The verdict of two Kurdish citizens, members of the People’s Protection Units (known as YPG in Kurdish) who had previously been sentenced to 11 years of imprisonment, was equally confirmed by the Orumiyeh Court of Appeals. The verdict was officially served by Branch 1 of Orumiyeh Court of of Appeals on these two Kurdish citizens called Rahim Mahmoudi Azar and Mostafa Ghaderzeibanon on Sept 15, 2018 .
The two citizens were charged with membership in People’s Protection Units (YPG), gathering and collusion to carry out anti-security actions and propaganda against the state. The trial was held while both the above-mentioned individuals were present at the court without the right to have a lawyer.
In this regard, an informed source told Kurdistan Human Rights Network KHRN that Rahim Mahmoudi Azar (20 years old, son of Abdolrahman from Orumiyeh) and Mostafa Ghaderzeiban (son of Rasool, 28 years old, from Bukan) were fighting several years ago against Islamic Republic of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and had become members of Peoples. Rahim Mahmoudi-Azar was wounded on March 16 last year when the Turkish army attacked Afrin and was transferred to a hospital in the city of Aleppo as a Syrian citizen. But upon being identified by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) forces, he was arrested at the hospital and handed over to the IRGC forces in Damascus.
Mostafa Ghaderzeiban was arrested at one of the neighbourhoods of Aleppo but later he was arrested and transferred to Damascus upon the identification of his nationality.
The source further added that, after being arrested by the IRGC forces, the two were transferred to one of the security forces detention centres in Tehran after three days of interrogation and transferred to the Guard Corps Detention Centre in Orumiyeh and interrogated for one month. After the interrogations the trial was held at Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh on June 13, headed by Judge Reza Najafzadeh. On June 23, 2018, the verdict of 11 years of imprisonment each was served on them.
According to the verdict, these two citizens were sentenced to five years in prison on charges of membership in YPG, five years’ imprisonment on charges of collusion against national security, as well as one year of imprisonment on charges of propaganda against the state which totals to a total of 11 years of imprisonment each. After the court hearing in late June, Mostafa Ghaderzeiban was temporarily released from the Orumiyeh Central Prison on a bail of 200 million Tomans.
Rahim Mahmoudi-Azar was transferred to section 12 of the political prisoners at Ourmiyeh Central Prison of Orumiyeh after months of being detained in the ordinary prisoners’ ward last month.
YPG are the backbone of the democratic Syrian forces that have been actively involved against the ISIL alongside the international coalition since 2014.
Picture of the verdict
