The Supreme Court reaffirms the death sentence of Shaker Behrouzi, a Kurdish political prisoner
The death sentence of Shaker Behrouzi, a Kurdish political prisoner, which was upheld by Branch 31 of the
Hengaw: Sunday, June 26, 2022
The death sentence of Shaker Behrouzi, a Kurdish political prisoner, which was upheld by Branch 31 of the Supreme Court based in Qom in September 2021, was reaffirmed by the Supreme Court and was officially announced to him yesterday, Saturday, June 25, 2022, in Urmia Prison.
According to an informed source in Urmia Central Prison, the death sentence was notified to Shaker Behrouzi yesterday in the political ward of Urmia Prison, and this political prisoner has only 20 days to request an appeal.
In view of the special order of the Head of Judiciary to carry out all death sentences and also the secret execution of Firouz Musa Lou, a Kurdish political prisoner in Urmia Prison, Hengaw Human Rights Organization expresses its deep concern over the imminent execution of Shaker Behrouzi and calls all Human Rights institutions and organizations for special attention to the case in order to put pressure on the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran not to execute the sentence.
Shaker Behrouzi from "Dezej Margavar", who had been a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran for three months, returned to Iran after leaving the party and was arrested by the Urmia Intelligence Service on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. He was transferred to Urmia Central Prison in the spring of 2020, after one year and nine days in detention and the completion of the interrogation processes in the Detention Center of the Urmia Intelligence Office.
In August 2020, Shaker Behrouzi was sentenced to death by Branch 2 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court, headed by Judge Sheikhlou, on charges of "Insolence" and "membership in the Komala Party."
The verdict was handed on charges of "membership in Komala", while Shaker Behrouzi was previously a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, and was sentenced by the same court to five years in prison on charges of "membership in the Democratic Party." The mentioned sentence was violated by the Supreme Court in July 2021 and was referred to the Revolutionary Court of Urmia for reconsideration.
The political prisoner was also sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Urmia Juvenile Criminal Court in December 2020 for the murder of a member of the Revolutionary Guards, which was confirmed by Branch 31 of the Supreme Court based in Qom in September 2021.
Sources of Hengaw reported that after Shaker Behrouzi objected to the Supreme Court's approval of the sentence, the sentence was referred to the Supreme Court again and was reaffirmed.
A source close to Shakeri's family told the Hengaw reporter: "Shaker Behrouzi had requested the presence of witnesses during the trial, but the judge prevented them from attending."
According to the source, "Shaker Behrouzi was forced to confess under torture, and IRGC intelligence agents used a large tablet to reconstruct the scene of the murder of Mamel Mohammadi Bavan, an IRGC member, for this political prisoner and put pressure on him in detention what movements should he do to reconstruct the scene".
The IRGC intelligence service has also pressured the plaintiffs in the Kurdish political prisoner's case and threatened them that they must not consent to this case under any circumstances, and Shaker Behrouzi has already gone on hunger strikes a few times due to this pressure.
A close person to Mr. Behrouzi had previously told Hangaw that Shaker had been tortured in solitary confinement for a year and nine days to confess to the assassination of a Revolutionary Guards member called Mamel Mohammadi.
Mamel Mohammadi, a member of the Revolutionary Guards, was murdered by unknown gunmen in the Margavar district of Urmia on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. The responsibility for the murder was later accepted by the group "Zagros Eagles."
