[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide
Rick Halperin
rhalperi at mail.smu.edu
Tue Nov 13 16:59:26 CST 2007
URGENT ACTION APPEAL
13 November 2007
Further Information on UA 39/07 (16 February 2007) and
follow-up (30 March 2007 and 24 July 2007) - Fear of
torture/ Arbitrary arrest/Death penalty
IRAN Adnan Hassanpour (m) aged 27, Kurdish journalist and
cultural rights activist
Mansour Tayfouri (m), Kurdish journalist and
translator
Abdolwahed Butimar known as Hiwa (m) aged 29,
Kurdish activist and environmentalist
The death sentence against Iranian Kurdish journalist and
cultural rights activist Adnan Hassanpour has been upheld by
Branch 32 of the Supreme Court. The sentence needs to be
approved by the Head of the Judiciary before it can be
carried out.The Court also overturned the death sentence
against Abdolwahed (Hiwa) Butimar because of irregularities
in legal procedure. His case was sent back for review to the
Revolutionary Court in the city of Marivan, Kordestan
province, which had initially sentenced him.
The rulings on both cases were issued on 23 October, but
were not immediately made public. Saleh Nikhbakht, one of
the lawyers representing Adnan Hassanpour and Hiwa Butimar,
was informed of the Supreme Court's verdict on 5 November
but on 11 November told the Iranian Student News Agency
(ISNA) that the verdict has not formally been issued by the
Supreme Court, and therefore not subject to implementation.
Adnan Hassanpour was detained on 25 January 2007and Hiwa
Butimar on or around 23 December 2006, both in Marivan. On
17 July Adnan Hassanpour was told that he had been sentenced
to death on charges including espionage and in connection
with allegedly revealing the location of military sites and
establishing contacts with the US foreign affairs ministry
and assisting in the flight from Iran of a person wanted for
questioning by the judiciary. Taken together these were
considered as amounting to to the capital offence of
moharebeh (being at enmity with God). The Supreme Court
upheld this conclusion and therefore upheld the death
sentence.
The two men began a hunger strike on 14 July and remained on
it for up to 50 days, demanding improved conditions of
detention, an end to their solitary confinement and their
transfer from a detention centre under the control of the
Ministry of Intelligence to an official prison in Marivan,
to which their families would have access. They also
demanded the right to have access to their lawyers whenever
they wanted. Following their hunger strike, Adnan Hassanpour
and Hiwa Butimar were reportedly given better access to
their families and lawyers.
In April, the Mehr News Agency, which is said to have close
links with Iran's judiciary, apparently alleged that Adnan
Hassanpour had been in contact with Kurdish opposition
groups and had helped two people from Khuzestan province who
were wanted by the authorities to flee from Iran.
Adnan Hassanpour is a former member of the editorial board
of the Kurdish-Persian weekly journal Aso (Horizon), which
the authorities closed down in August 2005 following
widespread unrest in Iran's Kurdish areas. Adnan Hassanpour
had reportedly been tried for offences supposedly arising
from articles published in the journal. Hiwa Butimar heads
an environmental organization called The Green Mountain
Society, and has also reportedly written articles for Aso.
The Iranian judiciary reportedly said that the two men were
not prosecuted for their work, but for taking up arms
against Iran.
Amnesty International has no information about Mansour
Tayfouri.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The scope of capital crimes in Iran remains extraordinarily
large and includes vaguely worded charges, such as "enmity
against God" (moharebeh ba Khoda) and "being corrupt on
earth" (mofsed fil arz), which refer, inter alia, to those
accused of using firearms against the state or carrying out
acts of robbery and to those who are considered to be
carrying out espionage against the government. These crimes
are regarded as crimes against God and as such are not
subject to pardon. Offenses for which judges have
discretionary powers to impose the death penalty include
those relating to national security offenses.
Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party states:
"In countries which have not abolished the death penalty,
sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious
crimes..." The UN Human Rights Committee, the independent
body that reviews states' implementation of this treaty has
stated: "The Committee is of the opinion that the
expression 'most serious crimes' must be read restrictively
to mean that the death penalty should be a quite exceptional
measure."
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- urging the authorities to commute Adnan Hassanpour's death
sentence immediately;
- welcoming the review of Abdolwahed (Hiwa) Butimar's case;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to
bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but
stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty,
as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and
violation of the right to life;
- asking for full details of the charges and evidence
against Adnan Hassanpour and expressing concern that his
trial may not have met international standards for fair
trial, which are especially important in capital cases;
- asking the authorities for information on the detention of
Kurdish journalist Mansour Tayfouri, including any charges
and evidence brought against him and of any trial
proceedings, and calling for him to be released unless he is
to be charged with a recognizably criminal offense and given
a prompt and fair trial;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that none of the
three men is tortured or ill-treated.
APPEALS TO:
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Panzdah Khordad (Ark) Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying, if the called
is answered, say "fax please")
Email: info at dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line:
FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 011 98 21 6 649 5880
Email: dr-ahmadinejad at president.ir
via website: http://www.president.ir/email/
Governor of Kordestan
Governor Esmail Najjar
Email: Use the feedback form on the website:
http://en.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?TabID=59
Iran does not presently have an embassy in the United
States. Instead, please send copies to:
Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Fax: 1 202 965 1073
Email: requests at daftar.org
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the AIUSA Urgent
Action office if sending appeals after 25 December 2007.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax: 202.675.8566
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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