Iran executes Kurdish political prisoner over PKK membership

Iran executes Kurdish political prisoner over alleged PKK membership — Iran executes Kurdish ‘political’ prisoner Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heydaranlou, for alleged PKK membership, April 2025. Photo: SM/right groups

URMIYE, Iranian Kurdistan,— Iran has executed a Kurdish political prisoner, Hamid Hosseinnezhad Heydaranlou, according to reports from state-run media and human rights organizations.

The Kurdish man was accused of being involved in rebellion through his alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish militant group.

Fars News, the outlet of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, stated that Hosseinnezhad was implicated in a deadly attack on Iranian border guards in November 2017.

The report claimed he helped a team of militants cross the border and engage in an attack that resulted in the deaths of several guards.

However, human rights groups and Hosseinnezhad’s daughter, Ronahi, have disputed these claims. Ronahi stated that her father was coerced into confessing under torture by Iranian security agents. She added that his confession was forced and obtained through abuse.

The Hengaw Organization, which monitors human rights violations in Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhelat), confirmed that Hosseinnezhad was executed.

He was originally arrested in April 2023 along with several Afghan nationals at the Chaldoran border in West Azerbaijan Province, an area in Iranian Kurdistan. He was taken to a detention facility and interrogated before his bail was granted.

However, Hosseinnezhad’s fate took a dramatic turn when he was moved to solitary confinement in April 2024. This was in preparation for his planned execution on April 17, though the execution was temporarily suspended due to public protests and the presence of his family outside the prison.

Hosseinnezhad made a brief phone call to his family from the Urmiye (Urmia, Orumiyeh) Intelligence facility, urging them to follow up on his case.

In July 2024, Hosseinnezhad was tried in a Revolutionary Court under Judge Reza Najafzadeh. He was convicted and sentenced to death on charges related to his alleged involvement with the PKK.

According to reports from various human rights organizations, Hosseinnezhad suffered from physical and psychological torture throughout his detention.

He endured 11 months of abuse intended to extract forced confessions regarding his participation in armed clashes between the PKK and Iranian border forces.

In recent months, there has been a notable rise in executions and death sentences against political prisoners in Iran, drawing widespread criticism from international human rights groups and Western governments.

Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has imposed harsh restrictions and discriminatory policies on the Kurdish population, particularly in the Kurdish-majority region of Iranian Kurdistan.

Kurds face systemic discrimination across various sectors, including social, political, and economic fields.

These restrictions have contributed to a persistent cycle of poverty and marginalization, with an estimated 12 million Kurds living in the region.

The number of people executed in Iran rose sharply in 2024, reaching a total of 901, according to a report by the United Nations released in January 2025. This marks the highest number of executions in the country since 2015.