International Organizations Condemn the Secret Execution of Hedayat Abdullahpour
UN human rights experts expressed outrage at reports of Iran’s secret execution of Hedayat Abdollahpour.
“We condemn the execution of Hedayat Abdollahpour in the strongest terms,” the independent experts said. “Any death sentence undertaken in contravention of a State’s obligations under international law is tantamount to arbitrary execution and hence unlawful. The fact that the execution took place in secret after an enforced disappearance is an additional aggravating factor.”
The crime is also condemned by the Amnesty International.
“The relentlessly cruel games the Iranian authorities are playing with Hedayat Abdollahpour’s family must stop. By refusing to reveal the truth, they are deliberately causing untold distress to his loved ones,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.
Eltahawy also demanded that ”Hedayat Abdollahpour’s body must be returned to his family, and an independent investigation must be conducted into the circumstances surrounding his secret execution and ongoing enforced disappearance.”
Hedayat Abdullahpour was sentenced to death by Iranian Supreme Court on October 8, 2018. Abdullahpour was sentenced to death on charges of affiliation with PDKI and for his political activities.
Hedayat Abdullahpour appeared in court one more time on January 18, 2020, and was sentenced to death again for cooperation with the PDKI. This despite the fact that his sentence was annulled by the way 47th branch of the Iranian Supreme Court.
His case was then referred to another court in Orumyieh. The new court sentenced Abdullahpour based on a request from the Iranian intelligence services.
On May 9, 2020, Hedayat Abdullahpour was transferred to an unknown location. One inmate confirmed, on condition of anonymity, that Abdullahpour had been asked to step out of the ward and then never returned.
Following a thorough investigation, PDKI found that Hedayat Abdullahpour was executed by firing squad in a Revolutionary Guards military base in Oshnavieh.
