Iran executed Abolhassan Montazer and Vahid Baniamerian on Saturday after a Supreme Court review upheld their convictions for membership in the banned People’s Mujahedin of Iran, the latest in a series of executions targeting members of the opposition group that has drawn condemnation from Amnesty International. The executions come as Iran is engaged in an active military conflict with the United States and Israel, a war that began when US-Israeli strikes on 28 February 2026 killed Iran’s supreme leader.
The two men were hanged after being convicted of membership in the MEK, also known by its Farsi acronym PMOI, and carrying out what Iranian authorities described as actions aimed at destabilising the Islamic republic.
Their executions follow those of four other MEK members, Mohammad Taghavi, Akbar Daneshvarkar, Babak Alipour and Pouya Ghobadi, who were executed on 30 and 31 March.
Amnesty International’s deputy regional director condemned the killings as part of a pattern of using the death penalty to suppress political dissent.
The context of the executions
The People’s Mujahedin of Iran is a Marxist-Islamist group that was designated a terrorist organisation by Iran decades ago. It has a significant exile community and has historically operated with some support from Western governments, though its standing with major powers has fluctuated over the years.
The organisation itself has disputed the charges against its members, calling the trials politically motivated.
Amnesty International said that Iran is continuing to carry out executions even as the country faces aerial bombardment and the population endures the disruption of an active war.
The rights group said at least seven other protesters and dissidents were at risk of imminent execution at the time of writing.
South Africa’s position on the Iran conflict
South Africa has maintained a position of neutrality in the US-Israel-Iran conflict, consistent with its broader foreign policy approach under the African National Congress, which has historically maintained relations with states that Western governments have isolated.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation, DIRCO, has not issued a statement at the time of publishing on the executions.
South Africa has trade relations with Iran, and DIRCO’s position on the broader conflict will be watched closely as pressure from Western allies and the United States in particular grows on South African foreign policy.
Swisher Post has submitted a request for comment to DIRCO.
What happens next
The MEK has called for international intervention to halt what it describes as a campaign of execution against its members.
No response from the United Nations Human Rights Council was available at the time of publishing. The South African government’s full position on the conflict and its humanitarian dimensions has not yet been formally stated.
Swisher Post will update this report when DIRCO responds.
