The 5 Kurds

The five Kurdish men now stand at the edge of life and death. Their cases have reached Iran’s Supreme Court — the final appeal before execution. With no evidence beyond forced confessions, the trials expose a system where justice is a performance and verdicts are predetermined. Yet outside Iran, families, activists, and human rights groups rally to stop the executions. Can global pressure change their fate, or will silence win?Produced/Directed by: Max TremblayCo-Produced: Soran KhateriHosted by: Omri RoseIf you'd like to support us, please donate at www.ko-fi.com/podworks

When the prison gates closed behind the five Kurdish men, their families became the ones left to carry the weight. From mothers selling everything they own in desperate attempts to save their sons, to daughters speaking out on social media despite the risks, this episode reveals the courage and heartbreak of the families caught in the crossfire. Their voices tell a story of grief, resilience, and love — a reminder that behind every prisoner is a family fighting to keep hope alive.Produced/Directed by: Max TremblayCo-Produced: Soran KhateriHosted by: Omri RoseIf you'd like to support us, please donate at www.ko-fi.com/podworks

After the 12-Day War, Iran turned its focus inward. A new law redefined dissent as espionage, and special courts were created to fast-track executions. In this climate of fear, the cases of the five Kurdish men were reopened. With no evidence beyond forced confessions and recycled reports, they were handed a total of eleven death sentences. This episode explores how the regime weaponized the courts to silence dissent and why the 5 Kurds have become a symbol of resistance. Produced/Directed by: Max TremblayCo-Produced: Soran KhateriHosted by: Omri RoseIf you'd like to support us, please donate at www.ko-fi.com/podworks

In April 2023, the five Kurdish men are seized in coordinated night raids and vanish into Iran’s prisons. Families are left searching for answers while the men endure weeks of solitary confinement, torture, and forced confessions. Their sham trials deliver death sentences, not for crimes committed, but for what they represent. This episode lays bare the brutality of a system that silences compassion with violence Produced/Directed by: Max TremblayCo-Produced: Soran KhateriHosted by: Omri RoseIf you'd like to support us, please donate at www.ko-fi.com/podworks

In the fall of 2022, Mahsa Jina Amini’s death lit a fire across Iran. As protests spread, hospitals became traps for the wounded and in Kurdish towns, quiet acts of mercy became acts of rebellion. This episode introduces the five Kurdish men who risked everything to help injured protesters, and whose compassion would later see them arrested and disappeared. This is where their story begins: ordinary men who chose humanity in the face of fear.Produced/Directed by: Max TremblayCo-Produced: Soran KhateriHosted by: Omri RoseIf you'd like to support us, please donate at www.ko-fi.com/podworks