Two Kurdish prisoners executed in complete silence: Lawyers and families were not notified of the execution of the sentence

Mehdi Vakilnejad, the lawyer for Diako Rasoulzadeh, a Kurdish political prisoner who was executed on Tuesday morning along with another Kurdish prisoner, Saber Sheikh Abdullah, said in an interview with the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that his client's death sentence was not notified to him and Mr. Vakilnejad's family, and the execution was carried out without the lawyer and his family being informed.

Mr. Vakilnejad told the campaign that he was informed of his client's execution through the media, and that no response was given to Mr. Rasoulzadeh's family when they approached him.

Diako Rasoulzadeh and Saber Sheikh Abdullah were executed in the early hours of Tuesday, July 14, at Urmia Central Prison. They were accused of bombing an armed forces parade in Shahd, Mahabad on September 21, 2010, which killed more than 11 women and a child. Diako Rasoulzadeh’s lawyer, Mehdi Vakilnejad, told the Campaign that his client was a soldier and was stationed at the Piranshahr Border Regiment barracks at the time of the explosion.

Mr. Vakilnejad told the campaign: “The official letter from the Border Regiment garrison stated that Mr. Rasoulzadeh was in the garrison on September 21, 2008. After the death sentence was issued in the Mahabad court, when the case went to the Supreme Court, we raised doubts and said that a person cannot be in the garrison and in Mahabad at the same time. The Supreme Court also overturned the sentence based on this letter from the garrison and announced that there were serious doubts. The case went to the same branch in Urmia, and at the same time, they brought another letter from the garrison stating that it was possible that he had left the garrison and had not been registered. Based on this letter, they again issued a death sentence, and unfortunately, our request for a retrial was also rejected.”

In May 2016, the Islamic Republic’s media reported the suicide of Rahmatullah Sharifi, commander of the Piranshahr Border Regiment. He was the one who had issued the letter confirming the presence of Diako Rasoulzadeh in the barracks at the time of the explosion. An informed source told the Campaign: “After the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, the Ministry of Intelligence added a letter from the barracks, signed by the new commander, to the file stating that Diako Rasoulzadeh may have left the barracks and his departure was not recorded. This is despite the fact that the entry and exit of all individuals and soldiers to the barracks are officially recorded and recorded, and it is impossible for it not to be recorded.”

Hossein Osmani, another defendant in this case, has been sentenced to more than 30 years in prison. Mehdi Vakilnejad, who is also representing him, told the campaign: “Mr. Rasoulzadeh had confessed that he carried out the bombing, and in court, his family and I insisted that if you were tortured, tell us. He did not say anything, and unfortunately, we were unable to help. Mr. Osmani, however, did not confess from the beginning, denying all the charges and saying that he did not know these people at all. His initial sentence was also death, but when we protested, it was eventually overturned, and then Branch 1 of the Mahabad Revolutionary Court gave him 30 years in prison in exile.”

Hossein Osmani is currently imprisoned in Urmia Central Prison.

According to Mr. Vakilnejad, his clients were accused of “war on terror through membership in the Komala Party and participation in the bombing of the armed forces parade in Mahabad on September 22, 2010.”

This is despite the fact that Diako Rasoulzadeh was in the Piranshahr Border Regiment barracks at the same time as he said in his confession that he was in the Komaleh camp. An informed source told the Campaign that “the Ministry of Intelligence had promised Diako Rasoulzadeh and Saber Sheikh Abdullah that they would be released within 5 years if they confessed to their involvement in the Mahabad bombing.”

 According to this source, “Both confessions were made under pressure and torture, and they were lured and threatened by the Ministry of Intelligence that if they spoke out about the torture in court, they would be executed, but if they cooperated with the Ministry of Intelligence, they would be released after 5 years. For this reason, not only did they not speak out in court, but their families also remained silent under pressure, hoping that their children would be released. However, the families were not even notified of the time of the execution, and they were executed in complete ignorance.”

Source: Human Rights Campaign