Iranian Yarsani Man; Killed by Security Forces or Executed in Prison?

On October 9, 2018, Iranian Semi-official Fars News Agency reported that Ramin Majidifar Hosseini was executed in the Iranian city of Hamedan on rape charges. According to the report, he was arrested on August 16, 2018, in Hamedan and was convicted to death for raping 10 people, kidnapping, recording video of his sexual relationship with women and blackmailing them.

However, some human rights activists report that he was arrested in the Iranian city of Tuyserkan -not Hamedan- and for charges like spreading propaganda for Yarsan faith. Ramin Majidifar was a Yarsani, belong to Yarsan faith which has hundreds of thousands of followers, mostly in western Iran and among Kurds.

Yarsani activists issued a statement emphasising that Ramin's family were expecting his release and were shocked by his unexpected execution. According to the statement, Ramin Majidifar Hosseini had no access to a lawyer and no one is aware of the judicial process led to his execution. 

Some human rights activists claim that he was killed while was under arrest by security forces, and his execution was announced to cover the murder.

Lack of transparency in Iranian Judiciary and suppressing freedom of the press makes it difficult for the media and human rights activist to obtain credible information in such cases. In this regard, Iran Human Rights (IHR) Persian website has invited those who know about Ramin’s case or have pieces of related evidence, to contact the organization.