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IRAN - Death sentence of Arsalan Khodkam commuted to life imprisonment
April 14, 2021: Death sentence of Kurdish political prisoner Arsalan Khodkam commuted to life imprisonment.
Today, 14 April, Arsalan Khodkam was officially summoned to the Enforcement of Judgements Office of Orumiyeh Central Prison and was notified of the reduction of his death penalty to life sentence decided by Branch One of the Urmia Military Court, sources told the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Recently, some Iranian government websites reported the release and commutation of the sentences of at least 30 Kurdish political prisoners. Arsalan Khodkam is 48 years old and a resident of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province. He is a former member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), who returned to Iran many years ago after leaving the party and receiving a safe conduct from Iran. He then joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in 2002. On 22 April 2018, Khodkam was arrested by IRGC forces, being accused of “espionage” in favour of the KDPI, and was interrogated for 36 days in the IRGC’s 81 Ramadan detention centre at the Al-Mahdi base in Orumiyeh. Interrogators also detained his wife Nashmil Qoytasi, to pressure Arsalan Khodkam and obtain forced confessions. Under psychological pressures and physical torture, the political prisoner was forced to accept the accusations made by the Intelligence Organisation of the IRGC of having connections with and espionage for the KDPI. Khodkam’s trial was held on 14 July 2018 in Branch 1 of the Orumiyeh Military Court, being denied the right to a lawyer. On the same day, he was sentenced to death on charges of “enmity against God” and “espionage for the KDPI”. Following the political prisoner’s appeal against the ruling, the case was referred to Branch 32 of the Supreme Court of Iran for reconsideration, but it was upheld on 17 September of the same year. For his case, see also HoC MAY 19, 2020.
https://kurdistanhumanrights.org/en/iran-amnesty-commission-commutes-kurdish-political-prisoners-death-penalty-to-life-sentence/
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/4702/ (Source: KHRN)
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