Epress.am News from Armenia
The Iranian judiciary should immediately rescind the execution order for a Kurdish student convicted after an unfair trial, Human Rights Watch said today. Several days ago authorities informed Habibollah Latifi’s lawyer that Latifi would be hanged at Sanandaj prison in Kurdistan province on the morning of December 26, 2010.
On October 23, 2007, security forces arrested Latifi, a law student at Azad University in the western Iranian province of Ilam, for his alleged activities on behalf of “anti-revolutionary” groups. After local intelligence agents detained and interrogated Latifi for more than four months, authorities transferred him to Sanandaj prison. According to several media reports, Latifi’s family and sources close to his family have alleged that intelligence agents subjected Latifi to torture during the investigation phase.
“The circumstances surrounding Latifi’s arrest, detention, and conviction strongly suggest that the Iranian authorities have violated his fundamental rights,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “As in numerous previous security cases, intelligence agents appear to have subjected Latifi to torture and a court sentenced him to death without any convincing evidence against him. The head of Iran’s judiciary should immediately rescind the execution order.”