Iran | Political prisoner Hedayat Abdullahpour executed by firing squad

Iran Human Rights (IHR); June 24, 2020: Officials at the Oshnavieh Civil Registration Office have finally issued Hedayat Abdullahpour’s death certificate to his family.

This officially confirms news of the political prisoner's execution, which Iran Human Rights had previously reported.

In an unprecedented move since the 1980s, Hedayat was executed by a firing squad.

According to IHR, in an official letter, registrars confirmed that Hedayat Abdullahpour had died as a result of "collisions with hard or sharp objects“ in Oshnavieh.

Farhad Abdullahpour, Hedayat's brother, told Iran Human Rights: "Today, June 24, 2020, I was officially informed by authorities that, unfortunately, Hedayat's sentence was carried out on May 11, 2020, in Oshnavieh. His death sentence was also unfortunately carried out by a firing squad in the presence of the families of the local soldiers whom children were killed in the clashes in the village of Qarah Soqol. Today we also received his death certificate."

News of Hedayat Abdullahpour’s execution was first published on June 10, 2020, by Human Rights Iran. On that day, judicial authorities in Urmia had informed Hedayat's father that his son had been executed.

It should be noted that while a death certificate has been issued, the political prisoner’s legal representatives, Osman Mazin and Maziar Tataei have yet to receive any news on the execution of their client's sentence.

On June 14, 2020, Iran based Akam News, which is affiliated with security services and covers news from the Kurdistan region from the perspective of the Islamic Republic, confirmed the execution of Hedayat Abdullahpour, citing a security official.

Hedayat Abdullahpour was arrested along with at least six others in the village of Qareh Soqol in Oshnavieh city on June 15, 2016. The seven detainees were accused of providing food and shelter to members of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran during clashes with the Revolutionary Guards.

Hedayat was the only one of those detained, to be sentenced to death on charges of "rebellion" following a complaint by the Revolutionary Guards and ruling by the 1st Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia. His sentence was overturned by the 47th Branch of the Supreme Court and referred to the 2nd Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Urmia for review. Hedayat was again sentenced to death by this branch, and the sentence was finally upheld by the 47th Branch of the Supreme Court.

Hedayat Abdullahpour was severely tortured during his arrest. Hedayat's father had previously told Iran Human Rights: "They want to scare the people of Kurdistan by executing my son. He is innocent."

Prison executions in Kurdish areas have risen sharply in recent months. According to IHR statistics, in the past ten years, the majority of political prisoners executed for affiliations with opposition groups have been ethnic minorities, of which, the Kurds make a significant number. The executions are usually carried out without informing the family or legal representatives of the prisoner and the location of their graves are rarely reported to their families.

Source: Iran Human Rights, Staff, June 24, 2020

Death Certificate Indicates Political Prisoner’s Death by Firing Squad

A picture of Kurd political prisoner Hedayat Abdollahpour, killed by a firing squad on May 11, holding a sign that reads: "I will pay the price of freedom with my life so that the freedom-loving people of my country remember me".

44 days after the execution of Kurd political prisoner Hedayat Abdullahpour, his family learned that he was killed by a firing squad on May 11.

Based on a death certificate handed over to Hedayat Abdullahpour’s family, they confirmed today that his execution was carried out in a barrack in the northwestern town of Oshnavieh.

Farhad Abdullahpour, Hedayat’s brother, confirmed the news and said: “The registry office of Oshnavieh has issued a death certificate for Hedayat Abdullahpour, according to which Hedayat was executed on May 11.”

The death certificate states the cause of death was a “collision of a hard object or a bullet.” The Kurdish political prisoner who had been on death row in the central prison in Urmia, West Azerbaijan province, since 2017, was transferred to an undisclosed location on May 9, 2020.

His family sought information about his fate and whereabouts from various official entities. However, Iranian authorities refused to provide them with any information.

On May 12, the deputy prosecutor in Urmia told his family: “When the ministry of intelligence and the Revolutionary Guards do not tell you where your relative is, you better refer to the cemetery.”

On June 10, the head of the Centre for the Implementation of Sentences in the city of Urmia in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, told his family he had been executed 3 weeks ago.

When the family asked why they had not been informed in advance, the official claimed that he was not allowed to provide further information. He added that the execution had been carried out following “an order from above,” in apparent reference to the Revolutionary Guards overseeing the case.

The authorities have refused to reveal the location of the dissident’s grave so far.

Pleading with Iranian judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi for information about the dissident, his father, Abubakar, said in a voice message on June 15: “Shame on you. If you have executed my child, return his body. Set Islam aside and be a human.”

Hedayat Abdollahpour was detained along with dozens of other people on June 15, 2016 after a clash in his village in Qarah Soqol in Oshnavieh.

The clash was between the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) rebels and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), with casualties on both sides. Those arrested were suspected of supporting the Kurdish group.

Abdollahpour was accused of being a KDPI member and sentenced to death in 2017 after what rights group Amnesty International called a “grossly unfair” trial.

The dissident consistently denied involvement with KDPI or its 2016 battle with the IRGC. His family said he lost hearing in 1 ear from apparent torture after his arrest and later retracted in court a confession that he had made under torture.

Source: iran-hrm.com, Staff, June 24, 2020

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
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