Reconfirmation of Death Sentences for Six Political Prisoners Held in Evin Prison
9-December-2025
Category: Prisoners
9 December 2025
News Category: Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement – The death sentences of Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amarian, Babak Alipour, Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvarkar, and Abolhassan Montazer, six political prisoners held in Evin Prison, have once again been upheld by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, on Sunday, 7 December 2025, Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari, reaffirmed the death sentences previously issued against these six political prisoners on the charge of “membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK).” This ruling comes despite repeated warnings by human rights organisations regarding the use of political and security-related accusations to issue severe sentences, including the death penalty, without meeting fair-trial standards.
The court sessions for these prisoners were held on 16 November 2025 at Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. Despite requests by defence lawyers for a joint hearing due to the interconnected nature of the cases, the presiding judge rejected the request. Reports indicate that each defendant was tried in extremely brief sessions lasting only a few minutes—proceedings that stand in stark contradiction to the principles of fair trial, including the right to adequate time to prepare a defence, effective access to legal counsel, and the independence and impartiality of the court, as guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Human rights observers stress that issuing death sentences in courts lacking transparency, avenues for meaningful appeal, and independent judicial review constitutes a grave violation of the right to life and fundamental human rights. This case is seen as yet another example of a judicial approach rooted in political pressure, severe restrictions on the right to defence, and the use of capital punishment as a tool for suppressing political dissent.
• Pouya Ghobadi, 33, an electrical engineer, was arrested in March 2024 and transferred to Evin Prison. He has been arrested twice before for political activities.
• Vahid Bani-Amarian, 33, with a master’s degree in management, was arrested in January 2024. He has been detained multiple times since 2017, serving a total of four years in prison.
• Babak Alipour, 34, a law graduate, was arrested in January 2024. He was previously detained in November 2018 in Rasht and served four years in prison.
• Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, 59, is a former political prisoner from the 1980s and 1990s. He was arrested in 2020 and served three years in prison on charges of alleged links to the PMOI.
• Ali-Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvarkar, 59, a civil engineer, was arrested in January 2024.
• Abolhassan Montazer, 66, an architecture graduate and a political prisoner in the 1980s, has been repeatedly detained in 2018 and 2020. Arrested again in January 2024, he suffers from heart, lung, and kidney conditions.