Iran 'must immediately halt execution' of Kurdish prisoner: UN rights experts

The UN-appointed independent human rights experts on September 3 said that the imminent execution of an Iranian Kurdish prisoner must be halted and his death sentence repealed. According to a statement, the UN experts’ appeal follows serious concerns that Heidar Ghorbani did not receive a fair trial and was tortured during pre-trial detention. Ghorbani was arrested back in October 2016 in connection with the alleged killing of three men affiliated with Basij paramilitary forces. The UN said that no information was provided to Ghorbani’s family on his whereabouts until three months later. 

“The Iranian authorities must immediately halt the execution of Heidar Ghorbani and annul the death sentence against him and grant him a retrial in compliance with their international obligations,” the experts said.

In a statement, UN experts added that they were “seriously concerned” that the 48-year old’s confession was forced as a result of torture and ill-treatment. The right experts even expressed concerns that he had been denied access to a lawyer during the investigation. They said that Ghorbani’s attorney did not have full access to his case file during the trial. 

“Allegations of torture and confessions extracted under duress are extremely concerning, as is the fact that these allegations did not lead to any investigation and appear not to have been considered by the Court during his trial”, the experts said.

According to a press note, in 2019, a Criminal Court had convicted Ghorbani of aiding and abetting murder, attempted kidnapping and assisting the perpetrators of the attack to escape. The 48-year-old was sentenced to 118 years and six months in prison. Then, in 2020, a Revolutionary Court in Kurdistan Province convicted him of an armed rebellion against the State, called baghi, and sentenced him to death - despite the court’s acknowledgement in the verdict that Ghorbani was never armed.

Many foundational guarantees 'violated'

As per Iran’s Criminal Code, to establish the crime of baghi, the defendant must be a member of an armed group and personally resort to arms. The UN experts noted that Ghorbani had denied all charges, stating that he was not a member of a Kurdish political organization and never had a weapon when the victims were killed. However, in 2020, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld the death sentence against Ghorbani and rejected his request for a judicial review. 

The experts said, “In the case of Heidar Ghorbani, many foundational guarantees of fair trial and due process enshrined in international human rights law appear to have been violated”. 

They added, “It is regrettable that the Government continues to issue death sentences”. They even said, “It is also troubling that courts continue to issue death sentences in trials that not only breach international fair trial standards, but even domestic law and due process guarantees. Once again, we call on Iran to impose an immediate moratorium on executions and commute all death sentences”. 

(Image: AP/Twitter)