Latest news with #RezgarBeigzadehBabamiri
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Our silence didn't protect him': daughter pleads for father on death row in Iran
In late October 2022, as protests over 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death in police custody swept across Iran, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, a father of three, was racing through alleyways in the city of Bukan, in western Iran, carrying medical supplies to secret clinics where doctors treated injured demonstrators in defiance of the state. Many of the wounded were too afraid to seek hospital care after reports of secret police patrolling wards, interrogating patients and detaining injured protesters. By helping, Babamiri, a 47-year-old fruit and vegetable farmer, did not see himself as a revolutionary but simply as someone doing what was right, says his daughter, Zhino. 'There was intense firing from the forces and many protesters were injured. Everyone was helping each other and he volunteered,' she says. 'I told him not to talk about it openly on the phone, but he said it wasn't dangerous to help injured people. He just couldn't watch young people bleed in the streets.' Babamiri was arrested in April 2023 and questioned by the ministry of intelligence in Bukan. Zhino, 24, says the family initially believed it was a brief interrogation. 'I was told [by relatives] not to worry and that he'd be home soon,' she says. Instead, he disappeared into solitary confinement and was initially denied access to a lawyer or contact with his family, the Kurdish Human Rights Network says. Last week, the family heard from a lawyer that Babamiri had been sentenced to death, along with four other Kurdish men, after being charged with 'armed insurrection', 'leading and forming an armed group' and 'espionage for Israel'. Zhino, who lives in exile in Norway, says the family have been horrified by the verdict. 'When I heard about the death sentence, I was numb. When I called my grandmother and aunt, they were crying loudly. I have never heard them cry like that.' Since his arrest, Zhino says several people have come forward with stories of how her father helped save their lives. 'These charges have been fabricated. My dad is a simple farmer who loves the people of his community and his family. He is a man who loves poems, likes watching news and enjoys working out,' she says. In July 2024, Iranian state media aired a video showing Babamiri confessing, alongside other men charged in the same case. Human rights groups say his conviction was based on a forced confession. In a letter later smuggled out of prison to the family, Babamiri described enduring more than four months of torture, including waterboarding, electric shocks, mock executions, and beatings that left him partially deaf. 'When I first read the letter, I skipped the parts about torture. I couldn't bear to see what they did to him,' says Zhino. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Amnesty International says Babamiri's arrest in 2023 came during a wave of detentions and executions of students and activists after the 2022 protests, part of the Iranian regime's campaign to instil fear and maintain control. Amnesty has also repeatedly documented the regime's arbitrary arrest and detention of Kurds – an ethnic minority in Iran – based on perceived affiliations with opposition groups, often without credible evidence. 'My dad and the others are paying the price for simply being born Kurdish,' says Zhino. 'They told him no one would care if he died and that he'd end up in a mass grave.' Zhino says members of her family still living in Iran are fearful, and that she was advised by well-wishers to stay quiet after his arrest. 'I regret that. The silence didn't protect him and it almost broke me,' she says. She has become an outspoken campaigner, co-founding Daughters of Justice, a group of Iranians fighting to save their imprisoned fathers. In her most recent phone call with her father, he could not hear her. 'He kept saying, 'Zhino, are you there?'. I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me. I was crying. That moment haunts me.' She now waits every day for news of his fate. 'I am scared to check my phone,' she says. 'I'm terrified I'll wake up to read my father's name [on the death list].'
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Our silence didn't protect him': daughter pleads for father on death row in Iran
In late October 2022, as protests over 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death in police custody swept across Iran, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, a father of three, was racing through alleyways in the city of Bukan, in western Iran, carrying medical supplies to secret clinics where doctors treated injured demonstrators in defiance of the state. Many of the wounded were too afraid to seek hospital care after reports of secret police patrolling wards, interrogating patients and detaining injured protesters. By helping, Babamiri, a 47-year-old fruit and vegetable farmer, did not see himself as a revolutionary but simply as someone doing what was right, says his daughter, Zhino. 'There was intense firing from the forces and many protesters were injured. Everyone was helping each other and he volunteered,' she says. 'I told him not to talk about it openly on the phone, but he said it wasn't dangerous to help injured people. He just couldn't watch young people bleed in the streets.' Babamiri was arrested in April 2023 and questioned by the ministry of intelligence in Bukan. Zhino, 24, says the family initially believed it was a brief interrogation. 'I was told [by relatives] not to worry and that he'd be home soon,' she says. Instead, he disappeared into solitary confinement and was initially denied access to a lawyer or contact with his family, the Kurdish Human Rights Network says. Last week, the family heard from a lawyer that Babamiri had been sentenced to death, along with four other Kurdish men, after being charged with 'armed insurrection', 'leading and forming an armed group' and 'espionage for Israel'. Zhino, who lives in exile in Norway, says the family have been horrified by the verdict. 'When I heard about the death sentence, I was numb. When I called my grandmother and aunt, they were crying loudly. I have never heard them cry like that.' Since his arrest, Zhino says several people have come forward with stories of how her father helped save their lives. 'These charges have been fabricated. My dad is a simple farmer who loves the people of his community and his family. He is a man who loves poems, likes watching news and enjoys working out,' she says. In July 2024, Iranian state media aired a video showing Babamiri confessing, alongside other men charged in the same case. Human rights groups say his conviction was based on a forced confession. In a letter later smuggled out of prison to the family, Babamiri described enduring more than four months of torture, including waterboarding, electric shocks, mock executions, and beatings that left him partially deaf. 'When I first read the letter, I skipped the parts about torture. I couldn't bear to see what they did to him,' says Zhino. Sign up to Global Dispatch Get a different world view with a roundup of the best news, features and pictures, curated by our global development team after newsletter promotion Amnesty International says Babamiri's arrest in 2023 came during a wave of detentions and executions of students and activists after the 2022 protests, part of the Iranian regime's campaign to instil fear and maintain control. Amnesty has also repeatedly documented the regime's arbitrary arrest and detention of Kurds – an ethnic minority in Iran – based on perceived affiliations with opposition groups, often without credible evidence. 'My dad and the others are paying the price for simply being born Kurdish,' says Zhino. 'They told him no one would care if he died and that he'd end up in a mass grave.' Zhino says members of her family still living in Iran are fearful, and that she was advised by well-wishers to stay quiet after his arrest. 'I regret that. The silence didn't protect him and it almost broke me,' she says. She has become an outspoken campaigner, co-founding Daughters of Justice, a group of Iranians fighting to save their imprisoned fathers. In her most recent phone call with her father, he could not hear her. 'He kept saying, 'Zhino, are you there?'. I could hear him, but he couldn't hear me. I was crying. That moment haunts me.' She now waits every day for news of his fate. 'I am scared to check my phone,' she says. 'I'm terrified I'll wake up to read my father's name [on the death list].'
Middle East Eye
6 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Iranian press review: Outrage as five Kurds handed 12 death sentences
Iran issues death sentences to five Kurds The issuance of 12 death sentences to five Kurdish citizens has sparked widespread condemnation from human rights activists inside Iran. In response, Iranian activists launched a social media campaign to raise international awareness about the urgent threat facing the condemned individuals. According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the five prisoners are Ali (Soran) Ghasemi, Pejman Soltani, Kaveh Salehi, Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri, and Teyfour Salimi Babamiri. Soltani had previously been sentenced to death by a Special Juvenile Criminal Court for 'complicity in premeditated murder'. The rights group reported that the latest rulings followed three brief virtual hearings held in recent days. The verdicts were formally delivered to the defendants' attorneys on Monday. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to the rulings, Ghasemi, Soltani, and Salehi have each been sentenced to three executions on charges including 'rebellion', moharebeh (waging war against God), and 'forming a rebellious criminal group'. Rezgar Beigzadeh Babamiri was handed two death sentences on similar charges. Teyfour Salimi Babamiri - who had previously been released on bail - received one death sentence for alleged participation in a rebellious group. Iranian opposition complain against German chancellor A group of Iranian dissidents living in Germany has signed an online petition and filed a complaint with the German Federal Court against Chancellor Friedrich Merz over his recent comments about Israel's attack on Iran. The complaint focused on remarks Merz made during the G7 summit in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF, where he praised Israel's actions and described the attack on Iran as 'dirty work' that Israel is doing 'for all of us'. Iranians struggle to rebuild lives and homes in wake of Israel's war Read More » Among the signatories of the petition is artist Parastou Forouhar, a well-known critic of the Iranian establishment. Forouhar's parents, both nationalist activists opposed to the Islamic Republic, were stabbed to death in their home in 1998 by Iranian security agents. Explaining her reason for joining the complaint, Forouhar wrote on Facebook: '[Merz] did not mention the civilian casualties in Iran once during the interview. He didn't express any sympathy for the difficult situation the Iranian people are going through.' She also linked the complaint to the growing xenophobia in Germany, pointing to a broader pattern. 'The collective humiliation and hostility toward refugees and migrants, especially those from war-torn countries like Afghanistan, has been rising at an alarming rate,' she wrote. 'The chancellor's remarks are a warning sign that this attitude may now be extending to the Iranian-German community as well.' IRGC-linked media call for repeat of 1988 mass executions Fars News Agency, which is closely tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), has published an article calling for the repeat of the 1988 mass execution of political prisoners. The article, also republished by other pro-IRGC outlets, including the Hamshahri daily, described the mass killings that took place after the Iran-Iraq war as a 'successful experience'. Under the headline, 'Why Repeat the Experience of the Executions of 1988?', the piece read: 'In recent years, efforts have been made to distort and question one of the Islamic Republic's greatest achievements in fighting terrorism. But it now seems the time has come to repeat that successful historical experience. 'Today, certain traitorous elements, both Iranian and foreign, have caused the deaths of hundreds of Iranian civilians, including women and children. "These individuals deserve to be executed, as they were in 1988.' Even before these calls from IRGC-linked media, former political prisoners and human rights organisations had warned that the government might again resort to mass executions in the aftermath of the war with Israel. War's toll on civilian mental health Local media have reported a rise in mental health issues among Iranians following Israel's attack on Iran, with visits to mental health centres increasing by 40 percent. According to a report by Rouydad24, not only have some people seen a return of previous mental health problems, but many are experiencing symptoms such as chronic anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for the first time. Under fire: Iran between pride and exhaustion Read More » Psychologist Hossein Roozbahani told the outlet, 'What we are seeing is widespread anxiety caused by the shock of the crisis and intense environmental stress.' The report noted that since the start of the Israeli military operation, many people who had previously completed treatment or had their symptoms under control have returned to seek help. Some have reported experiencing panic attacks, insomnia, and sudden outbursts of anger, while others have developed severe anxiety disorders. Another group, particularly those who were directly exposed to attacks or explosions, has been diagnosed with PTSD. The Shargh daily also reported a sharp rise in calls to psychological counselling hotlines, with more than 80,000 calls made in the first 12 days of the conflict. *Iranian press review is a digest of news reports not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.
