IRAN: FIVE AZERBAIJANIS EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING

October 10, 2011: five Iranian Azerbaijanis – Jamal Shaikhzade, Farhad Islamdust, Muhammad Jangali, Dehqan Salamat and Riza Alipour –, who were convicted of drug trafficking, were executed in the central prison of Orumieh.
According to the Association for Defense of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP), the individuals were convicted after an unfair trial process largely based on confessions extracted under torture and false documents allegedly prepared by the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security of Iran.
Three of these five executed individuals, Shaikhzade, Islamdust and Jangali, were residents of Isti Su village and were members of the Iranian Azerbaijani Sunni minority commonly referred as “Sunni Turk” or “Kuresunni” by locals. According to their families, they were subjected to severe psychological and physical torture under interrogation. There are reports that at least one of the executed individuals, Jamal Shaikhzade, a 30-year-old driver assistant, may have been innocent. (Sources: www.hurriyetdailynews.com, 18/10/2011)