Farzad Kamangar: sentenced to death after a five-minute trial

Aged 33, Farzad worked for 12 years as a teacher in the rural areas of Kamyaran, in the Kurdistan Province of Iran. He was also member of the Kurdish branch of the teacher union and was in charge of its public relations until it was outlawed. Farzad Kamangar was also active in defending Kurdish minority rights, human rights and women's rights. Farzad was arrested in July 2006 shortly after he arrived in Tehran to follow up on his brother's medical treatment. The authorities originally investigated him in relation to two people he drove with to Tehran. Since then, he has been held in various detention centres: in Sanandaj in Kurdistan, in Kermanshah, in the Evin prison in Tehran and in the Rajaishahr prison in Karaj. He is currently detained in the notorious Evin prison. In a letter that he wrote in October 2007 while in the Sanandaj prison, Farzad alleged ill-treatment and severe torture by the prison authorities on different occasions during his detention to force him to confess to the charges against him. For several months he was kept in solitary confinement and was not allowed any contact with his family or lawyer. The police also arrested Farzad's girlfriend, as well as members of his family. On 25 February 2008, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Farzad Kamangar to death on charges of “endangering national security.” The prosecution claimed that Farzad is a member of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). Khalil Bahramian, Farzad’s lawyer, said: “Nothing in Kamangar’s judicial files and records demonstrates any links to the charges brought against him.” He described the trial as “lasting no more than five minutes, with the judge issuing his sentence without any explanation and then promptly leaving the room.” According to Bahramian, the closed-door trial violated the Iranian legal requirements that such cases must be tried publicly and in the presence of a jury. Farzad’s lawyer appealed the death sentence given the complete lack of evidence. According to him, the prosecution and death sentence are an indication of “discrimination against Kurds” within the judicial system. On 11 July 2008, the Supreme Court upheld Farzad Kamangar’s death sentence. He could be executed any day. In a bid to save Farzad's life, EI launched an Urgent Action Appeal on 14 August. You too can help to appeal for justice for Farzad by helping us to send an online message to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Please do so today!

[Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:56:45 +0000] | DIGG THIS