Saman Nasim: My Confessions Were Recorded After Torture

Saman Nasim, a Kurdish prisoner sentenced to death, announced in a letter from Urmia Central Prison that his past confessions were recorded after what he described as 'inhumane and illegal' torture. In this letter, published on February 12 on the website of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, he mentioned being hung by his hands and feet, being prevented from sleeping, and being threatened with death during his 97 days of detention. According to Human Rights Watch, Saman Nasim was arrested at the age of 17 and subsequently sentenced to death for what was described as membership in the PJAK group, charged with moharebeh (waging war against God). He stated, 'During the entire time I was detained, I was tortured in every way and by every means. In the early days, the level of torture was such that I could not walk. All parts of my body were black and blue. I was hung by my hands and feet for hours.' Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International warned on February 10 about Nasim's imminent execution and called for a halt to this action. The statement released by Human Rights Watch indicated that the Supreme Court had upheld Nasim's death sentence, and now his family and lawyer are concerned that this sentence may be carried out in less than two weeks. In another part of his letter, he wrote, 'Under pressure and torture, in a completely inhumane act with my eyes closed and in a state between life and death, my interrogations were recorded, and I declare that this filming and interview is pure fabrication, and I strongly deny this interview.' He added, 'Later, a news channel published that I had been released and returned home, while I had been sentenced to death under a pre-designed scenario.' Amnesty International stated in its February 10 announcement that Saman Nasim had not had access to a lawyer during his interrogations and had been tortured. Meanwhile, this death row prisoner described his trial as 'mock' and stated that he and his lawyers had no opportunity to defend themselves and that the judge had 'threatened him with beating.' Nasim emphasized that he had no contact with his family during his detention. He also wrote at the beginning of his letter that his cell was 'designed with walls soaked in special materials' for 'psychological torture.' According to Nasim, a camera recorded all his movements and 'even the time of using the toilet.' After a hunger strike by several Kurdish prisoners in December, including 10 sentenced to death, Amnesty International expressed concern on December 16 that Iranian authorities had 'threatened to expedite' the executions of these prisoners. This organization specifically mentioned Saman Nasim on its website. The Human Rights Support Center listed Saman Nasim, Seyed Sam Hosseini, Jamal Mohammadi, Behrouz Alikhani, Ali Ahmad Soleiman, Sirwan Najavi, Ebrahim Eisaipour, Ali Afshari, Rozgar Afshari, and Mohammad Abdollahi as 10 Kurdish prisoners sentenced to death.