Security agencies to the families of five Kurdish political prisoners on death row: Keep silent until you receive the bodies of the executed at least

Following the execution of Qasem Abesteh and Ayoub Karimi, two Kurdish political prisoners on November 5 and November 29, 2023, the risk of execution of other co-defendants of these two prisoners named Anwar Khezri, Kamran Sheikhe, Khosrow Besharat, Davoud Abdollahi, and Farhad Salimi has increased sharply and the families of all these executed and endangered prisoners are under severe pressure from security agencies.

According to an informed source to Kurdpa; After the execution of Qasem Abesteh and Ayoub Karimi, the families of Anwar Khezri, Kamran Sheikhe, Khosrow Besharat, Davoud Abdollahi, and Farhad Salimi were under severe pressure from security agencies to remain silent about the risk of execution of their children, otherwise they would refrain from delivering the bodies to their families. The security pressures against these families have been so high that no video or image was published at the funeral of Ayoub Karimi despite the widespread presence of people so that the families could at least receive the bodies of their children.

The pressure on the families of these prisoners has gone so far that security agencies call some of the families every day and say that their child has been executed, but when the families go to Karaj, they are told that nothing has happened.

On the other hand, the families of Qasem Abesteh and Ayoub Karimi are also under severe pressure to remain silent about the execution of their children. In this regard, two days before the execution of Ayoub Karimi, his brother Zakaria Karimi was arrested by security agencies in Sardasht and there is no information about his fate. This has caused the Karimi family to remain silent about the execution of Ayoub Karimi to find out about the fate of Zakaria Karimi and that security agencies do not harm him. Even the news of Zakaria Karimi's arrest was reported by the people 4 days after his arrest.

The Kurdish Human Rights Organization, Kurdpa, while condemning the execution of two Kurdish political prisoners named Qasem Abesteh and Ayoub Karimi by the Islamic Republic of Iran, calls for more pressure from the international community on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to cancel the death sentences of other defendants in this case.

These political prisoners have been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of "corruption on earth". After 14 years in prison, the death sentences of Qasem Abesteh and Ayoub Karimi were carried out on November 5 and November 29, 2023, in Qezelhesar prison in Karaj, and five other prisoners are at risk of execution.

The case of these prisoners was referred to the Supreme Court in 2019, after the finalization of the death sentence. Also, on September 9, 2020, Branch 38 of the Supreme Court rejected the request for a retrial of these political prisoners sentenced to death.

Anwar Khezri, Kamran Sheikhe, Khosrow Besharat, Davoud Abdollahi, Farhad Salimi, Qasem Abesteh, and Ayoub Karimi were arrested by security forces in the cities of Saqqez and Mahabad from mid-December 2009 to early January 2010 and transferred to the Urmia Intelligence Detention Center. These 7 political prisoners were tortured physically and mentally for several months in this security detention center to make forced confessions.

At the end of the interrogation period in the Urmia Intelligence Detention Center, these 7 political prisoners were transferred to Evin Prison in Tehran and were interrogated for another 6 months in solitary cells in wards 240 and 209 of Evin Prison. On April 14, 2012, these prisoners were transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

In late February 2016, the trial of these 7 prisoners on charges such as "acting against national security", "propaganda against the system", "membership in Salafi groups" and "corruption on earth" was held in Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Moghiseh, and the death sentence was officially.

issued to them on May 25, 2016. After the lawyer of the case objected to this verdict, the case was referred to the Supreme Court and the verdict was overturned in late 2016.

After referring this case to Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, presided over by Judge Salavati, in June 2018, these 7 prisoners were sentenced to death again on charges of "corruption on earth". After the lawyer of this case objected to the verdict, the case was referred to Branch 41 of the Supreme Court, and the verdict was confirmed in February 2019.

Anwar Khezri, Kamran Sheikhe, and Khosrow Besharat were tried in July 2019 in another separate case by the Urmia Court of Appeal on charges of "premeditated murder" of a Sunni cleric named Abdolrahim Tina. Based on the verdicts issued in July 2020 and notified to these prisoners, Anwar Khezri and Khosrow Besharat were sentenced to 10 years in prison each for "complicity in murder" and Kamran Sheikhe was sentenced to death for "premeditated murder".

These 7 political prisoners were transferred to Qezelhesar prison in August 2021 after the closure and evacuation of Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj.

Edited by: Avin Mostafazadeh