Iran executed four individuals – Babak Alipour, Pouya Ghobadi, Akbar (Shahrokh) Daneshvarkar, and Mohammad Taghavi Sangdehi – in the past two days, Amnesty International reported, raising fears of a surge in executions targeting dissidents, and protesters. The executions, carried out in secret, occurred without advance notice to families or legal representation, and authorities have reportedly withheld the bodies of at least three of the executed men.
Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, condemned the actions, stating the Iranian authorities are “weaponizing the death penalty to eradicate dissenting voices and further terrify people,” even as the country faces external conflict. The timing of the executions, coinciding with ongoing aerial bombardment by Israel and the USA, has intensified concerns about the government’s motives.
According to Amnesty International, the four executed men were convicted of baghi – “armed rebellion against the state” – following grossly unfair trials before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran in October 2024. They were accused of affiliation with the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), allegations they consistently denied. The trials were characterized by reliance on forced “confessions” and were completed in a matter of hours.
Seven other individuals – Vahid Bani Amerian, Abolhassan Montazer, Mohammad Amin Biglari, Ali Fahim, Abolfazl Salehi Siavashani, Amirhossein Hatami, and Shahin Vahedparast Kolo – are now at imminent risk of execution. Bani Amerian and Montazer, convicted in the same case as the executed men, were transferred to an unidentified location on March 30th, and their fate remains unknown. Five protesters – Biglari, Fahim, Salehi Siavashani, Hatami, and Vahedparast Kolo – were moved from Ghezel Hesar prison to an undisclosed location this morning, further escalating fears.
All eleven men reportedly endured torture and ill-treatment during detention, including beatings, floggings, prolonged solitary confinement, and threats at gunpoint. Saleh Mohammadi, executed on March 19th along with Mehdi Ghasemi and Saeed Davoudi, retracted his “confessions” in court, claiming they were extracted under torture, but the court dismissed his claims without investigation. He had sustained hand fractures as a result of beatings, according to an informed source.
Biglari was reportedly forcibly disappeared for weeks before being transferred to Ghezel Hesar prison. Authorities denied him access to legal counsel during the initial investigation and assigned a state-appointed lawyer who, according to sources, failed to adequately represent his interests. His family’s attempts to secure independent legal representation were also thwarted, hindering his ability to appeal the verdict.
The executions of the four men follow the execution of Kouroush Keyvani on espionage-related charges on March 18th. Seven men were sentenced to death for “enmity against God” (moharebeh) after being accused of setting a Basij base on fire in Tehran in January 2026, with sentences issued less than a month after their arrests.
Amnesty International reports that Iranian authorities have significantly increased the use of the death penalty since the 2022 “Woman Life Freedom” uprising, executing thousands following grossly unfair trials. The pace of executions has accelerated following the 12-day war in 2025 and has reached levels not seen in over four decades. The organization calls for an immediate halt to all executions and a moratorium on the death penalty, citing violations of the right to life and the use of arbitrary punishments.
As of this afternoon, Iranian authorities have not commented on the recent executions or the fate of those at imminent risk. The United Nations has not issued a statement regarding the escalating situation.
