Two Kurdish journalists sentenced to death in Iran
Date: 2007
Region: Middle East
Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion
Medium: Print Journalism
Artist: Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolvahed Hiva Botimar
Confronting Bodies: Sanandaj's Tribunal of Revolution
Date of Action: July 2007
Location: Kurdistan, a province of Iran
Description of Artwork: Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolvahed Hiva Botimar were journalists known for writing articles and books on the subject of Kurdish discrimination in Iran.
The Incident: Hassanpour and Hiva were brought before a revolutionary court on charges of spying and subverting national security in articles they had written. They were also linked to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, a Kurdish rebel group. Iran is bound by a treaty with Turkey to crack down on Kurdish rebel groups.
Results of Incident: The court sentenced the journalists to be hanged as enemies of God. The execution of journalists is rare in Iran, but currently a number of journalists are being held in Iranian prisons. Both convictions were overturned in 2008 and 2009 but the journalists were then brought up on other charges: Botimar for possession and sale of military grade weapons, and Hassanpour for disclosing information on military bases. They were sentenced to 11 & 10 years in prison, respectively.
Source: Yahoo News; http://www.kurdmedia.com/article.aspx?id=15852