Iran secretly executes Kurdish political prisoners Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour in Naqadeh Prison
Hengaw – Thursday, May 21, 2026
Iranian authorities have secretly executed two Kurdish political prisoners, Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, both from Naqadeh, who had previously been sentenced to death in a joint case on charges of membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI).
According to information obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, the death sentences of Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour were carried out in secret at dawn on Wednesday, May 21, 2026, in Naqadeh Central Prison, without prior notice to their families or the opportunity for a final visit.
Simultaneously with the executions, the judiciary’s media center (Mizan News Agency) issued a statement confirming the executions and accusing the two Kurdish prisoners of “membership in separatist terrorist groups,” “armed rebellion,” and “attempted assassination.”
Hengaw emphasizes that such repeated accusations are routinely brought against political activists in Kurdistan based on forced confessions obtained under torture.
Background of Ramin Zaleh’s case
Ramin Zaleh, a resident of Naqadeh, was arrested on July 22, 2024, by Intelligence Ministry forces and transferred to Naqadeh Central Prison.
After enduring 507 days of detention and legal limbo, he was eventually sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad, presided over by Judge Siyami, on charges of “baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.”
Following months in solitary confinement, his trial lasted only a few minutes and was conducted in a completely opaque manner without access to a lawyer of his own choosing. His death sentence was officially communicated to him in prison on December 6, 2025.
Background of Karim Maroufpour’s case
Karim Maroufpour, a 29-year-old from Naqadeh, had previously been arrested on March 23, 2021, by Iranian government forces in Sardasht.
Hengaw had earlier reported that Maroufpour was severely beaten during his arrest.
He was detained on charges of cooperating with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and was subjected to prolonged enforced disappearance without contact with his family before eventually being sentenced to death alongside Ramin Zaleh by the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad in an unfair judicial process, on charges of “baghi (armed rebellion) through membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.”
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights strongly condemns the secret executions of Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, describing them as a continuation of the Iranian government’s systematic crimes against Kurdish political activists and a clear case of state killing.
Hengaw once again calls for the diplomatic isolation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and for firm international action against Iran’s ongoing machinery of executions and state violence.
