Five Political Prisoners Call for Public Resistance Against Death Sentences

Five political prisoners sentenced to death in Evin Prison criticized the "violation of their basic human rights" since their arrest, citing "tortures and insults" as well as "unsubstantiated accusations" against them. An informed source in Iran reported on December 1 that Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued death sentences for six political prisoners held in Evin Prison, while two other political prisoners were sentenced to imprisonment and exile. According to this source, based on the sentences issued by Judge Iman Afshari, six political prisoners named Akbar Daneshvar Kar, Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amirian, and Abolhasan Montazeri were sentenced to death on charges of "baghi" (rebellion) due to their membership in the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran. The trial of these six political prisoners took place in October of this year. In a statement signed on Tuesday, December 4, and published on Friday, December 6, the five political prisoners—Abdolhasan Montazeri, Babak Alipour, Shahrokh (Akbar) Daneshvar Kar, Vahid Bani-Amirian, and Pouya Ghobadi—stated: "Mohammad Taghavi, a witness and survivor of the 1988 massacre, was returned to the cells of Ward 209 four months ago, and we are now unaware of his condition, solely because he declared the court illegitimate and refused to participate in it." These five political prisoners, who identified themselves as supporters of the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, wrote regarding the announcement of death sentences: "From the killers of Reza Rasayi and Mohammad Qabadi and thousands of young people of this land and from the usurpers of the sovereignty of the people of Iran, nothing else is expected! Moreover, what legitimacy can a judiciary and court and its investigator have in a regime that is fundamentally illegitimate and anti-human?" In this letter, which was also published on the website of the People's Mujahedin Organization of Iran, they called for "standing against the death sentences—in essence and in totality—and for all political and non-political prisoners," especially from the "oppressed people of Iran," emphasizing: "The despair and fear resulting from collective death sentences can and must be transformed into courage, rebellion, and revolutionary fire to eradicate this government." In this context, the co-chairs of the "Iran Human Rights and Democracy Working Group" in the U.S. Congress condemned the issuance of death sentences for six political prisoners in Iran by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic. Tom McClintock and Steve Cohen, in their statement, deemed these executions a serious violation of human rights and urged the Iranian government to promptly revoke these sentences and respect justice and human dignity. The statement indicated that these political prisoners were sentenced to death due to their support for the People's Mujahedin Organization and "the protests of the people." These two members of Congress called for global attention to the situation of these prisoners named Abolhasan Montazeri, Pouya Ghobadi, Vahid Bani-Amirian, Babak Alipour, Ali Akbar Daneshvar Kar, and Mohammad Taghavi, stressing that their lives are in danger. Previously, 40 political prisoners in Evin Prison had protested the issuance of death sentences for the six political prisoners in a statement. This statement was signed by Shiva Ismaili, Reza Akbari Manfred, Golrokh Iraei, Maryam Bano Nasiri, Yadi Bahari, Sekineh Parvaneh, Hossein Peiri, Forough Taghipour, Mohammad Habibi, Mehran Raouf, Reza Rezaei, Davood Razavi, Khosrow Rahnama, Khashayar Safidi, Maziar Seyednejad, Hossein Shanbehzadeh, Hossein Shahsavari, and Zahra Safaei, among others. Other signatories included Moloud Safaei, Sepehr Ziaei, Fatemeh Ziaei Azad, Marzieh Farsi, Foad Fathi, Nasrollah Fallahi, Elaheh Fooladi, Azar Kouroondi, Ismail Gerami, Narges Mohammadi, Amir Hossein Moradi, Babak Moradi, Ali Mozi, Farzad Moazemi-Goodarzi, Mohammad Masoud Moieni, Javad Manbari, Mohammad Najafi, Tahereh Noori, Asadollah Hadi, Maryam Yahyavi, Ali Younesi, and Mir Youssef Younesi. The campaign "No to Executions on Tuesdays" continues, along with the Writers' Association's call to combat censorship. Protests by dozens of prisoners in Evin against the death sentences of six political prisoners. The death sentence of six political prisoners on charges of "baghi" based on "the judge's knowledge." The National Council of Resistance of Iran called for the rescue of six political prisoners sentenced to death. The lawyer of Pakhshan Aziz stated that the "evidence" against this death sentence is "invalid."