The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN, the world association of writers represented in 104 countries, condemns the recent execution of five Kurdish activists including teacher and writer Farzad Kamangar. The executions were in gross violation of Iranian as well as international laws.
According to PEN’s information, http://www.ifex.org/iran/2010/05/19/kamangar_executed/, Farzad Kamangar was among five Kurdish activists hanged on 9 May 2010 in Tehran’s Evin prison on alleged terrorism charges. Kamangar had been detained since May 2006 and was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in February 2008 following a trial that lasted approximately five minutes. He was allegedly mistreated in detention, while repeatedly denying prosecutors’ allegations of involvement with a Kurdish nationalist group, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK). His lawyer, Khalil Bahramian, asserts that there was no evidence to support the charges and that the revolutionary court which sentenced Kamangar acted arbitrarily, in gross violation of the Iranian constitution and international laws. It is widely believed that Kamangar was targeted for his non-violent political activism. According to International PEN, the executions appear to be an attempt to intimidate members of the Kurdish minority and other critics and opponents of the government.
After the executions in May, human rights organization, ARTICLE 19, released a statement regarding its concern that more executions of Kurdish political prisoners are imminent. ARTICLE 19 is highly concerned that Zeinab Jalaian and 15 other Kurdish political prisoners, convicted of ‘moharabeh’ (enmity against God), will be executed.
Zeinab Jalalian was arrested in 2008 in the western Iranian city of Kermanshah because she allegedly wrote and created posters for the Kurdish nationalist group, the Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), an organization she allegedly had ties to. On June 26 2010, Kurdish human rights organisations reported that Zainab’s death sentence had been finalised. Her lawyer stated that she has been moved to another prison ward in preparation for execution and that it is likely her sentence will soon be carried out. Zainab was denied access to legal counsel at her trial and has been denied contact with her family, a direct violation of Iran’s international treaty obligations as well as Iranian law.
International PEN is alarmed at the number of Kurdish journalists and writers targeted for their critical reporting, peaceful activism and writings in support of minority cultural and political rights, and is appalled at the use of the death penalty in such cases. . Dr. Agnès Callamard, ARTICLE 19 Executive Director, stated: “The Islamic Republic of Iran must heed calls from the international human rights community to comply with international law and norms, abide by UN treaties, and act immediately to save [Zainab’s] life and the life of the other 15 Kurdish political prisoners on death row.”
Iranian authorities are obligated under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which it is a signatory, to uphold and protect the right to freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial. International PEN and ARTICLE 19 call for the immediate and unconditional release of all those currently detained in Iran for peacefully exercising their right to free expression.
