UN Reaction to Executions in Iran: It Is Appalling and Must Be Stopped Immediately

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described the execution of four individuals in Iran "without a fair trial" as "appalling." The UN Human Rights Office announced on Friday, January 8, that Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the execution of three men and one woman in Iran related to alleged accusations of "espionage". According to the Human Rights Office, Volker Turk called for an "immediate halt" to further executions and an "official end to the implementation of death sentences" in Iran. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic announced early on Friday, January 8, the execution of four individuals in West Azerbaijan province, accused of "moharebeh (waging war against God) and corruption on earth through intelligence cooperation" with Israel. The judiciary-affiliated news agency, Mizan, identified the four individuals as "Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omri, Rahman Parhazo, and Nasim Namazi." Hours earlier, the human rights organization "Hangaw" reported that the death sentences for Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omri Bardiani, and Rahman Parhazo were executed at 11 PM on Thursday, January 7, in Urmia Central Prison. Hangaw stated that the execution of Nasim Namazi was temporarily postponed. According to the organization, citing an informed source, government agencies informed the families of these prisoners that they would not return the bodies of the three prisoners to them. The third branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia sentenced five individuals named Vafa Hanareh, Aram Omri Bardiani, Rahman Parhazo, Mansour Rasouli, and Nasim Namazi to death for "participating in intelligence cooperation and espionage for Israel" late last February. The death sentences for these prisoners were recently confirmed by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court. Reports indicate that these defendants, from Urmia, were "abducted" by the city's intelligence forces over the past two years and spent "months in solitary confinement" under "physical torture." According to Voice of America, Aram Omri Bardiani, one of the condemned defendants in this case who was arrested in the fall of 2021, previously stated that despite not even knowing what Mossad was, he was forced under torture to confess to collaborating with Israel. Mansour Rasouli, another condemned defendant, was previously identified by Israeli media as an agent of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and reports have emerged about "interrogation" by Mossad agents inside Iran. In addition to the five defendants sentenced to death, five other residents of Urmia have also been sentenced to 10 years in prison on similar charges. The names of these defendants are Kamran Hanareh, Fakhruddin Doodkanlouy Milan, Ashkan Osman Nejad Ghandok, Hassan Omrpour, and Amir Moshtagh Gengchin. International human rights organizations have repeatedly warned against baseless security accusations against citizens in Iran and the non-transparent judicial process for handling their cases. The Islamic Republic executed four individuals on charges of "intelligence cooperation" with Israel. Hangaw: Three Kurdish prisoners accused of "espionage for Israel" were executed in Urmia Central Prison. Human rights organizations warn: Five defendants accused of "espionage for Israel" are at imminent risk of execution. Exclusive: Zartosht Ahmadiraghb is on hunger strike in protest against "repeated case-making" in prison. Exclusive: 10 days of uncertainty about the status of Yekta Fahendj Saadi after her arrest in Shiraz. The judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed at least two prisoners in Birjand and Sanandaj. The Iran Human Rights Organization: The international community must act to "stop the executions" of Iranian protesters.