Kurdistan Human Rights Network(KHRN): Four Kurdish religious prisoners – Anwar Khezri, Ayoub Karimi, Qasem Abasteh, and Dawood Abdollahi- were transferred from Karaj Prison to the Mahabad Prison for trial at the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad on Apr 20, 2019.

KHRN has been informed that these prisoners had been transferred to Mahabad Prison to be prosecuted for the murder of a Sunni cleric called “Abdul Rahim Tina” who was killed by unknown individuals 10 years ago.

The four religious prisoners, along with three other civilians from Mahabad and Saqqez- Kamran Shekhe, Khosro Basharat, and Farhad Salimi- were detained by security forces on December 7, 2009 and transferred to the Centre in Orumiyeh. They were taken to Evin Prison in Tehran after eight months of interrogation. They were kept in solitary confinement in sections 240 and 209 for six months. Finally, they were transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj on April 25.

The detainees were initially charged with “killing a soldier” but later this charge was changed to “engaging in bombings”. These prisoners denied all the allegations against them during their arrest and at the trials that began after four years.

In late March 2016, the trial of these seven prisoners was held at Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court headed by Judge Moghaseh on charges of “acting against national security”, “propaganda against the state”, “membership in Salafi groups” and “Fesad fel Arz (corruption on earth)”. On May 25, 2016, the death sentence was officially served on them in prison. Their lawyer contested the verdict and the case was referred to the Supreme Court which overturned the death sentence in 2017.

In September 2018, three of these prisoners -Khosrow Besharat, Kamran Shekhe, and Anwar Khezri- were transferred to the Orumiyeh Central Prison from Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj for the trial. In March of the same year, they went on trial at Branch 12 of the Orumiyeh Court of Appeals. According to this ruling, “Anwar Khezri and Khosrow Besharat were sentenced to ten years in prison for Participation in the murder and Kamran Shekha was sentenced to death for murder.