26 human rights and civil organizations have signed
the following statement on Mohammad Sedigh Kaboudvand, the founder and
president of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK) on huger strike
to demand visitation rights with his sick son:
Press Release Number 1:
Concern of the international
community of human rights activists regarding the health condition of Mohammad
Sedigh Kaboudvand
Mohammad
Sedigh Kaboudvand, the founder and president of the Human Rights Organization
of Kurdistan (HROK) and director of the banned weekly magazine, “Payame
Mardom,” contacted family members and informed them that if the authorities of
Islamic Republic would not grant him a temporary prison leave to treat his ill
child, he would continue his hunger strike indefinitely.
Due to the harsh conditions of
prison and the many months of solitary confinement, the founder of the Human
Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK) has suffered from heart diseases and a
prostate disorder and according to his lawyers and wife he has had several
heart attacks. His condition worsened to the point that in April 2008 he
suffered a stroke and was taken to a specialist for treatment. Doctors declare
that Kaboudvand must be treated immediately in a specialized hospital and heart
surgery must be performed. Furthermore, doctors say that his prostate needs
immediate attention and surgery. Despite of the professional advice given to
authorities of the Islamic Republic on this issue, they have not responded to
the demands of his lawyer, family, or doctors. The Iranian authorities are
deliberately neglecting the vital demands of Kaboudvand.
Kaboudvand has declared that as he has not
committed any crime, asking for forgiveness is illogical.
Imprisonment, physical and psychological torture,
heart illness, prostate disorder, and a long hunger strike, have created a very
dangerous situation for the health of the founder of the Human Rights
Organization of Kurdistan (HROK). By continuing his hunger strike, another
human tragedy is inevitable.
The founder of the Human Rights Organization of
Kurdistan (HROK), a Nobel Peace prize candidate in 2011, and recipient of
numerous international awards for human rights and journalism, is not the only
ill prisoner in the prisons of Iran. Lack of medical treatment, torture, and
neglects have caused death and disability among countless prisoners. The
campaign to support Mohammad Sedigh Kaboudvand expressed its serious concern
that Iranian intelligence and prison authorities are systematically denying
proper medical care to prisoners of conscience, resulting in severe
complications and even deaths. Only within spring of this past year, four
Kurdish prisoners have died in the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In
this month alone, we can indicate the death of Mansur Radpour and Mahdi
Zaliyeh.
Unfortunately, the general neglect of prisoners’
rights and particularly the lack of medical treatment in prisons of Islamic
Republic have been implemented as torture methods to pressure political
prisoners to express regret and forgiveness for their alleged “crimes” and
their international rights as prisoners.
Members of the campaign to support Mohammad Sedigh
Kaboudvand, believes that all the activities of Mohammad Sedigh Kaboudvand have
been a part of activities by every human rights defender for the purpose of
teaching and promoting human rights and documenting human rights violations in
Kurdish region. Therefore, this campaign not only considers his imprisonment
illegal, but also, believes Iran as one of the parties of The International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), have obligation to protect the
life of prisoners.
The members of the Campaign in support of Mohammad
Sedigh Kaboudvand argue that the activities for which Kaboudvand has been
arrested – education and documentation of human rights violations in the
Kurdish area, are necessities of human rights activism. We strongly condemn the
illegal acts and inhumanity of Iranian authorities regarding Kaboudvand’s
situation.
The Campaign in support of Mohammad Sedigh
Kaboudvand would like to make an appeal to all individuals, groups, and human
rights organizations across the world to condemn the condition that Iran has
put the founder of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK) in, and to
demand that Iran release all political prisoners.
Human rights and civil organizations, signed:
1.Shirin Abadi, Noble prize Laureate
Mohammad
Sedigh Kaboudvand, the founder and president of the Human Rights Organization
of Kurdistan (HROK) and director of the banned weekly magazine, “Payame
Mardom,” contacted family members and informed them that if the authorities of
Islamic Republic would not grant him a temporary prison leave to treat his ill
child, he would continue his hunger strike indefinitely.
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