Hana Human Rights Organization reports that, two years ago, in the early hours of Monday, January 29, 2024, the death sentences of four Kurdish political prisoners—Pezhman Fatehi (28), Mohsen Mazloom (27), Vafa Azarbar (26), and Mohammad (Hejir) Faramerzi (28)—were carried out at Qezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, according to claims by the judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic.
These four political prisoners had been arrested on July 23, 2022, in the Sumay Baradost region of Orumiyeh by security forces of the Islamic Republic and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s ultra-secure detention facilities. During their 19 months of detention, they were denied any visits or even phone contact with their families, and were allowed only a final meeting with their families shortly before their executions. During this last meeting, Pezhman Fatehi, Vafa Azarbar, Mohsen Mazloom, and Hejir Faramerzi reported severe physical and psychological torture and stated that their confessions had been forcibly extracted under extreme duress.
Hana Human Rights Organization emphasizes that throughout their detention and trial, these four individuals were deprived of even the minimal legal defense rights under the Islamic Republic’s already limited laws, and the Tehran Revolutionary Court issued their death sentences solely based on coerced confessions.
The executions prompted significant international condemnation. The U.S. Department of State officially denounced the executions as a tool of political repression and a result of show trials. United Nations human rights special rapporteurs strongly condemned the Iranian government, deeming the death sentences unlawful. In Kurdistan, people protested the government killings with widespread strikes and market closures across multiple cities.
Two years after the executions, judicial and security authorities have still refused to return the bodies to the families or disclose the burial locations. Hana Human Rights Organization confirms that this ongoing conduct constitutes enforced disappearance, a continuing international crime that inflicts additional suffering on the families of the victims.
In response, the families of the four executed Kurdish political prisoners, represented by lawyer Dr. Faraz Firoozi, have submitted a complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, demanding clarification regarding the fate of the four prisoners. According to the lawyer, they have requested that this situation be officially recognized as enforced disappearance and that Iranian authorities be held accountable. The lawyer further stated to Hana that, “According to official correspondence, the case of these four individuals, along with other cases from various countries, will be reviewed during the 138th session of the Working Group from January 26 to 30, 2026, and the group will officially announce the results of the session.”
Enforced disappearance, in all its forms, is recognized under international law as a crime against humanity. Nevertheless, the Islamic Republic of Iran has systematically employed this criminal practice since its establishment to intimidate and suppress opponents, particularly in Kurdistan and against Kurdish citizens. Iran remains one of the countries with the highest number of open cases regarding enforced disappearances before the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. It should be noted that these recorded cases represent only a fraction of enforced disappearances in Iran, as many families have been unable to file complaints due to various obstacles or, under extreme security pressures, have been unwilling to pursue legal action.