Iran: Kurdish Teacher Tortured and Sentenced to Death

On 25 February 2008, Branch 30 of the Iranian Revolutionary Court sentenced Farzad Kamangar to death on charges of endangering national security, Human Rights Watch has reported. The prosecution claimed that Kamangar, a teacher from Eastern Kurdistan, is a member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Action Alert - Iran

Iran
Date: 04 Mar 2008
Source: Human Rights Watch
Source classification: NEAR Member
Violation(s): Torture, Unfair Trial and Faces Execution
  Farzad Kamangar was arrested in Tehran in July 2006 and held in various detention centres across the country. Kamangar claims that during a period of detention in the notorious Evin Prison, officials tortured him to such an extent that he had to be taken to the prison hospital to receive medical attention. Kamangar was also tortured while in detention in the cities of Sanandaj in Kurdistan province and Kermanshah, Human Rights Watch say. Details of how he was tortured were discovered by Human Rights Watch in a secret letter sent by Kamangar from prison.   BACKGROUND INFORMATION:   Farzad Kamangar worked for 12 years as a teacher in the city of Kamyaran, Iran, before he was arrested and placed in detention. He also sat on the governing board of both a local environmentalist group and the local branch of the teachers association. Kamangar wrote actively for the monthly journal Royan, a publication of the Department of Education of Kamyaran. He was also a writer with a local human rights organization that documents human rights abuses in Kurdistan and other provinces, Human Rights Watch have said.  Kamangars lawyer said that the trial did not conform to Iranian legal requirements - it was closed, with no jury present. He also told Human Rights Watch that court officials ridiculed his requests that they follow mandated legal procedures. NEAR and Human Rights Watch deplore the use of torture and call on the Iranian authorities to revoke the death sentence handed down to Farzad Kamangar.   RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals: 1. Calling on the Iranian authorities to revoke the death sentence handed down to Farzad Kamangar. 2. Insisting that Farzad Kamangar be given a legitimate trial in a public court and reminding the authorities that this is a legal requirement in Iran. 3. Urging the authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of Farzad Kamangar whilst in detention.   APPEALS TO: Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei The Office of the Supreme Leader Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: info@leader.ir or istiftaa@wilayah.org Head of the Judiciary His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Please send emails via the Judiciary website – Iranjudiciary.org/feedback_en.html Minister of Intelligence Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com COPIES TO: President His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir Please also send a copy of your appeal to the diplomatic representative for Iran in your country.   PLEASE ALSO SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO: Jonathan Travis Programme Officer, Network for Education and Academic Rights 90 London Road, SE1 9LN London, UK Fax: 0044(0) 207 021 0881 jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org'>jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org URGENT NEAR cannot continue without your support. NEAR depends on the generosity of people like you. To make a contribution, please: - Send us a cheque payable to NEAR - Or make a donation by visiting www.paypal.com. Please make your payments payable to:   NEAR London South Bank University Technopark 90 London Road SE1 9LN, London, UK Email address: jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org'>jonathan.travis@nearinternational.org -END-
© NEAR - Network for Education and Academic Rights
http://nearinternational.org