Brother of Ramin Hosseinpanahi, Executed Political Prisoner: They Want to Bring Our Family to Its Knees
Amjad Hosseinpanahi, brother of Ramin Hosseinpanahi, a Kurdish political prisoner who was executed in Iran in 2018, says regarding the announcement that his elderly parents have been banned from leaving the country, that security agencies and the ruling system in Iran have been trying for years to bring his family to its knees.
Amjad Hosseinpanahi, referring to the fact that pressure against his family by security agencies is not new, told Voice of America: “For more than 15 years, there has been continuous pressure from security agencies in Kurdistan against my family.”
Referring to the death of two of his brothers, he said: “The latest example was Ramin Hosseinpanahi, a prominent Kurdish activist, who unfortunately was executed on September 8, 2018… They have not returned his body to us yet and pressure on my elderly parents continues.”
Mr. Hosseinpanahi, who lives outside Iran, continued by saying this is not the first time his parents’ passports have been confiscated. According to Mr. Hosseinpanahi, their passports were also confiscated last year. He added that when they went to the passport office in Sanandaj on Sunday, April 25 [Persian calendar], to retrieve their passports, they were told that “not only will we not return your passports, but the Ministry of Intelligence in Tehran has issued an order that you are banned from leaving the country for five years” and this matter is “not in our hands and is an order that came to us from Tehran and from the Ministry of Intelligence.”
According to Mr. Hosseinpanahi, not only have his parents been unable to leave the country throughout these years, but they have also been prevented from traveling between cities, and the Ministry of Intelligence has not allowed them to travel to other cities in Kurdistan or Tehran. In the latest incident, when his mother intended to visit the mother of Loghman Moradi, another Kurdish political prisoner who was executed in 2018 along with Ramin, she was turned back to Dehgolan, their city of residence, by Ministry of Intelligence agents halfway through her journey.
Ramin Hosseinpanahi’s brother, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic uses every tool to pressure his family, told Voice of America that over these years his parents have been summoned repeatedly and security agents have forced them to speak against their children on television cameras. Amjad Hosseinpanahi says: “The pressures on my elderly parents throughout these years have been continuous and have become part of the routine program of the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj.”
He continued: “The only crime we have committed as the Hosseinpanahi family over these years is that we stood with the people and have always defended the people, defended women, defended children, defended different segments of society, and have never surrendered to the ruling system in Iran, whether my parents, my brothers, or other members of the family.”
Amjad Hosseinpanahi attributed the reason for all the harassment and pressures inflicted on his parents by officials to “their resistance and refusal to surrender” against the ruling system and security agencies in Kurdistan, and said: “Day by day we see that in every corner of Iran, solidarity with families of the deceased, families of prisoners, and families like ours is increasing. Over these years we have witnessed that from all over Iran, from all political, civil, and human rights circles, people came to Kurdistan, stood by my parents, and told the ruling system that this family is not alone and justice is not with you, but rather with my parents, with Ramin, with Anvar, with Afshin, and with the Hosseinpanahi family.”
Based on available information, Ramin Hosseinpanahi was wounded by gunfire from Revolutionary Guards forces in Sanandaj on Friday, June 23, 2017, and subsequently detained. The Guards claimed he had an armed confrontation with them, but his family rejected this claim. Ramin was sentenced to death in a trial lasting only a few minutes on charges of “acting against national security.” This sentence was carried out on September 8, 2018, along with the death sentences of Loghman Moradi and Zanyar Moradi.
The executions of Ramin Hosseinpanahi, Loghman Moradi, and Zanyar Moradi were followed by reactions from some human rights organizations, political and ideological activists, and U.S. officials.
The U.S. State Department has repeatedly condemned violent behavior and widespread suppression of protesters in various cases, as well as the repeated and ongoing violations of the rights of Iranian citizens by the Islamic Republic.
Source: Voice of America
