6 Men Including Kurdish Ghasem Abasteh at Risk of Execution in Ghezel Hesar Prison

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least five men were transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on 31 October. The unidentified men were sentenced to death for drug-related and murder charges.

Informed sources told Iran Human Rights that Ghasem Abasteh has also been transferred to solitary confinement, raising fears of his imminent execution.

Ghasem Abasteh was sentenced to death for charges of moharebeh (enmity against god) and efsad-fil-arz(corruption on earth) through “armed resistance and membership in a Salafi jihadi group” in a case with seven defendants by Branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court in February/March 2016. The sentence was overturned by the Supreme Court and sent to Branch 15 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court for retrial. On 17 June 2017, they were resentenced to death by the Court presided over by “death judge” Salavati. Their death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court 3 February 2020.

They are reportedly scheduled to be executed in the coming days.