Habibollah Latifi (Kurdish: حەبیبوللاه لەتیفی, romanized: Hebîbullah Letîfî) is a Kurdish Iranian law student at Azad University[1] and a Kurdish activist who has been charged with Moharebeh ("waging war against God") and sentenced to death by an Islamic Revolutionary Court in Iran. He is charged with committing acts of violence (a charge he denies) in cooperation with the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) in 2007.[2]
Latifi has been described as "a straight A student and an athlete who loves nature and his country's mountains."[3] He was arrested in October 2007 and sentenced to death in 2008 in a court session that lasted a few minutes and that followed four months of interrogation and torture.[4] His sentence was upheld by an appeals court in 2009.[2] His lawyer was informed on Thursday, December 22, 2010, that Latifi was scheduled to be executed on Sunday, December 26, 2010, in Sanandaj prison in Kurdistan Province, Iran.[4] His execution was halted after his lawyer requested further investigation into his case in a letter to judiciary chief Sadeq Larijani.[5] Latifi met with his family on Sunday morning.[6]
Amnesty International has asked Iran to commute Latifi's sentence. They note that he had no legal representation at his trial, which was held behind closed doors.[2] "It is clear that Habibollah Latifi did not receive a fair trial by international standards, which makes the news of his impending execution all the more abhorrent," Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa director, said.[7]
Regarding the charges against Latifi, his lawyer said, "He was not even present at Sanandaj during those times and was living a secret life at a different location. We have asked the initial court and the appeals court to look into these accusations and summon all who think Mr Latifi was present at any of these event and state have seen him during. On the other hand, we have asked the family whom have given refuge to Mr Latifi to be summoned and testify in court; which neither issue was addressed. The court has announced the reports of police officials are sufficient enough for the court to decide a ruling."[4]
In May 2011 United4Iran reported that according to several sources Latifi was suffering "from various illnesses, including an intestinal infection, heart problems, and kidney failure."[8]
Latifi's sister said, "I ask all Human Rights organizations and anyone who is able to help to come forward. But I still think what needs to be done has to be from inside the country."[4]
On September 2, 2015, it was announced that Habibollah Latifi's death sentence has been cancelled by Ali Khamenei.[9]
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References
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- ^ Kathryn Tancos (25 December 2010). "Rights groups plead for clemency ahead of execution in Iran". CNN. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ a b c "Amnesty International urges Iran to stop Kurd execution". BBC News. 25 December 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ Roya Boroumand (25 December 2010). "Iran uses the holidays to announce the imminent execution of a student". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d "We only have one day to save my brother's life". Payvand Iran News. December 25, 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ "Iran: la justice suspend la pendaison d'un militant kurde". Le Parisien. 26 December 2010. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
- ^ Hiedeh Farmani (26 December 2010). "Iran halts execution of Kurdish student: lawyer". AFP. Archived from the original on January 24, 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
- ^ Saeed Kamali Dehghan (25 December 2010). "Iran poised to execute student accused of being Kurd terrorist". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
- ^ Urgent action: Stop the Execution of Iranian-Kurdish Student Archived 2011-07-09 at the Wayback Machine| May 18, 2011]
- ^ Habibollah Latifi’s Death Sentence Stopped By Leadership’s Pardon - hra-news.org - 2 Sept. 2015