Iran to Execute Kurdish Activist for ‘Enmity With God’
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on May 2nd, 2011 4:42 am by HL
Iran to Execute Kurdish Activist for ‘Enmity With God’
A Kurdish man suspected of being a member of a socialist opposition party is awaiting imminent execution in Iran. Since the beginning of 2011, Iranian authorities have executed at least 135 people, 13 of whom were publicly hanged. Last year, the country conducted more executions than any other nation except China. —ARK The Guardian: Fears are growing for the fate of a political activist in Iran who is facing imminent execution after being convicted of acting against national security. Sherko Moarefi, a 31-year-old ethnic Kurd from Baneh in north-west Iran, was arrested in October 2008 on suspicion of being a member of a Kurdish opposition political party, Komala. The leftwing separatist group has been branded a terrorist organisation by Iran. Moarefi was sentenced to death after being convicted of “acting against the national security” and moharebeh (waging war against God) – vague charges that Iran has used against many political activists in recent years. … “Sherko is innocent. Enmity with God is a charge for those who have taken up arms against the regime but Moarefi has been a peaceful activist,” he [Khalil Bahramian, one of Moarefi’s lawyers] added. Read more
A Kurdish man suspected of being a member of a socialist opposition party is awaiting imminent execution in Iran.
Since the beginning of 2011, Iranian authorities have executed at least 135 people, 13 of whom were publicly hanged. Last year, the country conducted more executions than any other nation except China. —ARK
The Guardian:
Fears are growing for the fate of a political activist in Iran who is facing imminent execution after being convicted of acting against national security.
Sherko Moarefi, a 31-year-old ethnic Kurd from Baneh in north-west Iran, was arrested in October 2008 on suspicion of being a member of a Kurdish opposition political party, Komala. The leftwing separatist group has been branded a terrorist organisation by Iran.
Moarefi was sentenced to death after being convicted of “acting against the national security” and moharebeh (waging war against God) – vague charges that Iran has used against many political activists in recent years.
… “Sherko is innocent. Enmity with God is a charge for those who have taken up arms against the regime but Moarefi has been a peaceful activist,” he [Khalil Bahramian, one of Moarefi’s lawyers] added.
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Another Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Disappears
Prominent human rights lawyer Li Fangping went missing Friday as Chinese authorities released fellow attorney Teng Biao after a two-month detainment. Fangping is well known for his legal defense of Zhao Lianhai, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “disturbing social order” after organizing support for parents of children poisoned by toxic milk. —ARK The Guardian: Campaigners have warned that Chinese human rights lawyers remain under intense pressure, following the disappearance of another high-profile legal figure. Li Fangping went missing on Friday after ringing his wife to say state security agents were waiting for him – just as lawyer Teng Biao returned home after a two-month disappearance. The US had singled out Teng’s treatment and that of other missing lawyers in human rights talks the previous day. “The Chinese authorities are resorting to an old trick, the revolving-door approach – one in, one out – to create the impression that things are improving,” said Renee Xia of the Chinese Human Rights’ Defenders network. … Li’s wife told the South China Morning Post: “I believe [it] is related to his work. He has offended many people while helping the disadvantaged. I am not sure if state security officers are really the ones who have taken him away, or whether some gangsters are behind it.” Read more
Prominent human rights lawyer Li Fangping went missing Friday as Chinese authorities released fellow attorney Teng Biao after a two-month detainment.
Fangping is well known for his legal defense of Zhao Lianhai, who was sentenced to two and a half years in prison for “disturbing social order” after organizing support for parents of children poisoned by toxic milk. —ARK
The Guardian:
Campaigners have warned that Chinese human rights lawyers remain under intense pressure, following the disappearance of another high-profile legal figure.
Li Fangping went missing on Friday after ringing his wife to say state security agents were waiting for him – just as lawyer Teng Biao returned home after a two-month disappearance. The US had singled out Teng’s treatment and that of other missing lawyers in human rights talks the previous day. “The Chinese authorities are resorting to an old trick, the revolving-door approach – one in, one out – to create the impression that things are improving,” said Renee Xia of the Chinese Human Rights’ Defenders network.
… Li’s wife told the South China Morning Post: “I believe [it] is related to his work. He has offended many people while helping the disadvantaged. I am not sure if state security officers are really the ones who have taken him away, or whether some gangsters are behind it.”
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- May 1, 2011 Osama Bin Laden Is Dead (Updated)
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