Death Sentence Issued Again After Supreme Court Violation; This Time a Turkish Citizen's Life is at Risk

Hatam Ozdemir, a Kurdish citizen of Turkey and a prisoner held in Urmia prison, has been sentenced to death again by the third branch of the Revolutionary Court in Urmia, despite a previous death sentence being overturned by the Supreme Court. The human rights news agency, HRANA, reported that Mr. Ozdemir's charge is 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) and that the death sentence was communicated to him on Sunday, May 19, in Urmia prison. The hearing for this prisoner's charges was held on April 23 of this year via video conference with the legal representation of Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht. Hatam Ozdemir was arrested in early summer 2019 following an armed clash between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the border areas of Chaldoran in Maku, and after two months, he was transferred to the political section of Urmia prison. He was then moved to the Urmia Intelligence Department detention center on September 18 of the same year and later returned to the central Urmia prison. In late winter 2021, Hatam Ozdemir was sentenced to death by the first branch of the Revolutionary Court of Khoy for the charge of 'baghi' (rebellion) and five years of imprisonment for 'membership in the PKK,' with the ruling being communicated to him on March 14 of that year. However, this ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court in March 2022. Additionally, it is noted that a gathering of Iranians residing in London protested against executions and repression by the Islamic Republic in reaction to the widespread condemnation of the execution of Parvin Mousavi; the judiciary defended the execution, stating it was confirmed by the Supreme Court. The Iran Human Rights Organization has called for international action to stop executions in Iran, highlighting that in five months, ten women were executed in the Islamic Republic.