Kurdish civilian from Marivan, Kurdistan province
Detention date: 15 June 2011
Charged with: Collaboration with the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan
Sentence: 20 years in prison and internal exile to Kashmar Prison
Current status: Imprisoned in Kashmar Prison
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested Ayoub Asadi, a civilian from Marivan in Iran’s northwestern province of Kurdistan, along with a civilian named Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, on 15 June 2011, near the village of Bouryer in Sarvabad district of Kurdistan province.
At the time of detention, the IRGC forces opened fire on and wounded both Asadi and Rezaei, and killed a farmer from the village, who was in the vicinity.
Asadi was transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison on 8 February 2012.
After three court hearings, on 11 September 2012, Branch 1 of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province — presided over by Judge Babaei – sentenced Asadi to 20 years in prison and internal exile to Kashmar Prison. It charged the civilian with “collaboration with the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan”.
The political prisoner and his lawyer appealed against the sentence and the case was referred to the Supreme Court of Iran. However, the response to the appeal was never communicated to them.
On 17 April 2013, he was transferred from Sanandaj Central Prison to Kashmar Prison.
Asadi is in poor health condition in Kashmar Prison due to suffering from lumbar disc herniation and asthma. But prison officials have said they would not be able to take him to the hospital due to the sensitivity of the case and would only give him asthma spray if he paid for it.
On 6 June 2016, Asadi went on a hunger strike in protest of the refusal of the Kashmar Public Prosecutor’s Office to grant him temporary leave, the prison authorities’ indifference to his health condition, and in order to be transferred to any other jail than Kashmar Prison.
After 27 days, on 2 July, he ended his strike following a promise by prison authorities to meet his demands. He was then returned from solitary confinement to the ward.
Although he needs medical leave due to his poor health condition, Asadi has only been sent on temporary leave for a few days during his imprisonment and has been returned to prison before completing his treatment.