IRAN - Mehrab Abdollahzadeh

IRAN - Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh

December 22, 2025:

December 22, 2025 - IRAN. Supreme Court Upholds Death Sentence of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh

political prisoner arrested during the “Women, Life, Freedom” protests

The death sentence of Mehrab (Mehran) Abdollahzadeh, a political prisoner held at Urmia Prison (also known as Orumiyeh Central Prison), has been upheld by Branch 9 of Iran’s Supreme Court.

A source familiar with the case told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN): “On 18 December 2025, the judge responsible for the enforcement of sentences at Branch Nine of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Urmia informed Mehrab Abdollazadeh that Branch Nine of the Supreme Court had upheld his death sentence, asking him to sign a letter requesting pardon and clemency.”

The source expressed concern over the risk of execution in the coming days and added that, in recent years, political prisoners have commonly been asked to submit requests for pardon and clemency to the provincial commission shortly before execution.

The same procedure was followed two weeks earlier in the case of Aghil Keshavarz, a student from Isfahan who was executed on 19 December at Urmia Prison.

Previously, Mr. Abdollahzadeh had been tried by Branch Two of the Urmia Revolutionary Court on the charge of “corruption on earth” through “complicity in the murder of a Basij member”. In November of 2024, the court sentenced him to death on this charge.

Following objections raised by his attorneys, the verdict was referred to the Supreme Court in late October of this year.

According to an informed source quoted in the report:
“Mr. Abdollahzadeh was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture while in detention in order to extract forced confessions. A review of CCTV footage shows that Mehrab was not present at the scene of the killing. The camera footage is in the possession of security forces, and there is no evidence indicating that he was present at that time and place.”

Mehrab (Mehran) Abdollahzadeh, a resident of Oshnavieh, was arrested during the 2022 protests and was later released on bail. In another part of his case, he had been sentenced by Branch 101 of the Oshnavieh Criminal Court No. 2 to nine months in prison on the charge of “assembly and collusion.” He was ultimately rearrested and transferred to Urmia Prison.

https://www.en-hrana.org/irans-supreme-court-upholds-death-sentence-of-mehrab-abdollahzadeh/
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/news/2025/12/22/execution-fears-after-death-sentence-upheld-for-women-life-freedom-detainee