On the Margins: Arrest, Imprisonment and Execution of Kurdish Activists in Iran Today i COVER Iran Human Rights Documentation Center The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) believes that the development of an accountability movement and a culture of human rights in Iran are crucial to the long-term peace and security of the country and the Middle East region. As numerous examples have illustrated, the removal of an authoritarian regime does not necessarily lead to an improved human rights situation if institutions and civil society are weak, or if a culture of human rights and democratic governance has not been cultivated. By providing Iranians with comprehensive human rights reports, data about past and present human rights violations, and information about international human rights standards, particularly the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the IHRDC programs will strengthen Iranians’ ability to demand accountability, reform public institutions, and promote transparency and respect for human rights. Encouraging a culture of human rights within Iranian society as a whole will allow political and legal reforms to have real and lasting weight. The IHRDC seeks to: . Establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in Iran, and on the basis of this record, establish responsibility for patterns of human rights abuses; . Make the record available in an archive that is accessible to the public for research and educational purposes; . Promote accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iran; and . Encourage an informed dialogue on the human rights situation in Iran among scholars and the general public in Iran and abroad. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center 129 Church Street New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA Tel: +1-(203)-772-2218 Fax: +1-(203)-772-1782 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.iranhrdc.org © 2012 All Rights Reserved. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, New Haven, Connecticut On the Margins: Arrest, Imprisonment and Execution of Kurdish Activists in Iran Today Iran Human Rights Documentation Center April 2012 Table of Contents Introduction .....................................................................................................................................1 1. History and Background on Kurds in Iran .................................................................................6 1.1 Before the Islamic Republic ..................................................................................................6 1.2 After the Islamic Revolution ................................................................................................. 7 1.3 Rafsanjani’s Presidency .........................................................................................................8 1.4 The Khatami Era ................................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Targeting of Kurdish Activists during Ahmadinejad’s First Presidential Term (2005) .......10 1.5.1 The Killing of Shawaneh Ghaderi .................................................................................11 2. Arrest, Imprisonment and Execution of Activists ..................................................................... 12 2.1. Executed Kurdish Prisoners ............................................................................................... 15 2.1.1. Farzad Kamangar, Farhad Vakili, and Ali Haidarian ...................................................16 2.1.2. Shirin Alamhooli ......................................................................................................... 19 2.1.3. Ehsan Fattahian ........................................................................................................... 22 2.1.4. Fasih Yasamani ............................................................................................................23 2.1.5. Hossein Khezri ............................................................................................................ 23 2.2 Former Political Prisoners ...................................................................................................24 2.2.1. Sabah Nasri ..................................................................................................................24 2.2.2. Yaser Goli .................................................................................................................... 26 2.2.3. Amir Ahmadi .............................................................................................................. 28 2.2.4. Kaveh Tahmasebi ........................................................................................................ 29 2.2.5 Amir Babakri ................................................................................................................ 32 2.2.6. Faegh Rourast ..............................................................................................................33 2.2.7. Shima Asaadi ...............................................................................................................35 2.2.8. Zaynab Bayazidi ..........................................................................................................36 2.3. Prisoners on Death Row .....................................................................................................36 2.3.1. Habibollah Golparipour ...............................................................................................37 2.3.2. Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi ......................................................................... 40 2.3.3. Habib Latifi ..................................................................................................................42 2.3.4. Amjad, Anvar, and Rafiq Hossein-Panahi ................................................................... 43 2.3.5. Adnan Hassanpour .......................................................................................................44 2.3.6. Hiva Boutimar ............................................................................................................. 45 3. Security Laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Repression of the Kurdish Community ... 46 3.1 “Security” Laws – Problems of Text and Application ....................................................... 46 3.1.1. The Security Laws as Applied .................................................................................... 47 3.1.2. The Security Laws as Written ..................................................................................... 48 3.2 Islamic Republic of Iran’s Treatment of Kurdish Political and Civil Activists Violates the Iranian Constitution and laws ........................................................................................ 48 3.3 The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Campaign Against Kurdish Activists and International Human Rights Law ............................................................................................................. 51 3.3.1 Freedom of Expression, Assembly and Association .................................................. 51 3.3.2 Due Process ................................................................................................................ 52 3.3.3 Detention, Interrogation and Torture ........................................................................... 53 4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 54 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 55 Appendix I .................................................................................................................................... 56 Appendix II ................................................................................................................................... 65 Appendix III .................................................................................................................................. 77 On the Margins: Arrest, Imprisonment and Execution of Kurdish Activists in Iran Today 1 Introduction In July 2006, Farzad Kamangar, a high school teacher in the city of Kamyaran in the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and Kurdish rights activist, was arrested by IRI security forces. Following his arrest, Kamangar was held for nearly four years in various detention centers. During Kamangar’s detention, he endured repeated instances of severe torture. In a letter Kamangar wrote from prison, his suffering speaks for itself: They took me to a room [where they questioned me]. When writing down my information [I had to disclose] my ethnicity, and every time I answered “Kurdish,” they beat me with a whip that looked like some kind of hose. They also insulted me and beat me because of my religion. They beat me to their heart’s desire because of the Kurdish music that was on my mobile phone. They tied my hands, sat me in a chair, and put pressure on the sensitive parts of my body. They also took off my clothes and threatened me with rape by harassing me with batons and sticks. My left leg was badly damaged [while I was] there, and I passed out from simultaneous electric shocks and blows to my head. Ever since I regained consciousness, I feel like I have lost my sense of balance and I shake uncontrollably.1 For years, Farzad Kamangar engaged in non-violent political activism on behalf of Iran’s Kurdish