Saturday, May 31, 2008

Iranian authorities approved death of Teacher

Death sentence of a Kurdish dissident teacher, Farzad Kamangar has been approved by Iranian authorities.

Alireza Jamshidi spokesman of the Judiciary announced on 27 May 2007, that Mr.Kamangar has been charged for membership in a terrorist organization, and with holding explosives.

According to Jamshidi, Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili have been announced to be "moharebs"(rebels against God) and sentenced to death.

The three human right activists had been arrested during a trip to Tehran in August of 2006.

The 36th so called revolutionary court, sentenced Mr.Kamangar , after 19 months detention, to death for being a member of the PKK (Kurdish Workers Party).

After his sentence was delivered, Mr. Kamangar in a letter smuggled out, revealed that he had been tortured physically and mentally in the Intelligence Ministry detention centre. He had been tied to a bed and tortured and threatened to be raped.

Human right activists have already announced that Mr. Kamangar has been transferred twice to the prison clinic because of severe conditions resulting from torture.

Prior to this, Khalil Bahramian, and Mr. Kamangars' attorney had announced that they believe Mr.Kamangars' case is only a result of prejudice on Kurdish nationalists. He had rejected all accusations against his client.

Mr. Khalil Bahramian had also declared that his client has no knowledge whatsoever of explosives mentioned to have been found in his car. He had asserted that the aforementioned explosives had been implanted in his car in Tehran.

Teachers of Kamyaran province have collected a petition in support of the release of their colleague Farzad Kamangar. In their petition they have born witness to the fact that Mr.Kamangar has always been a law abiding citizen, and demanded the death sentence be annulled.

Farzad Kamangar has been a teacher in the Kamyaran province art college in Kurdistan. He was a member of the teachers' association, the environmentalists of Asak (meaning deer) . He was also a known writer in the monthly "Royan" of the Ministry of Education.

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