Iranian political prisoner Habibollah Golparipour says security forces took him "to the verge of death with physical and psychological torture."
The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that Golparipour, a Kurdish political prisoner sentenced to death in Iran, wrote a letter before his recent transfer from Oroumiyeh Prison to Semnan.
It’s not clear why the transfer has been made, and rights groups are concerned it may signal his imminent execution.
Golparipour’s father has reportedly travelled to Semnan to visit his son, but prison authorities merely confirmed the transfer of his son and told him that he will not have any visitation rights until after Norooz and the New Year celebrations.
Golparipour’s fellow inmates reported that he was beaten and insulted during the transfer from Oroumiyeh Prison.
Golparipour’s letter indicates that he has resorted to letter-writing because he has “lost all legal oaths to obtain my rights.”
He rejects the death sentence handed to him and says the Islamic Republic equates “the promotion and defence of a national identity as war against the Islamic system.”
Golparipour writes that his death sentence was issued within five minutes during his “sham” trial, which violates even the provisions of the Iranian constitution.
He goes on to say that he has made official complaints to various government bodies for the “long-term arrests and physical and psychological torture that have taken me to the verge of death” but admits that his voice has not traveled beyond the prison bars.
He adds: “Currently my national identity as a Kurd and my freedom-seeking ideas are considered as corruption on earth, and all my efforts in that direction are interpreted as enmity with God, and this is overt discrimination and open injustice.”
He ends his letter urging human rights groups to assist him in any way possible.
Habibollah Golparipour was arrested in September of 2009 on his way from Mahabad to Oroumiyeh. The Revolutionary Guards intelligence agents found that he was carrying a series of books, which prompted his arrest and the ensuing months of torture. In March of 2010, he was charged with membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), the militant Kurdish group, and sentenced to death.
His appeal has been turned down, and the Supreme Court has approved his death sentence.
Golparipour has reportedly denied any involvement in armed combat, and the only evidence against him is the possession of that set of books.
