HRANA News Agency – Farzad Kamangar, teacher and human rights activist, and 4 other political prisoners with the names of Ali Haidarian, Shirin Alamhouly, Farhad Vakili, and Mehdi Islamian, were executed in Evin prison parking in secrecy, after a flawed trial and judicial process, without informing their lawyers and families on May 9th, 2010. After 7 years from this execution, yet there is no information regarding the burial location of their bodies.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the execution of Farzad Kamangar and four other prisoners happened during an unprecedented wave of national and international protests, while according to documents in the lawsuit, the judicial process of these cases were flawed and in violation of law, including illegal arrest, long term solitary confinement, prevention from having access to lawyers after the arrest, mental and physical tortures, especially for three of them in Sanandaj and Kermanshah detention centers of intelligence, in addition to multiple cases of violation of law, in which at least three of them (Farzad Kamangar, Farhad Vakili and Ali Haidarian) did not have chance to defend themselves and were charged with Muharebeh in a 7-minute-long trial and sentenced to death.
Mr. Kamangar’s lawyer accused the judicial system of following a political biases and dependence of judiciary and stated that “the court did not hear his defenses and my client was innocent”.
Need to be mentioned, after the burial of bodies of these prisoners on May 9th, 2010, even after 7 years, the authorities are refusing to give any information about its location.
Unprecedented wave of national and international supports, flawed process of the lawsuit, outstanding character of Farzad Kamangar as a teacher, union activist and human rights activist and coincidence of these execution with Teachers’ Day led to naming of May 9th as Freedom Seeker Teachers’ Day. This action has received support from many parties, civil rights groups and activists until now.
