IRAN: KURDISH ACTIVISTS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

August 7, 2008: two Kurdish activists were condemned to death in a closed court hearing in the Iranian city of Sanandaj. The activists, Anwar Hossein Panahi and Arsalan Oliaii, both teachers, were found guilty of collaborating with organisations considered illegal by Iranian authorities. In a report released last week the human rights organisation, Amnesty International expressed concern about the increased repression of Kurdish Iranians, particularly human rights defenders. “We urge the Iranian authorities to take concrete measures to end any discrimination and associated human rights violations that Kurds, indeed all minorities in Iran, face,” Amnesty said in its report. (Sources: AKI, 07/08/2008)