More than 520 political and public figures from around the world have called for an immediate end to executions in Iran, warning that the clerical dictatorship’s escalating wave of killings could amount to crimes against humanity.
The signatories—among them former world leaders, parliamentarians, former ministers, mayors, legal experts, and human rights advocates—stated that since the regime’s president Masoud Pezeshkian took office in August 2024, “over 1,800 executions have been carried out.”
They said the systematic execution of women—at least 37 since the beginning of 2025—is “unprecedented worldwide.”
The joint statement condemns decades of entrenched impunity that have allowed such crimes to persist. It cites the destruction of mass graves of victims from the 1988 massacre of political prisoners as part of an effort to erase evidence.
The appeal recalls that on July 8, 2025, the state-run Fars News Agency praised that massacre as a “successful historical experience”—a comment described by UN Special Rapporteur Javaid Rehman as confirmation of ongoing crimes against humanity.
Amnesty International warned on 3 September 2025 of a possible repeat of the 1988 killings, while UN High Commissioner Volker Türk said on 28 July that at least 48 people were on death row, 12 at imminent risk of execution.
“Silence and inaction by the international community pave the way for another massacre in Iran,” the statement reads.
#Iran News Alert
Over 520 political figures, lawmakers, former ministers, mayors, jurists, and human rights advocates from around the world have issued a joint statement condemning the 1,800 executions in Iran since August 2024 under Pezeshkian’s presidency.
They called for the… pic.twitter.com/b7oOhmWE2d— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) October 19, 2025
No to executions. No to impunity for the perpetrators of the 1988 massacre.
International community’s silence and inaction paves the way for another massacre in Iran
We, the undersigned, call on the international community to urgently act against the accelerating wave of executions in Iran.
Since Pezeshkian, president of the religious dictatorship took office in August 2024, over 1,800 executions have been carried out. In September 2025 alone, 50 people were executed in just one week, that is, one execution every 3.5 hours. On one single day of that week, 22 people, including two women, were hanged. The systematic execution of women, with at least 37 cases since the beginning of 2025, is unprecedented worldwide.
Currently, more than 50 political prisoners, including 3 women, are on death row. In July 2025, the regime executed Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani on charges of membership in the MEK, and vague charges such as “Moharebeh” (waging war against God). 15 others face execution on the same charges.
Decades of entrenched impunity have paved the way for such crimes. On July 8, 2025, the state-run Fars News Agency, in an editorial, praised the 1988 massacre of 30,000 political prisoners as a “successful historical experience” and called for its repetition. Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, described this massacre in his last report in 2024 as a crime against humanity and genocide. Meanwhile, the regime’s destruction of mass graves of those executed is part of its effort to erase the traces of these crimes.
Amnesty International, on September 3, 2025, warned of a repeat of the 1988 massacre. Volker Turk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, also stated on July 28 that there are at least 48 people currently on death row – 12 of whom are believed to be at imminent risk of execution.”
We demand:
• Immediate halt to all executions in Iran, especially the executions of political prisoners facing imminent execution.
• Prosecution of those responsible for past and present crimes, including the 1988 massacre.
- Sanctions on those responsible for human rights abuses, including prison authorities, judges, and executioners.
- Urgent action by the UN Special Rapporteur and UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and all international human rights bodies to prevent another massacre in Iran.
For affiliation with the #PMOI /MEK main democratic opposition the Tehran regime placed 17 political prisoners on execution list. #FreeIran! pic.twitter.com/yVPQwv1Ptg
— Petras Austrevicius (@petras_petras) October 22, 2025
Globally, Iran comes only behind China as the world’s most ardent and prolific executioner – as of yesterday, the number of barbaric executions under President Masoud Pezeshkian surpassed 2,000 in just 14 and a half months. AFP has reported on a mass sit-in and hunger strike by… pic.twitter.com/2U0yx3TJaK
— Lord (David) Alton (@DavidAltonHL) October 16, 2025