ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – UN officials have called for Iran to cancel a death sentence handed down to a Kurdish prisoner because of concerns he did not receive a fair trial and has been mistreated in prison.
Ramin Hossein Panahi was wounded and arrested on June 22, 2017 in Sanandaj for alleged membership in Komala, a Kurdish opposition party.
He was held in solidarity confinement for several months. His health has deteriorated in prison and he is suffering from kidney failure and amnesia. He has been denied medical treatment and was subjected to torture, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
He has been sentenced to death by hanging. His lawyer, Hossein Ahmadi Niaz, told the France-based rights monitor that he will appeal the verdict, but expressed concern that Panahi is at risk of “imminent execution.”
UN rights experts – Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Dainius Puras, special rapporteur on health rights, and Nils Melzer, special rapporteur on torture – condemned the sentence in a statement on Thursday.
“Executing Mr. Panahi, following his torture, and unfair trial and on the basis of charges that do not meet international standards for the use of death penalty, would be unconscionable,” they stated, calling on Tehran to annul the death sentence.
According to the human rights officials, Panahi did not receive a fair trial, being allowed to meet with his lawyer only once and not receiving disclosure of the evidence against him before going to a trial that lasted less than an hour.
“Despite marks of torture on his body, no investigation was ordered by the court,” the UN experts added.
His parents planned to hold a peaceful protest responding to the death sentence, but were arrested and held for several hours earlier this week.
Several of Panahi’s family members are also imprisoned in Iran, according to KHRN. His brother, Afshin Hossein Panahi, was sentenced to eight and a half years after he celebrated Newroz and for his support of Kurdish parties. His cousin, Zubair Hussein Panahi, was sentenced to six years in prison and an in-law, Ahmad Amin Panah, was sentenced to five years in prison.
Ramin Hossein Panahi was wounded and arrested on June 22, 2017 in Sanandaj for alleged membership in Komala, a Kurdish opposition party.
He was held in solidarity confinement for several months. His health has deteriorated in prison and he is suffering from kidney failure and amnesia. He has been denied medical treatment and was subjected to torture, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN).
He has been sentenced to death by hanging. His lawyer, Hossein Ahmadi Niaz, told the France-based rights monitor that he will appeal the verdict, but expressed concern that Panahi is at risk of “imminent execution.”
UN rights experts – Agnes Callamard, special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Dainius Puras, special rapporteur on health rights, and Nils Melzer, special rapporteur on torture – condemned the sentence in a statement on Thursday.
“Executing Mr. Panahi, following his torture, and unfair trial and on the basis of charges that do not meet international standards for the use of death penalty, would be unconscionable,” they stated, calling on Tehran to annul the death sentence.
According to the human rights officials, Panahi did not receive a fair trial, being allowed to meet with his lawyer only once and not receiving disclosure of the evidence against him before going to a trial that lasted less than an hour.
“Despite marks of torture on his body, no investigation was ordered by the court,” the UN experts added.
His parents planned to hold a peaceful protest responding to the death sentence, but were arrested and held for several hours earlier this week.
#RaminHosseinPanahi 's parents released after several hours of detention. They arrested by the security forces at the Iqbal Square in Sanandaj Square today, while they were planning to hold a peaceful rally, protesting Ramin's death sentence. pic.twitter.com/5uE5u9EfsM
— KurdistanHumanRights (@KurdistanHRN) April 15, 2018
Several of Panahi’s family members are also imprisoned in Iran, according to KHRN. His brother, Afshin Hossein Panahi, was sentenced to eight and a half years after he celebrated Newroz and for his support of Kurdish parties. His cousin, Zubair Hussein Panahi, was sentenced to six years in prison and an in-law, Ahmad Amin Panah, was sentenced to five years in prison.
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