Amnesty International says a man from Iran’s Kurdish minority is at risk of execution after he was sentenced to death last month following what the human rights watchdog called an “unfair trial.”
During Houshmand Alipour’s trial, the court relied on a false “confession,” which he says was extracted from him under torture and other ill-treatment, the London-based group said on January 23.
Alipour was tried before the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, and was sentenced to death for alleged “armed rebellion against the state.” He was also found guilty of “spreading propaganda against the system,” “membership of a group with the purpose of disrupting national security,” and other charges for which he received a total of 16 years in prison.
Mohammad Ostadghader, also an Iranian Kurd, was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment in the same trial. Under Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, he will be required to serve five years in prison.
The two men’s lawyer has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against their convictions and sentences.
Both were arrested in August 2018 on suspicion of taking part in an armed attack against a security base in Saqqez, an accusation they both deny.
Days later, Iranian state media broadcast a “propaganda” video in which the two men were shown “confessing” to the attack.
Alipour has said that they were tortured into making the “confessions” during interrogations when they had no access to a lawyer.
Source » rferl