Sara Roshan in conversation with Parinaz Hassany, wife of Mohammad Seddigh Kaboodvand
Amnesty International launched a campaign on July 11, 2012 in support of Mohammad Seddigh Kaboodvand, an Iranian activist known as the father of Kurdish human rights.
The campaign urges the people of the world to write to the leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khamenei, and the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani, as well as the head of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, Mohammad Javad Larijani, to call for the unconditional release of Mohammad Seddigh Kaboodvand so that he can receive the medical care he needs and also immediately visit his ailing son.
This prisoner of conscience has been on a hunger strike since May 26, 2012 because prison and court officials have refused to grant him a temporary leave to visit his sick son. Pejmon Kaboodvand, one of Kaboodvand’s sons, is fighting a rare blood disease and undergoing a difficult treatment. In recent months, Mohammad Seddigh Kaboudvand has been only given one chance to see his son for two and a half hours in hospital.
In recent months and weeks, several campaigns have been launched in support of this prisoner of conscience to draw the attention of various countries to the pervasive violation of human rights in Iran and the dire situation faced by Iranian prisoners.
The Need for Information and Letters of Protest
Parinaz Hassany, Mohammad Seddigh Kaboodvand’s wife, spoke briefly to Zamaneh and expressed her hopes for this global campaign, saying: “During these five or six months that we have applied for a temporary leave for my husband because of my son’s situation, we have received no response, but perhaps pressure from the public, organizations and international forums will prove effective.”
In addition to expressing concern for her husband’s health, Hassany emphasized that she has urged him to end his hunger strike, as have many of the jailed activist’s friends, but it appears that her husband is “very determined to continue with his hunger strike.”
Parinaz Hassany pointed to the poor health of both her husband and her son, saying: “We are very concerned about Mohammad Seddigh Kaboodvand’s condition. We are constantly at my son’s side and we know how he is doing, but in the case of my husband, we can visit him only once a week, every Monday, and we have no other way of knowing how he is.”
Pejmon Kaboodvand is suffering from a rare blood disease that causes blood clots. According to Hassany, his condition has not improved under the prescribed medication.
When asked what she expects from people as her husband and son are going through such difficult conditions, she said: “Because of security matters, we expect nothing from the people inside Iran. However Iranians outside Iran can help us by writing protest letters, disseminating information and supporting us.”
[translated from the original in Persian]
