Tonya Kaboudvand : Human Rights Activists Have Forgotten My Father |

Tonya Kaboudvand : Human Rights Activists Have Forgotten My Father

6 Jul 2010 (Medya News) – Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand , founder and president of the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison due to his human rights activities, his writings and most importantly establishing the non-governmental organization Kurdistan Human Rights Organization. He is spending four years of his 11 years prison term, and his final sentence and pardon was also rejected. On his fourth year in prison, I spoke to his daughter Tonya Kaboudvand. In an interview with Kaveh Qureshi for “Rooz” she criticizes activists and human rights defenders in his father’s neglected condition, and said: “Human rights activists and defenders have kept quite on father’s case and have forgotten him.”

From: Medya News: http://medyanews.com/english/?p=2719
Ms. Kaboudvand talks about the latest situation of your father: “My father has spent its fourth year in prison now. Unfortunately, over the past two months, the court also held its Article 18 hearing and again the court confirmed his sentence.” She says every request to meet her father has been denied by the authorities.

She also speaks of her father’s poor health conditions, for example, lung disease, hypertension and even heart disease and the authorities are not willing to speak of his physical problems.

On the rumours of commuting his sentence she praises the efforts of hes father’s legal attorney and is hopeful that the court officials might accept the appeal despite previous unsuccessful attempts.

On his convictions she explains “My father is specifically charged with acting against national security through the formation of ” Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan”. We are under the assumption that the authorities do not want my father acquitted. Yet most people with much heavier charges including “insulting the leader ” and other charges and political prisoners who have been detained are now released or at least have the possibility to be out of prison .

The treatment given to my father has only two reasons she says, “Firstly, because my father is a Kurdish activist, and secondly his activities were to improve the human rights situation in Kurdistan.”

She further claims that “My father did not support anyone political party and was not affiliated with any political organization, my father was an independent Kurdish human rights activist.”

Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan, she says, has had a difficult time to defend her father as the organization has been under strict scrutiny and its members have been frequently summoned to courts and briefly detained.

Tonya Kaboudvand says that they have tried to appeal to every government level including the Office of the President , Office of the Judiciary , the Office of Commission on Human Rights without answer, and they have done everything in their power within the Islamic Republic’s constitution to have him free.

In regards to he father’s case she states that many organizations and human right activists were outspoken about her father’s arrest and treatment initially, “however, over time my father case remained quiet and was forgotten.”