Two Kurdish journalists sentenced to death in Iran

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Date: 2007

Region: Middle East

Subject: Political/Economic/Social Opinion Racial/Ethnic

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