Kurdish Political Prisoner on Hunger Strike to Protest Imminent Death Sentence
Mohammad Abdollahi
Mohammad Abdollahi Could Be Executed “At Any Moment”
Mohammad Abdollahi, an Iranian-Kurdish prisoner on death row in Orumiyeh Prison in northwestern Iran, has been on hunger strike since May 29, 2016 to protest his imminent death sentence, a source informed about the case told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.
The prison warden told Abdollahi on April 26, 2016 that his death sentence could be carried out “at any moment,” according to the source, who is a human rights activist.
Abdollahi was placed in solitary confinement on June 7, 2016.
“Before he went on hunger strike, Mohammad wrote a letter to the Judiciary Chief [Sadegh Amoli Larijani] and requested a retrial,” said the source. “He believes that in a fair trial he could not be sentenced to death.”
“He told his relatives that he will not stop his hunger strike even if it ends his life,” added the source. “He said that if they want to kill him, it would be better to die from a hunger strike.”
Abdollahi was sentenced to death for his alleged membership in the Kurdish Communist Party of Iran, known as Komalah, but insists that he only obtained his membership card, which was used to support his conviction, to obtain employment in Iraqi Kurdistan.
“I went to Iraq to work and earn a living and I sent and brought money to my family [in Iran] from time to time. I got an asylum card from the Communist Party of Iran in order to facilitate my stay in Iraq,” said Abdollahi in the letter. “But at the time of my arrest I was not carrying any kind of weapon and I have not participated in any armed or unarmed confrontation against the forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
“The case built against me by the security officials [in West Azerbaijan] contains a collection of baseless and false allegations that I have never confessed to in front of any judicial or security official, and I have never been a member of, or cooperated with, any official or unofficial political party,” he added.
Born and raised in Bukan in Iran’s West Azerbaijan province, Abdollahi was arrested on March 19, 2011 by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Mahabad, near his hometown, and interrogated for 91 days. On September 21, 2013 Judge Ahmad Javadi-Kia of Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Mahabad sentenced Abdollahi to death for “enmity with God,” “corruption on earth” and “membership in Komalah.”
After the Appeals Court upheld the decision on March 24, 2014 Abdollahi’s lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court, but has received no response.
Abdollahi has been denied hospitalization for serious health problems stemming from the bullet that wounded his right shoulder at the time of his arrest. During his detainment Abdollahi’s leg and teeth were broken due to beatings and torture, the source told the Campaign.
“They took him to the hospital when he was shot and beaten. He was then moved to prison after the bullet was removed. His left leg was put in a cast, but it healed in a bad way and he’s in a lot of pain and has difficulty walking,” said the source. “All that aside, now he’s facing execution at any moment.”
