Kurdish citizen is in imminent danger of execution in Tabriz prison

Hengaw: Friday, November 4, 2022

The Iranian judiciary has sentenced a Kurdish citizen from Qotur (Kotul) of Khoy, West Azerbaijan (Urmia) province, to death.

According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, 27-year-old Tohid Darvishi, married and the father of two children from the village of "Girnavik" in Qotur, Khoy, was arrested on October 15, 2022, during the protests and popular uprising in Tabriz. He has been sentenced to death in a criminal proceeding without having access to a lawyer and with minimal guarantees regarding the rights of the defendant.

Hengaw’s sources have reported that Tohid Darvishi is a taxi driver. He was violently arrested by Iranian security forces while his car was turned off on the street and he was gone to get a gallon of gasoline from a gas station for the car.

The head of the Iranian court handling Tohid Darvishi’s case, after verbally notifying his family of the death sentence (without going through any proper procedure), disrespected and threatened them and kicked them out of the office.

Tohid Darvishi is currently detained in Tabriz Central Prison and is under a lot of mental and physical pressure.

In addition to the death sentence, Hengaw declares that Tohid Darvishi has been subjected to severe physical and mental torture since his arrest and that he is not entitled to any of the minimum rights of a defendant in criminal proceedings, including access to legal services and a lawyer, notification of the family, and medical treatment.