Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand,founder and Chair of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and editor of the weekly Iranian newspaper Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdistan, released today after spending 10 years in Iran’s Evin prison.
Mohammad Kaboudvand was supposed to be freed last Tuesday from the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran, but the authorities had postponed it to Friday citing the justification that he returned to prison late by three days when he was on a temporary leave (Furlough), Farinaz Baghban Hassani, his wife told the Human Rights Network Kurdistan (KHRN).
Farinaz Hassani said “Article 134,(aggregation of fines) have not been implemented for Mr.Kaboudvand case yet. I have visited branch 56 of the appeal court of Tehran province last week. The court stated Mr.Kaboudvand case is still open on his desk.”
She continued that Mr.Kaboudvand will be freed on bail as the authorities continue to gather evidence on the his other case with 6 month imprisonment. In the past few days legal proceedings of bail have been conducted and mailed to Evin by court.
Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand, Secretary of Kurdistan Human Rights Organisation and manager of the publication Payam-e Mardom (People’s Message) arrested and imprisoned in 2007. A year later, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison by the Tehran Revolutionary Court on charges of acting against the national security by establishing the Department of Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan, and also was sentenced to one year imprisonment for propaganda against the regime by communication and correspondence with international human rights organisations and relationship and correspondence with UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan in person and talking to the media. The sentence of 11 years has been reduced to 10 years in Tehran appeals court.
For a case related to journalism activities he was sentenced to one year of imprisonment on charges of disturbing public opinion by posting contents on the weekly Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdistan by Revolutionary and general Court of Sanandaj; he was also sentenced to a five-year ban from journalism which was reduced to 6 months after the Supreme Court rejected it.
During the past few years, despite repeated requests of this political prisoner, in accordance with the new Iranian penal code, he shall not receive more than a 10-year sentence, meaning that he will not serve the six-month sentence and Article 134 have not been implemented for Mr.Kaboudvand case.
