Iranian authorities executed four Kurdish political prisoners on Monday morning after a secret trial that has been widely criticised as grossly unfair.
The prisoners, Pejman Fatehi (28), Mohsen Mazloum (27), Vafa Azarbar (26), and Mohammad Faramarzi (28), were hanged in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj during morning prayers. They were arrested in July 2022 and held incognito for the last 18 months, their case marred by ambiguity and lack of access to legal representation.
Shortly before the executions, relatives were permitted a first and final visit to the prisoners. The Hengaw Human Rights Organisation reported that the men maintained full conviction of their innocence during the family visits.
The death sentences were reportedly based on forced confessions and defendants were denied independent legal representation throughout a secret trial. The men were also denied the right to appeal against their death sentences, which were upheld by the Supreme Court within 24 hours.
The charges included collaboration with Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, which was denied by the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, a social-democratic ethnic political party of which the defendants were members. The allegedly coerced confessions, showing the prisoners in an emaciated and tormented state, were aired on state television, and have been disputed by the families, who point to contradictions in the confessions.
The execution of Kurdish activists and dissidents is not a new phenomenon in Iran, recently figures have escalated. The international community has long been critical of Iran’s human rights record, particularly its treatment of minority groups such as the Kurds and Baluchis.
