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

Jasem Delneshin

About

Age: 28
Nationality: Iran
Religion: Islam (Sunni)
Civil Status: Single

Case

Date of Killing: August, 1992
Location of Killing: Central Prison (Darya), Orumieh, Azarbaijan-e Gharbi Province, Iran
Mode of Killing: Unspecified execution method
Charges: Unknown charge

About this Case

News of the execution of Mr. Jasem Delneshin, known as Molajasem Esma’ili, along with three others, was published on the website of Peyke Iran on September 27, 2005, quoting the Organization for Defending Human Rights in Kurdistan. Additional information is taken from a letter written by Mr. Osman Mostafapur, Mr. Delneshin’s casemate, to Mr. Ahmad Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran (The Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners, December 16, 2011), and the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation interview with a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan based on the archive of this party.

Mr. Jasem Delneshin, son of Fathollah, a single Kurd, was from the Varbolandi Village near Orumieh. He had a seminary education and was a Sunni cleric. According to a member of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, Mr. Delneshin joined the party in 1982 and was a military commander of the party in Orumieh and surrounding area. (ABF interview)

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) was founded in 1945 with the objective to gain autonomy for Kurdistan, in north western of Iran. After the Revolution, conflicts between the new central Shiite government and the 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, 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, PDKI had lost much of its influence in the region. Various leaders of the PDKI have been assassinated.

Arrest and detention

According to the interviewee, while performing their organizational duties, the Revolutionary Guards attacked Mr. Delneshin and six other peshmarga of the PDKI in Orumieh District on July 14, 1991. (ABF interview) According to a member of this group, the Revolutionary Guards at the Asengran Targur area near Orumieh arrested Mr. Deleshin and three others; two others were killed. (The letter by Osman Mostafapur to Ahmad Shaeed, Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners)

The circumstances of Mr. Delneshin’s arrest and detention are unknown; however, according to his cellmate letter to Ahmad Shaheed, he was detained in solitary confinement by the Revolutionary Guards and the Intelligence Office in Orumieh for six months. On January 8, 1992, Mr. Delneshin was transferred to the Orumieh Central Prison and met his friends for the first time. He told his friends that he had been tortured physically and mentally and insulted by his interrogators for six months during which he had no visitation with his family or his attorney. (The letter by Osman Mostafapur to Ahmad Shaeed, Campaign to Defend Political and Civil Prisoners)

Trial

According to a defendant in this case, Mr. Delneshin and others were tried on January 25, 1992. No information is available on his trial. (The letter by Osman Mostafapur)

Charges

According to the Organization for Defending the Human Rights in Kurdistan, the charge against Mr. Delneshin had been “cooperation with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran”. (Peyke Iran)

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. Delneshin.

Defense

No information is available on Mr. Delneshin’s defense. According to a defendant in this case, the court did not allow defendants to select their attorneys and assigned them public defenders. (The letter by Osman Mostafapur)

Judgment

The court condemned Mr. Jasem Delneshin and two other defendants in this case to death. According to a defendant, Mr. Delneshin was notified several months after the ruling was issued. He was executed at the Orumieh Central Prison in the summer of 1992.   (The letter by Osman Mostafapur)

Mr. Delneshin’s body was not given to his family. (ABF interview)

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