Three Days After Denial, News of Executions in Urmia Confirmed

Only three days after a judicial official denied the news of the execution of six prisoners in Urmia, the head of the West Azerbaijan judiciary announced that one 'security' prisoner and four 'drug' prisoners were executed on Tuesday, August 9. Tavakkol Heydari, in an interview with the Mizan news agency, the official news agency of the judiciary, accused the executed 'security prisoner' of being a member of the Komala group without naming him. In this judicial official's interview, no reason was given for the incorrect reporting, the initial denial, and the current confirmation of the news. Mr. Heydari also reacted to the 'poisonous propaganda of anti-revolutionary and opposition media,' stating that this individual was sentenced to death for 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) and using firearms, which resulted in the death of three police officers and injury to two others. According to Mr. Heydari, one prisoner was sentenced to death for 'selling four kilograms of crystal meth,' another for 'carrying and possessing two kilograms of crystal meth,' a third for 'carrying and possessing one kilogram of morphine,' and the fourth for 'carrying and possessing seven kilograms of heroin.' He stated without explanation regarding the reason for the initial denial that these five individuals were executed on Tuesday, August 9. On the same day, the Harana news agency, the news outlet of human rights activists in Iran, reported the execution of Mohammad Abdollahi, a Kurdish political activist, along with five prisoners accused of drug-related crimes. However, Ali Jalili, the director of prisons in West Azerbaijan province, responded to Harana's report by stating that 'the execution of six prisoners in Urmia in recent days is not true.' Mohammad Abdollahi had previously requested a fair trial for himself in an open letter to the head of the Iranian judiciary. His accusation was moharebeh through membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties, but his lawyer stated that Mr. Abdollahi never took up arms and was therefore acquitted of the charge of moharebeh. According to this lawyer, the Revolutionary Court judge issued an order to 'overturn the prosecutor's ruling' and insisted on carrying out the death sentence. On Tuesday, August 2, the Iranian government also executed 20 prisoners, most of whom were Sunni Kurds, on charges of 'terrorist activities.' This incident led to widespread protests from human rights organizations, which described the trial process of the accused as 'unfair' and claimed that the confessions of the accused were obtained under torture. Following the execution of these prisoners, reports emerged of attacks on police officers in cities in western provinces of Iran. For instance, on the evening of Tuesday, August 9, a motorcyclist threw an explosive object into a police patrol car in the city of Marivan in Kurdistan province, which took the life of a police officer two days later. Additionally, according to government officials, on the afternoon of Monday, August 8, two motorcyclists threw several sound grenades at a police station in the city of Sardasht in West Azerbaijan province, which did not result in casualties. Meanwhile, several Kurdish-language media outlets in Iran reported on Friday, August 11, about the 'shelling' of border areas between 'Iraqi Kurdistan and Iranian Kurdistan' by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The western provinces of Iran have also witnessed intensified clashes between Iranian security forces and armed opposition groups, including the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and the PJAK group, in recent months. Following the clashes in recent months, reports about the shelling of border areas between 'Iraqi Kurdistan and Iranian Kurdistan' were published on July 27, and Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, expressed his 'deep concern' over Iran's actions.