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Family wants Iran Kurdish student who died
in jail exhumed
21.1.2008
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January 21, 2008
Sanandaj, Iranian Kurdistan,-- The family of
a Kurdish law student in Iran who
died in custody
is disputing the official version he committed
suicide and
wants his body to be exhumed to determine the cause
of death, their lawyer said on Sunday.
Lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said Intelligence Ministry
agents detained Ebrahim Lotfollahi on January 6
during a university exam in the western city of
Sanandaj. His parents were told on January 15 he was
dead,www.ekurd.net
even though he had
seemed fine when they visited him a few days after
his detention, the lawyer said.
When family members went to the city cemetery, they
were informed the 27-year-old had already been
buried and were not able to see the body. |
Ebrahim Lotfollahi, Iranian Kurdish student died in
prison in Iranian Kurdistan. |
Nikbakht said the family did not believe he had
committed suicide and had filed a complaint against
prison officials.
"The family wants the body exhumed for examination
by doctors, including one who should be their
trusted doctor," said.
Nikbakht, saying he did not know why Lotfallahi had
been detained, described him as a civil society
activist but said he had not been a member of any
Kurdish political group.
Like neighbouring Turkey and Iraq, Iran has a large
Kurdish minority and security forces often clash
with Kurdish rebels.
Judiciary officials had no immediate comment on the
case.
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian
authorities to investigate the "sudden deaths" of
Lotfallahi and of Zahra Bani-Ameri,www.ekurd.net
a 27-year-old female
physician, who it said died in October while in
custody in the town of Hamedan.
In both cases, officials said the cause of death was
suicide, it said in a statement on Saturday.
"The Iranian authorities must take credible steps to
determine what actually happened and hold
accountable any officials responsible for these two
deaths," said Joe Stork, Middle East deputy director
at Human Rights Watch.
The rights group said Bani-Ameri and her boyfriend
were arrested in a park in Hamedan, west of Tehran,
for having an "illegal relationship" and that her
family was told the following day she had committed
suicide in her cell.
"In statements at the time to the Iranian press,
Bani-Ameri's brother claimed that she had seemed
fine during telephone conversations he had with her,
including a call 30 minutes before the time of her
reported death," it said.
Relationships between men and women who are not
married are banned in Iran, an Islamic state which
follows sharia law.
Iran regularly dismisses Western accusations it
violates human rights.
Reuters
Iranian Kurdistan
**
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
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