July 7, 2007-
Iranian court
upholds death
sentence against
teacher trade
unionist
Farzad
Kamangar could
face execution
in the near
future,
according to the
web site Human
Rights Activists
in Iran. On 11
July, the
Iranian Supreme
Court confirmed
the death
penalty against
Kamangar, a
33-year-old
Kurdish teacher
and trade
unionist.
Farzad Kamangar, the 33-year-old Iranian teacher and trade unionist who has been tortured and sentenced to death by the Iranian Supreme Court
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Kamangar’s
lawyer, Khalil
Bahramian, said
that although he
has not yet
received written
details of the
judgment, the
Revolutionary
Court verbally
confirmed that
the death
sentence stands.
However,
Bahramian is
determined to
continue the
fight to free
Kamangar. He
said, “I will
use all legal
means to protest
this new
judgment. If I
do not receive a
convincing
response
regarding my
client’s
acquittal, I
will complain to
the
[International
Court of Justice
at the] Hague.”
General
Secretary Fred
van Leeuwen
deplored the
ruling and
expressed
Education
International’s
concern for
Kamangar’s fate.
“Teachers and
trade unionists
around the world
care deeply
about what is
happening to our
colleagues in
Iran. We are
carefully
monitoring
events and
feeling a great
deal of outrage
that fair
process and
respect for
trade union
rights is so
severely lacking
in this case,”
van Leeuwen
said.
EI has written
to the Iranian
authorities
urging them to
commute the
sentence
immediately and
to re-examine
Kamangar8 0s
case fairly, as
the death
penalty is
irreparable and
no judicial
system should
run the risk of
condemning an
innocent person.
EI has also been
appealing to
Iranian
government
representatives
to meet and
discuss
Kamangar’s case,
but to date
these efforts
have been
unsuccessful.
Kamangar himself
released a short
message from
prison saying,
“This verdict
has been
communicated to
me, and prison
and judgment
enforcement
officials have
asked me to
write a letter
requesting
forgiveness. The
problem is that
I have not
committed any
crime to ask for
forgiveness.”
Kamangar added,
“They want to
break my morale
but I have to
say I am doing
well and my
spirits are
high. My only
point is that I
have never been
a member of any
political party
or group…. They
want to use me
as a scapegoat.”
Kamangar was
arrested in
Tehran in July
2006 and since
then has been
held in various
detention
centres in
Kurdistan,
Kermanshah and
Tehran. He was
charged with
Moharebeh, which
literally means
“enmity against
God,” and with
membership in
the Kurdish
Workers’ Party (PKK).
He was sentenced
to death by the
Iranian
Revolutionary
Court on 25
February on the
basis of
“absolutely zero
evidence,”
according to his
lawyer, who said
that the trial
lasted only a
few minutes,
took place in
secret and
failed to meet
even the minimum
standards of
fairness.
The judgment was
met with
widespread
protest and
Kamangar’s case
has been taken
up by Amnesty
International ,
Human Rights
Watch and other
human rights
defenders.
Kamangar has
published
several letters
from prison
maintaining his
innocence and
detailing
ill-treatment,
including such
severe torture
inflicted in
Evin Prison that
he had to be
transferred to
the prison
clinic.
