Iran must halt execution of Kurdish prisoner: UN rights experts 

Their entreaty follows serious concerns that Heidar Ghorbani did not person a just proceedings and was tortured during pre-trial detention. 

He was arrested successful October 2016 successful transportation with the alleged sidesplitting of 3 men affiliated to Basij paramilitary forces and nary accusation was provided to Mr. Ghorbani’s family connected his whereabouts until 3 months later.  

In a statement, the rights experts said that they were “seriously concerned” that the 48-year old’s confession was forced arsenic a effect of torture and ill-treatment.  

They besides expressed concerns that he had been denied entree to a lawyer during the investigation, and that aboriginal his lawyer did not person afloat entree to his lawsuit record during the trial.  

“Allegations of torture and confessions extracted nether duress are highly concerning, arsenic is the information that these allegations did not pb to immoderate probe and look not to person been considered by the Court during his trial”, the experts said.

Charging, convicting and sentencing

In October 2019, a Criminal Court convicted Mr. Ghorbani of aiding and abetting murder, attempted kidnapping and assisting the perpetrators of the onslaught to escape.

He was sentenced to 118 years and six months successful prison.

The pursuing January, a Revolutionary Court successful Kurdistan Province convicted him of an equipped rebellion against the State, called baghi, and sentenced him to decease – contempt the court’s acknowledgement successful the verdict that Mr. Ghorbani was ne'er armed.

Charges denied

Iran’s Criminal Code stipulates that to found the transgression of baghi, the suspect indispensable beryllium a subordinate of an equipped radical and personally edifice to arms.

During his trial, Mr. Ghorbani denied each charges, stating that helium was not a subordinate of a Kurdish governmental enactment and ne'er had a limb erstwhile the victims were killed, the rights experts noted. 

In August 2020, Iran’s Supreme Court upheld the decease condemnation and rejected Mr. Ghorbani’s requests for a judicial reappraisal successful September 2020 and again successful August 2021.

His condemnation whitethorn beryllium carried retired astatine immoderate time.

Below ineligible threshold

“Many foundational guarantees of just proceedings and owed process enshrined successful planetary quality rights instrumentality look to person been violated”, the autarkic quality rights experts said.

They described it “regrettable” that the Government continues to issue death sentences and “particularly concerning” erstwhile the crimes bash not conscionable the threshold arsenic required by planetary law.

Moreover, the experts recovered it troubling that “courts proceed to contented decease sentences successful trials that not lone breach planetary just proceedings standards, but adjacent home instrumentality and owed process guarantees”.

We telephone connected Iran to enforce an contiguous moratorium connected executions -- UN experts

“Once again, we telephone connected Iran to enforce an contiguous moratorium connected executions and commute each decease sentences”, they stated.

The UN experts had antecedently raised concerns with the Government astir decease condemnation and just trials violations against Mr. Ghorbani, which were responded to with comments.

Click here for the names of the 9 UN experts who endorsed the statement.

Special Rapporteurs and autarkic experts are appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council to analyse and study backmost connected a circumstantial quality rights taxable oregon a state situation. The experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.