Kurdish political prisoner Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, who has been sentenced to death, remains in legal limbo at Orumiyeh Central Prison nearly three years after his arrest during the anti-government Woman, Life, Freedom uprising.
In October 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province, presided over by Judge Najafzadeh, sentenced Abdollahzadeh to death on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fil-arz) and “involvement in the premeditated murder” of a member of the Basij paramilitary force, Seyyed Abbas Fatemiyeh.
His lawyers appealed the ruling and, in January 2025, the case was referred to Branch Nine of the Supreme Court. However, the judges have yet to issue a verdict, leaving him in prolonged uncertainty.
A source in Orumiyeh told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN): “The political prisoner is in extremely poor mental health as the third anniversary of his arrest approaches. Since the verdict was unjust and issued without any evidence, he has endured severe psychological pressure in prison.”
Background
Born on 15 March 1998 in Orumiyeh, Abdollahzadeh was arrested by security forces on 22 October 2022 during the Women, Life, Freedom uprising.
He was detained at his workplace, a barbershop, by the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and transferred to the agency’s detention centre, where he was subjected to 38 days of physical and psychological torture in an attempt to force him to confess to participating in protests and to the killing of a Basij member.
However, footage of the incident in the possession of the security forces does not show Abdollahzadeh at the scene, and he has consistently denied any involvement in the killing.
According to the informed source, Abdollahzadeh rejected all charges during interrogations and in court hearings, even requesting that his mobile phone location data be reviewed to prove that he was not at the crime scene.
During his 38-day detention, he was denied access to a lawyer or family visits, and his family was unable to find out what had happened to him despite repeatedly asking the security and judicial authorities in Orumiyeh.
Once the interrogations had ended, Abdollahzadeh was transferred to Orumiyeh Central Prison.
Initially, his case was sent to Branch Seven of the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office in Orumiyeh, presided over by Soltanzadeh; it was later referred to Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court.
Following three hearings (both in person and via videoconference), he was sentenced to death on charges of “spreading corruption on earth” (efsad-e fil-arz) and “involvement in the premeditated murder” of Seyyed Abbas Fatemiyeh, a member of the Basij paramilitary force.
The verdict was issued on 19 September 2024 and formally communicated to him in prison on 21 October.
After his lawyers filed an appeal, the case was referred to the Supreme Court, which sent it to its ninth branch in February 2025. Nearly seven months later, the Supreme Court has still not reviewed the case or issued a ruling, leaving Abdollahzadeh in a state of limbo.
According to the statistics compiled by KHRN, at least nine Kurdish political prisoners – Pakhshan Azizi, Verisheh Moradi, Yousef Ahmadi, Hatem Ozdemir, Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, Ali (Soran) Ghassemi, Pezhman Soltani, Kaveh Salehi, and Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri – are currently on death row in Orumiyeh, Sanandaj, and Evin prisons.
