Zahedan Prison, at least 5 prisoners transferred to solitary confinement for execution
20-December-2020
Category: Uncategorized
Breathing in Confinement, December 18, 2020: The lawyer, Mostafa Nili, announced the transfer of at least five prisoners to solitary confinement to serve their death sentences. The detainees were jailed on charges of Baqy (rebellion and defiance against the Imam and the Islamic ruler) and membership in opposition groups. Mr. Nili wrote on a tweet that the family of one of his clients, Javid Dehghan Khold, had been summoned to prison for the last visit.
Mr. Nili, expressed concern over the situation of his clients, whose cases are currently in retrial phase. He wrote: “Currently there are at least 10 inmates in Zahedan Prison who have been sentenced to death on charges of Baghy (rebellion and defiance against the Imam and the Islamic ruler) and membership in opposition groups. Among them, four are my clients, for whom I am preparing a retrial bill after announcing my power of attorney and have been studying their cases over the last one month.”
“The death sentences of these prisoners had already been upheld by the Supreme Court but retrial request has not yet been filed,” he added.
“Last night, the family of one of my clients, received a phone call saying that five of these convicts had been transferred to solitary confinement to serve their death sentences,” Mr. Nili said. He added: “I also called the Prison and was told that the lines were cut off due to a technical problem, and that I could not call any other authority because of upcoming holidays. So I could not find out the truth.”
Nili continued: “If, God forbid, what my client’s family was told be true, it is not clear whether or not my other clients are among the five prisoners who have been transferred to solitary confinement. Therefore, considering that the death sentence is an irreversible punishment, I request the senior officials of the judiciary to stop implementing these sentences.”
Mr. Nili added: “Going through the cases, I came to know that there were some problems with the verdicts, which could lead to the dismissal of the sentences.”
He added: “I am worried that if my clients are among the mentioned prisoners, they will be denied the right of retrial.”
In addition, the lawyer, Seyyed Mohammad Reza Faghihi, announced the transfer of two of his clients to solitary confinement: “Elias Qalam-Darzehi and Hassan Dehvari, two of my clients, are among those sentenced to death.”
He added: “We are absolutely unaware of whether the sentences will be carried out or not. But about a few weeks ago, when we were there, the staffs of Sentence Implementation Unit said that the sentences were to be carried out. This has increased the stress on us and my clients and their families. In addition, it has not been possible for the families to contact their loved ones, and our efforts to talk to the authorities also have so far failed.”
Faqihi said that he hoped in the context of a retrial, the case would be reviewed at least one more time by the Supreme Court, to enable him to prove his clients’ innocence from the charge of “Baqy” attributed to them. He added: “Elias Qalam-Darzehi and Hassan Dehvari were charged in Zahedan’s Revolutionary Court with Moharebeh (fight against God) through taking up arms against the Islamic government as well as membership in illegal groups. After hearings in Zahedan court however, their charges were changed to Baqy. And that their death sentences were issued on the basis of their new charges, which were upheld by the Supreme Court, after the prisoners’ appeals were rejected.”
On the other hand, the Baloch activists’ campaign also announced the imminent execution of three prisoners with drug-related charges in Zahedan prison of whom two have been identified as “Behnam Rigi” and “Shoaib Rigi”.
According to the report, the families of these three Baloch prisoners were contacted from Zahedan Central Prison, and on the morning of December 18, they had their last visit with the prisoners.