Note: Introduction is by the FISN editorial team.
On July 26 and 27, 2025, Ghazal Hesar Prison in Iran became the scene of one of the most brutal crackdowns on political prisoners in recent memory. Known among survivors as “Black Saturday,” those two days marked the final hours and execution of two prominent political prisoners, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, both supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK/PMOI).
The following are two unfiltered testimonies from inside the prison, written by men who lived through the raids, the beatings, and the shock of losing their cellmates. The first account captures the chaos of July 26 leading into the early hours of July 27, when guards stormed the cells, dragged prisoners into solitary confinement, and silenced their protests with violence. The second account, from another witness, meticulously details the events of July 27 itself, describing the assaults in detail, and recounting the deliberate targeting and removal of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani moments before their execution.
Together, these testimonies form a rare, direct record of the abuse, humiliation, and calculated killings that occurred behind prison walls in Iran. They also stand as a call to action, a warning that silence will only embolden those who carry out such crimes under the cover of power.
First Testimony – The night of the execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani at the dawn of July 27th, 2025[i]
A documented account of Ghazal Hesar’s Black Saturday starts July 26th, the day before the execution of PMOI supporters Behrooz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani. This is a first-hand account by a prisoner about the night of the execution of Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani at the dawn of July 27th, 2025. On the night of July 27th, I was in Ghazal Hesar prison, where the usual noise from the guard towers made it impossible to sleep. Like many others, I was forced to wear noise-cancelling earphones just to survive the night, but that night was different. Something felt wrong. I didn’t know what was coming, but I soon would. Around dawn, the masked execution officers entered our hall. They began shouting, dragging us out of our cells. I saw Lukman Aminpour and Hamzeh Savari, among others, being beaten violently. At first, I wasn’t sure if I was awake or still dreaming, but then I realised it was real. Qasem Sari, a notorious executioner, led the guards, screaming, We will kill all of you! They handcuffed us, pushed us toward the wall, and began the brutal assault.
In the chaos, I noticed Saeed Massouri, who had his hands bound behind his back, being held lower than the rest of us. I then saw them drag Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani out of their cells, their hands bound behind their backs. Behrouz, defiant as ever, shouted: “These are your last breaths. If it weren’t for that, you wouldn’t hide your faces”.
But his words were met with further violence from the guards. As we were forced to face the wall, a wave of anger and fear surged within me. We stood there, powerless, as the execution officers taunted us. One of them shouted:
Turn to the wall!
Most of the others, like wolves, repeated the order. In that moment, I could feel the burning hatred, the rage at this injustice. I spat on the ground toward the Yazidi forces, only to realise that my lip had split from the force. After what felt like an eternity, we were dragged to the main door of the unit. There, I saw fifty soldiers waiting with batons and shields. Saeed, Mehdi, and Behrouz were forced into a minibus. It wasn’t just us. The guards sent one hundred officers for a maximum of twenty political prisoners. The brutality continued as they transferred them into a van, while the rest of us were forced to remain in the minibus.
Suddenly, we began chanting: “The Blood of the Red Roses” and Mercenary Kasem Sahrai swore at us again:
We will kill all of you.
They took us to solitary confinement in Unit 3, where the beating continued. In the midst of the pain and anger, we decided to go on hunger strike. There was nothing left to do but resist. The next day, when they brought us back to our hall, everything was ransacked, as if wild animals had been let loose.
We still hadn’t heard the news that Behrouz and Mehdi had been executed. I tried to get information from outside. By sunset, the phone line was reconnected, and I called my family. On the other end, they told me, Did they execute your friends? At first, I denied it, saying they had sentences, but hadn’t been executed. But the voice on the other side said: No, they were executed. And I heard the sound of crying. I couldn’t speak anymore. My gaze met that of the other prisoners, and I simply said: “It’s over. They executed them”.
I don’t remember much after that, but I felt the presence of Behrouz and Mahdi with me. All the memories, our volleyball games, the tea after the games, and the laughs we shared, rushed through my mind. Slowly, I began to cry. I made a vow to my dear brothers. We will take revenge for you. The trumpet of freedom Behrouz had planted in the yard now reached the barbed wire. It will only be a matter of time before it breaks free. The dawn of freedom is near.
Second Testimony – The day before the execution[ii]
Testimony of Surviving Political Prisoners from “Black Saturday of Ghazal Hesar”
To the awakened consciences,
We, the surviving political prisoners, bear witness to what happened on Saturday, 4 Mordad 1404 (July 26, 2025) in Ghazal Hesar Prison a day that was not only bloody, but unprecedented in its cruelty, humiliation, and blatant violation of human rights in the contemporary history of this country.
On that day, all of our most basic rights, from the right to life, to dignity, to health, and to a fair trial—were trampled openly and violently.
Before that day, we were twenty political prisoners in Ward 20/3, Unit 4. After that day, two of our cellmates, Behrouz Ehsani and Mehdi Hassani, were unjustly murdered by hanging.
Before their executions, they were denied access to lawyers and any form of fair trial. According to the explicit admission of the former head of Branch 33 Prosecutor’s Office, this deprivation was deliberate and official policy.
Their final hours, right up to the moment before execution, form part of this testimony. To the families of these two dear friends, and to all the families seeking justice in this land, we extend our condolences.
At 7:45 a.m. on Saturday, 4 Mordad, several plainclothes officers entered our hall under the pretext of “checking on a water outage.” This seemingly ordinary entry was the prelude to an assault.
Moments later, over fifty masked officers and several unmasked ones entered:
- Esmaeil Farajnejad – so-called Deputy of Health at Ghazal Hesar Prison
- Kamarai – Head of Prison Intelligence
- Ashrafabadi – Intelligence Department official
- Qasem Sahraei – Deputy Officer, Unit 3 Prison
- Mohammadi – Prison Finance Deputy
The scene commander was Esmaeil Farajnejad, and the suppression forces were commanded by Qasem Sahraei, who, from the moment he entered, shouted obscene sexual insults and incited the officers to beat and even kill the political prisoners. Sahraei, always flaunting his devotion to the Supreme Leader, yelled inside the hall: “You ***, we will kill every single one of you!”
The masked officers, armed with fists, kicks, batons, and curses, descended on the prisoners. Those at the front of the hall or stepping out of their cells were immediately surrounded. Several were handcuffed behind their backs, dragged out, and slammed against the main corridor wall.
Outside the hall, stretching to the guard post and the main exit of Unit 4, masked officers had lined up.
Within minutes, many of our comrades, Khosrow Rahnema, Ali Moezi, Mohammad Shafiei, Reza Salmanzadeh, Mostafa Ramazani, Reza Mohammadi Taameh, Arsham Rezaei, Mehdi Hassani, Behrooz Ehsani, Abolhassan Montazer, Akbar Bagheri, Asadollah Hadi, Zartosht Ahmadi Ragheb, all were violently cursed at, handcuffed, and dragged from the hall.
Sahraei repeatedly slapped and kicked prisoners like Reza Mohammadi, Arsham Rezaei, and others who were bound from behind:
Arsham Rezaei: a kick to the back caused blood in his urine for days; his underwear was bloodstained.
Asadollah Hadi (68, heart patient): heavy blow to the forehead caused swelling for days.
Akbar Bagheri: thrown to the ground with his hands tied; doctor confirmed meniscus injury.
Reza Salmanzadeh: slammed into a wall despite prior internal surgeries.
Saeed Massouri, a political prisoner of 25 years, was dragged toward the exit by Farajnejad, who gripped his collar and neck.
A chant of “Death to the dictator” from the back of the hall prompted Ahmadreza Haeri to shout:
“What is this savagery? If you want to search the hall, speak like humans, we would all leave!”
The commander’s response was a flurry of punches and slaps to his head and neck. Haeri saw Luqman Aminpour under the blows of several officers. Hamzeh Souri tried to help but was beaten as well, both had their clothes torn, were handcuffed behind their backs, and dragged away. Hamzeh’s left toenail broke and turned black; it was later removed in the infirmary on 17 Mordad due to infection. Haeri was sent to the infirmary four times afterward.
Luqman Aminpour, Meysam Dehban Zadeh, and Sepehr Emam Jomeh were also each severely beaten; Sepehr’s glasses were broken, boot marks remained on Meysam’s neck, and Luqman’s injuries were clearly visible.
All 20 of us, barefoot and with torn, bloodstained clothes, were taken to the hall exit. All other halls in Unit 4 were locked so that more than a thousand other prisoners, and even the infirmary and cultural ward staff, would not witness the scene.
As we were led past the Unit Chief’s office, we endured more insults, slaps, and humiliation. Plainclothes agents, likely from the Ministry of Intelligence, were present. The sound of two vehicles could be heard.
Ali Moezi, elderly and using a cane, was chained and loaded first into the minibus. The others followed, including Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani.
Behrouz, with white hair falling on his forehead, said:
“You’re the ones who will be gone soon! do whatever you want now.”
Sahraei, standing three steps higher, struck Behrouz repeatedly on the head and neck with full force, shouting:
“Yes, we’ll be gone, but before that, we’ll wipe all of you out!”
Behrouz was taken toward the van. Seeing this, Mehdi Hassani came forward from the back of the bus and shouted several times: “I am Mehdi Hassani.” A masked officer came and removed him from the bus as well. Earlier, Saeed Massouri had also been taken off.
We thought at first this was retaliation for the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign and for resisting the transfer of Saeed Massouri. But we quickly realized this was the prelude to execution.
In the special ward of Unit 1, Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani were executed without delay. We learned of their deaths five days later.
Even ISIS does not treat its victims like this.
When we were brought back to the hall, some of our Qurans had been torn and thrown onto the cell floors. But even such desecration paled in comparison to the theft of life and the humiliation of Behrouz and Mehdi’s final moments.
We hold the senior intelligence and judicial authorities directly responsible for these crimes. Silence in the face of “Black Saturday of Ghazal Hesar” will pave the way for more mass executions, of political and ideological prisoners, and even ordinary citizens now facing death sentences for nothing more than taking a photograph or engaging in civil activism.
No to executions. No to torture. No to state killings.
We, the survivors of “Black Saturday of Ghazal Hesar,” will go on hunger strike on Tuesday, 21 Mordad 1404, in the 81st week of the “No to Executions Tuesdays” campaign, in memory of Mehdi Hassani and Behrouz Ehsani.
This testimony has been written with accuracy and honesty and warns all awakened consciences: Silence makes you complicit.
The surviving political prisoners of “Black Saturday of Ghazal Hesar”
Unit 4, Ghazal Hesar Prison
Monday, 20 Mordad 1404 (August 11, 2025)
[i] From Simaye Azadi TV X official account: https://x.com/en_simayazadi/status/1955250030605951471
[ii] From the official X account of Golrokh Iraee (political prisoner): https://x.com/golrokhiraee/status/1954946207165341826