Four Sunni political prisoners are reportedly at risk of imminent execution.
Hamed Ahmadi, Kamal Molayee, Jahangir Dehghani and Jamshed Dehghani are currently being held at Ghezel Hesar prison, near Karaj. They are at risk of imminent execution.
The execution date for the men was originally scheduled for the 26th of September, 2013, but was postponed at the last minute by the authorities. A court ordered that the executions be delayed for a month, following a wave of criticism from both the families of the men and the international community.
A month has now passed, leaving the men with no legal protection from execution. According to the organization 'Iran Human Rights' (IHR) there is increasing concern that the men may be executed 'in the coming days'.
Two of the men were reportedly tortured during the last month. Hamed Ahmadi was subjected to electric shocks, causing bleeding from the stomach. Kamal Molayee was severely beaten and kicked by prison guards, who broke at least one of his teeth.
The four men were arrested and kept in detention since June and July 2009. They were among a group of ten men who were then sentenced to death in 2011. Their court appearance lasted just ten minutes, and the men were handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded throughout. They were convicted of ‘enmity against God’ and ‘causing corruption on the Earth’. Six of the men were executed in December 2012.
The men were accused of involvement in the assassination of a Sunni scholar with ties to the government, who was killed in October 2009. The men maintain that it was physically impossible for them to have been involved, as they had been in prison since June and July 2009.
The men were all tortured in detention, and many were forced to 'confess' to false charges. The men reported that they were severely physically and psychologically tortured, and their families were threatened. Some were forced to sign papers without being allowed to read them.
The men were all active in propagating Sunni Islam within their communities, and in criticizing the regime. Sunnis face widespread persecution in the Shia-dominated Iran, and many of those who openly propagate Sunni Islam have been imprisoned or executed under false charges. In 2011, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) stated that "Sunni Muslim leaders regularly are intimidated and harassed by intelligence and security services and report widespread official discrimination."
--
We urge all readers to raise awareness about our brothers. The regime has postponed the executions before, and we hope that under pressure they will be deterred from executing our brothers again. Urgent action is required to save the lives of our brothers in Iran. Please write letters and emails immediately to express your disapproval and to urgently demand a halt to the death penalty against our brothers. Please send copies to any Iranian diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. In addition we request that you send copies to any media organizations to help raise awareness.
You may use the template letter below.