According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the death sentences for five Kurdish political prisoners have been issued. Naser Bakrzadeh, a 25-year-old from Urmia, has been sentenced to death on charges of “espionage for Israel.”
Death sentences for three other individuals—Azad Shojaei, Edris Ali, and Rasul Ahmad Rasul—have also recently been announced. Additionally, Shahin Vasaf, a 28-year-old from Salmas, was sentenced to death on November 2, 2023, in the Urmia Revolutionary Court on similar charges. He was detained in September 2022 and reportedly subjected to severe pressure and torture in an intelligence detention center in Urmia to obtain a confession. After several months, he was transferred to Urmia Central Prison.
As a result, the number of prisoners sentenced to death in these cases has risen to five, and all are currently held in Urmia Central Prison. The cases have been submitted to the Supreme Court.
Naser Bakrzadeh was initially detained by IRGC intelligence forces in August 2022 and was released on condition of cooperation with intelligence agencies. However, he was rearrested in January 2024 and transferred to Urmia prison.
Edris Ali and Azad Shojaei from Sardasht, along with Rasul Ahmad Rasul from Qaladze in the Kurdistan Region, were arrested in July 2022 and subjected to eight months of pressure. The trial for these three individuals was held in October 2023, and their death sentences were delivered approximately one month later.
In recent days, a spokesperson for the Iranian judiciary claimed that three prisoners have been sentenced to death on charges of “espionage for Israel” and “involvement in the assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.”
