Abdorrahman Boroumand Center

for Human Rights in Iran

https://www.iranrights.org
Omid, a memorial in defense of human rights in Iran
One Person’s Story

Arshad Reza'i

About

Age: 42
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Civil Status: Married

Case

Date of Killing: 2004
Location of Killing: Kermanshah, Kermanshah Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Hanging
Charges: Unknown charge
Age at time of alleged offense: 34

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Arshad Reza’i, along with five other Peshmerga of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, was published on the central website of this party on October 21, 2011, the Association of Iranian Political Prisoners (in Exile) on April 14, 2004, and Asre-nou website on April 15, 2004. Additional information was taken from the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation interview with Mr. Reza’i’s wife (ABF interview) and the interview of Darush Eslamdust, Mr. Reza’i’s casemate, with Tishik Television on October 22, 2014. (YouTube)

Mr. Reza’i was married, from the Shushmeh-Sofla Village near Nosud in Kermanshah province. He was Sunni and had a middle-school education. Mr. Reza’i joined the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan in 1981 when he was 19 years old. He served as a Peshmerga in Shahu Battalion. (ABF interview)

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) was founded in 1945 with the goal to gain autonomy for Kurdistan, in northwestern Iran. After the Revolution, conflicts between the new central Shiite government and mainly Sunni Kurdistan regarding the role of minorities in the drafting of the constitution, specification of Shiite as the official state religion and, particularly, the autonomy of the region, ended in armed clashes between the Revolutionary Guards and the Peshmerga (the militia of the PDKI). The PDKI boycotted the referendum of April 1, 1979, when people went to polls to vote for or against the Islamic regime. On August 19, 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini called the PDKI the “party of Satan” and declared it “unofficial and illegal.” Mass executions and fighting broke out and continued for several months in the region. By 1983, the PDKI had lost much of its influence in the region. In the years since, various leaders of the PDKI have been assassinated. Following internal disputes, the party split in 2006 and two organizations were established as “The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan,” and “The Democratic Party of Kurdistan.”

Background

On October 18, 1996, after completing a non-military organizational duty around Paveh, seven Peshmerga of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan were returning to their base in Soleimanieh, Iraq where they were arrested by armed members of the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan* in Kurdistan, Iraq. They were taken to the Intelligence Police of Paveh in Iran. According to a survivor of this group, quoting the Iranian Intelligence Police agents, the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan had taken this group to the Iranian Intelligence Police in exchange for receiving money. The Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan denied this allegation.

In a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations and Morris Capitoren, the representative of the Special Commission for Human Rights in Iran, the Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan demanded efforts to save these individuals. (Asre-nou website) According to the statement by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, in response to a letter by the Deputy Head of the Human Rights group in the UK parliament, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic in the UK announced that while these individuals were returning from a clash with the Islamic Republic’s forces, they got into a clash with the forces of the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan, during which six of them were killed and the seventh person, Darush Eslamdust, was captured. He was freed later through the efforts of his relatives. (Central Website of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan)

Arrest and detention

Mr. Reza’i was arrested, along with six other Peshmerga of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, by members of the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan* in the Anab Village near Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan on October 18, 1996. They were taken to the Iranian Intelligence Police at the Iran/Iraq border with their hands and feet tied and their eyes blindfolded. (Interview on Tishik Television with Mr. Eslamdust) They were detained at the detention center of the Intelligence Police in Paveh for three days. Then they were transferred to the detention center of the Intelligence Police in Kermanshah where they were detained for seven months. No information is available about Mr. Reza’i’s location after that. According to his casemate, they were tortured in solitary confinement in the detention center of the Intelligence Police in Kermanshah to disclose the activities of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan and its secret members in Paveh (Interview on Tishik Television with Mr. Eslamdust).

After his arrest, Mr. Reza’i had no visitation or contact with his family. His family had no news of him or his whereabouts. (ABF interview) 

Trial

No information is available on Mr. Reza’i’s trial.

Charges

The charge brought against Mr. Reza’i is not known; however, he was prosecuted for his activities and membership in the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan.

The validity of the criminal charges brought against this defendant cannot be ascertained in the absence of the basic guarantees of a fair trial.

Evidence of guilt

The report of this execution does not contain information regarding the evidence provided against Mr. Reza’i. According to the statement by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, in response to a letter from the Deputy Head of the Human Rights group in the UK parliament, the ambassador of the Islamic Republic in the UK claimed that Mr. Reza’i and his casemates had a clash with security forces in Iran, and one member of the Revolutionary Guards was killed. (Asre-nou website)

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Reza’i’s defense. In a statement, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan rejected the claim that these seven individuals had a clash with the Iranian forces resulting in the killing of one guard (Asre-nou website). According to Mr. Reza’i’s casemate, the interrogators stated: “We bought you from the Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan and you must die under torture (Interview with Mr. Eslamdust). According to Mr. Reza’i’s wife, he had no access to an attorney and was not tried. (ABF interview and the website of the the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan)

Judgment

According to the statement by the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Mr. Arshad Reza’i was executed, along with his five casemates, by the security and judicial authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The approximate date of their executions was 2004 (Interview on Tishik Television with Mr. Eslamdust). There is no information on the details of this execution. Mr. Reza’i’s body was not given to his family and his burial location is unknown.

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* The Islamic Movement of Iraqi Kurdistan 

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