Statement of the Campaign to Save Houshmand Alipour:
Join us to stop death penalty in Iran
HoushmandAlipour is a political activist who has been in prison in Iran since 2018. He has been tortured and sentenced to execution. The family of Houshmand has launched a campaign (Campaign to Save HoushmandAlipour) and has called on all concerned organisations and individuals to join this campaign to save their son and also to put an end to the death penalty in Iran. Amnesty International has also launched an urgent action for HushmandAlipour. Please read the attached letter at the end to learn more about Houshmand and his situation.
The Islamic regime in Iran has executed tens of thousands of political prisoners since they hijacked the revolution in 1979. Moreover, tens of thousands of ‘none political prisoners’ who were arrested for drug-related and other offenses were executed; hundreds are currently awaiting execution.
During the recent protests in Iran in November 2019, thousands of people were arrested; many of the detainees are in danger of being executed. The regime has announced the death sentence for three of the detainees in the city of Ahvaz in Iran. Their names are Ali Khosraji, HosseinSeylavi, and NaserKhafaji.
Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) and the International Committee Against Execution (ICAE) support the Campaign to Save HoushmandAlipour and invite you all to join us in London, The Hague, Stockholm, and Toronto to save Houshmand’s life.
We ask you and your organisation to send a letter to the Islamic regime to demand the overturn of the execution sentence of HoushmanAlipour and all other execution sentences. We ask you to join us to put and to the death penalty in Iran.
Join us in the following cities:
London-UK
Time: Sunday 2nd Feb 1:00- 3:00
Location: Embassy of The Islamic Republic of Iran
16 Princes Gate, Knightsbridge,
London SW7 1PT
The Hague- Netherlands
Time: Tuesday 4th Feb
Location: The Hague,HetPleintegenover de TweedeKamer
Toronto, Canada
Time: Sunday 2nd Feb
Location: Mel Lastman Square
Stockholm –Sweden
Time: Sunday 2nd Feb 2:00
Location: Sergelstorg
About HoushmandAlipour’s case:
On 3 August 2018, two political activists named HoushmandAlipour and Mohammad OstadQader were arrested near the city of Saqez in the province of Kurdistan in Iran. After being detained, they were transferred to several prisons including a prison in the city of Baneh, the prison of Ettela'at (Intelligent Service) in the city of Sanandaj and the Central Prison of Saqez. These two prisoners did not have the right to contact their families and choose a lawyer for 3 months.
Four days after their arrest, on August 7th 2018, a program was broadcasted on state TV in which the two political activists ‘confessed’ to the charge of “attacking a security base in the city of Saqez”. This confession was taken under torture. On September 2018, Amnesty International in a statement expressed their deep concerns regarding the arrest of these two prisoners and the televised confessions.
The trial was held on 31 October 2019. Following the trial on 29 December 2019, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj sentenced HoushmandAlipour to death and Mohammad OstadQader to 5-years in prison. Although the Intelligence Service (Ettela'at) confirmed that Houshamand and Mohamad’s activities were political and did not cause any harm to others, they still sentenced Houshmand to death.
About Houshamand and his family
HoushmandAlipour was born into a large family, in 1993 in Sardasht city with a twin sister. Houshmand's hard working parents tried hard to make a good living for their eleven children. Houshmand who witnessed the Islamic Republic's insulting and abusive behavior to his family, felt a great deal of anger toward the injustice. He was arrested, when he was only 16, during the Iranian new year celebration of ‘CharshanbehSouri’ in 2010 in the city of Sardasht. Houshamand told his family that: “The agents of the government attacked us by tear gas, batons and pepper sprays. I fell on the ground while they were battering me. Then, I was arrested and taken by a car to the intelligence detention centre blindfolded and handcuffed. They brutally beat me again and called me with the worst insults. They were taking my fingerprint on some papers by force while I was blindfolded and unaware of the content of the papers. They were making me confess under pressure.” Houshmand was sentenced to 4 years in prison and 75 lashes. Since he was under 18, he was kept in the Youth Detention Centre of Urumieh prison and then he was transferred to the ward 1 of the same prison. The flogging sentence was also executed on him.
After being released from prison, he was repeatedly summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence of the Islamic regime and was questioned regarding the activities of his family members. Therefore, he decided to flee the country and escape to Iraq. He stayed in Iraqi Kurdistan for about 4 years and helped people fight ISIS and was injured several times. After a while, he went to Turkey and applied for refugee status like many other members of his family. He has a case in UNHCR-Turkey. Then, he returned to Iraq and, eventually, while he was pursuing his activities of raising political awareness in Kurdistan-Iran, he got arrested with Mohammad OstadQader.
HoshmandAlipour was born into a family which was constantly harassed and threatened by the authorities since the Islamic regime took power 40 years ago. MostafaAlipour, Hoshmand’s father, is a well-known activist in the city of Sardasht. He was repeatedly harassed and persecuted by the security forces of the Islamic regime for his work in defending freedom. He was even sentenced to several years in prison and a fine. He eventually had to flee Iran. Houshmand’s father said “Our family suffered in the hands of the Islamic regime for many years. They never left us in peace.” Hoshmand’s mother, AminehMoloudian, has suffered greatly under the threats and pressure of the regime. Houshamnd’s uncle, HosseinAlipour, was executed in 1983 by the Islamic regime. One of Houshamand’s close families, Mohammad Mola Ali Bejzhvee, was assassinated by the agents of the Islamic regime in Iraqi Kurdistan in 1985. Most of Houshmand’s family members have fled Iran due to the fear of prosecution by the government.
The death penalty sentence issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj for Houshmand is out of proportion to his ‘crime’ even by the standard of the Islamic regime’s absurd judicial system. Houshmand’s death penalty sentence is in fact given to him in order to take revenge on Houshamand’s brave family. The Islamic regime has destroyed Houshmand’s dreams.
We must not allow Islamic Regime to take his life. We urge all freedom lover, activists and organizations who fight for freedom and human rights to take actions to save Houshmand's life and return him to his loving parents and siblings.
CampaigntoSaveHoushmandAlipour
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