Ghezel Hesar, Karaj – Mohammad-Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, political prisoner accused of espionage for Israel executed
Hengaw – Monday, June 23, 2025
The Islamic Republic of Iran has executed Mohammad-Amin Mahdavi Shayesteh, a 27-year-old political prisoner from Tehran who was convicted of espionage for Israel. Hengaw reiterates its urgent warning that political prisoners—especially those accused of espionage—are at serious and imminent risk of execution as the Iranian government escalates its crackdown during the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.
According to information received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the execution was carried out in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj in the early hours of Monday, June 23, 2025.
Mahdavi Shayesteh’s death sentence was enforced following a final ruling issued by Iran’s judiciary. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict earlier this year, with Branch 39 of the court—under Judge Ghasem Hosseini Kouh-Kamari—confirming the original conviction.
State-affiliated outlets, including Mizan News Agency, claimed the execution followed “full legal due process.” However, Hengaw stresses that the coordinated timing of this and similar executions with the current military conflict suggests political motives aimed at intimidation and retribution, rather than judicial impartiality.
Mahdavi Shayesteh was subjected to physical and psychological torture, and forced to make confessions under duress during interrogations conducted by Iranian security services. He was denied access to an independent defense attorney throughout the judicial process.
He had previously been sentenced to death by Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, for “collaboration with Israel.” He was also given an additional five-year prison sentence for “insulting Islamic sanctities.”
Mahdavi Shayesteh was arrested on December 4, 2023, and held for nearly three months in a high-security detention facility. Following this period, he was transferred to Ward 4 of Evin Prison, which houses espionage-related detainees, before being moved to Ghezel Hesar Prison, where the execution took place.
