On May 21, Iran’s authorities executed Ramin Zeleh and Karim Maroufpour, two Kurdish political prisoners, according to the state-run Mizan News Agency’s reports that accused the men of involvement in armed actions against security forces in Iran.
The state-run Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the regime’s Judiciary claimed the two executed prisoners were accused of “The assassination of a commander of an IRGC base in one of the western counties, firing two magazines toward a vehicle carrying military forces, and filming the operation.”
The judiciary outlet also accused the two men of:
“Forming a group with the aim of disrupting security, armed rebellion through criminal groups, shooting, and attempted assassination.”
The executions come amid growing concern over political prisoners and detainees facing execution or additional prison sentences in Iran.
During the third week of May, a court in Rasht reaffirmed the death sentence of Manouchehr Fallah, a 36-year-old political prisoner held in Lakan Prison, over supporting the Iranian opposition group, People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI). Fallah was arrested in June 2023 after the Supreme Court referred his case back for review.
In a separate case, political prisoner Forough Taghipour, received an additional one-year prison sentence over a message published for Student Day in 2025. Arrested in August 2023 and previously sentenced to 15 years, Taghipour had earlier spent years in prison over support for the PMOI. Several members of her family were killed in the 1980s, while relatives currently reside in Ashraf-3.
Meanwhile, Rouzbeh Alipour, brother of executed PMOI member Babak Alipour, remains in uncertain conditions in Qezel Hesar Prison after reportedly being subjected to torture and prolonged solitary confinement. Reports say he suffered fractures and serious injuries following his arrest in Tehran on January 26, 2026, and has faced continued physical abuse while denied adequate medical treatment.
His brother, Babak Alipour, was among eight PMOI members executed since March 30 2026, including Vahid Baniamerian, Pouya Ghobadi, Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Abolhassan Montazer, and Hamed Validi and Nima Massoum Shahi on security-related charges.
The latest cases come amid increasingly public calls by Iranian officials for harsher punishment and faster implementation of sentences. On several occasions, Iran’s Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Eje’i urged courts to accelerate rulings in security cases, arguing delays weaken deterrence. Earlier, he called for judges to show “no mercy” in protest-related cases. On May 18, Police Commander Ahmad-Reza Radan said more than 6,500 people had been arrested, including hundreds linked to opposition groups, after previously stating on March 10 that protesters would be treated as “enemies.” On May 20, judiciary-linked Mizan published comments by a regime MP describing harsh punishment against alleged spies as a “public demand.” The remarks come as executions, arrests, and security prosecutions continue to expand.