Iran hanged Kouhi and five other prisoners

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Iran hanged at least six prisoners on Saturday and Sunday, continuing their execution spree that killed nearly 1000 people in 2015.

Ghader Mazaheri, a prisoner from the city of Azar Shahr in the Eastern Azerbaijan province, was hanged for alleged adultery, Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported. 

Iran's Justice Branch of Gilan Province confirmed that five prisoners including Rashid Kouhi were executed for alleged drug-related crimes. 

Amnesty International (AI), a global human rights network based in the United Kingdom, reported that Rashid Kouhi did not receive a fair trial and was denied the right to an appeal.

Said Boumedouha, Amnesty’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director, said, “It is appalling that Rashid Kouhi has been denied the right to an appeal which is a fundamental element of the right to a fair trial. Failing to do so will be an irreversible injustice.”

In 2015, Iran was the second highest executioner in the world.

According to AI, drug offenses do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes, interpreted by international human rights bodies, as crimes involving international killing, for which the death penalty is permitted under international human rights law."

Elsewhere, Amnesty reported that Iran denied a Kurdish political prisoner medical treatment. Twenty-four-year-old Afshin Sohrabzadeh, who is serving a 25-year sentence for Moharebeh (enmity against God) in Iran, suffers from chronic illness and is denied adequate medical care.

In addition, Yousef Kakehmami, an Iranian Kurd already serving a nine-year sentence in Oroumieh Central Prison, was sentenced to five more years for writing a letter to the United Nations (UN).

Taimoor Aliassi, the representative to UN of the Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva (KMMK-G), told Kurdistan24, “Despite the current administration pledges to change the government security approach towards the Iranian Kurdistan, the number of indiscriminate killings of Kurdish citizens by the security forces is dramatically rising.”

Iran continues to spark international outrage for its poor human rights records.

Reporting by Ava Homa

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany