Urmia Prison: Shaker Behrouz, a Kurdish Political Prisoner, Was Released After Seven Years and Five Months of Imprisonment
August 12, 2026; On Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Shaker Behrouz, a Kurdish political prisoner from Dizaj-e Margavar in the district of Urmia, was released from the Central Prison of Urmia after seven years and five months of imprisonment.
In 2022, the death sentence of this political prisoner was overturned by Branch 1 of the Supreme Court, and his sentence was converted to imprisonment.
In the court judgment issued by the Supreme Court, it was stated: Given that the named individual personally returned to the country after three months of membership in the Democratic Party and presented himself to the Ministry of Intelligence, and this fact indicates his withdrawal from membership in the Democratic Party, and considering that he was not arrested armed and a judgment of acquittal was issued for him regarding the charge of carrying and possessing a war weapon by Criminal Court Two, therefore, the act committed by the convict falls outside the scope of Article 287 of the Islamic Penal Code, and the appellant's appeal is deemed compliant with paragraphs A and C of Article 464 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and justified, and pursuant to paragraph B of Article 469 of the aforementioned law, the issued judgment is overturned and the case is referred to a court of equal standing for review.
Previously, this political prisoner had been sentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia, presided over by Judge "Sheikhlo", on charges of "rebellion (Baghi) and membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties to the Iranian government".
On December 6, 2020, Branch 1 of Criminal Court One Special for Juveniles of Urmia sentenced Shaker Behrouz to death by hanging in the courtyard of the Central Prison in a new case on charges of "murder of a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)" citing Articles 1, 2, 3, 14, 140, 141, 144, 160, 164, 166, 167, 168, 211, 301, 350, 351, 354, 381, 417, 418, 419, and 436 of the Islamic Penal Code enacted in 2013 and inspired by the divine verses 178 and 179 of the holy Surah Al-Baqarah. Following the risk of execution for Shaker Behrouz, the plaintiffs of his case granted consent and signed his official consent form on Thursday, June 30, 2022.
According to a copy of this consent form, the plaintiffs had declared: "While withdrawing from the announced complaint, we express our full and unconditional consent and grant forgiveness from a criminal and civil standpoint without any condition, requesting the closure of the case, and we will have no claim against the named person in the future, and if we make any claim in the future, it shall be void of validity."
During his imprisonment, Shaker Behrouz was tried on charges of "illegal entry into the country through unauthorized borders, membership in Kurdish opposition parties to the Iranian government, and murder of a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)" in Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia, Branch 1 of Criminal Court One Special for Juveniles of Urmia, Branch 114 of Criminal Court Two of Urmia, and Branch 110 of Criminal Court Two of Beheshti Complex in Urmia.
This political prisoner was tried in August 2020 in Branch 2 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia, presided over by Judge "Sheikhlo", on charges of "rebellion (Baghi) and membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties to the Iranian government", and on Thursday, September 10, 2020, the death sentence for this political prisoner was communicated to his lawyer.
This Kurdish citizen became a member of one of the Kurdish opposition parties to the Iranian government in 2018 and returned to Iran in September of that year after obtaining a "letter of safe-conduct (Aman-nameh)".
After returning to Iran, this citizen presented himself to the Intelligence Office of Urmia and was released after 14 days of interrogation.
Shaker Behrouz was arrested again on March 12, 2019, by security forces, and after one year and 9 days of detention in solitary confinement at the Al-Mahdi Garrison of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Urmia, he was transferred to the Central Prison of this city.
