May 13, 2010

HRANA – The families of the five executed prisoners returned to their homes after the Security Bureau of the Islamic Republic refused to give the bodies to their families four days after their execution.

The families were told that the government would bury the four men and one woman and would announce the place of burials in ten days. Messrs Farzad Kamangar, Mehdi Eslamian, Ali Haydarian, Farhad Vakili and Ms. Shirin Alam Houli were executed on Sunday May 9, 2010 after show trials on false charges of engaging in terrorist acts.

The families were hopeful that they would get the bodies of their loved ones for proper burials and were fully cooperating with the government.The Bureau had indicated that the bodies would be released if there were no disturbances and demonstrations in Kurdistan.

In the last few days the Security Bureau detained some family members and summoned others.The families were told that they did not have the right to hold memorial meetings or to participate in the protests.On Tuesday May 11th, the mother and sister of Shirin Alam Houli were detained and later released on bail.Yesterday there were attempts to detain the family of Farzad Kamangar in front of Evin prison.The brother of Ali Haydarian also was summoned to the Security Bureau in Sanandaj and was threatened.