IRAN: KURDISH ACTIVIST SENTENCED TO DEATH

March 1, 2009: an appeals court in Iran found Kurdish student, Habibolah Latifi, guilty of waging war against God (moharebeh) by cooperating with PJAK and sentenced him to death, his lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, said. The Party of Free Life of Kurdistan [PJAK] is affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK], a militant group that has waged an armed independence campaign in southeastern Turkey for years.
Latifi, 26, was detained in November 2007 and charged with taking part in an assault on the car of the prosecutor in Sanandaj. His lawyer said Latifi admitted to supporting PJAK but denied being involved in the attacks, saying he was not in Sanandaj at the time. Nikbakht said he would appeal against his client’s verdict. (Sources: IranVNC.com, 01/03/2009)