Three Kurdish Prisoners Executed

Fars News Agency reported that Zanyar Moradi, Luqman Moradi, and Ramin Hossein Panahi, three Kurdish political prisoners, were executed on Saturday. Saleh Nikbakht, the lawyer for Luqman and Zanyar Moradi, stated that the execution at this stage is illegal. Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, and Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions, had called on Iranian authorities on Friday, September 7, to immediately halt the execution of Kurdish political prisoners Zanyar Moradi, Luqman Moradi, and Ramin Hossein Panahi. Zanyar Moradi and Luqman Moradi were sentenced to death for 'moharebeh' (waging war against God) and for the murder of the son of the Imam Jum'ah of Marivan. Ramin Hossein Panahi was arrested last July on charges of membership in the 'Komala Party' and 'baghi' (armed rebellion against the Islamic government), and was sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj. Meanwhile, his brother, Amjad Hossein Panahi, described Ramin as 'a political and civil activist' and called for a public trial for him. Ramin Hossein Panahi's family reacted to the Kurdistan judiciary's statement claiming he was 'armed with an AK-47, a pistol, and a grenade' and had 'confessed to fighting with the agents,' describing the allegations against him as 'false.' Meanwhile, Javaid Rehman and Agnes Callamard emphasized: 'Based on the information we have received, the rights of Luqman and Zanyar Moradi were violated before and after the trial; they were subjected to torture and ill-treatment and were denied access to a lawyer.' These UN rapporteurs stated that the death sentences issued for Luqman and Zanyar Moradi were not issued in a fair trial and that they were not afforded the right to a fair legal process, which they should have under international human rights law.