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Ban Ki-moon asked to intercede on behalf
of the two Kurdish journalists under sentence of death
in Iran
14.8.2007
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August 14, 2007
Reporters Without Borders wrote yesterday to United
Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon urging him to
intercede in the case of Adnan Hassanpour and
Abdolvahed Botimar, two journalists who were
sentenced to death on 16 July, and to ask the
Islamic Republic of Iran to adhere to the
international treaties it has signed concerning
civil and political rights.
“Their most basic rights were violated as they were
barred from court when the sentence was handed
down,” the letter said. “Even more egregiously, they
were not notified of the sentence and only found out
from a newspaper.”
Hassanpour and Botimar (who is also known as
“Hiwa”), were allowed a visit from a family member
in their prison in Sanandaj, in Iran’s Kurdistan
northwestern region, on 8 August. They discovered
they had been sentenced to death from a report in
the daily Kayhan. They have been on hunger strike
for nearly 30 days, and are consuming only water to
which some sugar is added.
The letter pointed out that 11 journalists are
currently in prison in Iran for trying to do their
job. Some are serving sentences imposed in trials
with no due process. Others are being held without
trial. The prison conditions are appalling and they
are denied access to the medical treatment they
need.
“Journalists are being harassed and threatened by
the regime, which is waging a witch-hunt against the
independent media.” the letter said. “Many of them
have been brought into court on charges which are
baseless but are deemed admissible by a compliant
judicial system.”
The letter concluded: “These men need to know that
they have your support. If the United Nations were
to intercede on their behalf, they would be able to
recover a degree of dignity and the freedom to work
as journalists. We are convinced that you could find
ways and arguments to get Iran to respect the
provisions of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, which it has signed.” |
UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon asked to intercede
on behalf of the two Kurdish journalists under
sentence of death in Iran
Kurdish journalists
Adnan Hassanpur (L) and Hiwa Botimar sentenced to death
by the Iranian Islamic regime |
Of the nine other journalists currently in prison,
Soheil Assefi, is the one who was arrested most
recently. A contributor to several news media, he
was detained when he responded to a summons and
presented himself to a Tehran court on 4 August,
four days after officials from the prosecutor’s
office searched his home, taking personal documents
and computer material. He is now being held in
Tehran’s Evin prison on unknown charges. He was able
to telephone a relative on 9 August but has not been
allowed to receive visits.
Farshad Gorbanpour, who was arrested for no clear
reason on 31 July, is also being held in Evin
prison. According to his wife, who was able to visit
him once, he is charged with “activity against
national security” and could be released if he pays
bail of 200 million touman (the equivalent of
158,000 euros).
Journalist Ako Kurdnasab of the Sanandaj-based
weekly Karfto was arrested at his newspaper by
intelligence ministry officials on 21 July after one
of the city’s courts opened an investigation against
him. He is now awaiting trial in Sanandaj prison.
His family has had no word from him and does not
know what he is charged with.
Ejlal Ghavami of Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdestan (a
weekly that was closed by the authorities in 2004)
has been detained since 9 July, a month after a
Sanandaj court sentenced him on 9 June to three
years in prison for “inciting populations to
revolt”and “activity against national security.” He
has an eye infection. Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdistan
editor Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand was arrested on 1
July and sent to Evin prison, where he staged an
eight-day hunger strike in protest against his
solitary confinement. Reporters Without Borders has
been told that he is under a great deal of pressure
to deny information published by the Kurdistan Human
Rights Organisation, of which he is one of the
founders. He is also reportedly charged with
“activity against national security.”
Said Matinpour of Yarpagh (an Azeri-language weekly
based in Tehran) has been detained since 28 May,
when he and his wife were arrested at their home in
the northwestern city of Zanjan. He was transferred
to Tehran two days later and is now being held in
security section 209 in Evin prison. He has not been
charged and neither his relatives nor his lawyer
have been able to see him.
Three other journalists have been held since last
year. Kaveh Javanmard of Karfto was arrested on 18
December in Sanandaj and was sentenced during a
secret trial on 17 May to two years in prison for
“inciting revolt” and “activity against national
security.” Ali Farahbakhsh, a contributor to several
business newspapers including Sarmayeh, was arrested
on 27 November and was sentenced on 26 March to
three years in prison for spying. He is currently
being held in Evin prison’s security section 209,
where he has for some time been deprived of his
medicine.
Finally, Mohammad Hassin Falahieh of the state TV
station Al-Alam’s Arabic-language service has been
detained since last November. He was convicted of
spying by a revolutionary court on 29 April and is
now serving a three years sentence in Evin prison’s
security section 209. His lawyer says he is ill and
needs treatment.
Sign the petition on behalf of
the journalists who have been sentenced to death in
Iran
rsf org
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
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