Urgent: Four Kurdish Prisoners in Urmia Transferred to Solitary Confinement for Imminent Execution of Espionage Charges

Hengaw: Thursday, December 28, 2023

Four Kurdish prisoners in Urmia, identified as Wafa Hanareh, Aram Omari Bardiani, Rahman Parhazo, and Nasim Namazi, have been moved to solitary confinement within the central prison of the city, signaling the impending execution of their death sentences on charges of "espionage."

According to a report obtained by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights on Thursday, December 28, 2023, Wafa Hanareh, Aram Omari Bardiani, Rahman Parhazo, and Nasim Namazi, who have been sentenced to death, were relocated to the solitary cells of Urmia Central Prison to undergo their sentences. It has been conveyed to Hengaw that the death sentences of these four prisoners were recently affirmed by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court. Additionally, Mansour Rasouli's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

Reliable sources informed Hengaw that these prisoners, now in solitary confinement, are likely to face execution this Friday morning. The families of these four prisoners have reportedly had their final meetings with them, and all communication lines within Urmia prison have been severed.

This potential imminent execution of four Kurdish political prisoners by the Islamic Republic of Iran, perceived as retaliation for the killing of an Iranian military commander by Israel in Syria, exemplifies the grave consequences of exercising political power devoid of moral considerations. Such actions not only epitomize absolute injustice but also underscore a profound disregard for human dignity and the right to life.

Wafa Hanareh, Aram Omari Bardiani, Rahman Parhazo, Mansour Rasouli, and Nasim Namazi received death sentences from the third branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia, led by Judge Najafzadeh, in February 2023, on charges of "participating in intelligence cooperation and espionage for the benefit of Israel."

Additionally, five other prisoners from Urmia, namely Kamran Hanareh, Fakhralddin Dudkanloi Milan, Ashkan Osmannejad Ganduk, Hassan Omarpour, and Amir Mushtaq Gangchin, received ten years in prison each for similar accusations from the same court.

Mansour Rasouli, initially sentenced to death and later granted life imprisonment, gained attention due to the release of images and videos depicting his "interrogation" by "groups attributed to Israel" in the past.

Forced into disappearance by the Intelligence Department forces during 2021 and 2022, each of these ten individuals spent several months in the solitary cell of Urmia Intelligence Department, subjected to physical torture.