Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand

On Sunday July 1st 2007, Iranian authorities once again arrested Kurdish human rights activist and journalist Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand.

Currently he is in Evin prison. He was taken from his home in Tehran along with many of his belongings in particular his work for the human rights’ cause. No reason has been announced for his arrest and there are no indications of a trial or a release date. His lawyers as well as his family have been kept from contacting him.

In October 2005 Mr. Muhammad Sadiq Kaboudvand was sentenced to one year in prison, along with a five-year ban on his journalistic activity and a ban on the publication of the weekly “Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdistan by the Sannandaj Criminal Court ”

As a journalist, Kaboudvand staunchly defended cultural, social, and political rights of the Kurds in “Payam-e Mardom.” Laying the foundation for the first institution for the defense of human rights (the Organization for the Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan) was a more serious step toward the establishment of civil society and the defense of the rights of Kurdish citizens in Iran.

We are concerned with Kaboudvand’s health, particularly his lung condition. Certainly, his illness will be aggravated by the unhealthy and enclosed space of prison.

Sincerely

Azad Moradian
Chair of Kurdish-American Committee for Democracy in Iran
Los Angeles, California,USA
+1 818.434.9692