ABC blog

Kurdish political prisoners Houshmand Alipour and Mohammad Ostadqader remain in illegal interrogation without access to a lawyer, their lawyer reports to Abdorrahman Boroumand Center (ABC).

Alipour and Ostadqader, two Peshmerga fighters affiliated with the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), were arrested by Ministry of Information operatives on August 7, 2018 on the road between Saqqaz and Bane. For over two months, they have been detained by the Ministry of Information under interrogation in solitary confinement. Their lawyer, Hossein Ahmadiniaz, reports that they have been made to give forced confessions under torture, made statements under pressure, and have yet to be granted access to a lawyer.

Lawyer Ahmadiniaz says that Alipour and Ostadqader have also been deprived of family visits. He says of his clients’ latest situation: “They’re still in solitary confinement in Ministry of Information custody. All the statements which have been obtained from them violate the seventh principle of the Islamic Republic Code of Criminal Procedure: according to this law, an accused person may remain silent until a lawyer is present. Unfortunately, given that these individuals have been tortured, this law has not been followed for them.”

Ahmadiniaz adds that the investigative judge and prosecutor in the case are furthermore not able to order the defendants out of Ministry of Information custody as they are entitled by law.

Ahmadiniaz further described obstacles to his work as a lawyer: “According to the law, lawyers are entitled to certain rights. In practice, however, they lack any sort of power. In particular, with the changes made to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the approval of Article 48, in political and security cases, only lawyers certified by the Judiciary can be present. This is contrary to the principles of fair trial, easy access to a lawyer, and the freedom to choose a lawyer.