Execution Sentence of Sunni Cleric ‘Mohammad Khezr Nejad’ Upheld
The Supreme Court of the country upheld the execution sentence of ‘Mohammad Khezr Nejad,’ a Sunni cleric.
Mohammad Khezr Nejad, a Kurdish Sunni cleric who had published posts on his Telegram channel regarding the nationwide protests of 1401 and commemorating those killed during the unrest, was arrested by security forces at his residence in Boukan. Following the breaking down of his door, security forces subjected him and his family to violence and beatings.
According to the “Kurdistan Human Rights” network, the execution sentence of Mawlawi Mohammad Khezr Nejad was upheld in its entirety by Branch 41 of the Supreme Court. According to Kurdistan Human Rights reports, in December 1402, after 14 months of detention, he was sentenced to execution and 16 years imprisonment by the Urmia Revolutionary Court, Branch 3, presided over by Judge ‘Reza Najafzadeh,’ on charges of ‘corruption on earth,’ ‘undermining the integrity or independence of the country,’ and ‘propaganda against the regime.’
The sentence was issued while his trial was conducted in four brief sessions via video conference, without the right to legal representation, and Judge Najafzadeh issued the verdict without hearing his defense statements and solely based on a report from the Ministry of Intelligence.
It should be noted that after his arrest, Mohammad Khezr Nejad spent 108 days in solitary confinement at the Urmia Ministry of Intelligence detention facility and was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture to extract forced confessions. A recorded video of these confessions was registered as evidence against him by the Ministry of Intelligence in his file.
Amnesty International issued a statement warning about execution sentences issued for 15 convicts, including Mohammad Khezr Nejad.
Pressure, arrest, and torture of Sunni clerics have intensified since the beginning of the protests, with many of them arrested in Kurdistan and Zahedan and subjected to beatings and torture in many cases. Many Sunni clerics have written a letter to ‘Mohseni Ejeh’i,’ the head of the judiciary, demanding his release while emphasizing that no justice was observed in the legal proceedings of Mohammad Khezr Nejad’s case.
