Hatem Ozdemir, Kurdish Political Prisoner from Turkey, Sentenced to Death Again by Iranian Judiciary

Hengaw: Monday, May 20, 2024

Hatem Ozdemir, a Kurdish political prisoner from the Agri province of Turkey's Kurdistan region, has been sentenced to death once again by the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the Supreme Court previously overturning his death sentence.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Hatem Ozdemir, 28, was sentenced to death by Branch 3 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia, presided over by Judge Najafzadeh, on charges of "war against God." The sentence was officially communicated to him on Sunday, May 19, by officials of Urmia Central Prison.

The rehearing of Ozdemir's case took place on April 28 of this year. Previously, his death sentence had been overturned by the 9th Branch of the Supreme Court and referred back to the concurrent court in the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia.

Hatem Ozdemir was initially sentenced to death and five years of imprisonment by the First Branch of the Khoi Revolutionary Court on charges of "treason through his membership in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)." This sentence was officially communicated to him by officials at Urmia Central Prison on Wednesday, March 15, 2022.

On Wednesday, July 3, 2019, Hatem Ozdemir was captured by IRGC forces while injured and unconscious during a clash between IRGC forces and several members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in the Boralan Mako region. On Tuesday, August 19, 2019, he was transferred from the IRGC's Ramadan camp detention center in Urmia to the political ward of Urmia Central Prison.