Kurdish Religious Prisoner Farhad Salimi Executed After 14 Years in Ghezel Hesar Prison

Hengaw: Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Farhad Salimi, a Kurdish religious prisoner from Saqqez, faced the implementation of his death sentence in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj after enduring 14 years of imprisonment. Despite the recent executions of his co-accused Davud Abdollahi, Qasim Abeste, and Ayoub Karimi in the past two months, Farhad Salimi met the same fate.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, in the early hours of Tuesday, January 23, 2024, Farhad Salimi, who spent fourteen years in prison without the right to leave, was executed in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj. Salimi had been transferred to solitary confinement on Sunday, and his family was denied the right to a final meeting. Although the family was instructed to return for a last visit today, they were informed upon arrival that Farhad Salimi's death sentence had been carried out.

Strongly condemning the execution of Farhad Salimi, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights emphasizes that this political prisoner faced a death sentence through a process that was completely non-transparent, unfair, and illegal within the judicial system of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Notably, Farhad Salimi, along with co-accused Anwar Khezri, Khsraw Besharat, and Kamaran Shekha, initiated a hunger strike on Saturday, December 30, 2023, in Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj. The hunger strike was a protest against the execution of their fellow prisoner, Davud Abdollahi, and in anticipation of their potential execution.

It's worth mentioning that in recent months, three other individuals from Farhad Salimi's co-accused group, namely Davud Abdullahi, Ayoub Karimi, and Qasim Abeste, were executed in the same prison.
Davud Abdullahi, Farhad Salimi, Anwar Khezri, Qasim Abeste, Khsraw Besharat, Kamaran Shekha, and Ayoub Karimi were apprehended on December 7, 2009, by security forces and were subsequently transferred to the intelligence agency detention center in Urmia City.

Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, under the leadership of Judge Moqiseh, handed down the death sentences of these prisoners. The charges against them in the murder case of "Abdul Rahim Tina" included "action against national security," "propaganda against the regime," "membership in Salafi groups," and "corruption on earth."

The session for the accusations against these 7 Kurdish religious prisoners took place in March 2015, with the mentioned sentences officially communicated to them on May 25, 2016.

 It's noteworthy that the verdict was overturned by the 41st branch of the Iranian Supreme Court, headed by Judge Razini, in 2017. An appeal was made to the 15th branch of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran, where, in June 2017, Davud Abdullahi and six other co-accused were again sentenced to death by Judge Abolqasem Salvati.
This verdict was confirmed by the 41st branch of the Iranian Supreme Court with repeated pressure from the Iranian Intelligence Department in Urmia. On Monday, March 4, 2020, it was officially communicated to Mahmoud Walizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer representing these seven Kurdish religious prisoners.
These seven individuals were initially incarcerated in Gohardasht prison and were later transferred to Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj on August 1, 2023, following the evacuation of Gohardasht prison.