Execution of Three-Year Sentence Against ‘Rena Kordkor’: The Cry of a Family Being Silenced by the Repressive Apparatus

The execution of Rena Kordkor’s three-year sentence reflects the pressure exerted by Iran’s judicial apparatus against families of justice seekers, whose voices of protest are being silenced through imprisonment.

Rena Kordkor, sister of Majid Kordkor and Negar Kordkor, announced through a message that her three-year prison sentence has been executed. Rena, in her message, has maintained a spirit of protest and perseverance and has accepted the execution of her sentence.

Rena wrote in her message: “Friends, dear ones, my companions, greetings to Iran, greetings to freedom. Writing these few lines may be the most difficult thing I have ever done, not out of fear of prison, but because of tearing myself away from you, from my child, from what I fought for, and from this life that has been full of pain, yet full of dignity.

I am a lone woman, a mother responsible for my family, and now I must prepare myself to spend three years in prison. My only crime was standing by the truth. My crime was innocence. On this path, I have lost the dearest ones of my heart. My brother was executed because he refused to accept lies. My sister fell silent in exile, loneliness, and stress. Now I remain, wounded but standing.

Now that I must go, I want to ask forgiveness from all of you. If I have burdened your shoulders in this path, if I could not be what I should have been, forgive me. I go with a calm heart because I know I did not remain silent, because my conscience is at peace. This prison will contain my body but my spirit is free. Remember me not as someone who was defeated, but as a woman who stood; until we meet again.

Rena Kordkor, eternal sister of the names of Majid and Negar”

According to reports from human rights sources and Persian-language media, Rena Kordkor was arrested by security forces in the summer of 1403 and after interrogation was transferred to the women’s ward. She is known as a protesting activist and a member of families seeking justice.

The charges against her include titles such as “incitement and seduction of people,” “interference in protests,” or “cooperation with opposition currents,” which are commonly used in political-security cases. Some organizations have also mentioned file fabrication and intelligence pressures for issuing a verdict against her.

Based on statements and posts published on social networks and human rights defense channels, a three-year prison sentence has been issued against Rena Kordkor and this sentence is now “executable,” meaning she must report to serve her sentence.

The execution of a verdict against a woman supporting her family who is involved in protests and seeking justice, while demonstrating the continuation of suppression and pressure on families of protesters, carries the following consequences:

• Turning families seeking justice into targets of secondary punishment; a policy that both intensifies personal grief in families and weakens the voice of public protest.
• Using general and security charges to silence citizens and families of justice seekers; such charges typically make access to fair trial and effective defense difficult for the accused.
• The human consequence of sentencing a mother supporting her family: separation from her child and loss of the family’s breadwinner, which creates a heavy social and economic burden for those left behind.

Human rights activists and media must monitor the execution of such sentences and the judicial process surrounding them, by documenting cases of detention and trials, increasing international pressure and awareness, and conveying the voices of families and prisoners to relevant organizations. Independent sources should pursue access to case documents and visits with the accused to prevent violations of judicial rights.