National Council of Resistance of Iran Calls for the Rescue of 6 Political Prisoners Sentenced to Death

The National Council of Resistance of Iran issued a statement regarding the death sentences issued for 6 political prisoners on charges of "baghi" (rebellion), calling for "immediate action from the Security Council, the High Commissioner, the Human Rights Council, and relevant UN bodies, as well as the European Union and member states" to save their lives and free all political prisoners. Previously, a knowledgeable source in Iran told the Persian section of Voice of America that Branch 26 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued death sentences for 6 political prisoners held in Evin Prison, and two other political prisoners had been sentenced to imprisonment and exile. According to this informed source, based on the sentences issued by Judge Iman Afshari, the 6 political prisoners; Akbar Daneshvar Kar, Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi, Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi Bistouni, Vahid Bani Amiri, and Abolhassan Montazeri were sentenced to death for "baghi" through membership in the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran. In this regard, the National Council of Resistance of Iran pointed out that these 6 political prisoners, who had previous arrest records, were sentenced to death after "interrogation and torture" on charges of "membership in the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran," "gathering and colluding against security," "armed uprising against the government," "forming a group or organization with the aim of disrupting the country's security," and "destroying public property using a launcher weapon." Additionally, the statement noted that Abolhassan Montazeri, 65 years old, is a political prisoner from the 1980s and has been arrested and imprisoned several times in 2018 and 2020. He was last arrested in December 2023 and suffers from heart, lung, kidney diseases, and arthritis. The report also indicates that Pouya Ghobadi was arrested in March 2024, Vahid Bani Amiri, Babak Alipour, and Akbar Daneshvar Kar were arrested in December 2023. The statement mentioned that Mohammad Taghavi is a political prisoner from the 1980s and 1990s and added that Mojtaba and Ali Taghavi were sentenced to prison and exile solely because they are brothers of Mohammad Taghavi. Meanwhile, Mr. Daneshvar Kar, Taghavi Sangdehi, Alipour, Bani Amiri, and Montazeri were each sentenced to 5 years of discretionary imprisonment for the charge of "gathering and colluding with the intent to disrupt the country's security." The trial of these political prisoners was held in October of this year. Previously, death sentences had also been issued for several political prisoners arrested in recent years, including Pakhshan Azizi, Varishe Moradi, Ahmadreza Jalali, Behrouz Ehsani Islamloo, Mehdi Hasani, Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, Abbas Daris, Ali Majdam, Moein Khonfari, Mohammad Reza Moghadam, and Adnan Ghabishavi (Mousavi). The issuance and execution of death sentences in the Islamic Republic of Iran have led to widespread protests from human rights organizations and several countries around the world. Notably, the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on November 21 condemning human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This resolution was adopted with 77 votes in favor, 28 against, and 66 abstentions. A gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark, was held in support of the 6 prisoners sentenced to death in the Ekbatan case. Special program - Dawn of Death; Why is Iran the Land of Executions? Why has the campaign against the death penalty in Iran and several other countries failed? Mahmoud Amiri Moghaddam: Global pressures against the death penalty policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran are impactful. Pegah Bani Hashimi: International organizations' statements regarding the death penalty policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran are effective. A letter from Arasham Rezaei from prison: The "medieval" act of execution must end.