The death sentence of Arsalan Khodkam, a Kurdish political prisoner detained at Orumiyeh Central Prison, was reduced by Tehran Military court to ten years in prison.
Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has been informed that upon approval of this political prisoner’s request for a retrial by Branch 2 of the Supreme Court, his dossier was referred to the Tehran Military court several months ago. The Political prisoner’s father was officially notified that his son’s death sentence had been reduced to 10 years in prison on February 03.
Arsalan Khodkam had been a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran for several years in the 90s but later returned to Iran after obtaining immunity from the government and joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) when he returned to Mahabad in 2002. On Apr 22, 2018, he was arrested on charges of spying for the Kurdish Democratic Party at the Ramadan Base (no. 18) and interrogated for 36 days at the Detention Center of IRGC Intelligence unit in Orumiyeh.
The prisoner’s case was transferred to Branch 32 of the Orumiyeh Public Prosecutor’s Office upon completion of the interrogations before it was sent to Branch 1 of the Orumiyeh Military Court for a ruling.
A reliable source had earlier told KHRN that the trial of Arsalan Khodkam was held on July 14, 2018 at Branch 1 of the Orumiyeh Military Court without the right to have a lawyer and he was sentenced to death on charges of Moharebeh and spying for the Democratic Party of Iran’s Kurdistan on the same day.
According to the afore-mentioned source, this political prisoner contested the verdict and his case was referred to branch 32 of the Supreme Court for review, but the verdict was unanimously approved on Sept 17, 2018. During this period, he was first transferred to the Military Ward of Orumiyeh Central Prison, but he was later transferred to section 12 of the political prisoners at Orumiyeh Prison.
