Farzad Kamangar: Iranian teacher in death row

On 25 February 2008, the Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced Farzad Kamangar to death on charges of "endangering national security" and "enmity against God" (moharebe). The death penalty was confirmed by the Supreme Court on 11 July.

Farzad Kamangar, Iranian teacher, member of teacher union and human rights activist was arrested in July 2006 and under severe torture by the prison authorities on different occasions during his detention, they forced him to confess to charges against himself. For several months he was kept in solitary confinement and was not allowed any contact with his family or lawyer. The police also arrested Farzad's girlfriend, as well as members of his family.

Kamangar, who worked as a teacher in rural areas and was a human rights activist, is accused of being a terrorist through his alleged affiliation to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK. According to his lawyer who was not permitted to defend him, Khalil Bahramian “Nothing in Kamangar’s judicial files and records demonstrates any links to the charges brought against him”. He described the trial as “lasting no more than five minutes, with the judge issuing his sentence without any explanation and then promptly leaving the room.” According to Bahramian, the closed-door trial violated the Iranian legal requirements that such cases must be tried publicly and in the presence of a jury.

Farzad’s lawyer appealed the death sentence given the complete lack of evidence. According to him, the prosecution and death sentence are an indication of “discrimination against Kurds” within the judicial system. On 11 July 2008, the Supreme Court upheld Farzad Kamangar’s death sentence. He could be executed any day.

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Hat tips: Education International

Secret Execution of Delara Darabi

I am used to hear and touched by atrocities and everyday violation of human rights in Iran, I know I shouldn’t be but in past 30 years hearing bad news after another bad news, almost never ending bad news, kinda make you expect to hear worse news but I was so shocked about Delara’s execution that I couldn’t write anything since Friday, May 01.

Friday is weekend in Iran and they don’t execute people on weekends but seems they arranged lots of exceptions for Delara’s case like they didn’t inform her lawyer and her family and executed her while Iranian head of judiciary suspended her execution for about 2 months.

Authorities intentionally executed her with this secrecy and manner to avoid protests for saving her life. Her trial was unfair and Iranian judiciary refused to review her case despite of new evidences that brought forward by her lawyer later on:

• According to Iranian police evidences, crime committed by a right-hand person but she was left-hand person.
• Even Iranian police didn’t provide fingerprints from the knife that she supposedly used to kill.
• She actually took blame for the crime to protect her boyfriend, believing that as a juvenile she would not face hanging. Later on, she insisted that she didn’t kill anyone but authorities have ignored her during past 6 years.

That was very sad ending when she called home at 7 am and said “Oh, mom, they are going to hang me. I see the hangman's rope. Please save me mom. I want to speak to dad. I want to see you dad. for god sake, save me" Moments later a prison official snatched the handset away and yelled "we will easily execute your daughter and you can’t do anything about it”. Even they didn’t give her right to meet her family for the last time.

And I have been sad, upset, angry, angry, angry...

She is a second juvenile offender executed so far this year and at least 130 juvenile offenders sentenced to death are awaiting execution in Iran.