The Supreme Court has overturned the death sentences of five Kurdish citizens – Ali (Soran) Ghassemi, Pezhman Soltani, Kaveh Salehi, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, and Teyfour Salimi Babamiri – and ordered a retrial at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan Province.

Branch 39 of the Supreme Court issued the decision after reviewing appeals submitted by the lawyers representing the defendants, thereby annulling a total of 11 death sentences handed down in July by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan Province.

The ruling was officially conveyed to the prisoners’ families on 24 October.

The five men were arrested during the anti-government Women, Life, Freedom protests in Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province.

In a related development, the Orumiyeh Criminal Court has recently acquitted the five detainees and several co-defendants – who had been released on bail – of the charge of “financing terrorism”.

The issuance of these death sentences in recent months had sparked widespread public outrage. The families of the political prisoners, human rights activists, and numerous social media users launched campaigns demanding the revocation of the death sentences.

Reportedly, the criminal case of Soltani, who was sentenced to qisas (retribution in kind) for “premeditated murder”, Beigzadeh Babamiri, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for “instigating murder”, and Ghassemi, who was sentenced to 10 years and one day of imprisonment for “aiding and abetting premeditated murder”, is currently under review at the appeal stage following the payment of diya (blood money) and the granting of forgiveness by the victim’s family.

The diya payment was made possible after a public fundraising campaign. During the campaign, security agencies froze the bank accounts of several of Ghassemi’s family members. However, following a court order, the collected funds were used to pay the diya and the remainder was deposited into a support fund for prisoners.

In July, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh, presided over by Judge Reza Najafzadeh, held three online hearings and sentenced Ghassemi, Soltani, Salehi and Beigzadeh Babamiri, who are all being held in Orumiyeh Central Prison, to a total of 10 death penalties. Meanwhile, Salimi Babamiri, who was temporarily released on bail, was sentenced to one death penalty.

According to the verdict, Ghassemi, Soltani, and Salehi were each sentenced to two death penalties on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi) and “enmity against God” (moharebeh). Ghassemi also received an additional death sentence for “leading and forming an armed criminal group” under titles including “Rebels’ Association, Shamaran, Komala, and PAK”.

Beigzadeh Babamiri was sentenced to three death penalties on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi), “leading and forming an armed criminal group” under titles including “Rebels’ Association, Shamaran, Komala, and PAK”, and “espionage for Israel”.

Salimi Babamiri received one death sentence for “leading and forming an armed criminal group” with the same title.

In addition to the death sentences, all five political prisoners were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 15 years and fined a total of 430 billion and 580 million rials (nearly 430,000 USD) for charges including “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel through intelligence missions for Mossad”, “involvement in the smuggling of 120 Starlink satellite devices”, “propaganda against the state”, and “assembly and collusion with the intention of acting against national security”.

The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh also sentenced eight more defendants – Siamak Hayasi, Savareh Azizzadeh, Hemin Kirmanj, Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Jalil Mowloudi, Ahmad Mamehzadeh, Javanmard Mam-Khosravi, and Salar Daghdar – to prison sentences and financial penalties.

The charges included “membership in an armed group” under the titles “Rebels’ Association, Shamaran, Komala, and PAK”, “collaboration with the hostile government of Israel”, and “insulting the Supreme Leader”. Seven of them had previously been released on bail.

One defendant, Dr Salahaddin Ahmadi, was acquitted of all charges in this case.

The 14 defendants were arrested by security forces in April and May 2023 over various alleged involvement in the anti-government protests of the Women, Life, Freedom uprising in Bukan and Baneh, and were transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s detention centre in Orumiyeh

They were reportedly subjected to months of physical and psychological torture, forced confessions, and denied access to lawyers and family visits.

On 14 July 2024, Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), broadcast portions of these confessions. The defendants later claimed that these statements had been extracted under duress and had formed the basis for the court’s heavy sentences.