Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand is an Iran
ian Kurdish
activist and journalist. He was the editor of Payam-e Mardom. He is also the founder of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (Rêxistina Mafê Mirovan li Kurdistanê in Kurdish
). Founded in 2005, the organization is a politically and religiously independent body. It has offices in Tehran and Kurdistan province.
According to International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
, he has been in custody since June 2007, and is serving an 11-year prison term. Kaboudvand was kept in solitary confinement for 5 months in Evin Prison’s Sections 209 and 240. The Kurdish Human Rights Project
has reported that he is being held "without adequate medical care despite reportedly suffering from serious health problems." In April 2008, he suffered a stroke and was taken to a specialist to receive treatment. In October, 2008, his 11-year prison sentence was upheld by an Iranian appeals court.
Kaboudavand documented and reported on human rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish areas, from April 9, 2005, when he established HROK, until the time of his arrest. Charges he was convicted of are “acting against national security through founding of HROK,” “widespread propaganda against the state by disseminating news,” “opposing Islamic penal laws by publicizing punishments such as stoning and executions,” and “advocating on behalf of political prisoners.”
Kaboudavand was a highlighted writer for the 2008 observances of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer
.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian Kurdish
Kurdish people
The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...
activist and journalist. He was the editor of Payam-e Mardom. He is also the founder of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (Rêxistina Mafê Mirovan li Kurdistanê in Kurdish
Kurdish language
Kurdish is a dialect continuum spoken by the Kurds in western Asia. It is part of the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian group of Indo-European languages....
). Founded in 2005, the organization is a politically and religiously independent body. It has offices in Tehran and Kurdistan province.
According to International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran is a non-government organization that works to bring international attention on what it views as the Iranian government’s repression of human rights and civil liberties in Iran. It is based in the United States...
, he has been in custody since June 2007, and is serving an 11-year prison term. Kaboudvand was kept in solitary confinement for 5 months in Evin Prison’s Sections 209 and 240. The Kurdish Human Rights Project
Kurdish Human Rights Project
The Kurdish Human Rights Project is the only non-partisan human rights organisation consistently working in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and elsewhere...
has reported that he is being held "without adequate medical care despite reportedly suffering from serious health problems." In April 2008, he suffered a stroke and was taken to a specialist to receive treatment. In October, 2008, his 11-year prison sentence was upheld by an Iranian appeals court.
Kaboudavand documented and reported on human rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish areas, from April 9, 2005, when he established HROK, until the time of his arrest. Charges he was convicted of are “acting against national security through founding of HROK,” “widespread propaganda against the state by disseminating news,” “opposing Islamic penal laws by publicizing punishments such as stoning and executions,” and “advocating on behalf of political prisoners.”
Kaboudavand was a highlighted writer for the 2008 observances of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer
Day of the Imprisoned Writer
The Day of the Imprisoned Writer is an annual, international day intended to recognize and support writers who resist repression of the basic human right to freedom of expression and who stand up to attacks made against their right to impart information. This day is observed each year on November 15...
.