27 January 2025 :
Dear High Commissioner Türk,
Dear Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Iran Mai Sato
I urgently appeal for your intervention to save Behrouz Ehsani, 69, and Mehdi Hassani, 48, Iranian political prisoners facing imminent execution.
Their death sentences were confirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court on 7 January 2025, after an unjust trial for charges linked to their political activism.
On 26 January 2025, both were forcibly moved from Evin to Qezelhessar Prison, where most executions take place, under suspicious conditions, leading to protests among fellow inmates. This move, coupled with the cutting of communication lines, suggests authorities are preparing for their secret execution.
Both men were initially convicted in an unjust trial presided over by Judge Iman Afshari of Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on 16 September 2024. The charges against them included "rebellion (baghi), waging war against God (moharebeh), spreading corruption on earth (efsad-fil-arz), membership in the People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), gathering and colluding against national security, possession of classified information, and illegal possession of weapons and ammunition."
The sentences were imposed following credible reports of physical and psychological torture during their detention in Ward 209 of Evin Prison after their arrests in late 2022. Denied a fair trial, their appeals were summarily dismissed, violating Iran's obligations under international human rights law. Alarmingly, Iranian authorities executed approximately 1,000 prisoners last year, using mass executions to terrorise the population and suppress dissent.
Both Mr. Ehsani and Mr. Hassani are long-standing advocates for justice and human rights. Their participation in the year-long "No to Execution Tuesdays" campaign, which has spread to 34 prisons nationwide, reflects their commitment to resisting the death penalty and advocating for systemic change in Iran.
I respectfully urge you to use your leadership and moral authority to:
Condemn the imminent execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani and call for the Iranian authorities to halt these death sentences immediately.
Mobilise the international community to exert pressure on Iran to comply with its international human rights obligations and cease the use of the death penalty as a tool of political oppression.
Request urgent access for independent monitors to assess the conditions of political prisoners in Iran.
The international community cannot remain silent in the face of such brazen violations of human rights. Time is of the essence, and we respectfully urge you to act decisively and swiftly to prevent these executions. Thank you for your immediate attention to this urgent appeal.
Yours sincerely,
Elisabetta Zamparutti, (Italy) Treasurer of Hands off Cain, former member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and current member of the European Committee prevention torture (CPT) in respect of Italy
together with
Lord David Alton of Liverpool - (United Kingdom)
Chair, UK Parliament Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR); Member of the House of Lords
Dr. Mark Ellis - (United Kingdom)
Executive Director, International Bar Association (IBA)
Prof. William A. Schabas - (Canada)
Chair of the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict (2014-2015); Chair of the Board of Trustees at the UN Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights (2009-2011); President of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (2009-2011); Professor of international law at Middlesex University in London
Anne Ramberg - (Sweden)
Ad hoc Judge, European Court of Human Rights (ECHR); Board Member, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA); Chair, Board of Uppsala University; Former Secretary General, Swedish Bar Association
Hon. Richard J. Goldstone - (South Africa)
Former Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa; Former Chief Prosecutor of the United Nations International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda; Chair of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict (2009-2010); Honorary President of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
Prof. Wolfgang Schomburg - (Germany)
Judge, UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) (2001-2008); Judge, UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) (2003-2008); Judge, Federal Supreme Court of Germany (1995–2000)
Dr. Rowan Williams - (United Kingdom)
Former Archbishop of Canterbury
Anand Grover - (India)
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health (2008-2014); Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Dainius Pūras - (Lithuania)
UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health (2014-2020); Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council (2018-2019)
Maud De Boer-Buquicchio - (The Netherlands)
UN Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children (2014-2020); former Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe
Tahar Boumedra - (United Kingdom)
President, Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI); former Chief of UNAMI Human Rights Office and Representative of the HCHR in Iraq
Prof. David M. Crane - (United States)
Founding Chief Prosecutor, UN Special Court for Sierra Leone
Kate Mackintosh - (United Kingdom)
Executive Director, Promise Institute Europe, UCLA School of Law
Elfriede Jelinek - (Austria)
2004 Nobel Laureate in Literature
Prof. Jean-Pierre Sauvage - (France)
2016 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
Ingrid Betancourt - (Colombia)
Former Senator and Presidential candidate
Stanislav Pavlovschi - (Moldova)
Judge, European Court of Human Rights (2001-2008); Minister of Justice of Moldova (2019)
Miriam Ekiudoko - (Hungary)
Member of the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (2021-present)
Amb. Zorica Marić-Djordjević - (Montenegro)
Ambassador of Montenegro to the UN Human Rights Council and WTO (2013-2018)
Amb. Amanda Ellis - (New Zealand)
Ambassador and Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations in Geneva (2013-2016); Prime Minister’s Special Envoy and inaugural Ambassador for Women and Girls
Amb. Filloreta Kodra - (Albania)
Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Albania to the United Nations in Geneva
Amb. Ken Blackwell - (United States)
Former US Ambassador to the UN Commission on Human Rights
Amb. Tudor Ulianovschi - (Moldova)
Foreign Minister of Moldova (2018-2019); Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva (2016-2018)
Dr. Maude Barlow - (Canada)
Former Senior Advisor on Water to the President of the United Nations General Assembly; Former Chairperson of the Council of Canadians
Prof. Rebecca Cook - (Canada)
Professor Emerita, Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto
Prof. Brice Dickson - (United Kingdom)
Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (1999-2005)
Prof. Nicholas Grief - (United Kingdom)
Emeritus Professor of Law, University of Kent
Amos Waldman - (United Kingdom)
Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers; Member of the List of Counsel for the International Criminal Court (ICC)
Dominique Attias - (France)
Former President, European Bars Federation / Fédération des Barreaux d’Europe (FBE)
Prof. Errol P. Mendes - (Canada)
President, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Canadian Section; Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Prof. Steven Leonard Jacobs - (United States)
Professor of Religious Studies, University of Alabama; former First Vice-President, International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS)
Malcolm Fowler - (United Kingdom)
Solicitor and Higher Court Advocate, member of JVMI, and formerly of the Council and Human Rights Committee of the Law Society of England and Wales
Prof. Ben Kiernan - (United States)
Founding Director, Cambodian Genocide Program, Yale University; Founding Director of the Genocide Studies Program (1998-2015) at Yale University
Jonathan Arkush - (United Kingdom)
Barrister, Enterprise Chambers
Paulo Casaca - (Portugal)
Executive Director, South Asia Democratic Forum; Former Member of the European Parliament
Prof. Stephen Eric Bronner - (United States)
Co-Director, International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue (ICDD); Board of Governors Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science, Rutgers University
Daniele Vecchi - (Italy)
Partner, Gianni & Origoni
Prof. Debórah Dwork - (United States)
Director, Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity at The Graduate Center—City University of New York (CUNY)
Stephanie Barwise KC - (United Kingdom)
Barrister
Ms Tarazi Mohammed Sheikh - (Bangladesh)
Human Rights Defender
Prof. Alexander Alvarez - (United States)
Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Northern Arizona University
Tracy Edwards MBE - (United Kingdom)
Founder, The Maiden Factor
Prof. Pearl Eliadis - (Canada)
Associate Professor (Professional), McGill University
Dr. Victoria Sanford - (United States)
Founding Director, Center for Human Rights & Peace Studies at Lehman College-City University of New York (CUNI)
Prof. Marie Fox - (United Kingdom)
Queen Victoria Chair of Law, School of Law and Social Justice, University of Liverpool
David Matas - (Canada)
Human rights lawyer and Co-Founder of International Coalition To End Transplant Abuse In China
Christina Blacklaws - (United Kingdom)
President of the Law Society of England and Wales (2018-2019)
Ahmet Cemil Yildirim - (Kuwait)
Associate Professor of Comparative Law, Gulf University for Science and Technology
Dr. Yevgeniy Zhovtis - (Kazakhstan)
Chief Expert-Consultant, Member of the Board, Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (KIBHR)
Dr. Jared O. Bell - (United States)
Program Manager, Europe and Eurasia, American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative
Barry Coburn - (United States)
Attorney, Coburn & Greenbaum PLLC
Prof. Elaine Arnull - (United Kingdom)
Associate Dean, Director of the National Hub for Social Innovation and Technology and Professor, University of Wolverhampton
Jeff Kaufman - (United States)
Director, writer, producer of the documentary about Iranian human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh “Nasrin"
Prof. Siobhan Wills - (Northern Ireland)
Director, Transitional Justice Institute (TJI), Ulster University; Professor of Law, School of Law, Ulster University
Tom Allen - (United Kingdom)
Barrister
The Hon. Tony Clement PC - (Canada)
Former Member of Parliament from Canada; former Canadian Minister of Industry, Minister of Health and President of the Treasury Board
Gabrielle Louise McIntyre - (Australia/Cyprus)
International Consultant, Lex Collective; Climate Counsel, Anti-Corruption Authority
Prof. Roger S. Clark - (New Zealand)
Member, UN Committee on Crime Prevention and Control (1987-1990)
Prof. John Packer - (Canada)
Former UN Staff Member, Member of the UN's Standby Team of Mediation Experts (2012-2014); Director of the Human Rights Research and Education Centre (HRREC), Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa
Klaus U. Rackwitz - (Germany)
Former Director, International Nuremberg Principles Academy
Prof. Sara Chandler KC (Hon) - (United Kingdom)
Secretary to the Human Rights Commission of the European Bars Federation (FBE) and Former President of the FBE; Former Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Law Society of England & Wales
Hon. Dr. Jocelynne A. Scutt - (Australia)
Former Anti-Discrimination Commissioner of Tasmania; former judge on the High Court of Fiji
Melissa Parke - (Australia)
Member, UN Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen (2017–2021); Former Federal Labor Member for Fremantle; Former Minister for International Development (AusAID)
Rabbi Abraham Cooper - (United States)
Chair, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (2023-2024); Associate Dean and Director of Global Social Action, Simon Wiesenthal Center
Thomas F. Creed - (Ireland)
Senior Counsel
Sonja Biserko - (Serbia)
Member, UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (2013-2014); Founder and President of the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
Prof. David E. Guinn - (United States)
Public Service Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany - State University of New York
Justice for the Victims of the 1988 Massacre in Iran (JVMI) - (United Kingdom)
Iran Human Rights Monitor (IranHRM) – (Sweden)
World Without Genocide - (United States)
Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, The Graduate Center—City University of New York (CUNY) - (United States)
International Council for Diplomacy and Dialogue (ICDD) - (France)
Hands off Cain (Italy)
