IRAN: TWO BALUCHI PRISONERS AT RISK OF EXECUTION: HAMED RIGI AND MEHRAN NARU’I

 

IRAN: TWO BALUCHI PRISONERS AT RISK OF EXECUTION: HAMED RIGI AND MEHRAN NARU’I

18 February 2021, Index number: MDE 13/3711/2021

Death row prisoners from Iran’s Baluchi ethnic minority, Hamed Rigi and Mehran Naru’i, are at risk of execution. They have been subjected to serious human rights violations including enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment to extract “confessions” used to convict and sentence them to death in unfair trials. Since mid-December 2020, the Iranian authorities have executed 18 Baluchi men, raising fears that Hamed Rigi and Mehran Naru’i may be executed imminently.

Two Baluch prisoners in Iran, Hamed Rigi and Mehran Naroui, are at risk of execution. The two have been subjected to serious human rights abuses, including enforced disappearances, torture and other ill-treatment, in order to "confess" against themselves. Their forced "confessions" have been used during unfair trials to sentence them to death. Since December 2020, Iranian authorities have executed 18 Baluch men, raising concerns about the imminent execution of Hamed Rigi and Mehran Naroui.

 Hamed Rigi, who is on death row in Zahedan Prison in Sistan and Baluchestan Province, has been sentenced to death in connection with an armed clash with anti-narcotics agents in 2017 that killed several security personnel. Is. His two brothers, Behnam Rigi and Shoaib Rigi, who were sentenced to death in the same case, were executed on December 20, 2016, raising concerns about the imminent execution of Hamed Rigi.

 Mehran Naroui is on death row in Dastgerd prison in Isfahan province. According to Amnesty International, he was sentenced to death about four years ago in connection with drug-related offenses. Another Baluch prisoner, Anwar Naroui, who was sentenced to death in the same case, was executed in Dastgerd prison on February 30, 2017, raising concerns about the imminent execution of Mehran Naroui.

 Write a letter to the Iranian authorities in your own language or using the text of the Amnesty International proposal, asking them to:

 Stop any execution of Hamed Rigi and Mehran Naroui immediately,

 Their death sentences should be overturned and they should enjoy a fair retrial without recourse to the death penalty and without the use of "confessions" resulting from torture.

 Ensure that Hamed Rigi and Mehran Naroui have regular access to visits with their families and lawyers of their choice;

Protect themselves from any torture or other ill-treatment, and have their allegations of torture investigated independently, impartially and effectively, and bring those responsible to justice in a fair trial.

Suspend formally.