A Dreadful Reality: Torture, Executions, and Injustice in Iran's Death Cells
By Lea Verstl
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Terror resides in the grim confines of Iranian clerics' execution chambers.
Mehdi Hassani, currently ensnared in the shadows of Ghezel Hesar Prison, faces imminent execution. His crime? Criticizing the Iranian regime. His daughter, Maryam, a political activist in Germany, offers harrowing accounts of her father's ordeal in the prison's torture chambers.
On September 6, 2022, Maryam last saw her father. The initial silence transformed into a letter from Iranian security authorities, disclosing Mehdi's arrest and transfer to Evin Prison in Tehran. Throughout his life, Mehdi had been a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, according to his daughter. Now confined within the confines of Ghezel Hesar, infamously known as the last stop before execution in the province of Alborz, he awaits his demise.
The Iranian mullahs' brutal treatment of dissenters, including torture and executions, is vividly portrayed in a recent UN report. Last year, at least 975 individuals were executed in the country, marking the highest number since 2015, as reported by the UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif. Moreover, prisoners are often subjected to severe physical and psychological torture before being hanged.
Maryam Hassani claims that her father endured sustained injuries to his neck, back, and feet during his detention, necessitating urgent medical care that, sadly, remains denied. Torture methods in the prison allegedly include food and sleep deprivation. Officially, Mehdi was charged with offenses such as "armed rebellion against the state," "enmity against God," and "corruption on earth." In Iran, legislation is based on Sharia law, the divine order set by God according to Islam.
"They Threatened to Rape My Eight-Year-Old Brother"
Alongside physical torture, psychological pressure was leveraged to coerce false confessions from Hassani's father. "Multiple times in prison, they threatened him, stating they would harm my family, even claiming they would rape my eight-year-old brother," Hassani shared with ntv.de. The veracity of these statements cannot be independently confirmed, as access to death cell environments like those in Ghezel Hesar Prison is extensively restricted.
Hassani, her two siblings, and her mother are also barred from visiting the father. Permitted contact is sporadic, with calls occasionally possible. The 24-year-old immigrated to Germany subsequent to her father's arrest, remaining politically active in her new home.
SIONLINE
Over 55 political prisoners currently face the death penalty in Iran, with their lives hanging precariously in the balance. This Saturday, in a bid to advocate for the federal government's intervention for their release, Maryam will participate in a demonstration.
Enrichment Data:
- A massive wave of executions is surging in Iran, reaching an alarming level since 2022. More than half of all registered executions were performed for offenses that, according to international law, should never warrant the death penalty, encompassing drug-related crimes and vaguely formulated allegations, such as "enmity against God" and "corruption on earth."
- At least 54 political prisoners, including women, are currently on death row in Iran. There is growing concern that the Iranian authorities might utilize the wartime chaos to execute these individuals as acts of reprisal and intimidation to curb dissent and instill fear within the populace.
- A recent spree of executions has been reported, with at least 110 executions carried out in April 2025 alone. This spree isn't limited to political dissidents; persecuted ethnic minorities and women are also targeted.
- Some political prisoners linked to the People's Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI), an outlawed opposition group, have been sentenced to death on charges such as "armed rebellion," "enmity against God," and "corruption on earth." For example, Pedram Madani, Mehdi Hassani, and Behrouz Ehsani Eslamlou, all accused of national security offenses and alleged affiliation with PMOI, face imminent execution.
- Torture and flawed trials are common practices in Iranian prisons, with detainees, including Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic, unfairly sentenced to death. Threats of execution, harm to family members, and forced confessions under torture are often employed to silence critics and political opponents.
- Human rights groups, such as the Center for Human Rights in Iran and Human Rights Watch, have urged international leaders to pressure Iran into halting retaliatory executions, upholding fair trials, and ensuring due process for all political prisoners.
Community policy must address the escalating human rights concerns in Iran, particularly the high number of executions and the use of torture as a means to coerce confessions. In the case of Mehdi Hassani, who faces imminent execution for criticizing the Iranian regime, employment policy should be implemented to provide support for his daughter, Maryam, a political activist in Germany. The general-news media should also cover the ongoing political crisis and violence within Iran, including the unfolding situation of Hassani and other political prisoners facing the death penalty. Politics and crime-and-justice issues intersect in this instance, as the unjust treatment of political prisoners leads to censorship and suppression of opposition voices.
