Sadegh Sharafkandi
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Sadegh Sharafkandi (
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 ...
: سادق شەڕەفکەندی, ''Sadiq Şerefkendî''; 11 January 1938 – 17 September 1992) was a
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 ...
political activist and the
Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
of the
Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI; ku, حیزبی دێموکراتی کوردستانی ئێران, Hîzbî Dêmukratî Kurdistanî Êran, HDKA; fa, حزب دموکرات کردستان ایران, Ḥezb-e Demokrāt-e Kordest ...
(PDKI).


Early life and education

Sharafkandi was born on 1 January 1938, in
Bukan Bukan ( fa, بوکان, translit=Bukân, ku, بۆکان, translit=Bokan) is the capital of Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. As of 2016, its population was estimated to be near 193,501 people or 56,000 families. The city is situated e ...
, West Azerbaijan,
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
. He spent two years of his elementary studies in his native village, then his family moved to
Mahabad Mahabad ( fa, مهاباد, ku, مەهاباد, translit=Mehabad), also Romanized as Mihābād and Muhābād and formerly known as Savojbolagh, is a city and capital of Mahabad County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its p ...
, where he completed his primary and secondary education. In 1959, he received his degree in chemistry at the
Institute of Higher Education An educational institution is a place where people of different ages gain an education, including preschools, childcare, primary-elementary schools, secondary-high schools, and universities. They provide a large variety of learning environments an ...
in
Teheran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most populo ...
.


Career

After graduation, up to 1965, Sharafkandi taught chemistry in the Kurdish towns of
Bukan Bukan ( fa, بوکان, translit=Bukân, ku, بۆکان, translit=Bokan) is the capital of Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. As of 2016, its population was estimated to be near 193,501 people or 56,000 families. The city is situated e ...
and Mahabad. Because of his political activities, he was transferred first to Arak, then to
Karaj Karaj ( fa, کرج, ) is the capital of Alborz Province, Iran, and effectively a satellite city of Tehran. Although the county hosts a population around 1.97 million, as recorded in the 2016 census, most of the county is rugged mountain. The urb ...
by the Shah's regime, before being appointed assistant lecturer in chemistry at the Teachers’ Higher Training College in Teheran. In 1972, he went to France to study at the University of Paris VI, where he received his Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in 1976. While studying in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1973, he met Dr.
Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou ( ku, عه‌بدولڕه‌حمان قاسملوو, translit=Ebdulrehman Qasimlû; fa, عبدالرحمان قاسملو; 22 December 1930 – 13 July 1989) was an Iranian Kurdish politician and leader. Ghassemlou was t ...
, the Secretary-general of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), and joined the Party. Upon his return to Iran, he became Ghassemlou's representative in his country. In 1976, he went back to Iran to teach at the Teachers’ Higher Training College in Teheran. After the fall of the Shah's regime in February 1979, he resigned from his position and joined the reawakening Kurdish movement, which in August became the target of a “Holy War” decreed by Ayatollah Khomeini. In February 1979, after the fall of the Shah's regime, the PDKI's activities became illegal. Dr. Sharafkandi was elected alternate member of the Central Committee and appointed as the Party's official in Teheran. During the summer of 1979, he became a permanent Party cadre and in 1980, during the following Congress, he acceded to the Political Bureau. From then onwards, up to the assassination in July 1989 in Vienna of Dr. Ghassemlou by Iranian emissaries, he was regularly re-elected and put in charge of the Party's publications. In 1986, he also took office as assistant Secretary-general of PDKI. After Ghassemlou's assassination, he temporarily took over the Party's leadership until December 1991, when he was unanimously elected Secretary-general during the IXth Congress.


Death

Sharafkandi was murdered in the
Mykonos restaurant assassinations In the Mykonos restaurant assassinations ( fa, ترور رستوران میکونوس; also the "Mykonos Incident"), Iranian-Kurdish opposition leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli, Homayoun Ardalan and their translator Nouri Dehkordi, wer ...
. On 17 September 1992, Iranian-Kurdish insurgent leaders Sadegh Sharafkandi, Fattah Abdoli,
Homayoun Ardalan Homayoun Ardalan (Kurdish: ھۆمایون ئەردەڵان, ''Homayoun Ardalan''; 2 February 1950 – 17 September 1992) was the official representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran in Germany and a member of the Central Committ ...
and their translator Nouri Dehkordi were assassinated at the Mykonos Greek restaurant in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. In the Mykonos trial, the courts found
Kazem Darabi Kazem Darabi ( fa, کاظم دارابی) (born 1964) is an Iranian intelligence service employee who was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Berlin Supreme Court for murdering four Kurdish dissidents in Berlin in 1992. According to the court pro ...
, an
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
ian national who worked as a grocer in Berlin, and Lebanese Abbas Rhayel, guilty of murder and sentenced them to life in prison. Two other Lebanese, Youssef Amin and Mohamed Atris, were convicted of being accessories to murder. In its 10 April 1997 ruling, the court issued an international arrest warrant for Iranian intelligence minister Hojjat al-Islam
Ali Fallahian Ali Fallahian ( fa, علی فلاحیان , born 23 October 1949) is an Iranian politician and cleric. He served as intelligence minister from 1989 to 1997 under the presidency of Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. Early life and education Fallahian was b ...
after declaring that the assassination had been ordered by him with knowledge of supreme leader
Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei ( fa, سید علی حسینی خامنه‌ای, ; born 19 April 1939) is a Twelver Shia ''marja and the second and current Supreme Leader of Iran, in office since 1989. He was previously the third president o ...
and president
Ayatollah Rafsanjani Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islam ...
. In a 2004 letter to Berlin mayor
Klaus Wowereit Klaus Wowereit (born 1 October 1953) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and was the Governing Mayor of Berlin from 21 October 2001 to 11 December 2014. In 2001 state elections his party won a plurality of the votes, 29 ...
,
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ( fa, محمود احمدی‌نژاد, Mahmūd Ahmadīnežād ), born Mahmoud Sabbaghian ( fa, محمود صباغیان, Mahmoud Sabbāghyān, 28 October 1956),
(the mayor of
Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
at that time) objected to the commemorative plaque in front of the restaurant, calling it an insult to Iran.Germany and Iran Embroiled in Diplomatic Spat, Deutsche Welle, 28 April 2004
/ref>


Personal life

Sharafkandi was married and had three children. Aside from Kurdish, he spoke Persian, Arabic, Azeri and French. He was also the younger brother of the renowned Kurdish historian and poet
Abdurrahman Sharafkandi Abd al-Rahman ( ar, عبد الرحمن, translit=ʿAbd al-Raḥmān or occasionally ; DMG ''ʿAbd ar-Raḥman''; also Abdul Rahman) is a male Arabic Muslim given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' ...
 (Hejar).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharafkandi, Sadegh 1938 births 1992 deaths Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan politicians Murders, Chain People murdered in Berlin Assassinated Iranian Kurdish politicians Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Iranian emigrants to Germany Iranian people murdered abroad Kurdish nationalists 1992 murders in Germany 1990s murders in Berlin