At least 42 Political Prisoners Currently Sentenced to Death in Iran

Case of Ehsan Faridi, 22, Highlights Gross Abuses by Interrogators and Judicial Officials

Center for Human Rights in Iran

In just the last two months, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences of at least eight political prisoners, raising grave concerns over the imminent risk of executions of these individuals.

This brings to at least 42 the number of political prisoners who are now facing death sentences in Iran, according to CHRI's findings, and dozens more have been charged with crimes that can carry the death penalty under the Islamic Republic's laws.

These sentences are part of a growing, deadly trend: the Iranian judiciary is handing down an increasing number of death sentences to individuals for alleged political crimes after grossly unfair judicial proceedings, representing a sharp escalation in the use of capital punishment as a state tool to punish dissent and suppress political expression. They take place amidst an unprecedented surge in executions overall in Iran.

“More and more political prisoners in Iran are being given death sentences, after extraordinary judicial abuses, as the Islamic Republic moves to silence and terrorize its population into submission,” said Esfandiar Aban, senior researcher at the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“Fabricated charges without evidence, false confessions extracted under torture, denial of counsel—these are all being routinely used against political prisoners to convict them on sham charges and sentence them to death,” said Aban.

“The world must respond to the crisis happening in Iran right now; without a forceful and coordinated international outcry, more innocent individuals will be hanged simply for disagreeing with the Islamic Republic,” Aban stressed.

CHRI urges the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteurs on Iran and on freedom of expression, and all Member States to call on the Iranian authorities to:

• Halt all pending executions and institute a moratorium on all political death sentences;
• Allow judicial reviews of any convictions in which there were allegations of torture, forced confessions, denial of independent counsel, restrictions on the ability to mount a defense, fabricated evidence, or other due process or fair trial violations;
• Drop all charges for any peaceful political or cultural expression that is protected under international law and treaties to which Iran is a State Party;
• Impose targeted sanctions against Iranian judges, prosecutors, interrogators, and other officials involved in these abuses and pursue prosecution of responsible officials in national courts under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

From late September 2025 until November 19, 2025, Iran's Supreme Court upheld at least eight death sentences, adding the following political prisoners below to those who are already at imminent risk of execution:

1. Ehsan Faridi, a 22-year-old student held in Tabriz Prison, Tabriz
2. Manouchehr Fallah, a tattoo artist and laborer held in Lakan Prison, Rasht
3. Peyman Farahavar, a poet held in Lakan Prison, Rasht
4. Seyed Mohammadjavad Vafaee Sani, a boxing coach held in Vakilabad Prison, Mashhad
5. Reza Abdali, an Arab political prisoner held in Sheyban Prison, Ahvaz
6. Masoud Jamei, an Arab political prisoner held in Sheyban Prison, Ahvaz
7. Alireza Mardasi, an Arab political prisoner and teacher held in Sheyban Prison, Ahvaz
8. Farshad Etemadifar, a Lur political prisoner held in Sheyban Prison, Ahvaz

Saeid Dehghan, a prominent Iranian human rights lawyer and director of the Parsi Law Collective, told CHRI:

“These blatantly unlawful death sentences should carry direct consequences not only for security officials but also for the judges who knowingly issue or uphold death sentences in violation of fundamental principles of international law. Such rulings are not only devoid of judicial legitimacy, they also create individual criminal responsibility at the international level for those who issue or affirm them, including potential prosecution under the principle of universal jurisdiction outside Iran, since the conduct of Iran's judiciary has now moved beyond ordinary human rights violations and entered the realm of international crimes.”

Fabricated Charges and Corrupt Investigators Lead to Death Sentence

Ehsan Faridi, an industrial engineering student at the University of Tabriz, was only 19 years old when he was arrested in March 2024 at 4 a.m. during Chaharshanbeh Suri celebrations, a traditional Iranian festival celebrated right before Nowruz, the Persian New Year, during which people celebrate by jumping over fire and set off fireworks. Police allegedly stopped him while he was carrying flammable materials approximately three kilometers from the Tabriz courthouse, moving in the opposite direction from the building. He was released on bail nine days later.

A source familiar with the case told CHRI:

“His release on bail after just nine days shows that the original charge was not a national security case at all. But during the trial, the direction of the case changed completely and suspiciously, and very serious charges were suddenly brought against him.”

Over the following months, the charges brought against him rapidly escalated. Faridi was summoned to Branch 15 of the Tabriz Revolutionary and Public Court and re-arrested on June 18, 2024. What began as a minor allegation was transformed first into “attempted moharebeh,” then “moharebeh,” and ultimately “efsad fel-arz” (corruption on earth)—an offense punishable by death in the Islamic Republic.

Faridi was allegedly subjected to severe physical abuse after his initial arrest. The source continued:

“When the police arrested him, they took him to the NAJA Intelligence Department (the local police's intelligence division), where he was severely beaten. A report was drafted there, but it was so full of errors that the original investigator ignored it, and Ehsan was released after nine days. But 40 days later, Ehsan was summoned again, and this time the flawed police intelligence report became the basis of the charges. At first, the investigator wanted to charge him with ‘attempted moharebeh,' but he changed it to full ‘moharebeh.' Then Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court elevated it further to ‘efsad fel-arz.'”

It is not known why the interrogators and other judicial officials escalated the charges against Faridi and propelled the case forward from a minor charge to a capital crime. He was not an activist or active in protests at universities or elsewhere, and there was no evidence linking him to the capital crimes for which he was eventually convicted.

What the case does clearly indicate, however, is the arbitrary and grossly unlawful nature of judicial prosecutions in the Islamic Republic, where interrogators and prosecutors can fabricate charges at will and with impunity and build a national security case—without evidence—in order to go after any individual they wish and for whatever reasons, personal or otherwise.

Faridi's first, second, and third hearings were held via video conference on August 3, 2024, December 11, 2024, and late January 2025. The Tabriz Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Hassan Fathpour, ultimately issued a death sentence against him, which the Supreme Court upheld on October 9, 2025.

Central to this escalating prosecution was Seyed Ali Mousavi Aghdam, the investigator overseeing the case. He was later dismissed from his position after Iranian authorities uncovered a corruption ring under his supervision. Another informed source told CHRI:

“The core of this shift goes back to Seyed Ali Mousavi Aghdam, the investigator of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court — someone who was recently dismissed for running a financial corruption ring.

“This investigator pressured the Faridi family not to publicize the case by promising to ‘facilitate' it. He also made promises to Ehsan himself, telling him that if he confessed and later repented, everything would be resolved. He even offered the family a bribe, but they refused, saying their son had done nothing wrong. That refusal played a role in the investigator steering the case toward a path that ultimately produced a death sentence. A case that could easily have ended with a fine or short jail term in a criminal court was instead sent to the Revolutionary Court, where it turned into an ‘efsad-fel-arz' (corruption on earth) charge.”

Faridi's father also publicly questioned the legitimacy of the case after the investigator who filed the capital charge was removed for corruption:

“My question to the honorable court is this: How can you rely on an indictment drafted by someone who was later dismissed for corruption? Was nothing in his indictment questionable? Was your trust in this investigator not shaken, even slightly?”

CHRI's source said that the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence and that two requests for retrial have already been rejected, putting him at high risk of execution.

“Given the way this case has been handled and the particular branches it has been referred to, Ehsan is now in an extremely dangerous situation. The risk of the death sentence being carried out is very, very serious.”

A Mother's Plea

In late October, a video of Ehsan Faridi's mother circulated on social media. She said her son was under 20 at the time of arrest and had now spent 17 months behind bars. She said she had remained silent for two years, hoping his innocence would be proven:

“From today, I will no longer remain silent, because I believe silence in the face of injustice is a betrayal. I hope no mother ever has to burn herself alive like this to save her innocent child.”

Iran's Use of Death Penalty Violates All Standards on Capital Punishment

The application of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic violates every single international norm and standard regarding capital punishment.

In political or so-called “national security” cases, death sentences are issued for vague “crimes” such as “corruption on earth” that are impermissible under international law, and are routinely carried out after prosecutions marred by fabricated or nonexistent evidence, denial of counsel and other due process violations, and convictions based on forced “confessions” that have been extracted under torture.

The Islamic Republic is one of the world's leading executioners. Since the start of 2025, at least 1400 people have been executed—with virtually none of them receiving fair trials or due process. In addition to many other violations of international law in the Islamic Republic's application of the death penalty (for example, its use of impermissible charges to issue death sentences, including not only catch-all political and religious charges but also lower level drug offenses, as well as its execution of juveniles), its execution of increasingly large numbers of political prisoners constitutes severe violations of international law, including treaties to which Iran is a State Party and bound, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Moreover, Iran's new espionage law, the “Intensification of Punishment for Espionage and Cooperation with the Zionist Regime and Hostile States Against National Security and Interests,” which was passed in October 2025, significantly expands the scope of what is considered espionage and increases the penalties, including the death penalty, for a wide range of activities.

The new law will expand and ease the use of the death penalty against political dissidents, activists, and protesters in Iran, as espionage and other manufactured “national security” charges are routinely leveled without cause or evidence against peaceful activists, dissidents, and protesters.

Mass Prisoner Protests Against Executions in Iran

Political prisoners across Iran have been at the forefront of protests against the Iranian authorities' abusive and unjust policies, especially their unlawful application of the death penalty.

More than 200 political prisoners in Tehran's Evin Prison refused food on November 10, 2025, to protest the brutal beating and transfer of death row prisoner Ehsan Afrashteh and several other inmates to unknown locations.

Former political prisoner Mehdi Mahmoudian wrote on social media on November 10, 2025, that the protest began after guards severely beat Afrashteh and transferred him—along with Behzad Panahi and Mehdi Fareed—to undisclosed locations. He said Afrashteh was seen bleeding from the head and face and calling for help as guards locked other wards to prevent prisoners from intervening.

Other inmates reportedly chanted slogans against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and judicial and prison officials, condemning the “violent and inhumane” attack. After the prison authorities returned Behzad Panahi to Ward 7, Ehsan Afrashteh was transferred to the security Ward 241 of Evin Prison.

Mahmoudian added:

“Prison officials, in an effort to end the hunger strike, were forced to send two inmates as representatives of the others to meet and speak with Afrashteh. Mehdi Farid has also been transferred to Qezel Hesar Prison.”

The hunger strike was part of the ongoing “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, which began in January 2024 and has spread to at least 54 prisons across the country. Every Tuesday, prisoners across Iran participate in the campaign by refusing food in protest against the Islamic Republic's widespread and unlawful use of the death penalty.

Despite being fully vulnerable to state retaliation, political prisoners have been central drivers of peaceful resistance to the Islamic Republic of Iran's abuses, including unlawful executions, denial of essential medical care to prisoners, abuse and mistreatment in custody, and unjust sentencing.

Condemnation by the UN

The UN Independent Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, in its latest report to the UN General Assembly, noted a

“(D)eeply concerning rise in executions in Iran this year, now at the highest recorded level since 2015. Most death penalty cases investigated by the Fact-Finding Mission appear to contravene international human rights law, thereby violating the right to life.”

“If executions form part of a widespread and systemic attack against a civilian population, as a matter of policy, then those responsible – including the judges who impose capital punishment – may be held accountable for crimes against humanity,” said Fact-Finding Mission expert, Max du Plessis.”

In a statement on July 28, 2025, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk noted how “deeply disturbing the situation had become,” warned that Iran's escalating use of the death penalty has reached alarming levels, and urgently called for an “immediate moratorium” on the use of the death penalty in Iran.

The UN chief expressed particular concern over the growing number of individuals at imminent risk of execution, the use of vague charges to suppress dissent, and the persistent lack of due process or fair trial guarantees. He noted that individuals “were tried on broad and vague charges such as ‘enmity against God' and ‘corruption on earth', which are often used by the authorities to silence dissent.”

This report was made possible by donations from readers like you. Help us continue our mission by making a tax-deductible donation.