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Rights groups say Iran has sentenced 6 Arab-Iranian political prisoners to death. Photo/REUTERS
TEHERAN – A human rights group (HAM) said Iran has sentenced six Arab-Iranian political prisoners to death, and six others have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 35 years.
The group named Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO) detailed six prisoners who were sentenced to death, namely Ali Mojaddam, Moeen Khanfari, Mohammad-Reza Moghadam, Salem Mousawi, Adnan Mousawi, and Habib Drees.
AHRO is a group that monitors human rights violations in the Arab-populated region of southwestern Iran.
“Fares Amouri, Jasem Alboughobeish, Qasem Moghadam, Eskandar Moghadam, Raad Maniaat and Tofigh Maniaat were sentenced to prison terms ranging from five to 35 years in prison,” AHRO said, as quoted by Al Arabiya, Thursday (16/2/2023).
Read also: Khamenei pardons tens of thousands of prisoners, including demonstrators
According to AHRO, the ruling was issued on Tuesday by Branch 4 of the Revolutionary Court of Ahwaz, capital of Khuzestan province.
The charges against the detainees are not yet clear.
Iran’s judiciary has yet to comment on the report, which comes days after state media reported that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had pardoned tens of thousands of prisoners, including many arrested in the recent anti-regime protests following Mahsa Amini’s death.
Activists have expressed skepticism over the announcement of Khamenei’s pardon, suggesting that many prominent figures remain in jail.
The oil-rich Khuzestan province is home to a large Arab population who have long complained of being marginalized and discriminated against in Iran.
Iran has seen months of protests after the death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman who died on September 16 shortly after her arrest by the moral police for allegedly violating the country’s dress code for women.
The protests, which quickly escalated into calls to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran, were met with a harsh response from the authorities, who saw the protests as riots backed by foreign powers, namely the United States and Israel.
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