Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, two Kurdish political prisoners sentenced to death on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi), were secretly executed at Naqadeh Prison in the early hours of 21 May. Their families and lawyers were given no prior notice.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) has learned that the two men were denied a final visit with their families before the execution, and as of the time of publication, their bodies had not been returned to their families.
A former cellmate of Zaleh and Maroufpour, who spoke to KHRN, said: “Ramin Zaleh and Karim Maroufpour, along with a young man named Khedr Mohammadpour, were arrested in the summer of 2024 by forces from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organisation and transferred to a security detention centre in Orumiyeh. They were subjected to physical and psychological torture for several months in order to extract forced confessions stating they had ‘planned to kill a member of the Revolutionary Guards in Piranshahr.'”
According to the source, the three prisoners were transferred to Naqadeh Prison after initial interrogation, and following months of uncertainty – during which they were denied the right to a lawyer of their choosing – they were tried in December 2025 by Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Mahabad, presided over by Judge Sami, on charges of “armed insurrection” (baghi) through membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI).
Ultimately, Zaleh and Maroufpour were sentenced to death, and Mohammadpour received a 20-year prison sentence.
