Urgent Plea: Halt Executions of Political Prisoners in Iran
Iranian authorities are once again violating international human rights laws over the imminent execution of political prisoner Abbas Kour Kouri, also known as Mojahed Kour Kour, who has been sentenced to death by the Ahwaz Revolutionary Court on April 7, 2023. He stands accused of moharebeh (waging war against God) and efsad-fil-arz (corruption on earth).The charges stem from an incident involving the death of 9-year-old Kian Pirfalak in Izeh (Khuzestan Province) on November 16, 2022.
Fearing his corpse might be taken by authorities, Kian's parents kept his body at home, covered with ice. Kian's mother, Zeinab Molaie, has consistently maintained that security forces were responsible for her son's death. She has shown solidarity with Abbas Kour Kour’s mother, insisting at her son’s funeral that "Hear it from me about how the shooting happened so they can't say it was by terrorists, because they're lying!".
The legal proceedings surrounding Abbas Kour Kour's case raise concerns about due process, as he was denied the right to be represented by his lawyer. On December 24, 2023, his family was informed that his sentence had been upheld by Branch 39 of the Supreme Court without supporting documents providing evidence of the verdict.
In a separate case, 34-year-old Kurdish protestor Reza Rasayi faces the death penalty for his alleged involvement in the death of IRGC member Nader Beirami. Rasayi was arrested at a ceremony for Seyyed Khalil Alinejad, a Yarsani leader and musician. He denies all charges, and a forensic medical examiner's testimony suggesting Reza couldn't have delivered the fatal blow was dismissed by the court. On December 24, 2023, Branch 17 of the Supreme Court upheld Rasayi's sentence.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) is urgently calling for a halt to the executions of Mojahed Kour Kour and Reza Rasayi. GICJ urges the international community and the United Nations to hold the Iranian government accountable for its breaches of international human rights laws, emphasizing concerns about the use of torture and forced confessions leading to death sentences for prisoners and protestors.
The Iranian government has a long and recurring history of abdicating the corpses of protestors, coercing confessions, employing torture, and shooting at civilians. These actions violate the law that asserts, "Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, which are essential components of democracy."
