Iraqi Kurds codemn the deaths of five Kurdish activists in Iran

By Mihemed Eli Zalla
11/05/2010


Iraqi Kurds gathered in the capital of the semiautnomous Kurdistan region, Erbil, to mourn and condemn the deaths of five Kurdish activists by the Islamic republic of Iran.

The ceremony, attended by representatives from several Kurdish political parties, parliamentarians, poets and intellectuals, as well as families and friends of the five activists, started with singing Kurdish national anthem and reading few poems.

Hazha Ehmed, Kurdistan Parliament member, extended her condolence to the attendants and the whole Kurdish people.

“Farzad [one of the five executed] was studying English while in prison, when they relocated him from his first prison to Evin they took his books away” said a co-prisoner of Farzad “he was always asking for a dictionary but under different justifications never was given one”.

Iraqi Kurdish writer Dr. Farhad Pirbal also gave a speech sharing some of his own memories with the attendants.

“When we were young we were taken to prisons and often our friends were executed for simple things such as listening to Shivan Perwer [a Kurdish Singer], this event reminds me of Saddam” said Dr. Pirbal.

Dr. Pirbal then reached for a Kurdistan flag and said “Today, I’m standing under Kurdistan flag; Iran should learn a lesson from Saddam”.

People want to speak ,write and read in their language. Execution cannot suppress them, said Dr. Pirbal appealing to the international community "to prevent those countries in which Kurdish people live in, from having nuclear weapons. We have a bad memory with WMDs”.

The ceremony ended with freeing four doves into the sky, and marching to the Tehran Street.

Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydarian, Farhad Vakili, Shirin Alam Hooli

Kurdish political activists, and Mehdi Eslamian, a Persian political activist,
were all executed on the 9th of May, at Evin prison- Tehran.

Alliance for Kurdish Rights says “ Following these executions,

15 Kurdish political prisoners remain on death row in Iran: Zeinab Jalalian, Habibollah Latifi, Shirkou Maarefi, Jamal Mohammadi, Sami Hosseini, Rostam Arkia, Rashid Akhkandi, Hossein Khazri, Mostafa Salimi, Anvar Rostami, Mohammad Amin Agoushi, Iraj Mohammadi, Ahmad Pouladkhani, Hasan Talei and Habibollah Golpalipour”

http://www.hrtribune.net/View.aspx?id=205