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Iran: 'Dr Roya Toloui' a Kurdish female
Iranian activist jailed
24.5.2007
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Dr
Roya Toloui, a female Iranian activist sentenced to
six years in prison
May
24, 2007
Iran, -- A Kurdish female activist Roya
Toloui has been sentenced to six years in prison by
an Iranian court for attending two banned rallies
and for "propaganda activity against the system".
Nasrin Sotoudeh, the lawyer acting on behalf of Roya
Tolui, said on Wednesday her client took part in two
peaceful rallies in 2005.
The ISNA news agency reported the two rallies were
in front of the governor's office in the
north-western town of Sanandaj in Iran's Kurdistan
province and Sotoudeh said Toloui was found guilty
by a court in the town even though Iranian law
allowed peaceful protests.
ISNA did not give details on what the protests were
about.
Numerous convictions
"Roya Toloui was sentenced to five years'
imprisonment on the charge of attending the
mentioned gatherings and one year's imprisonment on
the charge of propaganda activity against the
system," Sotoudeh told ISNA. |
Dr. Roya Tlooî - (Roya
Toloui) |
It was not clear whether Toloui was in the court
when the sentence was announced or whether she was
tried in absentia.
Last month, a court in Tehran handed down partly
suspended prison sentences of up to four years
against two female activists who attended a banned
rally in the capital to demand greater women's
rights, according to Iranian media.
About 100 women protested in Tehran in June against
unequal inheritance laws, the difficulties women in
Iran face getting a divorce, and the fact their
court testimony is worth half that of men.
According to Human Rights Watch, six women have been
convicted after taking part in that protest.
The group urged Iran's judiciary last month to
overturn the convictions and end its persecution of
human rights defenders.
Iran says it does not discriminate against women and
says its rules are based on the Sharia.
About Roya Toloui
Roya Toloui (1966- ), is a prominent Iranian Kurdish
journalist, human rights activist and feminist,
currently residing in US. She was born in Baneh in
western Iran. She received high school diploma at
Baneh in Kurdistan (Iran) and studied pathology at
the University of Mashhad.
She was the Editor-in-Chief of Rasan (Rising up), a
Kurdish monthly magazine about women's' issues.
Three issues of the magazine were published in
Sanandaj in spring and summer of 2005 until it was
closed down in summer of 2005 by the Iranian
judiciary. She is also the founder of the
Association of the Kurdish Women Supporting Peace in
Kurdistan. She is also a member of Kurdish PEN.
Due to her outspoken criticism of authorities and
also defence of the rights of Kurdish and Iranian
women, she was tried in a Revolutionary court in
April 2005 and was accused of endangering national
security. Following demonstrations in Kurdish
inhabited areas of western Iran, she was arrested on
2 August 2005, and held in prison for 66 days until
freed on bail in October 2005. Her case of
imprisonment was highlighted in the International
PEN's Day of the Imprisoned Writer on November 2005.
After release, she fled Iran for Turkey and finally
she sought refuge in United States in April 2006.
Aljazeera net | Agencies
Iranian Kurdistan
**
Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Îranę or
Kurdistana Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) or Rojhilatę
Kurdistan (East of Kurdistan)) is an unofficial name
for the parts of Iran inhabited by Kurds and has
borders with Iraq and Turkey. It includes the
greater parts of West Azerbaijan province, Kurdistan
Province, Kermanshah Province, and Ilam Province.
Kurds form the majority of the population of this
region with an estimated population of 4 million.
The region is the eastern part of the greater
cultural-geographical area called Kurdistan.
More about Iranian Kurdistan
The present leader of the organisation is Haji
Ahmadi. According to the Washington Times, half the
members of PEJAK are women, many of them still in
their teens, and one of the female members of the
leadership council is Gulistan Dugan, a psychology
graduate from the University of Tehran. This is due
primarily to the fact that PJAK is strongly
supportive of women's rights. PJAK believes that
women must have a strong role in government and must
be on an equal level with men in leadership
positions.
More about PEJAK- Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan
The use of the term "Kurdistan" is vigorously
rejected due to its alleged political implications
by the Republic of Turkey, which does not recognize
the existence of a "Turkish Kurdistan"
Southeast Turkey. The Kurds have no rights in
Turkey.
Others estimate as many as 40 million Kurds live in
Big Kurdistan (Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Armenia),
which covers an area as big as France, about half of
all Kurds which estimate to 20 million live in
Turkey.
The Kurdish flag flown officially in Iraqi Kurdistan but
unofficially flown by Kurds in Armenia. The flag is
banned in Iran, Syria, and Turkey where flying it is
a criminal offence"
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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