate to political considerations and objectives.
The Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran once again emphasises that the death penalty — particularly in cases lacking fair trial standards — constitutes a clear violation of the fundamental right to life, and calls for the immediate suspension of the implementation of this sentence.