Halt the execution of Mr. Farzad Kamangar!
Geneva-Paris, November 26, 2008. The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) have been informed of the imminent execution of Mr. Farzad Kamangar, an Iranian Kurdish teacher and social worker in the city of Kamyaran who was condemned to death after having been accused of collaboration with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
According to the information received, Mr. Farzad Kamangar may be hanged today, November 26, 2008. Indeed, he has been taken from his cell in ward 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison in preparation for his execution.
OMCT and FIDH recall that Mr. Farzad Kamangar was arrested in July 2006 in Tehran. The authorities originally conducted an investigated on him in relation to two people he travelled with during his trip to Tehran. Mr. Kamangar was cleared of all charges during the investigation process. It is not clear why the prosecution decided to put him on trial on charges of membership of the PKK, given that the prosecution had presented no evidence.
Mr. Kamangar was first held in a secret place. Since his arrest, the authorities have held Mr. Kamangar in various prisons in Kermanshah, Sanandaj, and Tehran. He has reportedly been subjected on several occasions to acts of torture during his detention.
On February 25, 2008, the Revolutionary Court issued a death sentence against Mr. Kamangar for “membership of the PKK”. His death sentence was officially confirmed on July 11, 2008 and, on July 27, 2008, Mr. Kamangar was transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is outside the jurisdiction of the National Prison System.
OMCT and FIDH call upon the Iranian judicial authorities to halt this execution, and recall that they are opposed to the death penalty as an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. At a time when momentum is gathering across the world to end capital punishment, the Islamic Republic of Iran defies international human rights law by increasing the number of executions under conditions that blatantly violate international human rights standards.
Our organisations strongly urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately stop executions as well as to appoint a committee of high level jurists to report on the application and conditions of implementation of the death penalty in the country. They also urge the Iranian authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned allegations of torture and ill-treatment, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law, as well as to respect the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), ratified by Iran.
Finally, OMCT and FIDH ask the European Union, based on the Guidelines to EU policy towards third countries on torture as well as on death penalty, to remind to the Islamic Republic of Iran of its international obligations in these fields.
Contacts:
OMCT: Alexandra Kossin: +41 22 809 49 39
FIDH: Gaël Grilhot/Karine Appy: + 33 1 43 55 25 18