Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri is at imminent risk of execution in relation to the September-December 2022 popular uprising. On December 24, his family learned that Branch 39 of the Supreme Court upheld his conviction and death sentence. His sentence was sent for implementation, amid an ongoing increase in executions across the country. He is being held in solitary confinement and has been repeatedly subjected to torture and other ill-treatment, including severe beatings.
Here’s what you can do:
Write to the Head of the Judiciary urging him to:
- Immediately halt any plans to carry out Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri’s execution and quash his conviction and death sentence.
- Ensure that if he is charged with a recognizable criminal offence, proceedings must meet international fair trial standards without recourse to the death penalty and exclude coerced “confessions”.
- Immediately grant Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri access to his family, independently chosen lawyer, and adequate medical care.
- Protect him from further torture and other ill-treatment and investigate torture allegations, bringing anyone found responsible to justice in fair trials.
- Grant independent observers access to capital trials connected to protests and immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
Write to:
Head of judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei
c/o Embassy of Iran to the European Union,
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt No. 15,
1050 Bruxelles,
Belgium
Salutation: Dear Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei
Background
In a distressing turn of events, Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri faces an imminent risk of execution, stemming from his arrest on December 20, 2022, near Ghalehtol, Khuzestan province. Arrested by a coalition of agents from the Ministry of Intelligence, Revolutionary Guards, and the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA), Kourkouri suffered injuries during his arrest, including to his knee from live ammunition and to his arm from grenade shrapnel.
“They will kill me”
Following brief phone calls to his family after late April 2023, Kourkouri expressed grave concerns about his fate, indicating pain, particularly in his injured knee, and the need for urgent healthcare. Allegations of authorities forcibly administering chemical substances added to the alarming nature of his predicament. Despite sporadic contact with his family, Kourkouri’s independently chosen lawyer only learned of his confinement in Sheiban prison in late April 2023.
Kourkouri’s Innocence and the Denial of Justice
Contrary to authorities’ claims, information obtained by Amnesty International reveals that Kourkouri was not present at the protests in Izeh on November 16, 2023. Even the family of Kian Pirfalak, the nine-year-old fatally shot during the protests, has publicly refuted Kourkouri’s involvement, placing responsibility squarely on Iran’s security forces. The tragic incident involving Kian Pirfalak unfolded during protests in Izeh on November 16, 2022, exposing a pattern of the Iranian authorities covering up their crimes and denying responsibility for security forces’ unlawful killings.
As Iran faces another alarming execution spree, with at least 115 people executed in November 2023, Amnesty International strongly condemns the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and an ultimate form of cruelty. We are calling on all states, including Iran, to establish a moratorium on executions, working towards complete abolition. This urgent appeal seeks justice for Mojahed Kourkouri and accountability for the tragic death of Kian Pirfalak.
Please send your appeals until March 1, 2024. If there’s the need for further action after that date, the UA will be duly updated.
