Growing Concern About Death Row Political Prisoners in Iran

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); August 9, 2025: Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar, Mohammad Taghavi, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Baniamerian and Babak Alipour, five death row political prisoners, were forcibly transferred from the Greater Tehran Penitentiary to the solitary confinement cells of Ghezelhesar Prison. 

Stressing that the majority of Tehran and Alborz province executions are carried out in Ghezelhesar Prison, Iran Human Rights expresses concern that preparations may be underway to carry out the death sentences of these political prisoners. On 27 July, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, two political prisoners on death row for the same charges as the five political prisoners, were secretly executed in Ghezelhesar Prison.

IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “All political and security death row prisoners are currently at serious risk of execution. It is vital that their families and lawyers publicise their cases, and that the public, civil society and the international community work to halt the Islamic Republic’s execution machine by increasing its political cost.”

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar, Mohammad Taghavi, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Baniamerian and Babak Alipour, five death row political prisoners were forcibly transferred from the Greater Tehran Penitentiary to Ghezelhesar Prison on 7 August 2025. Authorities had previously attempted to transfer them on 16 April which was prevented through their and their fellow prisoners’ resistance. 

Following Israeli attacks on Evin Prison during the 12-day Israel-Iran war, many prisoners including the five aforementioned, were transferred to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary. On 8 August, while hundreds of prisoners were being transferred back to Evin, the group of death row prisoners were forcibly transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison.

Ali Akbar Daneshvarkar, Mohammad Taghavi, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Baniamerian and Babak Alipour were sentenced to death on charges of baghy (armed rebellion) through membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in a case of six defendants.

The sixth defendant in the case, Abolhassan Montazer, was previously transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison under the guise of medical treatment.

IHRNGO previously reported the imminent execution risk of Babak Shahbazi, an espionage defendant, after it was confirmed he had also been transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison. Furthermore, another espionage defendant named Omid Tabari Moghaddam who is also on death row, was transferred to Ghezelhesar Prison with the five political prisoners and Babak Shahbazi. 

There is no news about the fate of Ahmadreza Djalali, a dual-national who has been on death row for espionage charges for almost a decade. The Swedish-Iranian dual national was transferred from Evin to the Greater Tehran Penitentiary after the Israeli attack on 23 June and subsequently transferred to an unknown location.