Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj; Transfer of Davoud Abdollahi, a Kurdish political prisoner, to solitary confinement

21:26 - 28 December 2023

On December 26, Davoud Abdollahi, a Kurdish political prisoner from Mahabad, was transferred to solitary confinement in Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj.

According to an informed source, this political prisoner is in danger of execution after being transferred to solitary confinement.

The informed source added: that Abdollahi's family went to Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj to have their last meeting with their son.

After 14 years in prison, the death sentences of Davoud Abdollahi's two co-defendants, Ghasem Abesteh and Ayoub Karimi, were carried out on November 5, and November 28, 2023, in Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj.

Davoud Abdollahi was arrested in November 2009, along with six other Kurdish citizens named Ghasem Abesteh, Anwar Khezri, Ayoub Karimi, Farhad Salimi, Kamran Sheikh, and Khosrow Bashar from the cities of Saqqez and Mahabad by security forces and interrogated for eight months in the detention center of the Urmia Intelligence Office.

These seven Kurdish political prisoners were then transferred to Evin Prison and after six months of interrogation, they were transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj in April 2011.

In March 2012, these seven Kurdish prisoners were sentenced to death on charges of "acting against national security", "propaganda against the system", "membership in Salafi groups" and "corruption on earth" by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge "Moghiseh" and this verdict was officially notified to them in Mai 2012.

After the protest of these seven political prisoners, this verdict was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2018 and referred to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, headed by Judge "Salavati" for retrial.

In Jun 2019, these seven political prisoners were sentenced to death on charges of "corruption on earth" and crimes related to national security despite numerous serious violations of the rules of a fair trial, in March 2020, Branch 41 of the Supreme Court upheld the verdicts issued against these seven prisoners and in September 2020, Branch 38 of the Supreme Court rejected their request for a retrial.

These seven Kurdish political prisoners were transferred to Qezelhesar Prison in August 2023, after the closure of Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.