Letter from Dozens of Kurdish Clerics to Mohseni Ejei: Cancel the Death Sentence of Mamosta Mohammad Khodrnejad

Nearly 250 Kurdish clerics sent a letter to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran, requesting the cancellation of the death sentence of Mamosta Mohammad Khodrnejad, a 45-year-old cleric from the city of Boukan. In the beginning of their letter, they criticized the 'unjust death and prison sentence' for this 'popular and compassionate' cleric, reminding that he has spent nearly 30 years of his life serving as a Friday prayer leader and teaching religious sciences to Sunni students. According to the signatory clerics, Mamosta Mohammad Khodrnejad has been accused of being a member of extremist and Takfiri groups, including ISIS, while he 'has never been an extremist or a Takfiri and has never separated from the majority of Muslims,' and such accusations are 'utterly false.' The Kurdish clerics further added that Mamosta Khodrnejad 'has always believed in moderate movements and activities, and all acquaintances, friends, and people in the region testify to this.' Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, also described the death sentence for this 'moderate and benevolent' cleric as 'unfair and concerning' and called for his release. Mamosta Mohammad Khodrnejad was arrested on Saturday, November 19, 2022, during the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protest movement, along with his son Yaser Khodrnejad, by intelligence forces violently at his home. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network and the Hengaw Human Rights Organization, Khodrnejad was sentenced to death for 'corruption on earth,' 15 years in prison for 'causing harm to the integrity or independence of the country,' and one year of imprisonment for 'propaganda against the regime' by the third branch of the Urmia Revolutionary Court, presided over by Judge Reza Najafzadeh. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported, citing an informed source in Urmia, that 'the trial of Mamosta Khodrnejad was held in four short sessions, the last of which was in November of this year, via video conference and without the right to have a lawyer. The judge issued the death sentence and 16 years of imprisonment without hearing the explanations and defenses of the accused and solely based on the report of the Ministry of Intelligence.' According to this informed source, Mohammad Khodrnejad was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture for three and a half months in solitary confinement at the Urmia intelligence detention center for forced confessions, and a video of his forced confessions was presented as evidence in the case. The arrest of Mamosta Mohammad Khodrnejad took place after a memorial ceremony for As'ad Rahimi, a victim of the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protest movement, where he had spoken critically about the government's treatment of protesting citizens at the Otakhari Mosque in Boukan. The special clergy court in Urmia had sentenced four Sunni clerics from Piranshahr to a total of 11 years in prison at the end of December. According to Hengaw, from January 2023 to June 2023, at least 16 Kurdish clerics (Mamostas) have been arrested and tried by government forces.