Political Prisoner and Yarsan Adherent Reza Rasai Secretly Executed

Hengaw: Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Reza (Gholamreza) Rasai, a Kurdish political prisoner and follower of the Yarsan religion, who was arrested during the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, was secretly executed in Dizel Abad Prison, Kermanshah.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Rasai's execution took place in the early hours of Tuesday, August 6, 2024, in Kermanshah Central Prison (Dizel Abad). Rasai, a 34-year-old from Sahneh city in Kermanshah province, was executed without prior notification to his family.

An informed source revealed that security agencies informed Rasai's family about the execution only this morning. They were also warned that they are not permitted to bury him in his hometown of Sahneh.

On Sunday, December 31, 2023, Rasai's case was forwarded to the Execution of Sentences Department of Kermanshah province by Mohammad Rasool Haqnajati, the head of the second branch of the Criminal Court of Kermanshah, who had issued the death sentence. The Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran had approved the death sentence two weeks prior.

In October of the previous year, Rasai was sentenced to death by the second branch of the Criminal Court of Kermanshah province for the murder of Nader Bairami, Nader Bairami, the IRGC’s intelligence chief in Sahneh City. This sentence was issued under pressure from the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite the lack of evidence and documentation to prove the crime.

It is important to note that Rasai's sentence was based on forced confessions obtained after months of torture and case fabrication. No proof documents have been presented in this case.

On Friday, November 24, 2022, Rasai was arrested by government forces in Karaj city. Following his interrogation, he was transferred to Dizel Abad Prison in Kermanshah.