Hengaw warns of imminent risk of execution for Ehsan Afrashteh and Mehdi Farid
Hengaw — Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Two political prisoners sentenced to death on the charge of “spying for Israel,” Ehsan Afrashteh and Mehdi Farid, face an imminent risk of execution following recent transfers carried out under heightened security conditions.
According to information received by Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Afrashteh, 31, a civil-engineering graduate, and Farid, 48, from Arak and a former employee of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, have both been sentenced to death on the charge of “spying for Israel.” Their cases have entered a critical phase, and the danger of their execution has sharply increased.
Hengaw expresses deep concern about the possibility of these executions and urges immediate attention from international human-rights mechanisms to prevent any further action by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Afrashteh was forcibly removed from the general ward of Evin Prison on November 10, 2025, and taken to Ward 241, a high-security section of the prison. Farid was transferred from Evin Prison to Ghezel Hesar Prison on Thursday, November 6, 2025.
During the attempted transfer of Afrashteh to Ghezel Hesar, Evin Prison guards forcefully entered Ward 7, triggering widespread protests and clashes between prisoners and prison officials. Afrashteh was ultimately removed from the ward and moved to a security wing rather than being sent to Ghezel Hesar.
A group of women political prisoners in Evin Prison has also issued a letter warning about the imminent risk to Afrashteh and Farid. They said they consider it their duty not to remain silent and pledged to amplify the voices of prisoners condemned to death. They further warned that the authorities are increasingly unable to manage the country’s crises, and that attempts to display strength are growing ever more fragile.
Afrashteh was sentenced to death earlier this year by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, on the charge of “spying for Israel.” The verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court during both his appeal and his first request for retrial. His case is currently pending a second retrial request.
Afrashteh previously worked in cyber-security, open-source intelligence (OSINT), penetration testing, and industrial model building. After his arrest, he was held in solitary confinement for five months. During that time, interrogators forced him to record coerced confessions and threatened to attribute several alleged assassination plots to him if he refused to cooperate.
Farid, a former employee of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, was arrested in the winter of 2022–23 and initially held in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary before being transferred to Evin Prison. He was first sentenced to ten years in prison by Branch 26 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court; after a retrial in Branch 23, he was sentenced to death on the same charge.
Growing fears of retaliatory executions stem from the fact that, in recent weeks, the Islamic Republic has executed several political prisoners convicted of “spying for Israel,” including Mohammadamin Mahdavi Shayesteh, Majid Masibi, Esmail Fekri, Bahman Choubi Asl, Babak Shahbazi, Naser Bakerzadeh, and Dr. Rouzbeh Vadi.
