According to a report by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, on the morning of Thursday, April 30, 2026, three death row prisoners, Nasser Bakrzadeh, Karim Yaghoubpour, and Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, were separately transferred from Urmia Central Prison to undisclosed locations and have not returned to their wards as of the time of writing.
An informed source in Urmia stated that Nasser Bakrzadeh was summoned earlier today to the prison’s sentence enforcement office for a meeting with an official. However, after this meeting, he was taken out of the prison in a refrigerated vehicle and transferred to an unknown location. Karim Yaghoubpour was also taken out of prison under the pretext of being sent to the forensic medicine office and has not returned. Regarding Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, reports indicate that he had previously been moved to solitary confinement; while his cellmate has since been returned to the ward, his own whereabouts remain unknown.
These sudden transfers have intensified concerns over the imminent risk of execution for all three prisoners, particularly in light of earlier reports suggesting temporary halts in the enforcement of some of their sentences.
Nasser Bakrzadeh, a 26-year-old from Urmia, has been sentenced to death on charges of “espionage for Israel.” He previously rejected the allegations in an open letter and warned of the imminent risk to his life. Karim Yaghoubpour, a Turkic Yarsani man with a disability, was sentenced to death on charges of “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) through alleged espionage, following a process reportedly lacking fair trial guarantees and without effective access to legal counsel.
Mehrab Abdollahzadeh was arrested during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and later sentenced to death on charges of involvement in the killing of a Basij member. His sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
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An informed source in Urmia stated that Nasser Bakrzadeh was summoned earlier today to the prison’s sentence enforcement office for a meeting with an official. However, after this meeting, he was taken out of the prison in a refrigerated vehicle and transferred to an unknown location. Karim Yaghoubpour was also taken out of prison under the pretext of being sent to the forensic medicine office and has not returned. Regarding Mehrab Abdollahzadeh, reports indicate that he had previously been moved to solitary confinement; while his cellmate has since been returned to the ward, his own whereabouts remain unknown.
These sudden transfers have intensified concerns over the imminent risk of execution for all three prisoners, particularly in light of earlier reports suggesting temporary halts in the enforcement of some of their sentences.
Nasser Bakrzadeh, a 26-year-old from Urmia, has been sentenced to death on charges of “espionage for Israel.” He previously rejected the allegations in an open letter and warned of the imminent risk to his life. Karim Yaghoubpour, a Turkic Yarsani man with a disability, was sentenced to death on charges of “corruption on earth” (efsad-e fel-arz) through alleged espionage, following a process reportedly lacking fair trial guarantees and without effective access to legal counsel.
Mehrab Abdollahzadeh was arrested during the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests and later sentenced to death on charges of involvement in the killing of a Basij member. His sentence has been upheld by the Supreme Court.
@iranhrdc
#DigitalBlackoutIran
#iran_strikes
#iran_human_rights
#iranmassacre
#nasser_bakrzadeh
#karim_yaghoubpour
#mehrab_abdollahzadeh