Kamel Doudkanlou and Seyyed Farhad Hosseini, two prisoners sentenced to death on offences related to carrying drugs and murder, respectively, were executed in Salmas prison, West Azerbaijan province, on 19 January.
Doudkanlou, a father of four from the village of Qabakh Tappeh in Salmas, was arrested several years ago and sentenced to death for allegedly “carrying 30 grams of heroin”.
Hosseini, who comes from the village of Tamrabad in Salmas, was arrested about a year and a half ago on the charge of “premeditated murder” and was sentenced to death under the Islamic law of qisas or retribution-in-kind, which grants the right to retaliate to the victim’s family.
Hosseini was forced to confess to the murder in the detention facility of the Criminal Investigation Department under severe physical and psychological torture by police officers, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.
