“WHY?” It is very heartbreaking to read this handwriting letter. That was the last question 25-year-old Majid Nikandish asked the night before the Islamic Republic executed him: “Tonight, I feel like a little child terrified of an injection. Only one question is on my mind: Why?” We, the people of Iran, are living in horror. Every day, another execution. Another mother destroyed. Another life stolen. In his final letter he asked his mother to smile at his funeral. “I, Majid Nikandish, leave the few belongings I have in prison as keepsakes for my family. Hello, my dear Mom. I know you have had a very difficult life. I’m sorry if I wasn’t a good son. Please forgive me. Please don’t be sad. Stay strong, and please be happy at my funeral. Take care of Mahnaz, Abolfazl, and Razieh. Tonight, I feel like a little child who is afraid of getting an injection. There is only one question left in my mind: WHY? To my sisters, Mahnaz and Razieh, I love you so much. To my brother, Abolfazl, I love you so much. I miss you all. My final wish is that you take care of one another and stay together, no matter what.” Why did he have to die? Why was his life stolen? Why must another mother bury her child? I have no answer for his mother. We have no answer to his brother and sisters. But let’s ask this question to the leaders of the democratic world: Why are you silent? Why don’t you stop legitimizing the regime that is hanging innocent protesters every day? Don’t look away. Don’t leave the people of Iran alone with their executioners. Say his name. Majid Nikandish. And make the world answer his final question: WHY? #MajidNikandish #StopExecutionsInIran

Two women on death row in Iran have recorded audio messages from their prison cells and asked the free world to save their lives. Now I bring their voices to you. Najmeh Amini is 23. An accounting student. Her crime? A post on social media. The regime calls it insulting the prophet. For one post, they will hang her. Mahboubeh Shabani is 33. During the protests, she carried wounded demonstrators to the hospital. Her crime? Saving lives. The regime calls it waging war against God. For saving lives, they will hang her. Let me be honest. Hashtags and tweets alone will not stop these executions. This regime only understands pressure. So I call on American, European, and world leaders: make these executions your red line. Tie every sanction, every deal, every negotiation to the lives of political prisoners. Demand their release now. Impose real costs for every hanging. Najmeh Amini and Mahboubeh Shabani must not die for the crime of freedom. Act now. Before it is too late.

They married by phone from separate prison cells. They executed a groom the morning after his wedding. Alireza Sepahi and Mahshad Kashani were engaged before they were arrested during Iran’s January uprising. Mahshad, just 22, was sentenced to five years in prison. Alireza was sentenced to death. The day before his execution, they were married over the phone. Their fathers listened as the vows were read. No embrace. No kiss. No holding hands. Just two voices saying “I do” through a prison telephone, while the Islamic Republic was preparing the gallows. This was not the first time they tried to kill him. In July, Alireza was taken to be publicly hanged. Minutes before reaching the gallows, under enormous psychological pressure, he suffered a heart attack. They rushed him to hospital. Then they sent him back to prison. Today, they came back for him. This morning, the Islamic Republic hanged Alireza Sepahi. He was 25 years old. For one day, he had a wife. He never got to hold her as his wife. He never got to kiss her goodbye. Think about the cruelty of a regime that is so terrified of young people that it cannot even tolerate their love. 💔