Kurdish political prisoners on hunger strike
Protest against inhuman conditions in the prisons of the Islamic
Republic of
Iran
According to information received by the Society for Threatened Peoples
(GfbV) several hundred Kurdish political prisoners have been on hunger
strike since 25th August 2008. They are protesting against the inhuman
conditions in the prisons, against the daily torture and mishandling. The
Kurds who are in custody call for the respecting of the human rights of the
prisoners, the end of executions, the end of torture and the mishandling
and
the improvement of the sanitary arrangements in the Iranian prisons.
Of the Kurdish prisoners who are on hunger strike the following have been
sentenced to death and are awaiting execution:
Adnan Hassanpur (journalist), Hiwa Bwtimar (journalist), Farzad Kamangar
(journalist), Anwer Hussein Panahy (teacher), Farhad Wakily (human rights
activist), Ali Haidrian (human rights activist), Arsalan Awliaiy (human
rights activist), Habibulla Latify (human rights activist)
The following prisoners have been sentenced to several years in prison:
Muhamad Sadiq Kabudwand (human rights activist) sentenced to 11 years),
Hana
Abi (human rights activist, sentenced to 5 years), Zainab Baiazidy (human
rights activist) sentenced to 4 years, Fatima Gwftary (human rights
activist) sentenced to 18 months, Amir Raza Ardalan (student) sentenced
to 2
1/2 years, Ali Shakry (student) sentenced to 2 1/2 years and Suhrab Jalaly
(student) sentenced to 3 years.
The following are awaiting trial:
Kawa Jwanmard (journalist), Ysir Guly (human rights activist), Hidayet
Gazali (human rights activist), Sabah Nasry (human rights activist), Masud
Kurdpur (journalist), Rwnak Safarzada (human rights activist), Kamaran
Alaiy
(teacher), Arsh Alaiy (teacher), Khdir Raswl Marwat (student), Salar Yare
(student), Farhad Haji Mirzaiy (human rights activist), Muhamad Kahby
(human rights activist), und Sasan Babaiy (teacher).
The settlement area of the Kurds in Iran covers the four provinces of
Kermanshah, Ilam, West Azerbaidjan and Kurdistan in the west of the country
and has with its ten million inhabitants a total area of about 125,000 sq.
km. Almost 98% of the Kurds profess Islam. 75% of them are Sunnis, 25%
Shi’ites.
The state of Iran comprises many nationalities: besides Persians there are
Aseri, Kurds, Arabs, Beluchi, Turkmens, Assyrian Aramaeans and other
smaller
ethnic and religious minorities. The non-Persian nationalities make up
considerably more than half of the approximately 75 million citizens of
Iran. They are not recognized as individual peoples each with their own
language, culture and history, but are in Iran deliberately termed "ethnic
groups". They all suffer from suppression and discrimination.
For further information please approach the GfbV near-East consultant, Dr.
Kamal Sido at tel. ++49 (0)551 49906 18
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Für Menschenrechte. Weltweit. <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker / Society for Threatened Peoples
P.O. Box 20 24 – D-37010 Göttingen/Germany
Nahostreferat/ Middle East Desk
Dr. Kamal Sido – Tel: +49 (0) 551 49906-18 – Fax: +49 (0) 551 58028
E-Mail: [email protected] – www.gfbv.de
