Fate of Kurdish inmate on death row unknown: Brother

On Sunday evening “Ramin went on hunger strike, and at midnight he was taken to solitary confinement. They planned on executing him early in the morning [on Monday].”

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Fearing the unknown fate of a Kurdish activist on death row in Iran, the imprisoned youth’s brother on Monday affirmed the family was still working on halting the execution.

In April 2018, Iran’s Supreme Court ratified Ramin Hossein Panahi’s death sentence for his alleged membership to the “outlawed” Kurdish nationalist group, Komala, and for supposedly drawing a weapon on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) agents during clashes.

Ramin’s brother, Amjad Hossein Panahi, and his family have been actively engaged with lawyers and activists to stop the Islamic Regime’s plan to go through with the execution.

On Sunday evening “Ramin went on hunger strike, and at midnight he was taken to solitary confinement. They planned on executing him early in the morning [on Monday],” Amjad told Kurdistan 24 from Koln in Germany.

Amjad Hossein Panahi, the brother of a Kurdish activist on death row, during an interview with Kurdistan 24, Aug. 27, 2018. (Kurdistan 24)
Amjad Hossein Panahi, the brother of a Kurdish activist on death row, during an interview with Kurdistan 24, Aug. 27, 2018. (Kurdistan 24)

Amjad stated that inmates had told the family that Ramin had been wounded during his transfer to solitary and that when he was taken out of the prison, possibly to a hospital.

He suggested the imprisoned activist may have been “roughed up” by prison guards or other inmates, or that he may have resisted movement which could have led to the guards using excessive force.

“We think that he may be in one of Tehran’s hospitals, but as of yet we don’t know his fate and whether or not he has been hanged.”

“We, as the family of Ramin, don’t know whether he is alive or dead.”

Amjad affirmed that there are ongoing concerted efforts to prevent the execution of Ramin. He revealed that his family were updating the European Parliament on his brother’s condition and were working closely with the Kurdistan Region’s leading parties to establish contact with Tehran.

Editing by Nadia Riva