Iran Moves Political Prisoner to Solitary as Execution Looms

Khosrow Besharat, a Kurdish political prisoner held in Iran's Ghezelhesar prison, is reportedly at risk of imminent execution.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, Besharat, sentenced to death, met with his family on Sunday after being moved to solitary confinement four days prior. 

In Iranian prisons, such final visits often precede executions.

Besharat was arrested in February 2008 and sentenced to death alongside seven others.

Five of his co-defendants have already been executed.

The 39-year-old Kurdish man from Mahabad is accused of national security offenses, "propaganda against the Islamic Republic," and "membership in an outlawed group."

He was initially sentenced to death in 2015, but the verdict was overturned. However, in a retrial in 2017, he was again sentenced to death on the charge of "corruption on Earth."

Human rights groups believe the sentence was politically motivated and influenced by security forces.

Besharat also received a separate ten-year sentence in 2019 for alleged involvement in a murder.