UN experts condemn secret execution of Haidar Ghorbani
Two UN experts on Wednesday condemned in the strongest terms the secret execution of Heydar Ghorbani, a Kurdish prisoner, calling it a sign of Iran's "blatant disregard" for its obligations under international human rights law.
Javed Rehman, the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, and Maurice Tidball Bains, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, issued a statement saying that Heydar Ghorbani was secretly executed in Sanandaj Central Prison at dawn on Sunday without prior notification to his family or lawyer, and that prison authorities then secretly buried his body.
These experts have stated in their statement that the Islamic Republic of Iran secretly executed Heydar Ghorbani in a completely unfair process, based on general sentences, while his case was still under review in the Supreme Court.
Haidar Ghorbani was arrested along with his brother-in-law Mahmoud Sadeghi in October 2016 on charges of "collaborating and aiding in the murder of several Basij members."
UN experts say that this Kurdish political prisoner had denied any membership in armed groups or involvement in the killing of Basij forces.
The two UN experts added, "We deeply regret that despite our numerous requests in Mr. Ghorbani's case, the authorities decided to carry out his death sentence."
They added, "In the context of ongoing protests and widespread dissatisfaction with the Iranian authorities, we are concerned that such an arbitrary execution was carried out to create fear and panic."
These UN experts have further called on the Islamic Republic to stop issuing and carrying out death sentences.
Haidar Ghorbani was sentenced to death in August 2020, and in recent months, human rights activists have repeatedly warned about the possibility of this sentence being carried out, citing torture and forced confessions from this prisoner.
In September of this year, Javed Rahman and eight human rights experts from the organization issued a joint statement, noting that this political prisoner was never armed, expressing "serious concerns about his lack of a fair trial and torture," and calling for Mr. Ghorbani's death sentence to be overturned.
Saleh Nikbakht, Mr. Ghorbani's lawyer, had previously stated that the death sentence was issued to Mr. Ghorbani based on the charge of "rebellion." He said, "The condition for the crime of rebellion is membership in an armed group and the use of weapons against the Islamic Republic, but my client has never confessed to this, and the only evidence to prove this charge was the claim of the Sanandaj and Kamyaran Intelligence Departments."
Following the publication of news of Heydar Ghorbani's secret execution, a significant crowd of Kamyaran residents gathered in front of his house on Sunday, despite threats from the Islamic Republic's security agencies.
Source: Radio Farda
