Torturert til å tilstå – nå risikerer de dødsstraff

Dear Mr Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei,

Cousins Peyvand Naimi, 30, and Borna Naimi, 29, from Iran’s persecuted Baha’i religious minority, who are detained in Kerman prison, Kerman province, are at risk of the death penalty. Authorities are accusing them of involvement in the killing of state agents during nationwide protests on 8 January 2026, when security forces massacred thousands of protesters and bystanders across the country. Plain-clothes agents arrested Peyvand Naimi at his work on 8 January 2026 and refused to disclose his fate or whereabouts to his family for weeks, subjecting him to enforced disappearance, a crime under international law. According to an informed source, during a 30-second call to family 19 days after arrest, he told them he was being held by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), without specifying the location. He added that he would do whatever interrogators wanted due to pressure. In March, after dozens of prisoners were released from Kerman prison for the Persian new year, the prosecutor in Kerman told his family that no Baha’is would be released. He was later moved to Kerman prison where he remains in solitary confinement. Agents arrested Borna Naimi on 1 March 2026 and subjected him to enforced disappearance for several days in an IRGC detention centre and later moved him to Kerman prison.

According to an informed source, IRGC agents subjected both cousins to torture and other ill-treatment to extract forced “confessions”. Peyvand Naimi was subjected to mock executions, beatings, suspension from hands and feet, prolonged solitary confinement, and denied food. Authorities are denying him healthcare for gastrointestinal and other medical conditions he developed in prison. On 1 February 2026, authorities broadcast a propaganda video about a purported “Baha’i network” they dismantled containing his forced “confession.” In the video, he is heard stating that he attended a protest, violating his rights to presumption of innocence and to not self-incriminate. Agents subjected Borna Naimi to beatings, mock executions and electric shocks, causing burns to his feet, and threatened to harm his wife and daughter if he refused to cooperate. He was forced under torture and threats to sign a pre-written “confession” implicating himself and Peyvand Naimi in the killing of Basij agents during the 8 January 2026 protests, which they have denied. According to an informed source, authorities have provided no evidence linking them to the killings. They have yet to be indicted but such accusations could lead to charges carrying the death penalty. Both have been denied access to a lawyer. According to an informed source, Peyvand Naimi was previously targeted for his Baha’i faith through the forcible closure of his business.

I urge you to release Peyvand Naimi and Borna Naimi whose detentions are arbitrary due to the gravity of the violations of their fair trial rights, including denial of access to a lawyer from the time of arrest, violation of the presumption of innocence, enforced disappearance, and torture and other ill-treatment to compel them to self-incriminate. If held solely on account of their Baha’i faith, they must be immediately released. Pending release, protect them from further torture and other ill-treatment and promptly, independently, impartially, and effectively investigate their torture allegations, bringing anyone suspected of responsibility to justice in fair trials, ensuring access to justice and effective remedies for victims. I further urge you to remove Peyvand Naimi from solitary confinement and grant both access to their families, lawyers of their own choosing, and to adequate medical care. I call on you to immediately establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty.

Yours sincerely,