INTERNATIONAL LABOUR- IRAN:

PROTEST FARZAD KAMANGAR EXECUTION:

The following call to protest the recent execution of Iranian political prisoner Farzad Kamangar comes from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.

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Iran: Farzad Kamangar executed
Together with four other Kurdish political prisoners, Farzad Kamangar was executed, in secret, on Sunday 9 May at Evin Prison in Tehran. Kamangar, a 35-year-old teacher and member of the Teachers' Trade Association of Kurdistan, was accused of "endangering national security" and "enmity against God". He had lived with the threat of the death penalty since February 2008, when it was imposed upon him after a sham trial that lasted less than five minutes. In prison, Farzad suffered torture and psychological pressure.

Although the Iranian authorities had accepted Farzad’s appeal, the case stalled when it should have been sent to the Supreme Court for review. After further delays, Farzad's lawyer was told that his file had been lost. Despite the evident lack of independent inquiry into the allegations and the absence of a fair judicial process, Farzad has been executed.

Farzad's case is particularly troubling because of the opaque and secretive manner in which his trial was conducted, the lack of basic rights he had access to whilst in prison, and the fact that neither his family or legal representatives were informed of his execution.

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THE LETTER

Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Iranian authorities.

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I strongly condemn the execution of the Kurdish teacher trade unionist Farzad Kamangar on 9 May 2010.

Despite the evident lack of independent inquiry into the allegations, the absence of a fair judicial process, the fact that Mr Kamangar's appeal was still to be reviewed by the Supreme Court, though Mr Kamangar's lawyer had been told that the file had been lost, Mr Kamangar has still been executed. I denounce this inhumane treatment of Farzad Kamangar, and the fact that neither his family, nor his lawyer, were informed about the execution.

This brutal execution raises anxiety about the fate of other detained teacher unionists, such as Rasoul Bodaghi, Hashem Khastar, Bahman Goudarzzade and Abdolresa Ghanbari. I am also concerned about the continued detention of Mansoor Osanloo and Ebrahim Madadi, leaders of the Tehran Bus Workers' Union (Vahed Syndicate), Mohammad Olyaiefard,
lawyer for the Haft Tapeh and Tehran Bus Workers' Unions, and Ali Nejati, Chairman of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Company Workers' Syndicate.

This execution will also intensify the already pervasive climate of fear and persecution surrounding trade union activities in Iran.

I urge you to:

Investigate the legal framework of the execution of Farzad Kamangar and clarify why his file was not reviewed by the Supreme Court in accordance with national law;
Ensure, in law and practice, all guarantees of due process of law established in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the principle of presumption of innocence and elimination of torture and ill-treatment in prison;
Respect the full exercise of the right to freedom of expression and rights to association and assembly, as recommended by the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organisation;
Announce a moratorium on executions.

I look forward to hearing about your positive intervention on this very serious matter.