Turkish National Hatem Özdemir’s Death Sentence Upheld

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, Branch 9 of the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentence issued to Kurdish Turkey national, Hatem Özdemir who is held in Urmia Central Prison in recent days.

This is while his sentence was previously overturned by the same branch due to legal flaws and according to his lawyer, Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht, no new evidence has been presented or changes made in the case.

Hatem Özdemir, a Kurdish PKK member and citizen of Turkey, was arrested at the border of Iran and Turkey in the Chaldran region when he and his group were ambushed by IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) forces.

He was held in the IRGC Intelligence Organisation’s custody for two years and nine months before being sentenced to death for charges of baghy (armed rebellion) by Branch One of the Khoy Revolutionary Court. His sentence was subsequently overturned by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, presided over by Ghasem Maziani, and referred to a court of equal standing.

On 23 April 2024, Branch 3 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court, presided over by Reza Najafzadeh, resentenced Hatem to death in absentia and without his lawyers being notified or present. The sentence relied on testimony by new witnesses who were not present at the scene of the alleged crime and ignored previous eyewitness accounts and findings that Hatem had not used his weapon that day. 

Speaking to Iran Human Rights, Mr Nikbakht previously told IHRNGO: “baghy requires the defendant to have used their weapon according to the Islamic Penal Code (Art 287) and Hatem hadn’t used his gun. Additionally, the Assistant Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, representing the Attorney General of the country, had already specified three reasons for why Hatem cannot be convicted of baghy charges.”

Hatem has not received any consular assistance from the Turkish government.