On October 23rd, 2008, an Iranian appellate court upheld Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand’s conviction on a charge of “activity against national security” but dismissed a second charge of “publicity against the government.” The court did not, however, reduce the 11 year sentence he received in June. Under Iranian law, sentences of more than 10 years in prison cannot be appealed to the Iranian Supreme Court.
Kabovand’s lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, told Reporters Without Borders he would refer the case to the head of the judicial system, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, after which there would be no further legal recourse. “The national security charges brought against Kabovand are baseless,” Reporters Without Borders said. “It is absurd to regard the defense of human rights as an attack on national security. This is just a clumsy pretext for silencing a journalist who had for long time been writing about discrimination against minorities in Iran.”
Additionally, the press freedom organization stated: “This journalist’s most basic rights have been flouted, beginning with his right to appropriate medical treatment.” Kabovand, who has been held in Tehran’s Evin prison since July 2007, is suffering from prostate pains and has not yet been granted permission to receive treatment outside the prison. “The Iranian authorities are responsible for the health of their detainees. Kabovand urgently needs to be allowed out of prison for a medical examination.” Kabovand wife’s, Parinaz Hassani, told Reporters Without Borders that she has not been allowed to visit him since the 24th of September.
For more information, please see:
http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29145
