July 23, 2018

Three political prisoners in Iran are at risk of imminent execution. We need your support

 The Revolutionary Guard of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) claimed on their (social media) Telegram channel: “the people have demanded the implementation of the execution order of Zanyar Moradi, Loghman Moradi, and Ramin Hossein Panahi.”

This is not the first time that the IRI uses military operations of its opposition as an excuse to execute political prisoners. But everybody knows that neither Ramin nor Loghman nor Zanyar have had anything to do with these military operations. The IRI wants to execute the innocent to show its power to the Kurdish people.

Zanyar and Loghman Moradi have been in prison for nearly ten years. They had to endure physical and psychological torture in order to – according to the statements of the interrogators and the authorities of the Information Ministry – force the uncle and father of these two prisoners into submission, i.e. Eghbal Moradi, and make him stop his activities against the IRI. However, Eghbal Moradi was assassinated by the agents of the IRI on June 17, 2018 in Iraqi Kurdistan, which means that there is no longer any reason for the continued incarceration of Zanyar and Loghman and, they should be released immediately. For some ten years these two prisoners have been kept incarcerated as hostages on the basis of false accusations, so that that they can be executed when it suits the IRI.

Ramin Hossein Panahi was arrested on June 23 , 2017, and after 200 days in isolation and physical and psychological torture, he was transferred to the central prison in Sanandaj. This political prisoner was condemned to death on January  15 , 2018 in section 1 of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj. This verdict was confirmed on April 11, 2018 in section 39 of the Supreme Court in the city of Ghom. The execution order of Ramin Hossein Panahi was issued and announced despite the fact that he had denied all accusations brought against him and his lawyer had declared the verdict unanticipated and unfair. By now, of course, Ramin Hossein Panahi is a familiar name throughout the world, and national and international protests to stop his execution have been widespread.

We condemn the sinister plans and programs of the IRI to execute these three political prisoners and calls on everyone to continue their protest to stop the executions. The IRI should realise that it cannot prevent the will of the people to live in a society free from capital punishment. The people have voiced their will through hundreds of street protests. The overall rage and uproar against this regime of executions and the strong movement against capital punishment within society will not allow the IRI to shed more blood. Even if the regime succeeds in executing these there political prisoners it would certainly harvest a storm, and it can only expect more protests and strikes.

The International Committee against Execution and Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran demand the immediate release of all political prisoners including Ramin Hossein Panahi, Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi, and calls on everybody to continue their protests to save their lives.

International Committee against Execution (ICAE)

Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI)