The death sentence of a Kermanshah environmentalist was confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Reports from Iran indicate that the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence of a Kermanshah conservationist on charges of killing an "illegal hunter."

ISNA and HRANA news agencies reported on Tuesday, January 11, that Boroumand Najafi had previously been sentenced to death by Branch 3 of Kermanshah Criminal Court 1, and that this sentence has now been confirmed by the Supreme Court.

Mr. Najafi is accused of shooting and wounding one of the four illegal hunters who had entered the Bisotun Protected Area in Kermanshah on August 4, 2020, who later died.

Jamshid Mohabbatkhani, commander of the Iranian Environmental Protection Organization's Protection Unit, said in this regard that the confirmation of Mr. Najafi's sentence was made despite judicial follow-up and the collective and overall efforts of the environmentalist's case defender.

He expressed hope that "with the efforts of the head of the Environmental Protection Agency and the support of the head of the Judiciary," the ruling will be reviewed and reconsidered.

Meanwhile, the Judiciary Media Center has said that "the murder did not occur in the protected area and the people who were shot were not armed."

According to the Iranian judiciary, "a Kermanshahi environmentalist opened fire and committed murder in a residential area where he and his colleagues were not in any danger."

The center added that "judicial measures are currently underway to secure the parents' satisfaction."

Rangers are those who are responsible for protecting animals, especially from poachers, in protected areas and forests.

In the past three decades, at least 119 rangers have been killed and at least 370 injured in Iran. Some rangers have also been executed for shooting and killing illegal hunters.

Source: Radio Farda