Hengaw’s report on the uncertain legal status of four Kurdish political prisoners, one year after their arrest
Mohsen Mazloum, Mohammad (Hazhir) Faramarzi, Wafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi are four Kurdish pol
Hengaw: Saturday, July 22, 2023
Mohsen Mazloum, Mohammad (Hazhir) Faramarzi, Wafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi are four Kurdish political prisoners who were detained by Iranian government forces last year. There is still no news about their current custodial status. These prisoners have endured mental and physical torture in an attempt to extract confessions.
According to the report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, 27-year-old Mohsen Mazloum from Mahabad, 28-year-old Mohammad Faramarzi from Dehgolan, 26-year-old Wafa Azarbar from Bukan, and 28-year-old Pejman Fatehi from Kamyaran are still being held in the custody of Iranian security institutions. They are deprived of access to even the basic rights granted to political defendants, and there is a complete lack of information concerning their whereabouts.
In August 2022, State-sponsored media released a report claiming that these four Kurdish political prisoners, who are members of the Komlalah party, were arrested "armed and while trying to blow up the industrial facilities of Isfahan".
The Kurdistan Komala Party of Iran subsequently issued an official statement refuting the claims made by the Islamic Republic of Iran, deeming them baseless. The party emphasized that the government had concocted this scenario to further suppress the people and the protestors.
The state media of the Islamic Republic has repeatedly broadcast the forced confessions of Mohsen Mazloum, Mohammad (Hazhir) Faramarzi, Wafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi. These actions are not unheard of within the practices of the security institutions of the Islamic Republic of Iran and are primarily orchestrated by security agents to fabricate cases.
The families of these four prisoners have also been under pressure from Iranian government institutions. The Kamyaran Intelligence Department subjected Afsaneh Yousefi, the mother of Pejman Fatehi, to several hours of intense interrogation and psychological torment, along with threats of summoning and arresting other family members.
It is noteworthy that on July 23, 2022, these four individuals affiliated with the Komala party of Iranian Kurdistan were arrested in the village of "Yengejeh," situated within the Sumay-ye Beradust District in Urmia.
Due to the security procedures governing the cases of Kurdish political activists, particularly members of Kurdish parties, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights expresses concern about the fate of these individuals and calls for the Islamic Republic of Iran to be accountable in this regard and to guarantee the defense rights of these defendants, including the right to legal representation of their choice.
