CIVICUS has joined over 300 global leaders, human rights experts, and organisations in a collective appeal urging the United Nations to act urgently to stop the execution of political prisoners in Iran. The appeal, initiated by Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI), highlights the deeply troubling cases of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, both sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials marred by reports of torture and denial of legal representation.
This is part of a broader pattern of systemic repression, where the Iranian authorities use executions as a tool of state control to silence dissent and maintain power through fear and intimidation. Since August 2024, over 1,000 individuals, including political dissidents, women, juveniles, and members of ethnic and religious minorities, have reportedly been executed.
As a global alliance dedicated to strengthening civil society and protecting civic freedoms, CIVICUS echoes the urgent call for international action to halt these executions and end the culture of impunity that shields perpetrators of gross human rights violations. The appeal references findings by the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, who concluded that crimes committed by the Iranian regime amount to crimes against humanity and genocide.
We stand in solidarity with Iranian human rights defenders and political prisoners and call on the international community to press the Iranian authorities to comply with their human rights obligations, ensure due process, and uphold the right to life.
For more details, you can read the full appeal here: Appeal to Save Iran Political Prisoners from Execution.
