The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is concerned over recent reports from Iranian Kurdistan regarding the execution of 10 Kurds and the arrest of at least 26 others.
According to the opposition Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (DPIK), 10 Kurdish political prisoners accused by the regime of being DPIK supporters were executed or died under torture in late September.
Six of the prisoners, Kurdish villagers from northwestern Iran, were executed by firing squad after a year of detention in Orumiyeh prison, the group said. Three others died under torture. The tenth, a Kurdish villager identified as Rashid Abubakri, was hanged on Sept. 21, also in Orumiyeh prison. All were detained and executed on the grounds they were supporters of a banned political opposition group.
In early October, the Iranian press reported that 345 persons had been arrested in Orumiyeh district at the same time as the alleged DPIK sympathizers were executed. On October 7, 1995, the DPIK released the names of 26 Kurdish civilians it claims have been arrested over the past two months in the Orumiyeh and Salmas regions in northwestern Iran, on charges of cooperating with a banned political opposition group. Those arrested were identified as follows:
1. Asgar Darbazi, son of Omar, native of the village of Barazi.
2. Aziz Hayavani, son of Shino, native of the village of Barazi.
3. Pros Azizi, son of Hussein, native of the village of Barazi.
4. Dino Ibrahimi, son of Saleh, native of the village of Barazi.
5. Salahaddin Faghapur, son of Issa, native of the village of Barazi.
6. Ghamar Mirazai, son of Timur, native of the village of Dostan.
7. Saleh Amini, son of Khaled, native of the village of Gozek.
8. Yunes Amini, his son, born in the same village.
9. Naji Mohammadi, son of Mohammad, native of the village of Gozek.
10. Omar Mohammadi, son of Timur, native of the village of Gozek.
11. Doctor Shirvan, son of Mostafa, native of the village of Harakian.
12. Sadigh Alizadeh, son of Abubakr, native of the village of Haraklan.
13. Afshar Laal, son of Abdul Rahman, native of the village of Kalarash-Sofla.
14. Shafigh Hakkari, son of Reza, native of the village of Kalarash-Sofla.
15. Bakra Hakkari, son of Sultan, native of the village of Kalarash-Sofla.
16. Taghsim Mirzai, son of Mirza, native of the village of Tarikan.
17. Nuraddeen Taheri, son of Jahanghir, native of the village of Tarikan.
18. Farhad Zareh, son of Sayda, native of the village of Sharvani.
19. Tajaddeen Faghazadeh, son of Sadigh, native of the village of Sharvani.
20. Nasser Zareh, son of Mullah Sultan, native of the village of Sharvani.
21. Majid Husseini, son of Mullah Sayed, native of the village of Sharvani.
22. Nosrat Hassanzadeh, son of Khaled, native of the village of Sharvani.
23. Faysal Zareh, son of Tamo, native of the village of Sharvani.
24. Sadigh Majidi, son of Mamo, native of the village of Hamamlar.
25. Zaher Ahmadi, native of the village of Koran.
26. Ahmad Sultani, son of Ameh, native of the village of Islamabad.
The Foundation condemns the execution of individuals for their political beliefs, and calls on the UN Rapporteur for Human Rights to investigate these reports. The Foundation further condemns the recent round-ups of Kurdish civilians by the Iranian authorities as a clear attempt to intimidate citizens from the legitimate non-violent expression of their political beliefs.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director (exec@iran.org). FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org/.