Farhad Salimi Transferred to Solitary Confinement; Amnesty International Warns of 'Imminent Execution' Risk

An international human rights organization has warned that Farhad Salimi, a prisoner at risk of execution, was transferred to solitary confinement in Ghezal Hesar prison in Alborz province on Sunday, January 21, and is in 'imminent danger of execution.' Concerns about the execution risk for Farhad Salimi, a 'torture victim' Sunni Kurd, have increased following the executions of his three co-defendants, Qasem Abasteh, Ayoub Karimi, and Davood Abdollahi, over the past three months. Amnesty International emphasized in a statement on Tuesday, January 23, that the trials of these prisoners were 'severely unfair and accompanied by torture and other ill-treatment.' The organization stressed that the Islamic Republic must 'immediately' halt Farhad Salimi's execution and described the executions of Qasem Abasteh, Ayoub Karimi, and Davood Abdollahi as 'concerning,' noting that in November 2023 alone, Iranian authorities executed at least 115 people, double the number of executions during the same period last year. Amnesty International states that Iranian officials use the death penalty as a 'tool to suppress minorities, protesters, and dissenters' while simultaneously restricting access to education, employment, and political positions for ethnic and religious minorities. Farhad Salimi and six other defendants in this case were sentenced to death in March 2016 by Branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran under Judge Mohammad Mogheiseh. Although this sentence was overturned by Judge Ali Razini in the Supreme Court, it was reinstated upon review in Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, and Judge Ali Razini of Branch 41 of the Supreme Court confirmed the death penalty this time. Anvar Khazari, Kamran Sheikheh, Farhad Salimi, Qasem Abasteh, Khosrow Basharat, Ayoub Karimi, and Davood Abdollahi were the seven defendants sentenced to death in this joint case, of which three executions have been carried out so far. These seven Sunni citizens were deprived of legal counsel throughout the trial. Years later, in 2017, due to defects and ambiguities in the case, the death sentence issued in the first trial was rejected by the Supreme Court and referred back to another branch of the Revolutionary Court under Judge Salavati. In this court, the charge was changed from 'corruption on earth' to 'waging war against God,' and the death sentence was issued and finalized. Previously, Amnesty International had warned about the execution risks for Anvar Khazari, Farhad Salimi, Kamran Sheikheh, and Khosrow Basharat, members of the Sunni Kurdish minority in Iran, in Ghezal Hesar prison in Alborz province, following the increase in executions across Iran and the execution of three prisoners from this case. Earlier, Pegah Bani Hashemi, a lawyer, told Voice of America that executions have always been a tool of repression and terror throughout the lifespan of the Islamic Republic. In November of this year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran presented a report to the General Assembly and the Third Committee of this organization, stating that the report depicts the 'bitter reality' of the human rights situation in Iran. Javid Rahman also described the increase in executions as 'concerning,' stating that 'at least 582 people were executed in 2022, over 256 of which were related to drug offenses, significantly higher than in 2021.'