A coalition of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has submitted a joint written statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, urging immediate and decisive action to address the grave human rights situation in the Iranian regime. The NGOs call on Member and Observer States of the United Nations Human Rights Council to “urgently confront the escalating wave of political executions and entrenched impunity in the Islamic Republic of Iran”. They warn that “The risk of another mass atrocity, reminiscent of the 1988 massacre, is alarmingly real”.
Alarming State-Sponsored Rhetoric
A significant concern highlighted in the statement is the dangerous rhetoric emanating from state-linked media. “On 7 July 2025, Fars News—linked to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC)—published an editorial praising the 1988 executions of over 30,000 political prisoners as a ‘successful historical experience’”. The editorial, provocatively titled “‘Why the 1988 Executions Should Be Repeated’”, explicitly “openly advocated for similar measures against current detainees, framing political dissent as a threat to national security”. This “rhetoric reflects a dangerous effort to normalize state-sponsored killings”.
Escalation of Executions and Gross Violations of Due Process
The statement details several recent executions and ongoing threats to political prisoners. “On 27 July 2025, political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani (70) and Mehdi Hassani (48) were executed in Qezel Hesar Prison without prior notice to them or their families, who were also denied a final visit”. They had been arrested in late 2022, subjected to torture to extract forced confessions, and tried in “grossly unfair proceedings” before the Tehran Revolutionary Court. Their convictions and death sentences for charges including “armed rebellion against the state” (baghi), “waging war on God” (moharebeh), and “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) were upheld by the Supreme Court, related to their membership in the political opposition group PMOI (MEK).
Execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani Marks a Turning Point in Iran’s Struggle for Freedomhttps://t.co/plx012xVgA
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) July 30, 2025
Another case involves “Political prisoner Yaqub Derakhshan (50) was sentenced to death on 24 July 2025 by the Rasht Revolutionary Court after a sham trial on the charge of ‘rebellion’ (baghi) over his alleged membership in the PMOI”. He was denied legal counsel, tried via video conference, and sentenced without evidence, constituting “gross violations of due process”. Additionally, “On 12 July 2025, three opposition activists—Farshad Etemadi-Far (30), Masoud Jamei (47), and Alireza Mardasi (52)—were sentenced to death by the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court after two years of torture, accused of ‘waging war on God’ (moharebeh) over their support for the opposition PMOI”. The NGOs warn that “There are currently dozens of other political prisoners on death row, including 14 facing charges similar to Ehsani and Hassani,” who “are considered to be in imminent danger”.
Since the regime’s president Masoud Pezeshkian took office, “executions have surged—with over 1,400 carried out, some 650 in 2025 alone,” the statement warns.
Echoes of 1988 and International Failure
These incitements and executions deeply resonate with the “horrors of 1988, when a fatwa from then-Supreme Leader Khomeini led to mass executions targeting PMOI members and other dissidents,” the signatories warn. A landmark report in July 2024 by the then-UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights conditions in Iran “described those extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances as ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide”.
#Iran News: Commentary Seeks to Whitewash #1988Massacre, Shield Khamenei’s Rolehttps://t.co/eu4efQ27st
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 22, 2025
Warning signs are intensifying, the organizations warn. On 4 July 2025, “ten UN Special Procedures expressed alarm over the crackdown in the Islamic Republic of Iran… noting that state-media rhetoric, including calls for ‘surveillance’ and ‘killings’, echoes the ‘1988 atrocities’”.
Political prisoner Saeed Masouri, a key figure in the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, smuggled out a letter warning that his removal was a prelude to further executions and that, “just as in 1988, ‘a crime is in progress’”.
The NGOs emphasize a critical historical lesson: “The international community failed to act in 1988. It must not fail again”. The responsibility to prevent these crimes against humanity from being repeated “rests with the United Nations and its member states”.
Urgent Recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council
To address this dire situation, the NGOs urge the United Nations Human Rights Council and its Member States to take immediate and decisive action, proposing the following recommendations:
- Investigation and Condemnation of Incitement to Atrocity Crimes: The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFMI) should “urgently investigate the Fars News Agency’s editorial as incitement to commit atrocity crimes and issue a public condemnation”, noting that “This rhetoric violates international human rights law, including the prohibition on incitement to violence and mass murder.”
IRGC-run Fars News Calls for Repeat of 1988 Massacre Amid Crumbling Authority and Fear of PMOI #Ira https://t.co/vxTnspD4Ib
— Farideh Karimi (@KarimiFarideh) July 17, 2025
- Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms: Building on the Special Rapporteur’s 2024 report, the UN Human Rights Council must “establish an international investigative and accountability mechanism to preserve evidence, document ongoing violations, and pursue justice for the 1988 massacre and related crimes”.
- Urgent Measures to Prevent Further Executions: The international community must take urgent steps to prevent Iran from executing political prisoners on death row, including “strong public condemnations, diplomatic pressure, and targeted sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for these violations”.
- Protection for Victims, Survivors, and Human Rights Defenders: The UN must take concrete steps to protect survivors, victims’ families, and human rights defenders in Iran and the diaspora, who face harassment and reprisals. The Fars News editorial particularly places these individuals at heightened risk.
#Iran Regime Seeks to Erase Evidence of 1980s Executions by Destroying Behesht-e-Zahra Section 41https://t.co/iDuulnkxO8
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) August 21, 2025
- Inclusion in UN Resolutions: The UN General Assembly’s Third Committee should “include specific references to the 1988 massacre and ongoing threats, such as those expressed by Fars News, in its 2025 resolution on the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
- Addressing Enforced Disappearances: The Special Rapporteur’s upcoming report on human rights in Iran should “continue to document and challenge the impunity stemming from the 1988 mass extra-legal executions and enforced disappearances, which constitute ongoing crimes against humanity”.
- The statement concludes with a powerful plea: “The victims of the 1988 massacre and the Iranian people deserve nothing less than truth, justice, and accountability. The responsibility to prevent these crimes against humanity from being repeated rests with the United Nations and its Member States. We must not repeat the silence of 1988”.