Urgent appeal: preventing a prisoner massacre by Iran’s Mullah regime

Dear Mr. Türk,

On Saturday morning, July 26, a shocking act of brutality unfolded as more than 100 armed Revolutionary Guards of Iran’s Mullah regime stormed the political prisoners’ cellblock in Section 4 of Ghezel-Hessar Prison. Prisoners were bound with handcuffs and leg shackles, sacks were pulled over their heads, and they were dragged across the floor before being taken to solitary confinement in unknown locations. Several of these prisoners, including Ali Moezi (72 years old), Abolhassan Montazer (65 years old), and Abolhassan Hadi (66 years old), suffer from severe illnesses, making this assault particularly heinous.

Following this brutal attack, two political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, were also taken to solitary confinement and tragically executed shortly thereafter. Political prisoner Saeed Masouri, who has spent over 25 years in the regime’s prisons, was forcibly transferred to Zahedan Prison for exile.

This violent assault resulted in several prisoners sustaining severe injuries.

Escalating executions and unjust sentences

Compounding this dire situation, on July 25, the Mullah regime’s judiciary issued a death sentence against Yaqub Derakhshan (50 years old), incarcerated in Lakan Prison in Rasht, following an unlawful trial. Previously, on July 14, three prisoners named Farshad Etemadi-Far, Masoud Jamai, and Alireza Mardasi were each horrifyingly sentenced to death twice in Sheiban Prison in Ahvaz.

It is profoundly disturbing that the current situation in Iranian prisons bears chilling similarities in many respects to the beginning of the 1988 summer massacre, during which approximately 30,000 political prisoners were executed in Iran within a few months. The regime responsible for these egregious crimes continues to operate with impunity. This historical tragedy must not, under any circumstances, be allowed to happen again.

Urgent call for international intervention

To prevent a potential new massacre and to halt the executions of prisoners by the ruling regime in Iran, we urgently appeal to you—as the High Commissioner for Human Rights—as well as to the UN Human Rights Council, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, the Fact-Finding Mission, and the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. We implore you to take the quickest possible action, using all available means, against the executions of these individuals and other prisoners currently facing imminent death.

We are exerting every effort to make the voices of the Iranian people, especially women, heard by the global community. Our goal is to exert pressure to halt executions, torture, repression, and all other inhumane acts of this nature.

Sincerely,

Homar Amani,

President, Welle – Association for Human Rights and Freedom

Copies Sent To:

• Mr. António Guterres – UN Secretary-General
  • sgcentral@un.org, hqpi00@unhcr.org
• Ms. Mai Sato – UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran
  • hrc-sr-iran@un.org
• Ms. Sara Hossain – Chair of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran
  • ffmiran@un.org
• Mr. Morris Tidball-Binz – Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
  • hrc-sr-eje@un.org
• Ms. Alice Jill Edwards – Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
  • hrc-sr-torture@un.org
• Ms. Gabriella Citroni – Chair of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

Take action: stand against a potential massacre in Iran!

The lives of political prisoners in Iran hang in the balance. The parallels to the 1988 massacre are terrifyingly clear, and international action is critically needed now.

• Amplify this appeal: Share this urgent call widely on social media to pressure international bodies and governments. Use hashtags like #StopIranExecutions #SaveIranianPrisoners #HumanRightsIran.
• Contact officials: Reach out to your country’s foreign ministry and human rights representatives. Demand immediate diplomatic intervention to prevent further executions.
• Support Verein Welle: Your donation enables us to continue our vital work in documenting abuses and advocating for the voiceless in Iran.

Silence is complicity. Let’s unite to prevent another tragedy in Iran.