Execution fears grow for Iranian kurds
URGENT ACTION
EXECUTION FEARS GROW FOR IRANIAN KURDS
T wo members of Iran’s Kurdish minority , Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi, could be executed at any time. Their death sentences have been sent to the Office for the I mplementation of Sentences, a body within the Judiciary, which is the final step before being called for execution .
Zaniar (or Zanyar) Moradi and Loghman (or Loqman) Moradi were sentenced to public hanging on 22 December 2010 by Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court after a trial reportedly lasting 20 minutes. They were convicted of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) and “corruption on earth” for allegedly murdering the son of a senior cleric in Marivan, Kordestan province, north-eastern Iran, on 4 July 2009. They were also convicted of participating in armed activities with Komala, a Kurdish opposition group. Their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court and have reportedly been sent to the enforcement office of the Judiciary.
Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi were arrested respectively on 1 August 2009 and 17 October 2009 in Marivan. They were held without charge by the Ministry of Intelligence for the first nine months of their detention during which they were moved several times between detention facilities. Around the beginning of December 2010 they were transferred to Raja’i Shahr Prison northwest of Tehran. The two men then wrote a letter stating that during their interrogation by the Ministry of Intelligence they were forced to “confess” to the allegations of murder after being tortured and threatened with rape. Amnesty International has so far been unable to confirm reports that Zaniar Moradi was 17 at the time of his arrest.
Please write immediately in Persian, English or your own language:
Urging the Iranian authorities not to carry out the executions of Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi;
Calling on them to commute the death sentences of Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi and anyone else on death row, including other Kurdish political prisoners;
Calling on them to ensure that Loghman Moradi and Zaniar Moradi are protected from torture or other ill-treatment, and are granted immediate and regular access to their families, their lawyers and adequate medical care.
Expressing concern that neither Loghman Moradi nor Zaniar Moradi had a fair trial, and urging the Iranian authorities to investigate the allegations that they were tortured and to bring to justice anyone found responsible for abuses and to disregard as evidence in courts “confessions” which may have been coerced.
