Iran has released a Kurdish political prisoner on parole and sent another on temporary leave from Yazd Prison in the central province of Yazd in the past week.
Political prisoner Rostam Arkia was released on parole on 9 March after 15 years in prison.
Also, on 15 March, political prisoner Qader Mohammadzadeh, who was in the 17th year of imprisonment, was sent on temporarily leave on a bail of 1 billion Tomans – nearly 40,000 USD.
Rostam Arkia
Arkia, who comes from Maku in West Azerbaijan province, northwestern Iran, was detained by security forces in Tehran on 1 January 2007.
After his arrest, Arkia was transferred to the detention centre of the Intelligence Organisation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Orumiyeh, West Azerbaijan province, where he was subjected to constant pressure and severe torture for nearly three months to make forced confessions.
After the interrogation, Arkia was transferred to Maku Prison.
On 26 November 2007, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Khoy, presided over by Judge Nowrouzi, sentenced Arkia to death on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh) through “membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK)”.
Arkia appealed against the verdict and the Supreme Court overturned the sentence, referring the case to the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Orumiyeh.
On 27 January 2010, Branch 1 of this court sentenced Arkia to 10 years in prison and internal exile in Yazd Prison on charges of “enmity against God”.
The representative of the public prosecutor of Orumiyeh appealed against this ruling and demanded that the sentence be increased. Subsequently, on 19 March 2010, Branch 10 of the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan province increased the sentence to 20 years in jail and internal exile to Yazd Prison.
In June 2010, Arkia was exiled to Yazd Prison. On 22 November 2011, he went on a hunger strike together with a number of political prisoners due to the non-compliance of prison authorities with the principle of segregation of crimes. The strike ended six days after authorities agreed to separate political prisoners from ordinary prisoners.
Arkia was sent on leave only once after 12 years of his imprisonment.
Qader Mohammadzadeh
Mohammadzadeh, a Kurdish civilian from Bukan in West Azerbaijan province, northwestern Iran, was arrested by security forces on 20 December 2005 along with another civilian named Mohammad Amin Abdollahi.
The two civilians were accused of “membership in the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan” and “killing an Iranian military officer”.
For several months, the two civilians were tortured in solitary confinement in the detention centres of the Ministry of Intelligence in Mahabad and Orumiyeh in the northwestern West Azerbaijan province to make forced confessions.
They were then taken to Orumiyeh Central Prison.
After 15 months of uncertainty regarding their situation, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad tried Mohammadzadeh and Abdollahi on charges of “enmity against God” (moharebeh).
The court sentenced Mohammadzadeh to 18 years in prison and internal exile in Yazd Central Prison while sentencing Abdollahi to 18 years in prison and internal exile to Tabas Prison in eastern Iran.
The ruling was then upheld by the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan province.
In a separate case in February 2011, the Kurdish political prisoner was sentenced by Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad to six months in prison on charges of “communicating with foreign media”.
Additionally, the same court also sentenced Mohammadzadeh to “retribution in kind” (qisas) and seven years in prison on charges of “premeditated murder”. This sentence was then dropped in the Supreme Court to payment of blood money as compensation.
On 31 July 2021, the political prisoner went on a 39-day hunger strike to protest against the refusal of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Mahabad to grant him temporary leave.
