Death Sentence Issued for Another Protester; Shahin Vossaf Accused of 'Spying for Israel'

Shahin Vossaf, a 27-year-old citizen from Salmas in West Azerbaijan province, has been sentenced to death on charges of 'spying for Israel' after being arrested during the nationwide protests of 2022 in Urmia. According to the Hengaw website report on Thursday, February 22, Vossaf was detained on October 3, 2022, along with his cousin Nasser Vossaf by the Urmia Intelligence Agency forces and was transferred to Urmia Central Prison after interrogation at the agency's detention center. The report states that Shahin Vossaf was sentenced to death in the third branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia on the charge of 'spying for Israel,' and this sentence was officially communicated to this political prisoner 'in prison' on October 3, 2023. The issuance of this sentence comes at a time when the trial of these two protesters was held 'without the presence of a designated lawyer,' and during their detention, they were deprived of 'access to a lawyer' and 'visits with family.' Furthermore, the report emphasizes that they were subjected to 'severe torture' in the Urmia Intelligence Agency detention center for 'forced confessions' and acceptance of the charges. According to this report, Nasser Vossaf 'was recently released from Urmia Central Prison.' Despite warnings from international organizations about the increase in executions by the Islamic Republic, the judiciary insists on issuing death sentences for protesters under various charges, including corruption on earth, moharebeh, baghi, murder, and espionage. In addition to the execution of several protesters in recent months, many others, including Mojahid Korkor, Reza Rasayi, Fazl Bahramian, Mehran Bahramian, Mohammad Javad Vafaee Sani, Mansour Dahmarde, and Abbas Daris, are at risk of execution. Mohammad Moqimi and Sina Yousefi, two legal experts, have previously emphasized in an interview with the Persian section of Voice of America that this systematic process aims to instill fear in society. Javid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, in his first detailed interview with Voice of America, stated that 'the execution of peaceful protesters' is one of the concerning human rights violations by the Islamic Republic, and they 'were punished just for exercising their legal right to protest.' This senior UN official emphasized that the Islamic Republic 'has no tolerance for any protest at all' and 'wanted to punish everyone who came to the streets,' and in addition to executing at least eight protesters, 'there is now a very serious risk that more individuals will be executed.'