Important: Click here to read this clarification about some of our previous statements regarding 'Moharabeh'.
There has been no news about the condition of two Sunni political prisoners from Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj who were taken to an unknown location on Sunday 29th September 2013. The families of the men have grown increasingly concerned about their welfare after hearing no news about their whereabouts for almost three days. Both men are facing execution, and have been imprisoned since 2009.
Kaveh Vaisi and Mokhtar Rahimi were forcibly removed from their cells after prisoners stood in front of the two men for almost three hours, preventing prison guards from transferring the men to Ghezel Hesar prison. There were fears the two men would be executed upon transfer. Armed riot police were deployed to the prison on Sunday, and the two men willingly co operated with guards to avoid bloodshed, after authorities threatened a 'bloodbath'.
There are currently at least 30 Sunni political prisoners facing execution in Iran, all of whom were sentenced to death in Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The death sentence for all the men was issued by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh, a person named by the European Union in 2011 as being subject to sanctions for human rights violations.
The men all face charges such as 'Moharebeh' (enmity against God/ the state) or 'membership of a Salafi group'. The men have all been tortured, with many of them forced to 'confess' to crimes they have not committed. In a country where Sunnis face discrimination, being outspoken in spreading Sunni Islam and criticizing the government is dangerous. Many prominent Sunni figures and teachers have already been executed by the Iranian regime.
source (Farsi)
There has been no news about the condition of two Sunni political prisoners from Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj who were taken to an unknown location on Sunday 29th September 2013. The families of the men have grown increasingly concerned about their welfare after hearing no news about their whereabouts for almost three days. Both men are facing execution, and have been imprisoned since 2009.
Kaveh Vaisi and Mokhtar Rahimi were forcibly removed from their cells after prisoners stood in front of the two men for almost three hours, preventing prison guards from transferring the men to Ghezel Hesar prison. There were fears the two men would be executed upon transfer. Armed riot police were deployed to the prison on Sunday, and the two men willingly co operated with guards to avoid bloodshed, after authorities threatened a 'bloodbath'.
There are currently at least 30 Sunni political prisoners facing execution in Iran, all of whom were sentenced to death in Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The death sentence for all the men was issued by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh, a person named by the European Union in 2011 as being subject to sanctions for human rights violations.
The men all face charges such as 'Moharebeh' (enmity against God/ the state) or 'membership of a Salafi group'. The men have all been tortured, with many of them forced to 'confess' to crimes they have not committed. In a country where Sunnis face discrimination, being outspoken in spreading Sunni Islam and criticizing the government is dangerous. Many prominent Sunni figures and teachers have already been executed by the Iranian regime.
source (Farsi)