Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand (, born on 23 March 1963) is an Iranian

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

activist and journalist born in

Divandarreh Divandarreh ( fa, ديواندره, Kurdish: Dîwandere – دیوانده‌ره‌, also Romanized as Dīvāndarreh, Dīvān Darreh, Dīvan Darra, and Dīwān Darreh) is a city and capital of Divandarreh County, Kurdistan Province, Iran. At ...

. He was the editor of ''Payam-e Mardom''. He is also the founder of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (''Rêxistina Mafê Mirovan li Kurdistanê'' in

). Founded in 2005, the organization is a politically and religiously independent body. It has offices in Tehran and Kurdistan province. According to

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran The Center for Human Rights in Iran (formerly the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran; ICHRI) is an American non-government organization that aims to promote human rights in Iran. The group started in late 2007 when several human right ...

, he has been in custody since June 2007, and is serving an 11-year prison term. Kaboudvand was kept in solitary confinement for 5 months in Evin Prison’s Sections 209 and 240. The

Kurdish Human Rights Project The Kurdish Human Rights Project is the only non-partisan human rights organisation consistently working in the Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Syria and elsewhere. It is a registered charity, founded and based in London in 1992, and its su ...

has reported that he is being held "without adequate medical care despite reportedly suffering from serious health problems."http://www.khrp.org/content/view/422/2/ In April 2008, he suffered a stroke and was taken to a specialist to receive treatment. In October, 2008, his 11-year prison sentence was upheld by an Iranian appeals court. Kaboudavand documented and reported on human rights violations in Iran’s Kurdish areas, from April 9, 2005, when he established HROK, until the time of his arrest. Charges he was convicted of are “acting against national security through founding of HROK,” “widespread propaganda against the state by disseminating news,” “opposing Islamic penal laws by publicizing punishments such as stoning and executions,” and “advocating on behalf of political prisoners.”Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand
26 January 2009. accessed 10 May 2011 Kaboudavand was a highlighted writer for the 2008 observances of the

Day of the Imprisoned Writer The Day of the Imprisoned Writer is an annual, international day intended to recognize and support writers who resist repression of the basic human right to freedom of expression and who stand up to attacks made against their right to impart inf ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

designated him a prisoner of conscience, "held solely for his human rights work and the peaceful expression of his views". In January 2012, Kaboudavand's son Pejman became seriously ill with an undiagnosed kidney condition. Despite repeated requests, Kaboudavand was allowed only one two-hour visit to his son's hospital room in February. On 26 May 2012, Kaboudavand began a hunger strike to protest the refusal of authorities to allow him to visit Pejman more regularly. As of 11 July, the hunger strike had lasted nearly two months, raising concerns for his health.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaboudvand, Mohammad Sadiq Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Iran Iranian activists Iranian journalists Living people Kurdish journalists Iranian prisoners and detainees People convicted of spreading propaganda against the system by the Islamic Republic of Iran People convicted of action against national security by the Islamic Republic of Iran 1963 births