Two More Political Prisoners Join Dozens at Risk of Political Executions in Iran

Iran Using the Gallows to Terrorize Population into Silence

Severe Violations of Due Process and Fair Trial Rights Even in Death Penalty Cases

February 5, 2025 – Two political prisoners, Manouchehr Fallah and Shahriar Bayat, are at risk of execution in an alarming escalation of the Islamic Republic’s brutal and unlawful use of the death penalty against dissidents and protesters. The international community must take immediate action to demand that Iran cease using executions as a tool of political repression and terror, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today.

“Protesters, women, juveniles—the Islamic Republic will hang anyone who dares to challenge their oppressive regime, and now, a tattoo artist and a retired government employee in his 60s are facing the death sentence for supporting a peaceful protest movement,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of CHRI.

“Without greatly increased international pressure to stop this state-sanctioned terror and murder, the Islamic Republic will hear a collectible global shrug and continue to send men and women to the gallows for peacefully opposing the Islamic Republic’s tyranny,” Ghaemi said. 

Fallah and Bayat were sentenced to death after trials marked by severe due process violations and denial of access to independent legal counsel, CHRI noted. Both men had already received prior sentences, with Fallah having completed his term. The re-examination of their cases with new trumped-up charges and the resulting death sentences reflects a judicial system controlled by a state security apparatus whose only role is to crush opposition.

CHRI calls on governments worldwide to:

• Summon Iranian ambassadors to demand an immediate cessation of political executions.
• Call for an immediate moratorium on the application of the death penalty in Iran given the routine and severe due process violations in capital cases.
• Warn their Iranian counterparts of intensifying diplomatic and economic punishments if Iran continues to carry out executions in violation of international law.
• Impose stringent targeted sanctions on judges and other officials involved in unlawful executions.

Manouchehr Fallah, a Tattoo Artist and Political Prisoner

Manouchehr Fallah, a 40-year-old tattoo artist from Gilan province residing in Kish, was arrested in July 2023 at Rasht Airport for his participation in the peaceful Woman, Life, Freedom protests that erupted across Iran in 2022-2023. 

In December 2023, Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Rasht sentenced him to one year, three months, and one day in prison for “insulting the Supreme Leader” and an additional seven months and sixteen days for “propaganda against the regime.” Although his prison term was set to end in May 2024, authorities prevented his release and instead pursued heavier charges against him.

Throughout the legal process, Fallah was denied access to an independent lawyer, and his court session on December 11, 2024, was conducted via video conference, where he was accused of damaging buildings belonging to the IRGC Intelligence and the Gilan Judiciary. His two appointed lawyers were not allowed to meet him or fully access his case files—a typical tactic used by the state to undermine the legal defense of individuals in political cases.

The presiding judge, Ahmad Darvish Goftar, referred Fallah’s case back to the prosecutor’s office, saying that Fallah should be charged with Moharebeh (waging war against God) or Baghi (armed rebellion), capital charges that signaled an intentional push toward a death sentence. On February 2, 2025, his lawyers were officially notified that Fallah had been sentenced to death.

In May 2024, Fallah wrote a letter from prison detailing the arbitrary extension of his detention.

“Despite the issuance of a bail order from the very beginning of my imprisonment, numerous title deeds presented by my family for my release were rejected without reason. Eventually, in early September, I was told my bail was acceptable, and even the expert valuation fee was taken. Yet, once again, my final release was obstructed. They prolonged this situation until the case went to court, where I was sentenced… This sentence was supposed to end on May 20, 2024, but part of the case remains unresolved, leaving me in prison with no sign of release.”

In August 2024, Fallah staged a 28-day hunger strike to protest his indefinite imprisonment, which severely damaged his health. His first hunger strike was after his arrest in October 2023 in protest of his continued detention.

Shahriar Bayat, a 64-Year-Old Retiree Facing Execution

Shahriar Bayat, a 64-year-old retired employee of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Company, was arrested at four in the morning on September 25, 2022, at his home in the city of Shahriar, Tehran province, during the nationwide Woman, Life, Freedom protests. Throughout his legal proceedings, he was denied the right to choose an independent lawyer and was instead assigned a government-approved attorney.

On March 1, 2023, Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Shahriar sentenced Bayat to one year for “propaganda against the regime,” two years for “insulting the Supreme Leader and the Founder of the Islamic Republic,” five years for “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security,” and ten years for “forming and managing illegal online groups aimed at disrupting national security,” totaling 18 years. Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code sections concerning multiple sentences, the longest sentence (of ten years) is served, which was later reduced to eight years and six months on appeal.

His daughter Elaheh Bayat has publicly stated that during the initial interrogations, her father was subjected to severe pressure and torture, forcing him to make “forced confessions.” The Islamic Republic has a long and documented history of routinely extracting forced “confessions” under torture and using those so-called confessions to convict. He was then accused of reposting several images that were used in court as evidence for the charge of “insulting the Prophet.”

In a separate case in February 2024, Bayat was sentenced to death by Branch 13 of the Tehran Criminal Court for “insulting the Prophet,” “insulting other Imams,” and “blasphemy” based on social media posts—charges that deeply violate international law and standards concerning capital punishment. This verdict was issued despite a prior decision by the Shahriar Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office to drop the charges. The ruling was contested by a dissenting judge, Abolghasem Moradtalab, who advocated for a six-month sentence based on Bayat’s expression of remorse. However, the court upheld the death sentence, and his case is now pending appeal before the Supreme Court.

Elaheh Bayat has stated that despite filing a request for appeal over a year ago, judicial authorities have deliberately stalled the review of his case, effectively leaving him in legal limbo. Bayat has spent two and a half years in prison and was granted medical leave twice. His death sentence was issued shortly after he returned from one of those temporary releases. His daughter has described the trial process as deeply flawed and politically motivated.

“During the early stages of the case, my father was told that he would be released soon. Even in the winter of 2023, after applying for medical leave and posting a bail of 8 billion tomans, he was granted medical leave. However, after two weeks, when he returned to prison, he was suddenly faced with a death sentence.”

Elaheh Bayat has publicly said:

“At the first court session…the judge, upon reviewing the case, told the Ministry of Intelligence officers that there was no evidence in the file, which led to the issuance of a dismissal order … After that, it took about four months before permission was granted for a defense lawyer to take the case and defend my father.”

Bayat’s health has significantly declined in Evin Prison, where he has been denied proper medical care for his health issues. Despite multiple requests, prison authorities have obstructed his access to specialist treatment and refused to allow his family to provide necessary medication. His daughter has told Hrana that he was subjected to beatings during interrogation.

Severe and Numerous Violations of Iranian and International Law 

These two cases, as so many other cases before the courts of the Islamic Republic, including capital punishment cases, contained numerous and serious violations of law. They include:

• Severe violations of fair trial rights: Both individuals were subjected to an unfair trial and deprived of fundamental rights such as a public hearing, access to independent legal counsel, and the ability to mount an effective defense.
• Role of security forces in the cases: The reclassification of charges and the escalation of sentences under the influence of security forces highlight increasing unlawful and extrajudicial interventions in the judicial process.
• Routine use of torture and physical abuse during interrogations: Elaheh Bayat stated that her father was struck on the head during interrogation; torture during interrogations aimed at extracting “confessions” is routine in the Islamic Republic.
• Blasphemy charges: Charges such as “blasphemy” are among many catch-all religious and political charges used in the Islamic Republic that exploit vague and broadly interpretable accusations (such as “corruption on earth” and “insulting the Prophet of Islam”) to justify death sentences. Such charges are impermissible under international law.
• Lack of care for critical medical conditions: Authorities routinely ignore serious medical concerns, including chronic and critical illnesses, and deny prisoners access to specialized treatment.
• Pressure on families: The Bayat family, particularly Elaheh Bayat, has spoken to the media about the immense pressure they have faced, a severe abuse that is routinely committed by state agents against the families of victims in Iran in order to silence them.

Alarming Escalation of Death Sentences for Political Prisoners

The cases of Bayat and Fallah are part of an alarming trend of escalating executions of political prisoners in Iran and the Iranian authorities’ growing use of the death penalty as a tool of political repression; protesters, activists, dissidents, and other critics of the state are increasingly being executed following sham trials.

Currently, a shocking 54 political prisoners are on death row in Iran. Political executions have surged despite the fact that their convictions are for peacefully expressing dissent, which is protected under both Iranian law and international covenants to which Iran is a State Party, and are routinely based on so-called “confessions” that were extracted under torture.

Among the political prisoners at risk of execution are two Kurdish women Pakhshan Azizi and Varisheh Moradi, six young protesters involved in Iran’s 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom uprising, and two political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hasani.

Indeed, the regime has also increasingly moved to target women with the death penalty. In 2024, at least 31 women were executed, the highest number since 2008. In addition, the Islamic Republic disproportionately applies the death penalty to Iran’s minority communities—especially its Kurdish and Baluch communities. In 2024, at least a third of those executed in Iran were just from the Kurdish and Baluch communities.

In 2024, executions in Iran surged to nearly 1,000 known hangings—making the Islamic Republic the leading per capita executioner in the world. This number is a significant under-count, as many executions go unrecorded in Iran.

These executions violate every single international law and standard regarding capital punishment. In addition to the aforementioned violations, the vast majority of executions are carried out for drug offenses, which do not meet international thresholds that allow the death penalty only for the “most serious” crimes, and Iran is one of the very few countries in the world that executes children and juvenile offenders.

“Executions are being used on a mass scale In Iran to terrorize and silence the people,” said Ghaemi. “There is no rule of law, only a security state, and this will worsen without more meaningful international pressure on the Islamic Republic to stop these killings,” Ghaemi said. 

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