A group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) has called on the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, to urgently intervene and stop the execution of two Iranian political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani, 69, and Mehdi Hassani, 48.
In a letter addressed to Kallas, the MEPs expressed grave concern over the imminent execution of the two prisoners, who were transferred on January 26 from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hessar Prison, a facility notorious for carrying out executions. The letter warns that their death sentences, upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court on January 7, follow an unjust trial marred by allegations of severe torture and due process violations.
“These men have been sentenced to death solely for their political activism and participation in the ‘No to Execution Tuesdays’ campaign, a movement against capital punishment that has spread to 34 prisons across Iran,” the MEPs wrote.
Update: 36MEPs have joined +300 experts…in urgently appealing to @Volker_Turk, @kajakallas, @EP_President & @drmaisato to save Behrouz Ehsani,69,&Mehdi Hassani, 48, Iranian political prisoners facing imminent execution#StopExecutionsInIran #SaveMehdiHassani #SaveBehrouzEhsani pic.twitter.com/tOwxQGv7QE
— Friends of a Free Iran – EP (@FOFI_EP) January 31, 2025
The letter cites the European Parliament’s January 23 resolution, which condemned the Iranian regime’s systematic repression of human rights and called for the release of political prisoners, particularly those on death row. The resolution also urged the expansion of EU sanctions to key Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, President Masoud Pezeshkian, and Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i.
The MEPs called on Kallas to publicly condemn the planned executions and mobilize EU mechanisms to pressure Tehran into halting the use of capital punishment as a tool of political oppression.
“We cannot remain silent in the face of such brazen violations of human rights,” they stressed, urging swift and decisive action from the EU leadership.
Today at the European Parliament.
A call to #StopExecutionsInIran
MEPs demonstrated solidarity with the Iranian people in their quest for freedom and their struggle to stop executions in Iran. pic.twitter.com/QSDtvxOmW5
— Friends of a Free Iran – EP (@FOFI_EP) December 17, 2024
The letter was signed by 19 MEPs from various political groups, including Francisco Assis, André Franqueira Rodrigues, Isilda Gomes, Carla Tavares, Estelle Ceulemans, Isabel Benjumea, Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, Rasmus Nordqvist, Villy Søvndal, Antonio López Istúriz, Hannes Heide, Catarina Vieira, Petras Auštrevičius, Tineke Strik, Javier Zarzalejos, Lucia Yar, Dirk Gotink, Ana Catarina Mendes, and Catarina Martins. It was issued under the banner of Friends of a Free Iran (FoFI), a parliamentary group advocating for democracy and human rights in Iran.