ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran on Monday carried out the death sentence of four Kurdish political prisoners on several charges including membership in a Kurdish opposition group.
All four defendants were members of the Komala party, one of several Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region that have been accused of fueling protests in the Islamic republic and inciting unrest in the country.
The four prisoners, identified as Mohsen Mazloum, Mohammad Faramarzi, Vafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi, were accused of planning “to carry out a bombing operation in an equipment manufacturing plant attached to the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online said.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a rights watchdog, condemned the executions and said that the defendants were deprived of their rights to a fair and free trial during the process.
“Even by the standards of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the minimum requirements for a fair trial were not met in their case. The proceedings of the case were shrouded in complete secrecy, as the death sentences were both issued and confirmed by the Supreme Court,” Hengaw said.
Each of the defendants also received an additional ten years of imprisonment on charges of “forming a gang,” according to Mizan.
In February 2023, Iran blamed Israel for a drone attack on a military facility belonging to the defense ministry in Isfahan.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war consisting of long-running covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as sabotage and cyber-attacks.
All four defendants were members of the Komala party, one of several Iranian-Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region that have been accused of fueling protests in the Islamic republic and inciting unrest in the country.
The four prisoners, identified as Mohsen Mazloum, Mohammad Faramarzi, Vafa Azarbar, and Pejman Fatehi, were accused of planning “to carry out a bombing operation in an equipment manufacturing plant attached to the Ministry of Defense in Isfahan,” the judiciary’s Mizan Online said.
The Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, a rights watchdog, condemned the executions and said that the defendants were deprived of their rights to a fair and free trial during the process.
“Even by the standards of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the minimum requirements for a fair trial were not met in their case. The proceedings of the case were shrouded in complete secrecy, as the death sentences were both issued and confirmed by the Supreme Court,” Hengaw said.
Each of the defendants also received an additional ten years of imprisonment on charges of “forming a gang,” according to Mizan.
In February 2023, Iran blamed Israel for a drone attack on a military facility belonging to the defense ministry in Isfahan.
Iran and Israel have been engaged in a shadow war consisting of long-running covert attacks on Iranian military and nuclear facilities, as well as sabotage and cyber-attacks.
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