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Sunday | April 05, 2026 | Dhaka

Iran executes two convicted members of banned opposition group

 AFP, Al Jazeera
 Published: 12:08 AM, 05 April 2026
Glenn Torshizi, whose brothers were executed by the Iranian government, joins others in a protest at the US State Department, to highlight the executions in Karaj, Iran, of People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran members, on March 30, 2026, in Washington, DC.

Iran has executed two men convicted of being members of the banned People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) opposition group, in the latest action targeting dissidents, even as the United States-Israeli war on Iran drags on.

The two were executed on Saturday morning after the country’s Supreme Court upheld earlier sentences that convicted them of PMOI/MEK membership, and “armed rebellion through involvement in multiple terrorist acts”.

“Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian … were hanged after trial and their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court,” the Iranian judiciary website, Mizan Online, said on Saturday.

PMOI/MEK had initially supported the 1979 Islamic revolution that unseated the Iranian monarchy.

However, in the 1980s, it fell out with the new leadership in Tehran and was designated a “terrorist” organisation. PMOI/MEK has since operated in exile.

Four other convicted members of the group were executed on March 30 and 31. According to information on the PMOI/MEK website, the men were: Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi.

All six men were arrested and convicted by a Revolutionary Court in late 2024, according to PMOI/MEK.

‘Futile’ crackdown
The group condemned the executions in an April 2 statement, calling Tehran’s actions a “futile” attempt to suppress opposition.

“These brutal executions will not silence the opposition; instead, they will only intensify the resolve of Iran’s rebellious youth to overthrow the regime,” PMOI/MEK said.

Rights groups, too, have criticised the spate of hangings. Activists have long accused Iran of being the second most prolific executioner after China.

In a statement following the first set of hangings on March 31, Amnesty International accused Iranian authorities of torturing the men while they were held in prison and then abruptly transferring them to an unknown location shortly before their executions.