Violent Transfer of Ehsan Afrashteh Following a Raid by Evin Prison Guards on Ward 7; Imminent Risk of Execution
10-November-2025
Category: executions، Prisoners
10 November 2025
News Category: Executions – Prisoners –
Breathing in Confinement – On Monday morning, the special guard unit of Evin Prison raided Ward 7 with the intention of transferring Ehsan Afrashteh, a death-row prisoner. They violently removed him from the hall and transferred him to an unknown location. During the raid, Afrashteh was severely injured.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, on Monday 10 November 2025, Evin Prison guards, accompanied by warders, stormed the hall where Afrashteh was being held. They beat him, and while he was calling on other prisoners for help, they took him away to an undisclosed location.
Reports received by Breathing in Confinement indicate that the assault prompted widespread protest and chants from the prisoners. In response, officers moved the prisoners to the exercise yard and shut the hall’s exit door. In the yard, officers used force to separate Afrashteh from the group and transferred him to an unknown location. At the same time, the doors of other halls were also locked. His transfer escalated tensions in Hall 2, leading to clashes between prisoners and officials. During the confrontation, one prisoner suffered a seizure and was forcibly taken to the infirmary.
According to information obtained by Breathing in Confinement, prison staff had previously attempted to transfer Afrashteh for execution, but collective resistance by prisoners prevented it. Today’s transfer to an undisclosed location has therefore heightened the risk of his imminent execution.
Ehsan Afrashteh, born in 1993, holds a master’s degree in civil engineering and is an information technology and network specialist. He was arrested in spring 2024 after returning from Turkey. He spent months in solitary confinement before being moved to the general ward and ultimately to Ward 7 in October 2024.
He was sentenced to death on charges of “espionage” by Judge Abolghasem Salavati. The sentence was upheld first by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court and again during his first retrial by Branch 9. His case is now in its second retrial phase, awaiting review by Branch 29 of the Supreme Court.
According to a well-informed source, the recorded confessions attributed to Afrashteh were “coerced and fabricated”, and he has consistently denied the allegations. Part of his and his family’s assets have been confiscated, and his family is reportedly under pressure from security agencies.