No to Execution, Yes to Free Life!

International Day of Political Prisoners: Fate of Nine Kurdish Detainees in Iran Still Unknown As October 30, the International Day of Political Prisoners, is observed, families of Kurdish activists and detainees subjected to enforced disappearance in Iran are still waiting for answers. Despite repeated appeals to security services and judicial authorities, they have received no clear information about their loved ones’ fate, health or whereabouts. Those named in human rights reports include Mohsen Ghaderi, Sara Rashidi Kachlanlou, Arman Khaleghpanah, Zahra Pirdehghan, Parvin “Akhtar” Rasegh Ghezelbash, Khaled Barzanji and Sirwan Habibi, also known as Aram Sine. According to these reports, they were arrested in different parts of Kurdistan from June 2025 onwards. Authorities have refused to acknowledge their detention or disclose where they are being held. Idris Faqihi and Osman Mame have been missing for years following their reported arrests. Their families still have no reliable information about what has happened to them. In the case of Arman Khaleghpanah, a Kurdish man from Saqqez, initial reports said he had been killed in March 2026. More recent reports, quoting his family, say he was wounded when security forces opened fire and was then taken to an unknown location. His family has received neither his body nor a death certificate, and no clear official account of his fate. It remains unclear whether he is alive. Khaled Barzanji has reportedly had no contact with his family since his arrest on July 10, 2026, in Uch Tappeh village near Bukan. Reports say he has been denied access to a lawyer, while authorities have refused to disclose his whereabouts. The reports describe a shared pattern: authorities deny or fail to acknowledge arrests, conceal places of detention, and cut off contact with families and lawyers. This leaves relatives uncertain about their loved ones’ safety and makes it difficult for them to seek answers through the courts. International appeals marking this year’s International Day of Political Prisoners have stressed the need to keep prisoners’ names in public view, support their families and hold those responsible for abuses accountable. In these disappearance cases, urgent demands include revealing the missing individuals’ fate and whereabouts and ending their families’ prolonged uncertainty.

International Day of Political Prisoners: Concern for at Least 14 Kurdish Prisoners Facing Death Sentences in Iran As October 30, the International Day of Political Prisoners, is marked worldwide, a review of published human rights reports identifies at least 14 Kurdish political prisoners and protesters facing death sentences in Iran. This list brings together reported cases and includes both initial court rulings and sentences upheld on appeal. Pakhshan Azizi, Hatem Ozdemir, Yousef Ahmadi, Pezhman Touberehrizi, Arman Marefati, Mohammad Faraji, Raouf Sheikh-Maroufi and Mohsen Eslamkhah are eight of these prisoners. Earlier human rights reports warned that they could face execution. The reports described unfair and secretive proceedings, torture, pressure to obtain forced confessions, and violations of their right to defend themselves. Hatem Ozdemir is a Kurdish citizen of Turkey imprisoned in Iran. Khosrow Mohammadnia, Masoud Toushmalani, Sirwan Shabani, Borzou Rezaei and Omran Amani are five others on the list. They were sentenced to death in connection with the January 2026 protests. The sentences against the first three were reported on October 1, and Rezaei’s on October 6. On October 29, it was reported that 21-year-old Omran Amani had been formally informed of his death sentence at Great Tehran Penitentiary. Verisheh Moradi, a Kurdish political activist and member of the East Kurdistan Free Women’s Society, is also among the 14. On October 14, Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced her to death for a second time. The Supreme Court had overturned her earlier sentence because of an incomplete investigation and problems with the trial process. Her lawyers say the court repeated the death sentence without addressing those problems. The cases are at different stages of the legal process. The Supreme Court has previously upheld the death sentences against Pakhshan Azizi, Hatem Ozdemir and Yousef Ahmadi. One of Ahmadi’s two death sentences was changed to financial compensation and imprisonment. However, his other death sentence, on a charge of “armed rebellion,” remains in place. This year’s International Day of Political Prisoners places a strong emphasis on keeping prisoners’ names in public view and supporting their families. In a joint statement, the October 30 Coalition called for sustained international attention and the immediate, unconditional release of people imprisoned for exercising their basic rights. It also stressed the need to hold those responsible for abuses accountable.

International Day of Political Prisoners: Zeynab Jalalian Still Behind Bars After More Than 18 Years As October 30, the International Day of Political Prisoners, approaches, Kurdish political activist Zeynab Jalalian remains behind bars, serving a life sentence. She is Iran’s longest-serving female political prisoner. Jalalian, from Maku, has been imprisoned since February 26, 2008. She has spent more than 18 years and eight months in prison without a single day of leave. Her death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment in 2011. According to Amnesty International, Jalalian faces serious health problems in Yazd Central Prison and is being denied adequate medical care and family visits. Amnesty has called for urgent specialist treatment and urged Iran to follow the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s call to release her and provide compensation.

30 October: Freedom for Political Prisoners and an End to Repression in Iran The International Day of Political Prisoners is a day to stand with people jailed for their beliefs, protests, and efforts to defend freedom. In Iran, the Islamic Republic has tried to silence people by crushing protests, arresting thousands of protesters and activists, and carrying out politically motivated executions. This repression targets political activity, social freedoms, women’s rights, demands for national and language rights, and freedom of religion or belief. Executing protesters and political opponents is part of the same effort to spread fear and silence dissent. We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, an end to executions and torture, and accountability for those who order and carry out repression. We must not forget those still in prison or those executed for political reasons. We stand with their families and will keep working for freedom and justice.

لینک درست برای مشاهده جلسه ارائه گزارش‌ها به مجمع عمومی، امروز ساعت ۳ بعدازظهر به وقت نیویورک:webtv.un.org/en/asset/k13/k1…

Mai Sato: War Has Intensified Repression in Iran Mai Sato (@drmaisato), the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, will present her report to the UN General Assembly today, Wednesday, 28 October 2026. She says war and domestic repression have combined to deepen people’s suffering, with those already facing hardship and exclusion bearing the greatest burden. The meeting begins at 3 p.m. New York time at the General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with social, humanitarian and cultural issues. The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran will also present its report during the same session. In a statement ahead of the meeting, Sato explained that her report focuses on several areas: people who have been killed or executed; those detained or disappeared; human rights defenders, people documenting abuses and those organising civic activities; and damage to people’s livelihoods and the environment. According to Sato, in each of these areas, the impact of hostilities involving the United States and Israel has added to the harm caused by repression by the Iranian authorities. She said these internal and external sources of harm are closely connected and must be examined together. “War did not reduce repression but intensified it,” Sato said. She stressed that the heaviest burden has fallen on people who were already marginalised before the conflict. Sato said her recommendations are therefore addressed to the Iranian authorities, the United States, Israel and all other states. Her approach highlights the responsibilities of all parties for the harm suffered by people in Iran and the need to hold those responsible accountable. In an earlier statement on recent UN reports about Iran, Sato called for an end to hostilities through diplomacy, with human rights at the centre of any agreement. She also called for a halt to executions, the release of people detained for exercising their rights, independent investigations into every death, and access for UN human rights mechanisms. The report and its Persian translation are available on the website of the UN Human Rights Office. The meeting will be streamed on UN Web TV. Read the report: ohchr.org/en/documents/count… Persian translation: ohchr.org/sites/default/file…

Fate of Four PJAK and Two KJAR Members Remains Unknown After Arrest in Iran The fate of Idris Faqehi, Mohsen Ghaderi, Sirwan Habibi and Khaled Barzanji, four members of the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), and Zahra Pirdehghan and Parvin Rasegh Ghezelbash, two members of the East Kurdistan Free Women’s Society (KJAR), remains unknown. According to statements from the two organizations and reports by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, their families have repeatedly sought answers but received no clear information about their loved ones’ whereabouts, health or fate. In its latest report, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said there was still no information about Khaled Barzanji, who was arrested by IRGC forces on 10 July 2026 in Uchtapeh village near Bukan. His family has been unable to contact or visit him since his arrest. Security and judicial authorities have also denied knowing about his detention or where he is being held. In a statement about Barzanji, PJAK said the Iranian government was directly responsible for his life, health and safety. The party demanded the immediate disclosure of his whereabouts and legal status, saying the continued secrecy had deepened concerns about his health and detention conditions. Idris Faqehi has been missing since 24 July 2021, when he was wounded and detained by IRGC forces near Bukan. More than five years later, his fate remains unknown. In its recent open letter, PJAK named him among its members who have been subjected to enforced disappearance following their arrest. Mohsen Ghaderi was arrested by IRGC intelligence agents on 22 June 2025 in the Hangeh Zhale border area near Baneh. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the IRGC told his family that he had been killed in a clash. However, a man arrested alongside him and later released said there had been no clash and that both men had been taken into detention. The network reported that Ghaderi was last seen at the Shahramfar detention center in Sanandaj in late summer 2025. Sirwan Habibi was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence agents in Kamyaran in the early hours of 9 September 2026. Citing witnesses, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that agents used violence against him during his arrest. Despite his family’s visits to security offices and courts in Kamyaran and Sanandaj, they have received no clear information about his condition or where he is being held. Zahra Pirdehghan and Parvin Rasegh Ghezelbash were arrested by IRGC intelligence agents in Urmia on 25 and 28 June 2026, respectively. KJAR confirmed that both women were its members and said they were in Urmia to carry out political activities related to women’s issues. Their families’ repeated inquiries have also failed to establish their condition or whereabouts. In an open letter dated 13 October 2026, PJAK called on Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and Human Rights Watch to take urgent action to clarify the fate of Idris Faqehi, Mohsen Ghaderi and Sirwan Habibi. The party said the three had been denied access to lawyers and that their families had been pressured to stop seeking answers. It called for international action to end enforced disappearances and hold those responsible accountable.

PJAK: Iran Is Responsible for Khaled Barzanji’s Life and Safety The Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) has expressed concern over the continued lack of information about Khaled Barzanji, a detained member of the party. It called on Iranian authorities to disclose his whereabouts and legal status immediately. According to the party’s statement, Barzanji was arrested by government forces on 10 July 2026 near Bukan. PJAK said authorities have since refused to provide clear and reliable information about where he is being held or his legal situation. The party said the continued secrecy has raised serious concerns about his health and detention conditions. It urged Iranian authorities to provide immediate answers and stressed that they are directly responsible for protecting his life, health and safety. PJAK described the refusal to provide information as unacceptable and said the Iranian government would bear responsibility for any harm, neglect or inhumane treatment he suffers in custody. Barzanji is the fourth PJAK member whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown following detention. The other three are Idris Faghihi, Sirwan Habibi and Hossein Qaderi. The full text of PJAK’s statement is available at the link below: pjak.net/fa/13093

Today, we joined the global campaign calling for an end to executions in Iran. I especially think of Mahvash Sabet, who is in prison only because she is Bahá’í. We stand with all political prisoners in Iran fighting against executions. #stopexecutionsiniran

European Parliament Member Backs Campaign to End Executions in Iran Petras Auštrevičius (@petras_petras), a Lithuanian member of the European Parliament, has taken part in a photo campaign supporting the global call to end executions in Iran. In an Instagram post titled “No to Executions in Iran,” he said he joined the action ahead of a vote. He explained that the campaign was started by prisoners in Iran and stressed that their voices must be heard. According to the figures cited in his post, at least 1,000 people were executed in Iran in 2024, while 2,201 executions were reported in 2025. At least another 1,135 were reported between January and September 2026. Auštrevičius said the scale of these figures demands sustained attention and action to stop executions in Iran. Source: Petras Auštrevičius on Instagram instagram.com/p/DetmVHWjvVJ/… On X: teapawt.net/petras_petras/status/2…

“No to Execution Tuesday” solidarity event at the European Parliament. We stand with people of #Iran