Attempt to Transfer Death Row Political Prisoners From Evin to Ghezelhesar; IHRNGO Warns of Imminent Executions
Correction, April 18, 2025: According to new information obtained by Iran Human Rights, the transfer of the five political prisoners written in this report was unsuccessful due to their resistance and that of their fellow inmates. However, the transfer order has been issued, and there is a constant risk of force being used to move them to Ghezelhesar Prison.
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April, 17, 2025: A group of political prisoners held in Tehran’s Evin Prison were transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison. Babak Alipour, Vahid Baniamerian, Pouya Ghobadi, Mohammad Taghavi and Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar who were sentenced to death on charges of baghy (armed rebellion) for membership of the People’s Mojahedin Organistion of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Relatives told IHRNGO that they were kept in prolonged solitary confinement, subjected to torture and denied access to lawyers. Some were also repeatedly subjected to mock executions and threatened with field executions.
Given the Islamic Republic’s history of carrying out political executions around international holidays, there is growing concern that these prisoners may be executed during the upcoming Easter holidays. Iran Human Rights warns of the imminent danger of execution for these political prisoners and urges the international community and countries with diplomatic ties to the Islamic Republic to take action to save their lives.
IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “We call on the people of Iran, civil society organisations and the international community to pay close attention to the situation of political prisoners sentenced to death. The Islamic Republic has repeatedly used media silence to carry out death sentences against political prisoners.”
Executions have dramatically increased since the end of Nowrouz and Ramadan. According to IHRNGO data, at least 57 people were executed in the last two weeks and at least 285 people have been executed in 2025.
According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, death row political prisoners Babak Alipour, Vahid Baniamerian, Pouya Ghobadi, Mohammad Taghavi and Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar were forcibly and violently transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison from Evin Prison on 16 April 2025. The prison ward was placed on lockdown to suppress protests to the transfer. Evin death row prisoners are usually transferred for execution to Ghezelhesar Prison.
Along with Abolhassan Montazer, they were were sentenced to death for charges of "baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh" by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Iman Afshari on 25 November 2024. They also received prison and exile terms for charges of “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security” and/or “forming an illegal group.”
There is no news about Abolhassan Montazer's fate.
The six political prisoners who all have histories of previous arrests expanding decades, were arrested between 22 December 2023-23 February 2024 and indicted on 14 May 2024. They are all currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran.
Babak Alipour
Babak Alipour is a 33-year-old law graduate who was previously arrested in November 2018 (jailed for two and a half years) and December 2021 (jailed for 15 months). He suffered from intestinal infection and prostate disease during his previous incarcerations which were left untreated for a prolonged period. He was arrested again on 27 December 2023 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison where he was under interrogation for four months. Babak was sentenced to death for baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh (MEK), five years imprisonment and 20 years exile to Khash for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.”
Vahid Baniamerian
Vahid Baniamerian, 32, has a Masters in Management and was teaching online. His father was a political prisoner in the 1980s and was previously arrested in February 2018 and 2019. In court, he told “Death Judge” Moghisseh who was complicit in the 1988 massacre of political prisoners: “We await the day when we can prosecute you and Raisi (late President and a member of the death committees), the raging river of martyrs' blood is flowing, and we will avenge the martyrs of the 1988 massacre.” He received a ten year sentence and was released in February 2022 and exiled to Hormozgan province. Vahid was rearrested on 22 December 2023 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. Vahid was subjected to 48 hours of severe torture an was repeatedly threatened with a field execution. He was denied access to a lawyer throughout. He was sentenced to death for baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh (MEK), five years imprisonment for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.”
Pouya Ghobadi
Pouya Ghobadi is a 32-year-old electrical engineer whose five family members were jailed and executed in the 1980s. He was arrested with Vahid Baniamerian in February 2018 and 2019. In November 2019, he was transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary where he was attacked by violent crime prisoners. He received a ten year sentence and was released in February 2022 and exiled to Hormozgan province. He was rearrested in Chaldaron on 23 February 2024. Pouya was sentenced to death for baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh (MEK), five years imprisonment for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.”
Abolhassan Montazer
Abolhassan Montazer is a 65-year-old architect and father of two who was previously jailed under the reign of the Shah, four years in the 1980s. Recently, he was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to five years imprisonment. He suffers from diabetes, heart, liver and kidney diseases and psoriasis. In June 2021, he underwent open heart surgery before being transferred to Evin Prison. Abolhassan was released in March 2022 and rearrested on 22 December 2023 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison where he was held for four months before being transferred to Ward 4 of the prison. He is currently suffering from hernia in his heart surgery wound without treatment. Abolhassan was sentenced to death for baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh (MEK), five years imprisonment for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.”
Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi
Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi is 58 and was previously jailed in the 1980s and 90s and a survivor of the 1988 massacre. He was arrested in 2020 and jailed for three years before being exiled to Kahnuj in Kerman province. He was rearrested with Pouya Ghobadi in Chaldaron on 23 February 2024. He is still held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison as he refused to attend his trial. Mohammad’s two brothers were also arrested to further pressurise him. He was sentenced to death for baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh (MEK), ten years imprisonment for “forming an illegal group” and five years imprisonment for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.” His brother Ali was sentenced to two years for membership in illegal groups and Mojtaba to three years and seven months for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security” and two years for membership in illegal groups.
Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar
Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar is a 57-year-old civil engineer and father to a 12-year-old son. He was arrested at his home in Tehran on 3 January 2024 and transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison. He was sentenced to death for baghy (armed rebellion) through membership of Mojahedin Khalgh (MEK), ten years imprisonment for “forming an illegal group” and five years imprisonment for “assembly and collusion to disrupt national security.”
Clarification Note: The initial report was based on information from sources close to the prisoners outside the prison, as it was not possible to access sources within at the time. Due to the high risk of their execution and urgency of the news, the report of their transfer was based on external sources. The news was corrected the following day once contact with the prison was established.