Among those hanged is the “political prisoner” Mohayedin Ebrahimi. The executions were carried out in the Umria prison. Activists and NGOs speak of a show trial and forced executions following the conviction of the 43-year-old man for alleged links to Iran’s Kurdistan Democratic Party. Since the beginning of the year, 144 prisoners have been murdered.
Tehran () – Tehran is once again arming the executioner. Over the past weekend, amid the silence of the international community, Iran hanged seven men belonging to the Kurdish minority, including a “political prisoner”. The executions were denounced by the activist groups Iran Human Rights (IRH) and Hengaw in separate statements, confirming the increasingly widespread use of the death penalty by the Islamic Republic, especially since the start of the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini (also a Kurdish), 22 years old.
Mohayedin Ebrahimi (pictured), 43, was hanged at dawn on March 17 at Urmia prison in the northwest of the country. On the same day, five other people, all men, were executed for drug trafficking offenses in the same institution.
Ebrahimi had been detained in 2017 during clashes in which he was shot in the leg. The following year, judges sentenced him to death for (alleged) links to Iran’s Kurdistan Democratic Party, a banned group that led an armed struggle for Kurdish self-determination in the region. In his sentence, the court found him guilty of “armed rebellion”, charges that he always rejected, claiming his innocence. For his part, the activist groups explain that he worked as a transporter on the route with Iraq.
To the IHR and Hengaw he was a “political prisoner”, forcibly forced to confess to a crime he never committed while in prison. International human rights NGOs condemn the use of execution at the end of a “crude and unfair trial” based on “confessions extorted” through “torture”.
Ebrahimi’s family, who had perceived an acceleration in the execution schedule, said they had received news from the authorities about a “transfer” of their family member to another prison, following the “suspension” of his sentence. However, shortly after, a second call came -preceded by the arrest of his son- in which the family was invited to pick up the body to bury it.
Activist groups say executions for various types of crimes are increasing. An attempt, according to many, to intimidate the demonstrators and civil society into suspending their protests. According to IHR data, at least 144 people have been executed since the beginning of the year, but the numbers could be even higher. The director of the NGO Mahmood Amiry Moghaddam describes those executed as “victims of the government’s execution machine, whose sole purpose is to intimidate people and prevent protests.” Amnesty International accused Iran of a “chilling escalation in the use of the death penalty”, especially against Kurds and Balochs.
