Death Sentences Issued for Two Political Prisoners in Urmia Prison
28-November-2024
Category: Prisoners، protesters
November 27, 2024
News Category: Protests – Prisoners
Breathing in Confinement: Hamid Abdollahzadeh and Mehran Hassanzadeh, two political prisoners held in Urmia Prison, have been sentenced to death by the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia.
According to Breathing in Confinement, the news outlet of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, the Revolutionary Court in Urmia has sentenced two political prisoners to death.
Political prisoner Hamid Abdollahzadeh, a resident of Urmia, was arrested in the autumn of 2023 on suspicion of collaborating with one of the Kurdish opposition parties. He was sentenced to death by the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia. The sentence was delivered to him two months ago.
Political prisoner Mehran Hassanzadeh (also known as Mehrab), a resident of Oshnavieh and one of the detainees from the nationwide protests of 2022, has been sentenced to death on charges of baghi (armed rebellion) and involvement in the killing of a Basij member. He was initially sentenced to 9 months in prison by Branch 101 of the Oshnavieh Criminal Court for his role in the 2022 protests. After his conditional release, he was rearrested in connection with another case and charged with baghi, leading to a death sentence issued by the Second Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Urmia.
The escalation in death sentences, particularly against political prisoners, has coincided with the presidency of Pezeshkian. To date, at least 13 political prisoners, including two Kurdish women detainees, Varisheh Moradi and Pakhshan Azizi, have been sentenced to death.