In a secretive and extra-judicial act, three Kurdish Sunni citizens accused of affiliation with ISIS were executed in Qezel Hesar Prison. The status of seven other prisoners from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq remains unclear. The escalating security pressures on Iran’s Sunni community signal yet another alarm of intensified systematic repression.
Iran Human Rights Society, Monday, 12 Khordad 1404 (2 June 2025) – According to received reports, on 19 Ordibehesht 1404 (9 May 2025), ten Sunni ideological prisoners, convicted of “membership in the ISIS group,” were transferred from general wards of Qezel Hesar Prison to solitary confinement—an unmistakable sign of their imminent execution. In the following days, at least three of these individuals were secretly executed. The three prisoners are:
Ismail Moradi
Hamid Asadi
Saeid Karimi
All three were Kurdish Sunni citizens from Kermanshah and were executed in a completely extra-judicial manner, outside transparent judicial processes.
Regarding the fate of the seven other prisoners, who hold citizenship in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and were transferred to solitary confinement alongside the three, no precise information is available. Unofficial sources have reported the execution of these individuals as well, but their identities and the exact timing of their executions remain shrouded in uncertainty. Authorities have so far provided no official information, and the families of these prisoners have been denied visits or access to their bodies.
Extra-Judicial Executions and Opaque Judicial Processes
The execution of these three prisoners, and possibly the seven others, once again draws attention to the non-transparent and unjust judicial practices in Iran’s security and ideological cases. According to available information, these prisoners were tried in secretive courts without independent legal representation or the right to a defense. Many of these trials were conducted in writing, and the defendants were denied the right to appeal.
From the perspective of human rights organizations, these executions are clear instances of “extra-judicial executions.” The denial of access to lawyers, the absence of public trials, the lack of the right to appeal, and the secretive execution of sentences constitute a series of gross human rights violations that completely strip ideological prisoners of their judicial and personal security.
Increasing Pressure on Iran’s Sunni Community
These executions are only part of a broader wave of repression and pressure on Iran’s Sunni community. In recent months, dozens of Sunni citizens in cities such as Kurdistan, Kermanshah, Baluchistan, and Khorasan have been detained on security pretexts. Many are held without trial in various prisons, including Qezel Hesar, Vakilabad in Mashhad, and Zahedan Central Prison, with security institutions refusing to provide any information about their status.
For instance, in Ordibehesht 1404 (May 2025) alone, at least 15 Sunni citizens were detained in Kermanshah, Piranshahr, Mahabad, and Zahedan. The common charges against them are “acting against national security” or “propaganda against the system”—vague and broad terms often used to suppress religious beliefs and peaceful activities.
Judicial Silence and Instrumental Use of Execution
The silence and inaction of the judiciary in the face of security institutions’ demands have become a fixed pattern in the ruling dictatorship’s extra-judicial executions. These actions have intensified as the regime grapples with multiple internal and regional crises. Repeated failures in foreign policy and scattered but significant domestic protests, particularly in marginalized regions, have prompted the regime to use executions as a tool to forcibly silence society.
Extra-judicial executions, especially targeting ethnic and religious minorities, are part of the regime’s broader strategy to instill fear and prevent popular uprisings. The ruling dictatorship, by intensifying repression, seeks to compensate for its security, political, and economic failures with a policy of death.
The Necessity of Expanding the “No to Execution Tuesdays” Campaign
In such circumstances, the civil and grassroots “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign is more critical than ever. Initiated and supported by social activists, prisoners’ families, and human rights advocates, this campaign seeks to amplify the voices of victims and create social and media pressure to challenge execution as an inhumane and political tool.
The rising number of executions, the deprivation of defendants’ fundamental rights, and the political exploitation of death all underscore the urgent need for public solidarity with this movement. The “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign can mobilize public opinion against this criminal trend by highlighting specific cases, such as the recent executions in Qezel Hesar.
Human Rights Violations Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
In this case, the ruling regime has blatantly violated the following articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
Article 6: Right to Life – No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of this right. Executions carried out without due process constitute arbitrary killing.
Article 9: Right to Liberty and Security of Person – Prolonged detentions, solitary confinement, and lack of access to lawyers clearly violate this article.
Article 14: Right to a Fair Trial – The absence of public trials, independent legal representation, and the presumption of innocence are direct violations of this article.
Article 18: Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion – Detention and execution based on religious and ideological beliefs explicitly violate this fundamental principle.
While the world moves toward restricting and abolishing the death penalty, the ruling religious dictatorship in Iran not only retains it but has turned it into a tool for suppressing and retaliating against opponents and minorities. It is the duty of activists, media, and public opinion to stand against this trend and amplify the voices of the voiceless.
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