Retrial request for Mehdi Hassani, political prisoner sentenced to death, rejected again
Hengaw: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
The retrial request for Mehdi Hassani, a political prisoner sentenced to death, has been rejected for the second time by the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, raising serious concerns about the imminent threat to his life.
According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the Supreme Court’s Branch 29 recently rejected the second retrial request for Mehdi Hassani, a 49-year-old political prisoner currently held in Ghezel Hesar Prison.
Amin Adel Ahmadian, Mehdi Hassani’s lawyer, wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account:
“For the second time, the retrial request for Mehdi Hassani was rejected without the court even requesting the case file from Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court.”
He added:
“Moreover, none of the judicial bodies agreed to allow me to review the case file.”
The first retrial request for Mehdi Hassani was denied on February 24, 2025, by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court.
Mehdi Hassani, a Tehran resident and father of two, along with Behrouz Ehsani Eslamloo—another death row political prisoner—was transferred from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar Prison on Sunday, January 26, 2025, amid reports that their executions had been temporarily halted.
In September 2024, both Hassani and Ehsani Eslamloo were sentenced to death by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Iman Afshari. The sentence was formally delivered to their lawyers and later upheld by the Supreme Court in December of that year.
The judiciary charged the two with membership in the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), moharebeh (waging war against God), baghi (armed rebellion), efsad fel-arz (corruption on earth), gathering classified information, and collusion against national security.
Mehdi Hassani was arrested on Friday, September 9, 2022, in Zanjan while attempting to leave the country. He was subsequently transferred to Evin Prison.
