22 February 2025 :
February 18, 2025 - IRAN. Death sentence of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh goes to Supreme Court
Kurdish political prisoner
The case of Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, a 26-year-old Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to death, has been referred to Branch Nine of the Supreme Court following an appeal against his conviction.
Abdollahzadeh was sentenced to death by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, presided over by Judge Najafzadeh, on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fil-arz) and “involvement in the premeditated murder” of a member of the Basij paramilitary force, Abbas Fatemiyeh.
The verdict was issued on 19 September 2024 and formally communicated to him in prison on 21 October.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that after Abdollahzadeh’s legal team appealed the verdict, it was referred to Branch Nine of the Supreme Court some 40 days ago, although it remains unclear when a final decision will be made.
Born on 15 March 1998 in Orumiyeh, Abdollahzadeh was arrested by security forces during the Women, Life, Freedom uprising on 22 October 2022 and taken to a detention facility in the city, where he was subjected to 38 days of physical and psychological torture in an attempt to force a confession to his alleged involvement in the killing of a Basij member.
Despite this, footage of the incident in the possession of the security forces does not show Abdollahzadeh at the scene, and he has consistently denied any involvement in the killing.
After his initial detention, he was transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison, where his case was reviewed by the Seventh Investigation Branch of the city’s Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office, presided over by Judge Soltanzadeh.
Once charged, the case was transferred to Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, and after three court sessions he was sentenced to death for “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fil-arz) and “involvement in the premeditated murder” of a member of the Basij paramilitary forces, Abbas Fatemiyeh.
According to the statistics compiled by KHRN, at least 12 Kurdish political prisoners – Pakhshan Azizi, Verisheh Moradi, Yousef Ahmadi, Hatem Ozdemir, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heidaranlou, Pezhman Soltani, Shahin Vasaf, Azad Shojaei, Rasoul Ahmad Rasoul, Edris Ali, and Nasser Bakrzadeh – are currently on death row in Orumiyeh, Sanandaj, and Evin prisons. At least seven others are at risk of receiving death sentences.
About his case see also HoC 29/11/2024, 03/12/2024, 09/01/2025
