A coalition of 301 international experts has issued an urgent warning to the United Nations and its member states, demanding immediate action to stop a growing wave of executions in Iran that they say bears disturbing resemblance to the 1988 massacre of political prisoners.
In a joint statement released on July 23, 2025, the signatories emphasized that “the risk of another mass atrocity, reminiscent of the 1988 massacre, is alarmingly real.” They criticized the inaction of the global community and urged key UN bodies to intervene before the situation escalates further.
The alarm follows a chilling editorial published on July 7 by Fars News Agency, which is affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Titled “Why the 1988 Executions Should Be Repeated”, the editorial praised the mass execution of over 30,000 political prisoners in 1988 as a “successful historical experience.” The statement denounced this editorial as “a dangerous effort to normalize state-sponsored killings” and a blatant call for the repetition of past atrocities.
The situation on the ground appears to reflect the regime’s renewed appetite for repression. On July 12, three political activists—Farshad Etemadi-Far, Masoud Jamei, and Alireza Mardasi—were sentenced to death by the Ahvaz Revolutionary Court after enduring two years of torture. They were convicted of moharebeh (waging war on God), a charge routinely used against regime opponents, over their alleged support for the People Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
In addition, the Supreme Court recently rejected a final appeal for two more political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, putting them at imminent risk of execution. The experts noted that “there are currently dozens of political prisoners on death row on similar charges,” reinforcing the sense that an orchestrated campaign is underway.
Joint statement by international experts, Nobel laureates and political leaders urging immediate UN action to save the lives of Iranian political prisoners & to prevent a repeat of Iran's #1988Massacre
CC: @drmaisato @volker_turk #StopExecutionsInIran pic.twitter.com/1jfSFQpPiX
— Justice for the Victims of 1988 Massacre in Iran (@jvmifoundation) July 23, 2025
Since regime president Masoud Pezeshkian assumed office, the pace of executions has sharply increased. The statement reports that “over 1,300” executions have taken place under his tenure, including “some 650 in 2025 alone.”
The experts linked this escalation to the regime’s attempt to suppress dissent following the June 13 outbreak of hostilities and the subsequent ceasefire. A joint statement by ten UN Special Procedure mandates on July 4 warned that Iranian state media had begun calling for mass surveillance and killings of dissidents, echoing the deadly rhetoric that preceded the 1988 massacre.
One of the most chilling indicators came from inside Iran’s prison system. Saeed Masouri, a political prisoner and leading figure in the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, managed to smuggle out a letter from Ghezel Hesar Prison. In it, he warned that the regime is preparing a new wave of executions. “Just as in 1988,” he wrote, “a crime is in progress.”
The 1988 massacre—carried out under the orders of then-Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini—resulted in the systematic execution of more than 30,000 political prisoners, mostly affiliated with the PMOI. The 2024 report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran recognized these atrocities as “ongoing crimes against humanity and genocide.”
🚨 Over 300 human rights figures appeal to the UN to save the lives of Iran's political prisoners and to prevent a repeat of the #1988Massacre
“The risk of another mass atrocity, reminiscent of the 1988 massacre, is alarmingly real.”
CC: @drmaisato @volker_turk @AgnesCallamard https://t.co/qgi6zNgZ8j pic.twitter.com/qw0kKOxI31
— M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) July 23, 2025
In their statement, the 301 signatories issued a series of specific demands. They urged Dr. Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, and the UN’s Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI) to immediately condemn the current wave of incitement and executions. They also called on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk “to speak out unequivocally against Iran’s systematic human rights violations.”
Additionally, they urged Canada and other sponsors of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee resolution on Iran to explicitly reference the 1988 massacre in this year’s resolution. “The international community failed to act in 1988. It must not fail again,” they warned.
The signatories concluded with a stark reminder: “The responsibility to prevent these crimes against humanity from being repeated rests with the United Nations and its member states.”
As Iran regime’s judiciary tightens its grip on political prisoners and state-affiliated media openly calls for mass executions, human rights advocates fear history may be poised to repeat itself—unless the world acts swiftly.