Watchdog

Amnesty International says Iran has executed a Kurdish activist who was awaiting the outcome of a Supreme Court appeal.

The London-based group says Behrouz Alkhani, 30, was executed on August 26.

He was convicted in 2011 of having ties to the outlawed Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) and of being involved in the shooting of a public prosecutor in 2010.

Alkhani's brother, Peyman, confirmed to Reuters news agency that he was a PJAK member but said he never took up arms.

Amnesty called Alkhani's trial "grossly unfair" and said his execution was a "denigration" of both Iranian and international law.

Earlier this month, Iran executed another PJAK member, Sirvan Nezhavi. The group’s military wing retaliated by attacking a Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps base near the Iraqi border.

The Kurdish fighters said they killed 12 Iranian soldiers, while Iran only confirmed five deaths.

With reporting by Reuters

BAKU -- The trial of investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova in Azerbaijan has been postponed until August 31.

On August 26, the judge announced her decision to delay the hearing after Ismayilova's lawyer, Fariz Namazli, requested a new trial, arguing that prosecutors had ignored documents proving his client’s innocence.

Last week, a state prosecutor requested a nine-year sentence for Ismayilova.

The request on August 21 came a day after the state's case against the 39-year-old Ismayilova was wrapped up during a closed-door hearing in Baku.

Ismayilova, an RFE/RL contributor who reported extensively on corruption in Azerbaijan, faces charges of embezzlement, tax evasion, and abuse of power.

She rejects the charges against her, saying they are politically motivated retaliation for her reporting.

Her arrest has sparked widespread condemnation by international human rights activists and Western governments.