Nayeb Asgari, a Political Prisoner Sentenced to Execution, Returned to Public Ward of Urmia Prison
30-March-2024
Category: ethnic minorities، executions
March 30, 2024
News Group: Execution – Ethnic Minorities –
Breathing in Confinement: Nayeb Asgari was returned to the public ward of Urmia Prison after several days in solitary confinement.
According to “Breathing in Confinement,” the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, Nayeb Asgari, a political prisoner sentenced to death, was returned to the public ward of Urmia Prison on the evening of Thursday, March 28, 2024.
As per the report, his verbal altercation with one of the prison guards resulted in his transfer to solitary confinement as a punishment.
Previously, “Breathing in Confinement” had reported the sudden transfer of Mr. Asgari to solitary cell which had caused severe concern for his family.
Nayeb Asgari has been sentenced to execution in absentia by the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia on charges of “waging war against God”.
In a rare move, after accepting Mr. Asgari’s appeal, the court changed his charge from “waging war against God” to “rebellion against the Islamic Ruler” and re-sentenced him to execution. Following the verdict announcement in October 2023, Mr. Asgari contested the ruling, and the case was referred to the Supreme Court.
As of now, the outcome of the Supreme Court’s review has not been communicated.
It’s noteworthy that Mr. Asgari’s trial sessions were conducted without his defense lawyer present.
Membership in one of the Kurdish opposition parties is among the accusations against Mr. Asgari in this case.
Nayeb Asgari was arrested on March 27, 2021, by IRGC Intelligence officers in Urmia and transferred to one of their detention centers. Eventually, on June 17 of the same year, following the interrogation process, he was moved from the IRGC Intelligence detention center to the city’s prison.
According to an informed source, Mr. Asgari has another case apart from this one, which is ongoing in the Urmia criminal court, involving charges of parti in the murder of an IRGC member named “Mostafa Soltani.”
Additionally, during his incarceration, on July 12, 2021, regarding a case initiated based on a complaint from Amir Sohrabi, the head of Urmia prison, Mr. Asgari was sentenced by Branch 119 of Urmia’s Criminal Court 2 to three months of disciplinary imprisonment and 50 lashes for charges including “disrupting prison order.”