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In the first trial, the court sentenced Ghader Mohammadzadeh to 23 years and Mohammadamin Abdollahi to 20 years in prison. Fatemeh Mohammadimaram, Ghader Mohammadzadeh’s mother, spoke publicly for the first time after the verdict was issued. In an interview with RAHANA, the she stated that Ghader Mohammadzadeh and Amin Abdollahi are innocent, and, “As if prison was not enough, they now issue death sentences!”
The following is the interview with RAHANA:
RAHANA: How and when was your son arrested?
Fatemeh Mohammadimaram: He was arrested along with his friend Mohammadamin Abdollahi in 2005, after two of their friends reported some information to the Office of Intelligence. They were arrested in the suburbs of Bookan by Intelligence agents.
RAHANA: What happened after the arrest?
FM: They were kept in the prison of the Office of Intelligence for one month, under heavy torture and terrible conditions. They were then transferred to Mahabad (a city in West Azarbaijan province). The Mahabad court sentenced my son to 23 years and Mohammadamin Abdollahi to 20 years in prison. They were then sent to Urmia prison (Orumiyeh) in Urmia (the capital of West Azerbaijan province).
RAHANA: What is your son accused of?
FM: My son and his friend are accused of “cooperation with Kurdish parties,” “Moharebeh (waging war against God),” and “taking actions against national security.” In the second trial held for them, the court did not consider their time in prison as sufficient so they were sentenced to death.
RAHANA: What do you think of the accusations?
FM: These accusations are untrue and insubstantial. My son was kept under extreme pressures and tortured. He confessed to lies. Later he was very surprised to see the accusations in his file.
RAHANA: What legal steps have you taken to reduce the verdict?
FM: So far my son has only had a public defender. Our family struggles financially so we are not able to afford a lawyer. Also, no lawyer has accepted to take on the case.
RAHANA: So you have referred to lawyers, but they have not accepted?
FM: Yes. We contacted {…} in Bookan and {…} in Mahabad, but they did not accept my son as a client. They told us that the case is political and would not be easy. Besides, they requested at least ten million toman (about ten thousand USD) for each of them, without any guarantee of winning the cases. So we are not able to give the case to them or to anyone else, since we have financial problems.
RAHANA: Are you informed on the physical and emotional state of your son?
FM: Yes. We see him every week on Wednesdays. He seems to be mentally and physically OK.
RAHANA: Have you taken any steps other than the regular legal path to reduce the verdict against your son?
FM: No, we have not done anything yet. What can we do?
RAHANA: What is your request from human rights organizations and government authorities?
FM: I ask all human rights organizations to help us in any way they can, and I desperately ask the authorities not to execute our sons. They are innocent and their mothers are waiting for their return.
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