Political prisoners Shaker Behrouz and Keyhan Mokarram taken to solitary confinement after starting their hunger strike
Shaker Behrouz and Keyhan Mokarram, two political prisoners incarcerated in the Central Prison of Urmia, were taken to solitary confinement in the quarantine ward on Sunday night, June 13, 2021.
The two political prisoners, Shaker Behrouz and Keyhan Mokarram were confined in solitary cells because they had started a hunger strike on that day. Both prisoners have been deprived of calling or visiting their families. They started their hunger strike demanding commutation of their sentences.
Mr. Shaker Behrouz went on hunger strike to protest his long-time detention in solitary cell as well as the unfair death verdict issued for him.
The court charged Mr. Shaker Behrouz with murder, despite 12 witnesses saying that he was in his shop at the time of murder. The court did not hear the witnesses. At the same time, the family of the victim have not sued Mr. Shaker Behrouz. The family do not believe Mr. Shaker to be the murderer, and they are also prepared to testify in court. The court, however, issued its verdict in the absence of the complainants and the witnesses.
Kayhan Mokarram Anbi was arrested along with two other citizens by intelligence forces on January 12, 2020. He is convicted of membership in an opposition group and sentenced to five years in prison.
Shaker Behrouz was arrested in September 2018 by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence. He was released from prison after 14 days and completion of his interrogations. On March 1, 2019, security forces arrested him on the charge of membership in one of Kurdish parties. On March 30, they transferred him from the detention center of the Intelligence Department of Urmia to the Central Prison of Urmia.
In April 2019, Mr. Behrouz was returned to the Intelligence Department’s detention center. In March 2020, he was returned to the Central Prison of Urmia and held in a ward called “Talash.” After the outbreak of the coronavirus and after 14 days of detention in Talash ward, and 4 days of detention in the Safe Ward of Urmia Prison, he was transferred to the ward of political prisoners on March 27, 2020.
Human rights groups say Shaker Behrouz’s neighbors had a son who was an IRGC member but was murdered some time ago. Security forces have apparently pressured and threatened the family to file a complaint against Mr. Behrouz and accuse him of murdering their son.
The family, however, have declared that they do not have any complaints about Mr. Behrouz and do not believe that he had killed their son. They further said that they would not testify in any court against an innocent person.
Shaker Behrouz has more than ten witnesses who can testify that he was in his shop at the time of murder and not at the site of murder. All of these witnesses have written letters declaring their readiness to testify under oath on the innocence of Shaker Behrouz.
Shaker Behrouz was subsequently sentenced to death for membership in a Kurdish Party opposing the regime and murder of an IRGC member. The court informed Mr. Behrouz’s lawyer of the verdict on September 10, 2020.
The First Branch of the Penal Court of Urmia issued the second death sentence on December 26, for Shaker Behrouz on the charge of murdering an IRGC member.
