NEWS CENTER - Lawyer Ali Qurbani, whose attempts to defend Hatem Özdemir, who was sentenced to death by Iran, were unsuccessful, stated that Özdemir did not have the right to a lawyer, and stated that the death penalty could be executed at any time.

 

HPG member Hatem Özdemir, who was arrested after being injured in an ambush by Iranian forces in 2019, was sentenced to death by the Iranian Revolutionary Court on the allegation of "armed rebellion against the state". It is unknown when the death penalty approved by the upper court will be implemented.

 

Speaking to our agency, lawyer Ali Qurbani stated that he volunteered for the defense, but the Iranian regime did not grant Özdemir the right to a lawyer.

 

50 DAYS OF TORTURE

 

Stating that Özdemir, who was arrested injured, was tortured at the military base where he was taken instead of the hospital, Qurbani said: “He is being transferred from Hatem Hoy to Urmia as injured. There is already pressure on Kurds in Urmia. The pressure increases even more when the arrested person is an HPG guerrilla. According to the information we have obtained, instead of being taken to the hospital, Hatem is tortured at a military base for 50 days and prevented from receiving treatment. We tried to contact him from the first moment, but regime forces prevented us."

 

THE RIGHT TO A LAWYER WAS NOT GIVEN 

 

Pointing out that they could not reach Özdemir in any way, Qurbani said: “We could not reach Hatem in any way. After 50 days of torture, he was taken to court and had to defend himself without a lawyer. He was not granted the right to a lawyer during the court process, so we could not make a defense, and unfortunately our efforts to meet with him and intervene in the case went unrewarded. Hatem was tried at the Urmia Revolutionary Court and was sentenced to death. He objected to the decision and the high court wrote to the Urmia Court for a retrial, but last year, the court tried again without a lawyer and gave the verdict of death."

 

Emphasizing that Özdemir was given the death penalty in a show trial,  “We think that if there is no social pressure, they will want to carry out the execution as soon as possible. It may happen within the next week. That's why we need to show the necessary reaction as soon as possible” Qurbani said.

 

NO TREATMENT WAS DONE

 

Stating that Özdemir has illnesses both due to torture and previous illnesses, Qurbani continued: “Hatem also has illnesses, he has stones in his kidneys and he was prevented from receiving treatment during his detention. Although doctors in prison decided that he needed treatment, he was prevented from receiving treatment in hospitals. An unlawful process is carried out against Hatem in every field."

 

MA / Berivan Kutlu