Supreme Court Confirms Death Sentence for Hatam Ozdemeir, Kurdish Citizen of Turkey, in Iran

Iranian human rights media report that the Supreme Court has confirmed the death sentence of Hatam Ozdemeir, a political prisoner and Turkish national. According to a report from the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization published on Sunday, October 1, this decision was made despite a previous annulment of the sentence by the same court and no changes in his case. Hatam Ozdemeir was arrested in July 2019 during a clash between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) while he was injured and unconscious at the zero border point between Iran and Turkey, located in the Chaldoran region. This Turkish citizen, from the Agri province, was sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court of Khoy on charges of 'baghi' after enduring two years and nine months of detention. 'Baghi' in Iran's Islamic Penal Code refers to armed rebellion against the Islamic Republic. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Ozdemeir's death sentence was communicated to him in May of this year. After that, the sentence was annulled once and referred back to the Revolutionary Court of Urmia for reconsideration, but it has been confirmed again. The Iran Human Rights Organization, quoting Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht, Hatam Ozdemeir's defense attorney, described the sentence as unjust and pointed out the lack of evidence against his client and the failure to consider evidence in his favor. The lawyer previously stated in an interview regarding his client's charges: 'According to the Islamic Penal Code, the condition for someone to be labeled as a baghi is that the individual must have used their weapon. However, Hatam did not use his weapon at all, and moreover, the deputy prosecutor of the Supreme Court has previously stated on three grounds that the charge of baghi does not apply to Hatam Ozdemeir.' The PKK has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Turkish government since 1984, and both the United States and the European Union consider it a terrorist organization. Iranian authorities have executed several Iranian citizens on charges of collaborating or being members of PJAK, which is considered a group linked to the PKK.