Hatem Özdemir

Hatem Özdemir, a Kurdish citizen of Turkey, was arrested at the border of Iran and Turkey in the Chaldran region when he and his group were ambushed by IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) forces. He was held in the IRGC Intelligence Organisation’s custody for two years and nine months prior to sentencing. According to one of Hatem Özedemir’s lawyers, Mohammad Saleh Nikbakht said: “baghy requires the defendant to have used their weapon according to the Islamic Penal Code (Art 287) and Hatem hadn’t used his gun. Additionally, the Assistant Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, representing the Attorney General of the country, had already specified three reasons for why Hatem cannot be convicted of baghy charges.” Read full interview with Mr Nikbakht on the flaws in the case here.

Charges: Sentenced to death for charges of baghy (armed rebellion) by Branch One of the Khoy Revolutionary Court. His sentence was subsequently overturned by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court, presided over by Ghasem Maziani, and referred to a court of equal standing. On 23 April 2024, Branch 3 of the Urmia Revolutionary Court, presided over by Reza Najafzadeh, resentenced Hatem to death in absentia and without his lawyers being notified or present. The sentence relied on testimony by new witnesses who were not present at the scene of the alleged crime and ignored previous eyewitness accounts and findings that Hatem had not used his weapon that day. 

Status: Hatem’s death sentence was upheld by Branch 9 of the Supreme Court in September 2024 without any attention to the previous flaws or new information being presented. Hatem's appeal was rejected for the third time at the end of January 2026. He is at serious risk of execution in Urmia Central Prison.