100 Lashes Sentence of Kurdish Singer from Urmia Executed; Peiman Mirzazadeh Goes on Hunger Strike in Protest

Peiman Mirzazadeh, a Kurdish singer from Urmia who is currently imprisoned for two years in Urmia Prison, was transferred to court this week for the execution of a 100-lash sentence and was returned to prison after the sentence was carried out.

This young singer was previously sentenced by Branch 110 of Urmia’s General Court to two years in prison and 100 lashes on charges of drinking alcohol and performing patriotic songs in Kurdish clothing at a wedding celebration in Turkish Kurdistan.

An informed source told Voice of America that while being held in Urmia Prison, he was transferred on Sunday to Branch 4 of the General Court’s Sentence Execution Department in Urmia for the execution of the 100-lash sentence.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Peiman Mirzazadeh’s back became severely bloodied and bruised after the lashing, with marks clearly visible. After the sentence was executed, the Kurdish singer began a hunger strike, writing a letter in protest of the execution of the lashing sentence and the two-year prison sentence issued against him on charges of acting against national security and propaganda against the system.

This is not the first time the Kurdish singer has gone on a hunger strike. Previously, on April 1st of this year, along with fifteen other Kurdish political prisoners in Iranian prisons, he went on a three-day hunger strike in solidarity with Kurdish political prisoners in Turkish prisons and in solidarity with Leila Guven, a legislator of the Democratic People’s Party.

Previously, Peiman Mirzazadeh was arrested by security forces on February 21, 2019, and was released from Urmia Prison on March 2, 2019, after posting a 300 million toman bail pending the completion of legal proceedings. In a court hearing held on March 4, 2019, at Branch 1 of Urmia’s Revolutionary Court without legal representation, he was sentenced to two years in prison and permanent deprivation from singing on charges of “propaganda against the system and collaboration with Kurdish opposition parties opposed by the Iranian government through singing songs.”

Source: Voice of America