Arrest

Mahmoud Sadeghi was arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence on 16 October 2016 in Kamyaran, Kurdistan Province, along with his brother-in-law, Heidar Ghorbani.

Following his arrest, Sadeghi was transferred to the Ministry’s detention facility in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, where he was subjected to physical and psychological torture for approximately three months in order to extract forced confessions. 

During this time, he was denied access to his family and legal representation. 

Sadeghi was later transferred to Kamyaran Prison and, after a few months, to Sanandaj Central Prison.

In March 2017, the state-funded Press TV aired a video of the forced confessions of Heidar Ghorbani, who was implicated in the same case, entitled “The Driver of Death”.

Judicial Process

In October 2019, Branch One of the Kurdistan Province Criminal Court One sentenced Sadeghi to 30 years in prison on charges of “complicity in murder”, four years in prison and 100 lashes for each of two counts of “acquiring stolen vehicles”, and two sentences of one year and three months for “affixing other vehicle plates to stolen vehicles”.

He was also ordered to pay 7% of the full diya (blood money) for “inflicting non-lethal blows on the victim’s body”.

In March 2020, Branch One of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, presided over by Judge Saeidi, sentenced him to 25 years of imprisonment on the charge of “complicity in armed insurrection” (complicity in baghi).

In June 2020, Branch 47 of the Supreme Court upheld the 25-year sentence for “complicity in armed insurrection”, but overturned the sentences handed down by the Criminal Court of Kurdistan Province.

Current Status

Sadeghi is being held in Sanandaj Central Prison and has, to date, been denied the right to furlough.

Notes:

1. Heidar Ghorbani, Mahmoud Sadeghi’s co-defendant and brother-in-law, was executed in Sanandaj Central Prison on 19 December 2021.

2. Articles 287 of the new Islamic Penal Code: “A group that engages in armed insurrection against the foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran is considered rebellious, and if they use weapons, the members shall be sentenced to the death penalty.” “Complicity in armed insurrection” can carry up to 25 years in prison.