TEHRAN, Iran – A Tehran court has declared the death sentences of four Kurdish political prisoners on charges of collaborating with Israel. The Norwegian-based human rights group Hengaw has raised concerns about the imminent danger the prisoners are facing due to political decisions being made by the Iranian government.
According to Hengaw, the sentences of Mohsen Mazloum (27), Mohammad Faramarzi (28), Wafa Azarbar (26), and Pejman Fatehi (28) had already been upheld by a higher court. The prisoners are members of the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan, a social democratic ethnic political party. Iranian state media claims that the four Kurdish party members had been detained armed and were attempting to commit an explosion at the Isfahan industrial complex in July 2022.
The Komala Party has refuted these claims, stating that they are groundless and are being used to suppress more people and protesters. The families of the Kurdish detainees have received no information about their fate and whereabouts since their detention, and have had no opportunity to meet or talk to their loved ones.
Hengaw has expressed serious and imminent concerns about the potential execution of the prisoners, stressing that they have been held in security facilities for almost eighteen months and have been subjected to physical and mental torture without access to the minimum rights of political defendants. The Iranian government institutions have also reportedly pressured the families of the detainees, with the Iranian intelligence interrogating and torturing the mother of one of the prisoners.
The lives of the Kurdish political prisoners are in jeopardy amid escalating tensions between Iran and Israel. Hengaw has emphasized the potential exploitation of these cases for political propaganda as the war in Gaza continues. It is crucial to monitor the situation and advocate for the fair treatment of the prisoners in the face of these severe allegations.