Idris Ali and Azad Shojaei, Kurdish citizens from Sardasht (Zerdeşt), Western Azerbaijan province, Iran, along with Rasoul Ahmad Mohammad from Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, have been sentenced to death by the Second Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Urmia on charges of “espionage for Israel”. These sentences were reportedly linked to the assassination case of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.
On 5 November 2024, Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangiri announced the issuance of death sentences for three people allegedly involved in the “Fakhrizadeh assassination case”, although he did not disclose their names. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), the three individuals were initially detained in Sardasht in July 2023 by the Ministry of Intelligence, then transferred to its facility in Urmia. KHRN reports they endured prolonged physical and psychological torture to extract forced confessions, initially denying all accusations before allegedly being coerced into confessing under duress.
KHRN further detailed that Ali, Shojaei, and Mohammad were held in solitary confinement for more than eight months before being transferred to Urmia Central Prison. Deprived of family contact for over three months, they reportedly received their first phone call home only after this prolonged period. The men were accused by security forces of “espionage for Israel” and “transporting equipment used in Fakhrizadeh’s assassination”. Ali and Shojaei, who worked as porters in their village near the Sardasht border, along with Mohammad, a trader, had rejected the charges but were allegedly compelled to confess after enduring significant mistreatment.
The trial for these detainees took place on 23 September 2024, in Urmia’s Second Revolutionary Court under Judge Shahin. The death sentences were handed down in early November. During the investigative phase, the accused were reportedly denied access to chosen legal representation, obtaining attorneys only after their cases reached the Revolutionary Court.
At a press briefing, judiciary spokesperson Jahangiri commented, “In the Fakhrizadeh assassination case, three Israeli spies have received preliminary death sentences. Eight individuals in West Azerbaijan were arrested, three of whom allegedly transported equipment used in the assassination, posing as alcohol smugglers. Their death sentences are currently under appeal.”
The death sentences come after it was recently reported that 166 people were executed in Iran in October, the highest number of executions since 2017.
