Iran to execute Iranian Kurdish political prisoner after denying retrial
Haydar Ghorbani, an Iranian Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to death by Iran, had his appeal for a retrial rejected by Tehran’s highest judicial authority.
Ghorbani was arrested along with his brother-in-law in 2016 on charges of “cooperating and assisting” in the killing of several members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as membership in the opposition group the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI).
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Iran’s Kurdish-populated western provinces have witnessed recurring clashes between the Iranian military and Iranian Kurdish militant groups over the years.
The Supreme Court of Iran, which last month approved Ghorbani’s death sentence, denied a request by Ghorbani’s lawyer for a retrial for his client earlier this month, the lawyer told Voice of America Persian.
Haydar Ghorbani's wife called the world for help to stop execution of this innocent man.
— Yasaman (همتاب) 🌹 (@YasamanFlower) September 19, 2020
Regime in Iran won't hear because it's illegal but the world and those who believe in humanity and human rights, must hear and do something for him#SaveHaydarGhorbanipic.twitter.com/CsVIwmPbti
This has fuelled fear amongst Iranian activists because Ghorbani could be the second political prisoner to be executed within the same month, following the recent execution of champion wrestler Navid Afkari.
As with Afkari’s case, Iranians have taken to social media to protest Ghorbani’s death sentence, using the hashtag #SaveHaydarGhorbani.
Iran’s state-run television Press TV had previously aired Ghorbani’s alleged confessions.
Ghorbani’s family member reject his charges and say that he has been forced into making false confessions under torture.
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