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Paris: Demonstrations condemn Iran's
judicial harassment of Kurdish journalists
15.6.2007
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June 15, 2007
Paris, France, -- A press freedom
organization condemned on Thursday the "judicial
harassment" of Kurdish journalists covering
demonstrations in Iran in which four have been
tried, three got prison sentences and several others
are awaiting trial or verdict.
Reporters Without Borders said "We are dismayed by
these sentences," adding that "these journalists
just did their duty to report the news and have been
convicted for political reasons. If there is a
political activity in Iran, the media must cover
it".
A revolutionary tribunal in the city of Sanandaj, in
Iranian Kurdistan northwestern region, sentenced
Ejlal Ghavami to three years in prison for "inciting
revolt" and "undermining national security," whereas
freelance journalist Said Saedi was sentenced to two
and a half years in prison on the same charges and
Roya Toloui, the editor of a newspaper, to six
months in prison.
The three journalists were originally arrested while
covering a peaceful demonstration in 2005 and were
detained for several months before being freed on
bail. Tolui is out of the country while Saedi and
Ghavami are still in Iran on bail.
Meanwhile, Aso Salah who works for a weekly, has
been summoned to appear before the Sanandaj court
later this month after being arrested in March for
covering an International Womens Day demonstration
and was released on bail shortly after.
In Tehran, a newspaper journalist, Bahaman Ahmadi
Amoee was also tried earlier this month but the
verdict is pending.
He was arrested along with two other journalists
while covering a feminist movements demonstration in
2006.
Kuna net.kw
**
Iranian Kurdistan (Kurdish: Kurdistana Īranź or
Kurdistana Rojhilat (Eastern Kurdistan) or Rojhilatź
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
KDPI
The Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran in Kurdish
(Hīzbī Dźmokiratī Kurdistanī Źran) is a Kurdish
opposition group in Iranian Kurdistan which seeks
the attainment of Kurdish national rights within a
democratic federal republic of Iran.
The current
General Secretary of the Democratic Party of Iranian
Kurdistan is Mustafa Hijri
More about KDPI- Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
** 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.
Kurds are not recognized as an official minority in
Turkey and are denied rights granted to other
minority groups. Under EU pressure, Turkey recently
granted Kurds limited rights for broadcasts and
education in the Kurdish language, but critics say
the measures do not go far enough.
Others estimate over 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.
Turkey is home to over 25 million ethnic Kurds, some
of whom openly sympathise with the Kurdish PKK for a
Kurdish homeland in the country's mainly Kurdish
southeast of Turkey.
Before August 2002, the Turkish government placed
severe restrictions on the use of Kurdish language,
prohibiting the language in education and broadcast
media.
The Kurdish alphabet is still not recognized
in Turkey, and use of the Kurdish letters X, W, Q
which do not exist in the Turkish
alphabet has led to judicial persecution in 2000 and
2003
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"
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