KURD LANGUAGE TEACHER ZARA (Zahra) MOHAMMADI MUST BE RELEASED

On 8 Jan 2022 Miss Zara Mohammadi 30 yrs old, a Kurdish language teacher, director and founder of the Nojin Sosio-Cultural Association, and a human rights activist was sentenced to five years prison in Iran.

Zara has been a volunteer Kurdish language teacher around her hometown Sanandaj in East Kurdistan for the last 11 years. Zara has introduced some valuable goals for Nojin Association, which includes the Kurds ethnic rights as part of national and international human right act. She has been openly fighting for educating Kurdish language in East Kurdistan which is occupied by Iranian government. Zara was actively involved in campaigning of the social and cultural rights of the Kurds even during COVID-19 pandemic crisis.

Zara was originally sentenced to 10 years prison by Iranian government as she was accused of “forming a group against Iranian national security”. However in last week, Iranian court reduced Zara’s sentence to five years prison. In May 2019, security forces arbitrarily arrested Zara in Sanandaj and released her on bail in December 2019 after her case received worldwide attention and support from Amnesty International. Amnesty wrote at the time that Zara was “accused of collaborating with Kurdish opposition groups and crimes related to Iranian national security for her peaceful actions. This will strengthen marginalized Kurdish community in Iran, including teaching in Kurdish language."

According to a report released by the UN Human Rights Rapporteur about Iran in July 2019, ethnic groups in Iran, including Kurds are arrested unjustifiably, imprisoned and condemned unethically for their political dissident. Nowadays human right Kurd activists are still unfairly prosecuted and executed by Iranian government behind the prison bars.

We as petitioners of this document, demand for immediate and unconditional release of Zara Mohammadi as she is a prisoner for being a human and has been fighting for a basic human right in a peaceful way. We also demand that, during Zara Mohammadi's prison time, care be taken to ensure that her fundamental human rights are safeguarded: that she is not tortured, that regular meetings with lawyers and family members are allowed, and that she also receives required medical care.

https://fb.watch/asl1nv05XC/

https://www.facebook.com/wahid.abdul.k/videos/1052223531989106

https://www.institutkurde.org/info/iran-sentences-female-activist-to-five-years-in-prison-for-teaching-kurdish-1232551987

www.kurdistanhumanrights.org

https://hengaw.net/en/news/sanandaj-kurdish-teacher-and-activist-zara-mohammadi-started-prison-sentence

https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iran/08012022

Marja Eronen    Contact the author of the petition