{"id":344498,"date":"2026-04-21T14:30:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:30:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=344498"},"modified":"2026-04-21T14:30:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-21T13:30:45","slug":"why-the-iranian-regime-is-executing-pmoi-members-under-the-pretext-of-foreign-spies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-resistance\/why-the-iranian-regime-is-executing-pmoi-members-under-the-pretext-of-foreign-spies\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Iranian Regime Is Executing PMOI Members Under the Pretext of Foreign Spies"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"In
In a video message to the Geneva Grand Council on November 20, 2025, NCRI President-elect holds the images of 17 political prisoners affiliated with the PMOI, including Hamed Validi and Nima Shahi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Four-minute read<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

On April 20, 2026, the clerical regime in Iran executed two members of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) in Karaj Central Prison: Hamed Validi, a 45-year-old civil engineer, and Mohammad Masoum (Nima) Shahi, a 38-year-old technical worker. The judiciary\u2019s official outlet, Mizan News Agency, reported the hangings and described the men as \u201celements of an espionage network\u201d convicted of moharebeh<\/em>\u2014waging war against God\u2014along with \u201ccooperation with hostile groups,\u201d \u201cassembly and collusion against national security,\u201d and membership in a criminal group. Tasnim News Agency, aligned with the Revolutionary Guards, echoed the charges in nearly identical language, claiming the pair had maintained contacts \u201cthrough cyberspace\u201d and received training abroad before plotting actions inside Iran.<\/p>\n

These accusations follow a precise pattern the regime has applied to other PMOI members. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) documented the same tactic in its September 27, 2025, statement<\/a>, warning that the judiciary in Alborz Province was preparing death sentences by \u201cfalsely linking\u201d prisoners to foreign espionage solely on the basis of their known PMOI affiliation. The NCRI had submitted the names of Validi, Shahi, and two others to the United Nations and international human-rights bodies in May 2025\u2014explicitly to preempt exactly this fabrication.<\/p>\n

A Timeline That Exposes the Pretext<\/h2>\n

The chronology alone dismantles the espionage claim. Validi and Shahi were arrested on May 13, 2025\u2014well before any regional conflict the regime later invoked. Their cases had already been publicized by the Iranian Resistance months earlier. The judiciary waited until September 2025 to issue death sentences and carried them out only in April 2026, after nearly a year in custody. This sequence is not consistent with the discovery of active foreign operatives; it matches the regime\u2019s routine practice of retrofitting political cases with national-security labels to justify eliminating organized dissidents.<\/p>\n

The NCRI\u2019s September 2025 statement described the proceedings as a \u201cfraudulent show and clerical kangaroo court,\u201d noting that the only \u201cevidence\u201d cited was the prisoners\u2019 long-standing ties to the PMOI<\/a>. No independent verification of foreign contacts has ever been presented beyond the regime\u2019s own media assertions.<\/p>\n

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"Why would a successful, highly educated civil engineer like Hamed Validi choose a path of such extreme risk? Why would young Iranians with promising careers and families sacrifice everything to join the #MEKResistanceUnits<\/a>? What is it about the message of organized resistance\u2026<\/p>\n

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n