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Iran: End discrimination against the
Kurdish minority in Iran
30.7.2008
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July
30, 2008
Amnesty International Press Release
Iran’s government is failing in its duty to prevent
discrimination and human rights abuses against its
Kurdish citizens, particularly women, said Amnesty
International in a new report published today. The
organization expressed fears that the repression of
Kurdish Iranians, particularly human rights
defenders, is intensifying.
The report cites examples of religious and cultural
discrimination against the estimated 12 million
Kurds who live in Iran and form around 15 per cent
of the population.
It focuses on issues related to housing, education
and employment. Human rights defenders and media
workers are also being targeted for speaking out.
“Iran’s constitution provides for equality of all
Iranians before the law. But, as our report shows,
this is not the reality for Kurds in Iran. The
Iranian government has not taken sufficient steps to
eliminate discrimination, or to end the cycle of
violence against women and punish those
responsible,” said Amnesty International.
The report says that Kurdish women face a double
challenge to have their rights recognized -- as
members of a marginalised ethnic minority, and as
women in a predominantly patriarchal society.
Although women and girls form the backbone of
economic activity in the Kurdish areas, strict
social codes are used to justify denial of their
human rights. Such codes mean that it can be very
difficult for government officials to investigate
inequalities in girls’ education,www.ekurd.net
early and forced
marriages, and domestic violence against Kurdish
girls and women -- and the severe consequences of
some of these abuses, including “honour killings”
and suicide.
“Kurdish women are victims of violence on a daily
basis and face discrimination from state officials,
groups or individuals, including family members.
Iranian authorities are obliged to exercise due
diligence in eradicating violence against women in
the home and in the community but this just isn’t
happening,” Amnesty International said.
The report Iran: Human rights abuses against the
Kurdish minority recognizes that while expression of
Kurdish culture, such as dress and music, is
generally respected and that the Kurdish language is
used in some broadcasts and publications, the
Kurdish minority continues to suffer deep-rooted
discrimination.
Recent cases have
highlighted particular human rights violations
involving Kurds:
- Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili,
all ethnic Kurds, were sentenced to death in
February 2008 after conviction of “moharebeh”,
(enmity against God), following a grossly flawed
process that fell far short of international
standards for a fair trial. This is a charge
levelled against those accused of taking up arms
against the state, apparently in connection with
their alleged membership of the armed group, the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which carries out
attacks in Turkey. Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili
were also sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment,
apparently for forging documents. Under Iranian law,
they must serve their prison sentences before being
executed. Human Rights Activists in Iran reported
that when prison authorities at Raja'i Shahr prison
in Tehran province told Farzad Kamangar,www.ekurd.net
a 32 year old teacher,
of the Supreme Court's decision, they asked him to
write a letter seeking clemency. He refused to do
this, as it would have been an acknowledgement of
guilt, and he has always denied committing any
crime. On 11 July his death sentence was upheld by
the Supreme Court and could be carried out at any
time.
- In May this year Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand was
sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment by Branch 15 of
the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The sentence
apparently comprises 10 years’ imprisonment for
“acting against state security by establishing the
Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK)” and
one year’s imprisonment for “propaganda against the
system”. The verdict followed a closed trial
session. Amnesty International considers Mohammad
Sadiq Kabudvand to be a prisoner of conscience, held
solely on account of his peaceful exercise of his
rights to freedom of expression and association
during his work as chair of the HROK and his
activities as a journalist. Such rights are
expressly recognized in the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran
is a state party.
- Psychology student Hana Abdi was arrested on 4
November 2007 at her grandfather’s home in Sanandaj.
She was held incommunicado for three months. In June
this year she was sentenced to five years’
imprisonment, to be served in exile in Eastern
Azerbaijan province, in the small town of Germi, on
the border with the Republic of Azerbaijan.
According to her lawyer, Branch 2 of the
Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj convicted her of
"gathering and colluding to commit a crime against
national security." She is a member of the Campaign
for Equality, an Iranian women’s rights initiative
that is seeking an end to legalized discrimination
against women in Iran. Amnesty International
considers Hana Abdi to be a prisoner of conscience,
detained solely for the peaceful exercise of her
right to freedom of expression and association, and
that the charge brought against her is politically
motivated.
“We urge the Iranian authorities to take concrete
measures to end any discrimination and associated
human rights violations that Kurds, indeed all
minorities in Iran, face,” said Amnesty
International.
“Kurds and all other members of minority communities
in Iran, men, women and children, are entitled to
enjoy their full range of human rights. The Iranian
authorities should promote and protect the rights of
human rights defenders, including women’s rights
activists, and abide by their obligations under
international human rights law.”
Background
The 57 page report Iran: Human rights abuses against
the Kurdish minority (AI Index: MDE 13/088/2008) is
the latest in a series of Amnesty International
reports on human rights abuses against ethnic and
cultural minorities in Iran . Previous reports have
described abuses against Ahwazi Arabs and the
Baluchi minority.
Amnesty International has previously raised many of
the concerns and cases in this report with the
Iranian authorities but without adequate response.
They rarely respond to the organization and have not
permitted Amnesty International access to Iran to
investigate human rights for more than 28 years.
Copyright, respective author or news agency, Amnesty
International, amnesty org
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