Save Adnan Hasan Pour & Hiwa Bootimar

To:  The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon,The United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, Louise Arbour, The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and The Head of the Judiciary of IRI Ayatollah Shahroudi

Adnan Hassanpour and his cousin Abdolwahed (known as Hiwa) Butimar have been
sentenced to death. Adnan Hassanpour, a Kurdish journalist and advocate of
cultural rights for Iranian Kurds, was detained on 25 January and
environmentalist Hiwa Butimar on or around 23 December 2006, both in Marivan,
Kordestan province. They were reportedly held incommunicado in a Ministry of
Intelligence facility in Marivan, and transferred to Marivan prison on 26 March.
Following his arrest Hiwa Butimar‘s home was searched by members of the
Intelligence Service, who are said to have confiscated items including Kurdish
flags, videos in Kurdish and family pictures of a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan. The
confiscated items were also reportedly used as evidence against the cousins,
who reportedly appeared before a Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj on 12 June, in
the presence of their lawyer.
Adnan Hassanpour and Hiwa Butimar were reportedly returned from Marivan prison
to an unconfirmed place of detention, possibly the detention facility run by
the Ministry of Intelligence in Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan province,
early in the morning of 15 July. On 17 July the men were told that they had
been sentenced to death on charges of espionage and Moharebeh (being at enmity
with God). If confirmed on appeal, the sentences would then have to be further
confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Adnan Hassanpour is a former member of the editorial board of the
Kurdish-Persian weekly journal Aso (Horizon), which the authorities closed down
in August 2005 following widespread unrest in Kurdish areas. Adnan Hassanpour
had reportedly been tried for offences supposedly arising from articles
published in the journal. Hiwa Butimar heads an environmental organisation
called The Green Mountain Society.

Herby we are expressing our concern that Adnan Hasan Poor and Abdol Wahd (Hiwa) Butimar may be facing imminent execution. We call on you to halt the execution. We have our unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.
Moreover we would like to express concern at reports that Adnan Hasan Poor and Abdol Wahd Butimar may have been tortured. We seek assurances that they are no longer at risk of torture or ill treatment. We also seek assurances that they will be given access to their families and to all necessary medical care, outside the detention facility if necessary.
Furthermore we seek details of the specific charges against each man and details of trails that they have faced.
We hope for your urgent attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Save Adnan Hasan Pour & Hiwa Bootimar Petition to The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon,The United Nations High Commissioner of Human Rights, Louise Arbour, The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and The Head of the Judiciary of IRI Ayatollah Shahroudi was created by and written by Salah Rahmani (salahrahmani@gmail.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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