‎‎
Akam Mokri

In an exclusive interview with Negin Sheikholeslami, Kurdish journalist and member of ‎the Committee for Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan, the latest status of imprisoned ‎Kurdish activists is discussed. Sheikholeslami speaks about the arrest of numerous ‎Kurdish citizens on political charges. Below is the text of the interview: ‎

Rooz (R): Ms. Sheikholeslami, what is the latest news on Mr. Mohammad Seddigh ‎Kaboudvand, the president of the Committee for Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan? ‎

Negin Sheikholeslami (NS): About 10 months have passed since the arrest of Mr. ‎Kaboudvand. During this time, he spent about 4.5 months in solitary confinement. The ‎charges pressed against him are “acting against national security” for organizing the ‎Committee for Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan and also “propagating lies against ‎the regime.” He was scheduled to go on trial two weeks ago but that was postponed ‎because the deputy prosecutor was not available. We should not forget that the ‎prosecutor set a 150 million toman (over $150,000) bail for him several months ago, ‎which was to keep him in prison than to free him. So far the family of Mr. Kaboudvand ‎and his friends has been unable to meet the bail amount. ‎

R: Are you aware of the condition of other imprisoned Kurdish students?‎

NS: Mr. Habibollah Latifi, a student from Sanandaj who has been behind bars for a few ‎months, was transferred to Sanandaj’s central prison three months ago and is still ‎awaiting a court decision. Yaser Goli, another imprisoned student from Sanandaj also ‎continues to remain behind bars despite his family’s efforts and his severe lung illness. ‎Yaser and his mother Fatemeh Goftari are scheduled to for a trial this spring on charges ‎of “acting against national security.” Hedayat Ghazzali and Sabah Nasri are two other ‎student activists who continue to remain behind bars a year after they were arrested. ‎

R: What is the status of imprisoned women’s rights activists, Roonak Safazadeh and ‎Hana Abdi? ‎

NS: Unfortunately, with more than seven months into their arrest, Hana and Roonak ‎continue to remain in the female ward at Sanandaj prison, despite all the pressures they ‎were forced to bear. Roonak was tried once but because of the ambiguities in her case ‎there was a mistrial which led to the rescheduling for another trial. Hana Abdi has not ‎been tried either and has not even been notified of the charges against her. Interestingly, ‎the prosecutor in Roonak Safazadeh’s case insists that she is a “Mohareb” [loosely ‎translated as a “rogue,” a charge applied to armed enemies of the state carrying the ‎maximum death sentence] and has requested the judge for “maximum sentencing.” ‎

R: In Kurdish areas, a high number of ordinary citizens are behind bars for political ‎reasons as well. Do you have any accurate figures or numbers for them? ‎

NS: The number of ordinary citizens who are behind bars on political charges is high in ‎Kurdistan. Most are accused of “cooperating with groups opposing the regime.” Even in ‎Karaj’s Rajai Shahr Prison, from 50 political prisoners, 40 are Kurds, and unfortunately ‎they are in very poor conditions. There are also 15 Iraqi Kurdish citizens in Rajai Shahr ‎prison for illegally crossing the border. They were sentenced to two years imprisonment, ‎have served their term but have not been released. ‎