Amnesty International responds to secret execution of Kurdish political prisoner Hedayat Abdullahpour
Amnesty International responded to the secret execution of Kurdish political prisoner Hedayat Abdollahpour by issuing a statement, saying that Iranian authorities must stop their "cruel games" with the family of the Kurdish political prisoner.
Amnesty International issued this statement on Thursday, June 12, stating that Iranian authorities must immediately clarify the fate and whereabouts of this Kurdish political prisoner who was recently secretly executed in an IRGC prison.
The human rights group believes that Iranian authorities have committed the crime of “enforced disappearance” under international law by refusing to disclose the fate or whereabouts of victims. According to the statement, Iranian authorities have a long history of secretly executing members of ethnic minority groups and burying them in unmarked graves, and in some cases have refused to disclose the details of their killings for years.
According to Amnesty International, Hedayat Abdollahpour, who was sentenced to death after a grossly unfair trial in connection with an armed clash between the Revolutionary Guards and members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, has been transferred to an unknown location since May 10. The head of the Urmia Execution Center in West Azerbaijan Province informed his family on Wednesday, June 11, that the Kurdish political prisoner had been executed three weeks ago in the city of Oshnavieh.
The human rights group says that the head of the Urmia Execution Center, in response to the family’s question about why they were not informed of the execution date, was not authorized to provide further information, adding only that the execution was carried out following an “order from above.” According to Amnesty International, this likely means that the Revolutionary Guards had ordered Mr. Abdollahpour’s execution.
Amnesty International says that the prosecutor in the case had previously stated in a message to the family of this Kurdish political prisoner: "When the Ministry of Intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards don't tell you where your relative is, it's better to go to the cemetery."
“The fact that the Iranian authorities are playing these cruel games with Hedayat Abdollahpour’s family further demonstrates their contempt for human life. By refusing to reveal the truth, they are deliberately causing her loved ones untold distress and psychological distress,” said Diana El-Tahavi, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, noting that Hedayat Abdollahpour’s body should be returned to her family for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding her unlawful execution.
Hedayat Abdullahpour, a Kurdish political and civil activist, was arrested in June 2016 along with six others in Oshnavieh and sentenced to death on charges of "rebellion." On Wednesday, June 11, the Islamic Republic's authorities announced to his family that these civil activists, who were accused of clashes in Oshnavieh a few years ago, were executed a month ago in Urmia Central Prison. To date, the authorities have not informed his family and lawyers that the death sentence has been carried out.
The execution of Hedayat Abdullah Pour has been carried out despite the fact that, according to available information, the case of this political and civil activist was sent to the Amnesty Commission after the death sentence was confirmed. According to legal experts, the execution of this sentence until the final result is announced by the Amnesty Commission is contrary to the law.
Source: Voice of America
