Stop torture, cruel and inhuman treatment against Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand and other human rights defenders
Paris-Geneva,May 7, 2014 - The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders,a joint FIDH-OMCT programme, has been informed about acts of torture as well ascruel and inhuman treatment against Mr. Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand, an Iranianhuman rights defender and President of the Human Rights Organisation ofKurdistan, who has been serving an 11-year prison sentence since 2007.
OnApril 17, 2014, Mr. Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand was severely beaten up,along with a large number of other prisoners of conscience, by prison guardsand security agents during an inspection of prisoners’ personal effects, andtaken away from Ward 350 of Evin prison. On May 5, he returned to Ward 350.During this period, he was initially detained in solitary confinement for threedays despite his severe injuries and need of medical care. He was then taken toEvin prison’s clinic, where he remained until May 5 because bruises and othersigns of beating up were clearly visible on his body, although all otherprisoners had returned from solitary cells by May 1.
Accordingto Mr. Kaboudvand’s family who visited him in prison on May 5, Mr. Kaboudvandsuffered three broken ribs, two broken toes of left foot, kidney bleeding, andinjuries on his left hand and back of his head. Despite his conditions, Mr.Kaboudvand has not been provided with adequate medical care. He has sufferedother ailments as well as three strokes in prison in previous years. In itsNovember 2012 session, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentiondeclared that Mr. Kaboudvand’s detention was arbitrary.
Furthermore,Mr. Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, a trade unionist and child right activist, whowas also among the prisoners beaten up and transferred to solitary confinementfor two weeks until May 1, was summoned to the Prosecutor’s Office on May 3 buthas not been returned to Ward 350 of Evin prison and his whereabouts remainunknown.
TheObservatory recalls that other human rights defenders who were beaten upand taken to solitary confinement for several days each included Messrs. AbdolfattahSoltani, Hossein Ronaghi-Maleki, Saeed Matinpour and OmidBehrouzi. They all suffered injuries and are in need of medical care.
TheObservatory strongly condemns the cruel and inhuman treatment of Messrs. Kaboudvand,Ebrahimzadeh, Soltani, Ronaghi-Maleki, Matinpour and Behrouzi by the Iranianauthorities. Furthermore, the Observatory calls on the Iranian authorities toprovide immediate and adequate medical care to these and other prisoners ofconscience, to end their cruel and inhuman treatment, and release them and all other humanrights defenders in Iran immediately and unconditionally.
For more information, please contact:
- FIDH: Arthur Manet/Audrey Couprie: +33 1 43 55 25 1
- OMCT: Delphine Reculeau: +41 22 809 49 39