IRAN: FIVE KURDISH RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PUBLICLY EXECUTED IN URMIA

May 20, 2016: Authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran executed five Kurdish rights activists in the northwestern Urmia city, officials and local activists confirmed. 
The Kurdish rights activists Naji Kiwan, Ali Kurdian, Haidar Ramini, Nadir Muhamadi and Ruhman Rashidi were arrested on May 18 on charges of “conspiring against the Islamic Republic of Iran”.
They were publicly hanged to death in central Urmia in front of hundreds of people, including their families who have been obliged by the Iranian authorities to witness the execution.
“The victims were human rights activists who used to document violations by Iranian security forces against civilians in the Kurdish city of Urmia,” member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iran Dara Natiq told ARA News.
“By executing those activists, the Iranian government tries to prevent any reporting about its violations against human rights,” he said. (Source: ARA News, 21/05/2016)