Woman, Life, Freedom Movement: Kurdish Individual Shahin Wasaf Sentenced to Death

Hengaw: Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Shahin Wasaf, a Kurdish resident of Selmas, West Azerbaijan province, who was arrested during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi (Woman, Life, Freedom)  movement by security forces in Urmia, has been sentenced to death on charges of espionage for Israel.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, Shahin Wasaf, a 27-year-old Kurdish individual from Selmas, was sentenced to death by the third branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. On Tuesday, October 3, 2023, the verdict was officially notified to him in Urmia Central Prison.

Shahin Wasaf was arrested on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement, along with another individual named Nasser Wasaf, by forces of the Intelligence Department in Urmia. They were subsequently transferred to the detention center of this security institution in Urmia and later to Urmia Central Prison.

Hengaw has learned that the court session for these two individuals was conducted without the presence of a lawyer. Naser Wasaf was recently released from Urmia Central Prison.

It's important to note that during their detention, both individuals were deprived of the right to access a lawyer and to meet with their families. They were also subjected to severe torture in the detention center of the Urmia Intelligence Department in order to obtain forced confessions and to accept the charge of espionage for Israel.