7 Political Prisoners Executed: Iran's Escalating Death Penalty Crisis

Iran executed 7 political prisoners in Ahvaz and Qezel Hesar prisons on October 4, 2025. Amid 1,000+ deaths this year, authorities crush dissent post-Israel war.

Iran Human Rights Society– Saturday, October 4, 2025 – Iran political prisoner executions surged again. Early on October 4, 2025, authorities hanged seven men in Ahvaz and Qezel Hesar prisons. This brutal act highlights Iran’s weaponized death penalty. After the 12-day war with Israel, officials ramp up hangings to silence opposition. Human rights groups like Amnesty International and Norway’s Iran Human Rights report over 1,000 executions from January to September 2025. Political cases spiked sharply. These killings violate global standards. Families learned too late. Dissenters face sham trials and torture. Iran ignores its ICCPR commitments. This pattern demands urgent action. The world watches as Tehran escalates repression.

Shocking Executions in Ahvaz and Qezel Hesar Prisons

Mizan News Agency confirmed the horror. Dawn broke on October 4, 2025. Guards led seven prisoners to the gallows. Ahvaz’s Sheiban and Sepidar prisons hosted most. Qezel Hesar in Karaj claimed one. Families received no notice. Secret transfers hid the moves. Habib Deris and Seyyed Salem Mousavi shifted overnight from Sheiban Ward 5. They joined four others in Sepidar. Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh met his end alone in Qezel Hesar. Authorities framed these as “national security” wins. However, evidence points to fabricated charges. Furthermore, torture extracted confessions. Therefore, fair trials vanished. This wave follows 2025’s execution boom. Protests echo in prisons like weekly hunger strikes. Yet, Tehran presses on.

Profiles of the Executed: Victims of Moharebeh Charges

Ali Majdam led the list. Born in 1983, he hailed from Kot-e Seyyed Saleh, Ahvaz. Married with three kids, he built a simple life. Ministry of Intelligence agents grabbed him on February 9, 2019. They isolated him for 63 days. Beatings followed. In June 2019, they dumped him in Sheiban Prison’s Ward 8. Prosecutors tied him to a 2017 armed clash. Fifteen defendants faced the bar. Ali stood as chief. Charges piled up: armed ops against forces, security threats, foreign ties, anti-regime group. Branch 4 of Ahvaz Revolutionary Court struck on February 13, 2023. They slapped death on him and five others for moharebeh—enmity against God. No appeals pierced the veil.

Mo’in Khanfari fought next. At 30, he called Kot-e Seyyed Saleh home. Arrest hit in 2019. A group case ensnared him. Interrogators tortured repeatedly. Bruises marked his body. Yet, he endured. On February 13, 2023, the same court doomed him. Moharebeh sealed his fate alongside five peers. No mercy showed.

Mohammad Reza Moghadam followed suit. Born in 1992, Shadegan shaped his youth in Khuzestan. February 2019 brought chains. Group arrest led to savage beatings. He broke but never bent fully. Again, February 13, 2023, brought the gavel. Branch 4 decreed death for moharebeh.

Seyyed Adnan Mousavi Ghabishavi, the youngest at 29, born 1996 in Shadegan, shared the pain. February 2019 raid caught him. Torture scarred his spirit. The court repeated its verdict on that grim day. These men shared cells, fears, and fates.

Habib Deris and Seyyed Salem Mousavi clung to hope until Friday evening, October 3, 2025. Sheiban Ward 5 held them tight. Then, shadows moved. Guards whisked them to Sepidar under cover of night. No calls to kin. Dawn brought ropes. They hanged with four Ahvaz comrades. Convictions stemmed from Bandar-e Khomeyni killings: two cops, one Basij, one soldier. Prosecutors added Harakat al-Nidal ties and Basij-IRGC assaults. An online hearing on April 24, 2024, in Sheiban sealed it. A criminal branch nodded. Flaws riddled the process. Evidence? Thin. Confessions? Coerced.

Saman Mohammadi Khiyareh stood apart. Born 1990 in Sanandaj, arrest struck February 2010. Initial death for moharebeh crumbled. Supreme Court tossed it—evidence lacked. Security hounds pushed retry. Death returned. Saman screamed truth: torture birthed lies. He denied murders, armed roles. “All fabricated,” he insisted. Sessions broke him, but not his voice.

Iran’s Death Penalty Surge: Post-War Repression Tool

Context fuels the fire. The Israel war ended weeks ago. Twelve days of strikes shook Iran. Leaders feared unrest. So, they turned to gallows. Executions mask control. Amnesty tracks the toll: over 1,000 dead in 2025. January to September alone. Political files jumped. Norway’s group echoes the count. Dissent? Crushed. Protests? Punished. Prisons like Qezel Hesar brew resistance. Hunger strikes roll weekly. Yet, guards raid. Beatings follow. Executions spike. This isn’t justice. It’s terror. Families shatter. Communities silence. International outcry grows. But Tehran shrugs. Furthermore, Revolutionary Courts rush verdicts. Five-minute trials? Common. Torture? Routine. Therefore, innocence dies unheard. The pattern repeats. Moharebeh blankets all. From clashes to whispers, it fits. Human costs mount. Lives end abruptly.

Death Penalty Clashes with Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Rights crumble under ropes. Article 3 of the Universal Declaration stands firm. “Everyone has the right to life, liberty, and security.” Courts alone may strip it—for defined crimes. Yet, Iran defies. Execution guts the core. First, life vanishes. Inalienable? Not here. Guards pull levers. Breath stops. Second, errors stick. No do-overs exist. Wrongful hangs haunt. Third, methods torture. Hangings drag agony. Chokes qualify as cruel. The Declaration bans such pain. Therefore, violations scream. Families beg. Voices fade. Global standards mock. Iran signed on. Now, it spits. Political prisoners bear the brunt. Moharebeh? Vague net. Dissenters tangle. Fairness flees.

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