Kurdistan Human Rights Network

Senior Iranian judiciary officials have threatened to execute the amputation sentences of four prisoners at Orumiyeh Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned.

During a recent visit, Nasser Atbati, the Director General of the Judiciary of West Azerbaijan Province, and Majidi, the Prosecutor of Orumiyeh, met with the prisoners Hadi Rostami, Mehdi Shahivand, Mehdi Sharifian, and Kasra Karami, rejecting their appeals for clemency and indicating that their sentences would soon be executed.

Currently, at least seven prisoners accused of “theft” are being held in Orumiyeh Central Prison with the sentence of “amputation of four fingers of the hand.” These prisoners are Hadi Rostami, 34 years old; Mehdi Sharifian, 38 years old; Mehdi Shahivand, 43 years old; Shahab Teymouri, 36 years old; Mehrdad Teymouri, 40 years old; Kasra Karami, 41 years old; and Morteza Esmaeilian, 44 years old.

Rostami, Shahivand, Sharifian, and Karami were previously transferred to Greater Tehran Central Penitentiary for the execution of their sentences, but were returned to Orumiyeh Central Prison.

In 2015, Rostami, Shahivand, and Sharifian, from Ilam and Khorramabad, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in Orumiyeh and charged with “theft”.

On 19 November 2019, all three were convicted of “theft” in a joint trial by the Juvenile Criminal Court and sentenced to “amputation of four fingers of the right hand from the end, leaving the thumb and palm intact” and to “return the stolen property”.

The sentence was upheld by Branch 13 of the Supreme Court, presided over by Judge Ali Shoushtari, on 10 May 2020.

Karami, from Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department in Orumiyeh on 13 October 2015.

His trial, held on 12 February 2017 in Branch One of the Criminal Court One of Orumiyeh with the presence of 19 private complainants and his appointed lawyer, resulted in a sentence of hand amputation by Judges Alireza Aghazadeh, Hamzeh Ali Ahmadi, and Salman Najafi on charges of “theft”.

After Karami’s lawyer appealed, the case was referred to Branch 27 of the Supreme Court, which on 24 May 2017 found the case incomplete due to the absence of the private complainant’s request for hand amputation and referred it back to Branch One of Orumiyeh Criminal Court One for reconsideration.

In 2017, the criminal court again sentenced Karami to “amputation of four fingers of the right hand”, a verdict that was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2020.

Esmaeilian, a 44-year-old father of two from Orumiyeh, was convicted of “theft” by an Orumiyeh court in 2013 and sentenced to “amputation of four fingers of the right hand” and 15 years’ imprisonment, which was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2015.

Additionally, Mehrdad Teymouri and Shahab Teymouri, from Sarpol-e Zahab and living in Karaj, along with another civilian, Ebrahim Khatibi, were arrested on 6 December 2018 in Malard, Karaj, on charges of “theft”.

According to a court document obtained by KHRN, Orumiyeh’s Criminal Investigation Department claimed that these three Karaj residents, who had previous convictions for theft and restitution, committed theft in Orumiyeh to pay for their restitution and were arrested in Malard, Karaj.

In August 2019, Branch One of the Juvenile and Adolescent Criminal Court of Orumiyeh sentenced these three prisoners to “amputation of four fingers of the right hand” for theft.

After their court-appointed lawyers appealed, the case was referred to Branch 24 of the Supreme Court, which in April 2020 upheld the sentences of Mehrdad and Shahab Teymouri and overturned Khatibi’s sentence, deeming him ineligible for the punishment.