A Sunni inmate in Iran has been kept in uncertain conditions for over seven years despite his death sentence being commuted by the Supreme Court.
Anvar Khezri has been imprisoned and held in limbo in Karaj’s Rajaishahr Prison, west of Tehran. He was arrested and sentenced to death in 2009, only to be commuted by the Supreme Court in 2010.
Mr. Khezri suffers from various disease, such as respiratory problems and thoracalgia, due to being placed under enormous tortures.
Interrogators have tortured him in a Ministry of Intelligence detention center in Urmia, southwest of Iran, leaving him with severe injuries.
This inmate is being denied access to medical care outside the prison despite his critical health conditions.
Khezri describes his recent condition as a type of “slow execution.”
He has been held alongside six other Sunni inmates since December 2009. Their death sentences have also been commuted.
The seven were allegedly convicted of “propaganda against the establishment,” “spreading corruption on earth,” “membership in Salafi groups,” and “enmity against God.”
They all refused to accept their alleged charges, including “attempting to launch an armed struggle”, and claim they were arrested for their beliefs and activities such as “attending religious sessions” and “distributing religious articles.”
