SIAMAK POORZAND’S 11 YEARS SENTENCE CONFIRMED
TEHRAN 7 Jul. (IPS) An appeal court has confirmed the sentence delivered against Mr. Siamak Poorzand, a 71 years old journalist, condemned to eleven years of imprisonment by an earlier court, Iranian press reported Sunday.
Mr. Poorzand was abducted more than seven months ago at her sister’s
residence in Tehran and was held incognito for two months, before the religious
authorities confirmed his arrest.
He was later tried by a court at the Tehran Mehrabad Airport and condemned to, first, seven years, and then to 11 years of jail, on charges of activities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic, intelligence with foreign powers, collaboration with Iranian counter-revolutionaries, including the Monarchists and receiving 4 billions US Dollars from the Americans to be distributed among Iranian dissident journalists.
Both "No Rooz" newspaper and the student’s news agency "ISNA" quoted his office-appointed lawyer that Mr. Poorzand can still appeal, but provided he does it himself and not through lawyer.
Mr. Poorzand's case was filled with gross iregularities from the outset. For instance, he is tried in an ordinary court while the charges against him are of the order of national security and as such, must be dealt in an Islamic revolution court.
Asked to comment on the verdict, Mrs. Mehrangiz Kaar, Mr. Poorzand’s wife said she was not surprised at the sentence, since more than a month ago the conservative paper "Resalat" had reported that Mr. Poorzand had lost his appeal.
"That a newspaper like Resalat, which is close to the establishment, knew beforehand about the situation of Mr. Poorzand while his lawyer knew nothing, is a clear indication that the case is political and that the authorities have made their decision on the ageing and sick journalist.
Mrs. Kaar, herself a lawyer and human rights activist, said there are still ways for her husband to appeal and hoped that the appointed lawyer, whom she identified as Mr. Dariabeigi, would "honour his profession".
According to "ISNA", Mr. Poorzand’s lawyer has said that considering the age of the accused, he would ask for pardon form competent authorities.
In one of his last correspondence with his daughters, Mr. Poorzand had begged to do nothing to save him, saying he should be considered as a "dead man".
Mrs. Kaar was arrested in April 2000 after having taken part in a conference in Berlin, accused of propaganda against the Islamic Republic and national security and propaganda, as the meeting, attended by 16 other Iranian reformists, was denounced by Tehran as anti-Islamic by the authorities in Tehran.
Released on bail, she is now in the United States, undergoing treatment for cancer.
The arrest and trial of Mr. Poorzand was met by waves of national and international uproars, with many human rights organisations and Iranian personalities abroad urging the cleric authorities for his immediate and unconditional release. POORZAND’S SENTENCE CONFIRMED 7702