Khosrow Besharat, a Kurdish prisoner of conscience sentenced to death, had his last meeting with his family on 5 May in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, Alborz province, heightening fears of his imminent execution. Besharat was transferred to solitary confinement on 1 May at the same times as the execution of his cousin and co-defendant Anvar Khezri. Five of Besharat’s co-defendants, Ghassem Abasteh, Ayoub Karimi, Davoud…
Read moreKhosrow Babavaladeyni, a 65-year-old prisoner sentenced to death for “premeditated murder”, was executed on 1 May in Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province. Babavaladeyni, a father of four from the village of Sarmaj Hosseinkhani in Harsin, Kermanshah Province, was arrested about 10 years ago and sentenced to death under the Islamic law of qisas, or retribution-in-kind, which gives the victim’s family the right to…
Read moreKurdish political prisoner Sakineh Parvaneh went on a one-day symbolic hunger strike today, marking the anniversary of the birth of Ali Mozaffari, a 17-year-old boy killed during the anti-government uprising of Women, Life, Freedom in Quchan, Razavi Khorasan Province. Mozaffari, a Kurdish civilian from Quchan, was shot by anti-riot forces during protests in the city on 22 September 2022. Despite his injuries, he was severely beaten…
Read morePrisoner Ali Ashraf-Khani, who had been sentenced to death for “premeditated murder”, was executed on 1 May in Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province. Ashraf-Khani, a 45-year-old man from Sarpol-e Zahab, Kermanshah Province, was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to death under the Islamic law of qisas, or retribution-in-kind, which gives the victim’s family the right to retaliate.
Read moreKhosrow Besharat, a Kurdish prisoner of conscience on death row in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, who was transferred to solitary confinement for execution hours after the execution of his co-defendant Anvar Khezri on 1 May, is at imminent risk of execution. Besharat was one of seven Kurdish prisoners of conscience who had been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges…
Read morePrisoner Faramarz Moradi was executed on 30 April for drug-related offences in Ardabil Central Prison in Ardabil Province. Moradi, a 31-year-old man from of the village of Harkian in Salmas, West Azerbaijan Province, was sentenced to death about four years ago on charges related to drugs. On 11 February, Nojoumi Moradi, the brother of Faramarz Moradi, was also executed on charges of “premeditated murder” in Orumiyeh…
Read moreKurdish prisoner of conscience Anvar Khezri was executed this morning in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, after 14 years in prison, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned. Khezri was one of seven Kurdish prisoners of conscience who had been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel arz). Four of Khezri’s co-defendants, Ghassem Abasteh,…
Read moreKurdish political prisoner Keyvan Rashozadeh has entered the 12th day of a hunger strike in Orumiyeh Central Prison, in West Azerbaijan Province, raising concerns over his deteriorating physical condition, according to his mother, Nazdar Roudsaz. In a video message, Roudsaz revealed that her son had been subjected to torture in recent days, including beatings by prison guards after his hands and feet were tied. Rashouzadeh was…
Read moreOsman Esmaeili, a 64-year-old Kurdish labour activist, is being denied access to specialised medical care and leave due to opposition from the Ministry of Intelligence, raising concerns over his deteriorating health. Esmaeili, who has been imprisoned since November 2023, suffers from a number of health problems, including a hernia and spinal stenosis. A doctor accredited by the Iranian Legal Medicine Organisation in Kurdistan Province has warned…
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