Death for Adnan Hassanpour

Adnan Hassanpour, 25, was sentenced to death by a revolutionary court in Marivan, Iranian Kurdistan, on 16 July 2007 after he was found guilty of “subversive activities against national security, “espionage” and “separatist propaganda”. His death sentence was confirmed by the Tehran Supreme Court on 22 November.

Adnan Hassanpour, who is a fervent activist for Kurdish cultural rights, was arrested outside his home on 25 January 2007, and imprisoned in Mahabad jail, where he has been denied the right to receive visits from his family or his lawyer.

The journalist has already twice been on hunger strike in prison in protest at the harsh conditions.

He worked for the weekly Asou, until it was banned by the ministry of culture and Islamic orientation in August 2005. He wrote for it about the Kurdish issue, a highly-sensitive subject in Iran. He also contributed to foreign media, including Voice of America and Radio Farda, broadcasting to Iran in Persian.

Nearly 300 people have been executed in Iran since the start of the year, according to several non-governmental human rights organisations.

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