London, January 28, 2025 – A conference in the UK Parliament, titled “Iran: The Alarming Surge in Executions,” brought together British lawmakers, former political prisoners, and human rights advocates to condemn the Iranian regime’s escalating use of the death penalty. The event, organized by the Association of Former Political Prisoners, called for urgent action to halt the execution of political prisoners Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, as well as broader measures against Tehran’s human rights violations.
Neda Zabeti, an Iranian human rights activist, delivered a powerful address, stressing the regime’s increasing brutality: “The number of executions taking place per year is reaching unprecedented levels as the Iranian regime continues to act with impunity.” She pointed out that Iran had the highest number of confirmed executions in 2023, and under its new so-called reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian, at least 774 individuals had been executed since August 2024—an 85% increase from the previous year.
Zabeti condemned the regime’s use of vague and arbitrary charges such as “Enmity against God” and “Spreading corruption on Earth” to justify executions, stressing: “UN experts have explicitly stated that the death penalty as currently practiced in Iran amounts to unlawful execution.” She called on the UK government to take immediate and decisive action, including urging the Iranian regime to release all political prisoners and annulling the death sentences of eight PMOI members currently on death row. “Tomorrow is too late,” she warned.
🚨 A conference held at the UK Parliament on Jan 28, 2025, exposed Iran’s alarming surge in executions. Lawmakers & activists called for urgent action, including blacklisting the IRGC & supporting Iranian resistance.#FreeIran2025 #نه_به_اعدام pic.twitter.com/X2hGxk26ko
— SIMAY AZADI TV (@en_simayazadi) January 31, 2025
Baroness Nuala O’Loan strongly condemned the Iranian regime’s judiciary, highlighting its reliance on forced confessions and mock trials. She declared: “Neither the judiciary nor these executions are about justice. They are tools of oppression, aimed at silencing dissent and crushing the democratic opposition.”
O’Loan praised the No to Executions Campaign, in which Iranian political prisoners stage weekly hunger strikes despite life-threatening conditions, describing it as “quite remarkable.” She urged the UK government to finally act by prescribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization, as the U.S. and Canada have already done, and by leading efforts at the UN to hold Iran accountable under international law. “Iran’s people need action, not just words,” she declared.
Lord Richard Whitty decried Western complacency in confronting Iran’s human rights violations: “At the moment, there are too many people turning a blind eye. We need political and public pressure in Europe and beyond to ensure that the world sees Iran as a blot on humanity.”
He insisted that Western governments must cut all political and economic support to Iran’s leadership: “We need to ensure that the levers of power available to Western governments are fully used. We’ve been too slow. All that does is prolong the agony.”
British MP David Pinto-Duschinsky shared his deep concern over the regime’s mass executions and suppression of rights: “What’s happening right now breaks my heart. We have a so-called moderate as president, yet we have hundreds of people being executed.” He reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the Iranian Resistance, stating: “What we want to see is a free Iran.”
Jim Shannon, Chair of the UK Parliament’s Freedom of Religion Group, reflected on Iran’s history of brutal repression, recalling images of women and girls attacked with acid for defying the regime’s restrictions. “As a Christian and a politician, I believe those responsible must be held accountable in this world, not just the next,” he said.
Shannon called on the UK government to actively work toward bringing the Iranian regime before the UN Security Council, stressing: “The day will come when Iran will be free, but the people of Iran need support from the rest of the world to achieve that.”
The UK Parliament held a session on Iran’s alarming rise in executions, urging global action to save political prisoners facing death and supporting campaigns against these injustices. #StopExecutionsInIran#FreeIran2025 https://t.co/etXSdLqRk3
— Academics In Exile Association (@iranianacademic) January 29, 2025
Former Welsh MP William Powell emphasized that while the Iranian government still holds tools of repression, it is also increasingly fragile: “Just months ago, none of us would have believed that the brutal Assad regime would be swept away. The Iranian regime is at once powerful and yet incredibly vulnerable.” He committed to continuing parliamentary efforts to support Iranian opposition movements.
Former Iranian political prisoners delivered firsthand testimonies of torture, forced confessions, and mass executions.
Ahmad Ebrahimi, who survived the regime’s 1988 massacre, warned: “The Iranian regime uses executions as a tool to stay in power.” He highlighted that over 1,000 executions were carried out in 2024 alone, including dozens of political prisoners. “The global community must stand together to put an end to these atrocities and support the courageous efforts of the Iranian people.”
Jamshid Adhami, imprisoned for three years for opposing stoning sentences against women, spoke of the psychological terror inside Iran’s prisons: “Every day, prisoners count executions: 30, 40, sometimes 180 people in a single day. Every time the door opens, they think, ‘Am I next?’” He called on Western governments to make diplomatic relations with Iran conditional on halting executions.
Reza Rahmanfard, who spent five years in Iran’s prisons and lost his 19-year-old brother to execution, urged international solidarity: “This is a battlefield against tyranny and barbarism. Iran’s people need the UK to stand with them.”
Behrouz Ehsani & Mehdi Hassani are at imminent risk of execution in Iran after the Supreme Court upheld their death sentences after a grossly unfair trial. Authorities must immediately halt any plans to execute them & quash their convictions & sentences. https://t.co/FyQ1IJSiqi pic.twitter.com/6hu0lCBD14
— Amnesty Iran (@AmnestyIran) January 27, 2025
The conference concluded with an urgent appeal for immediate measures, including:
- Prescribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
- Bringing Iran’s human rights violations before the UN Security Council.
- Halting all economic and political support to the Iranian regime.
- Pressuring Tehran to release all political prisoners and abolish the death penalty.
As Baroness O’Loan declared: “One day, Iran will be free. But to get there, the Iranian people need the support of the rest of the world.”