Kurds Protest at Iran's Barbaric acts against humanity
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Monday May 10, 2010 23:31 by LATIF SERHILDAN - KURDISTAN SOLIDARITY IRELAND serhildantakak at eircom dot net 0868805826
The Iranian government once again committed a vicious and inhuman act against the Kurdish nation and executed 5 Kurdish political activists.
According to the reports today (09/05/10) at dawn time 5 Kurdish activists known as, Ferzad Kemanger, Ferhad Wekili, Ali Heyderyan, Shirin Elem Holi and Mehdi Islamiyan were executed.
Kurds, who are one of Iran’s many minority groups, live mainly in the west and north-west of the country, in the province of Kordestan and neighbouring provinces bordering Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq. They experience religious, economic and cultural discrimination For many years, Kurdish organizations such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) and the Marxist group, Komala, conducted armed struggle against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Party for Free Life of Kurdistan (known by its Kurdish acronym PJAK), formed in 2004, aims to establish in Iran a “democratic system in which all citizens: Iranians, Kurds, Azarbaijanis, Baluch, Turkmans, Arabs and all other ethnic groups within the framework of the democratic system can govern themselves”. It has carried out armed attacks against Iranian security forces, but declared a unilateral ceasefire in 2009.
The scope of capital crimes in Iran is broad, and includes “enmity against God”, often imposed for armed opposition to the state, but can include other national security offences such as espionage. Two Kurdish men – Ehsan Fattahian and Fasih Yasmani - have been executed for such alleged offences since November 2009 (see more infor on Amnesty International report on Iran
At least 18 other Kurdish men and one other Kurdish woman are believed to be on death row in connection with their alleged membership of and activities for banned Kurdish organizations. They include Farzad Kamangar, Farhad Vakili, Habibollah Latifi, Sherko Moarefi, Ali Haydarian, Anvar Rostami, Rostam Arkiya, Mostafa Salimi, Hassan Talai, Iraj Mohammadi, Rashid Akhkandi, Mohammad Amin Agoushi, Ahmad Pouladkani, Sayed Sami Hosseini, Sayed Jamal Mohammadi, Mohammad Amin Abdolahi, Ghader Mohamadzadeh, Aziz Mohammadzadeh and Shirin Alam-Hoei. Some have had their prison sentences increased to death sentences on appeal.
Kurds in Ireland will stage coordinative demonstrations outside Iranian embassy on Tuesaday 11th of May) at 12 pm. We invite all supporters and interested parties to attend these demonstrations, and in particular members of the media. We ask the Irish people and government to be more sensitive to the oppressive nature of Iranian State.
For futher info contact Kardo Bokani a.kardonya@gmail.com
0877985551
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Jump To Comment: 1Farzad Kamangar was a Kurdish teacher, arrested in August 2006 and sentenced to death in February 2008, after a trial that lasted five minutes. He was put to death on 9th May, 2010. This is his last letter from prison. Full text at link.
Farzad Kamangar: In Memoriam
Hello cell mates. Hello fellow mates of pain!
I know you well: you are the teacher, the neighbour to the stars of *Khavaran, the classmates of dozens whose essays were attached to their legal cases [as evidence], the teacher of students whose [only] crime was their humane thoughts. I know you well: you are colleagues of Samad and Ali Khan. You remember me too, right?
[Translator's note: Khavaran is the cemetery in eastern Tehran where many political dissidents were executed during the 1980's and buried in mass unmarked graves]
It is me, the one chained in Evin prison.
It is me, the quiet student who sits behind the broken school benches and longs to see the sea while in a remote village in Kurdistan. It is me, who like you, told the tales of Samad to his students; but in the heart of the Shahoo Mountains [located in Kurdistan].
It is me who loves to take on the role of the little black fish. It is me, your comrade on death row.