Iran executes three Kurdish prisoners accused of deadly attacks
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 8 September 2018 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Iran executes three Kurdish prisoners accused of deadly attacks, 8 September 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5bc05377a.html [accessed 30 October 2019] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
September 08, 2018 18:18 GMT
Iran says it has executed three Iranian Kurds accused of belonging to a militant group and taking part in attacks against civilians and security forces in western Iran.
The executions reportedly took place despite calls by UN human rights special rapporteurs Javaid Rehman and Agnes Callamard, who said in a statement on September 7 that the men had not been given a fair trial.
Amnesty International said the men had been denied access to their lawyers after being arrested and had said they were tortured into making confessions.
"We are horrified by the news that the Iranian authorities have executed these men, despite widespread condemnation of their death sentences and calls from UN human rights experts and other bodies to halt their executions," said Philip Luther, Amnesty International's research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa, in a September 8 statement.
The Iranian Judiciary's Mizan news service said Loqman Moradi and Zanyar Moradi, reportedly cousins, were accused of carrying out an attack in the western Iranian town of Marivan in July 2009 that killed at least three people, including the son of a cleric.
Ramin Hossein Panahi was accused of participating in an attack that targeted security forces in the town of Sanandaj in June 2017.
Panahi, who was sentenced to death in April, was accused of belonging to Komala, which has waged a long-running separatist battle in Iranian Kurdistan from bases in Iraq.
Panahi had reportedly been on a hunger strike at the beginning of the year to protest his imprisonment.
The semiofficial Fars news agency said authorities hanged three "counterrevolutionaries," without elaborating. The executions reportedly were carried out near Tehran.
Iran has one of the world's highest execution rates.
Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
