Khosrow Basharat, a Sunni religious activist from Kurdistan, was executed early this morning in Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj on May 15th, 2024.
According to the Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners, Mr. Basharat, who had spent more than 14 years in prison, was transferred to solitary confinement on May 1st and had met with his family for the last time last Tuesday.
Four other inmates, named “Qasem Abasteh, Ayoub Karimi, Davood Abdollahi, and Farhad Salimi”, were executed in Ghezel Hesar Prison between October 2023 and early January 2024.
“Anwar Khazri”, another ideological prisoner who was a co-defendant of these inmates, was also executed in the same prison on May 1st, 2024.
These ideological prisoners were arrested on September 2008 following the killing of Mamosta “Abdolrahim Tina” by unknown individuals and were subjected to years of pressure and psychological and physical torture to confess to the incident.
Finally, on February 2nd, 2009, Branch 41 of the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences for Anwar Khazri, Kamran Sheikh, Farhad Salimi, Qasem Abasteh, Khosrow Basharat, Ayoub Karimi, and Davood Abdollahi, seven Sunni prisoners detained in Qazal Hesar Prison.
The execution of Mr. Basharat has been met with widespread reactions from human rights and civil activists in Iran as well as the international community.
Many international organizations have strongly condemned this act and called for a halt to executions in Iran.
In a statement, Amnesty International called Mr. Basharat’s execution “a heinous injustice” and described it as “an example of ruthless suppression of religious minorities in Iran.”
Human Rights Watch also described Mr. Basharat’s execution as “a gross violation of human rights” and called for an immediate and impartial investigation into the case.
It should be noted that Mr. Basharat, along with six others from Sunni activists in Kurdistan, was detained on charges of “collaboration in the murder” of a Sunni congregation leader in Marivan.
This has raised deep concerns about the human rights situation of religious minorities in Iran.