Exclusive; Mohsen Mazloom's Wife: The Islamic Republic Has Threatened the Families of Executed Individuals

Joanna Timisi, the wife of Mohsen Mazloom, a political prisoner executed in Iran, stated in an interview with Voice of America that the families of the executed individuals have been threatened by the security and judicial apparatus of the Islamic Republic. Joanna Timisi pointed out that despite promises from security and judicial officials to transfer the bodies of the four recently executed individuals—Pejman Fatehi, Mohsen Mazloom, Mohammad Faramarzi, and Vafa Azarbar—to their families in Kurdistan, these officials changed their statements and said they would bury the bodies themselves and would inform the families of the burial locations after three months. These four Kurdish political prisoners were executed at dawn on February 9 in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, despite widespread international protests and significant requests within Iran. They were members of the Komala Party of Kurdistan, arrested in 2022 in Urmia, and accused of 'spying for Israel,' an accusation that they strongly denied. Their lawyer also protested the 'unfair trial process' regarding these charges. Joanna Timisi added that this is not the first time that the bodies of executed individuals have not been returned to their families. She described this action as a 'crime and a gross violation of human rights,' stating that 'the Islamic Republic kept these four individuals in enforced disappearance for 19 months without respecting their basic rights, and after executing them without a fair trial and without informing their families, they also subjected their lifeless bodies to enforced disappearance.' She referred to the executions of Farzad Kamangar and Shirin Alam Holi in 2010, noting that their burial locations have not been disclosed to their families to this day. She also mentioned the execution of Ramin Hossein Panahi in 2018, stating that his burial location, which is known to be near 'the comrades of Mohsen, Pejman, Vafa, and Mohammad and a close friend of Mohsen Mazloom,' has also not been disclosed to his family, and his mother, Dayeh Sharifeh, is still searching for her son's grave to find some peace. Ms. Timisi also highlighted the 'widespread strikes' and visits of people with the families of the executed individuals, stating that despite the security atmosphere in Kurdistan, including around the families' homes, they have been told not to hold any ceremonies for their executed loved ones and to refrain from meeting with people; otherwise, they would face the same fate as their children. She pointed out that all four mothers are demanding the return of their children's lifeless bodies so that they can at least 'believe that their loved ones have been executed,' and because the Islamic Republic has even refrained from showing their bodies, the families still cannot believe that their children have been executed.