Saturday January 15th, 2011 –  28 year old Hossein Khezri an Iranian Kurdish political activist was hanged this morning at the Central Prison in Orumiyeh.  According to reports by HRANA on January 2nd, 2011 a team was sent from Tehran to the Central Prison in Orumiyeh in order to perform Khezri’s execution overnight. However, due to unknown reasons, prison officials decided to postpone the implementation of the sentence.

Hossein Khezri was born in 1983 and sentenced to death for acting against the national security of the country by the first branch of the Revolutionary Court in Orumiyeh. His sentence was later upheld by the 10th branch of the Appeals Court in western Azarbayejan province and once again by the 31st branch of the Supreme Court.

Khezri was transferred to solitary confinement in Orumiyeh’s Central Prison sixteen days ago. After several inquiries by his family, Khezri was allowed to meet with his brother for one last time and once again transferred to solitary confinement.

Although Khezri was executed early this morning at Orumiyeh prison, his family and lawyers were unaware that he had been secretly executed.

Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported in a news program that Khezri had been charged with “participation in the armed killing of a police officer at the outpost in Gol Sheykhan in Orumiyeh in 2005.”

It is worth mentioning that Khezri had denied all the charges against him. During one of the visitations with his family, Khezri had informed them of the fact that intelligence agents had tried to force him into providing false confessions for broadcast on television.  In a conversation that took place last night, Khezri’s brother told HRANA that it is highly likely that his brother will be executed secretly. Authorities had failed to provide any exact information on Khezri’s condition to his family since he was transferred out of his ward.

Hossein Khezri was arrested in Kermanshah on July 31st 2008  by the Nabi Akram Sepah branch. He suffered inhuman and despicable physical and psychological torture while under interrogation for 49 days in the Kermanshah detention center.

In a letter provided to HRANA, Khezri described the abuses he endured during interrogation as follows:

1. Being beaten for several hours a day

2. Psychological and physical pressure during interrogations

3. Being threatened during interrogation that his brother and brother-in-law would also be charged with illegal activities, if he did not accept the terms of the interrogator

4. Bleeding and swelling in various parts of the body as a result of being kicked repeatedly over a period of 14 days

5. 8cm laceration in the right leg as a result of being kicked viciously by an interrogator

6. Enduring repeated beatings by baton

Source: HRANA: