Iran Hangs Two PMOI Members Amid Ongoing US‑Israeli Conflict, Raising International Human‑Rights Alarm

Iran carried out the execution of Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian on Saturday morning, following a Supreme Court ruling that confirmed their death sentences for membership in the outlawed People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and involvement in "armed rebellion" through multiple terrorist acts.

The two men were hanged after a Revolutionary Court sentenced them in late 2024, a case that underscores Tehran's intensified crackdown on dissent amid the US‑Israeli war on Iran that began on February 28.

This latest execution follows the hanging of four other PMOI members—Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi—on March 30‑31, bringing the total number of executed opposition figures to six since the conflict escalated.

The PMOI condemned the hangings in an April 2 statement, labeling Tehran's actions a "futile" attempt to suppress opposition and warning that such brutality will only fuel the resolve of Iran’s youth to challenge the regime.

Human‑rights groups have also decried the executions. Amnesty International reported that the men were allegedly tortured while in custody and transferred to an undisclosed location shortly before their deaths. The organization warned that additional protesters—some sentenced to death for participation in the January anti‑government demonstrations—could face execution after being moved from Ghezel Hesar prison.

Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, said, "It is unconscionable that even as the population endures mass bereavement from aerial bombardments, the Islamic Republic continues to weaponize the death penalty to eradicate dissenting voices and terrorise its people."

The wave of hangings also includes the case of Kouroush Keyvani, a dual Iranian‑Swedish national convicted of spying for Israel, whose execution sparked outrage in Stockholm and the European Union. Another individual convicted of acting on behalf of Israel and the United States during the protests was executed on Thursday.

These developments occur against a backdrop of intensified military confrontations, with Iran reporting the downing of U.S. aircraft and ongoing aerial bombardments by Israel and the United States, further complicating the nation’s internal security landscape.

International observers warn that the continued use of capital punishment as a tool of political repression not only violates human‑rights norms but also risks deepening regional instability as the war persists.