Fifteen years after the secret execution of Farzad Kamangar—a teacher and human rights activist—and four other political prisoners named Ali Heydarian, Shirin Alam-Houli, Farhad Vakili, and Mehdi Eslamian, there is still no information about their remains or place of burial. They were hanged on May 9, 2010, in Evin Prison in Tehran.
The judiciary and security agencies of Iran’s regime have prevented the return of these five executed political prisoners’ bodies to their families and have refused to disclose their burial locations.
Over the past four decades, Iran’s regime has repeatedly violated the fundamental rights of families of those killed or executed for political reasons by withholding the bodies and refusing to return them to their loved ones.
Forced disappearance constitutes a violation of Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms that “Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.”
Arrest and Execution
Kamangar, Heydarian, Alam-Houli, Vakili, and Eslamian were arrested by the security forces of Iran’s regime between August 2006 and May 2010. After months of physical and psychological torture, they were sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court in three separate cases.
On May 9, 2010, they were hanged in a secret execution in the parking area of Evin Prison without due process and without informing their lawyers or families.
The issuance and execution of the death sentences for these five political prisoners triggered a wave of domestic and international protests. Kamangar’s lawyer accused Iran’s regime judiciary of lacking independence and acting politically in handling his client’s case, stating: “The court did not hear the arguments, and my client is innocent.”
Human rights organizations have repeatedly declared that the legal proceedings in these cases were rife with clear violations, including unlawful arrest, prolonged solitary confinement, lack of access to legal counsel during detention, physical and psychological torture, and numerous violations of due process.
At the time, it was reported that Kamangar, Vakili, and Heydarian were convicted as “mohareb” (enemy of God) and sentenced to death in a seven-minute trial without any chance to defend themselves.
“Free Teacher Day”
On the first anniversary of the execution of these political prisoners, several teachers’ associations in Iran commemorated the legacy of Farzad Kamangar—a teacher, union activist, and human rights defender—and, coinciding with Teacher Appreciation Week in Iran, declared May 9 as “Free Teacher Day.”
In one of his letters from prison, Kamangar described himself as a public-school teacher from the city of Kamyaran with twelve years of teaching experience. He was a board member of the Kamyaran Teachers’ Union, a member of the editorial board of the educational-cultural monthly “Ruyan,” a board member of the Kamyaran Environmental Society (ASAK), and a member of the Human Rights Activists in Iran organization (HRANA).
This passage from Kamangar’s March 2008 letter from prison has been etched into the collective memory of the Iranian people: “Remember not to turn your back on poetry, on song, and on your dreams. Teach your children to be, for their homeland, for today and the days to come, a child made of poetry and rain.”
