Canadian resident sentenced to death in Iran

digitaljournal.com

A Canadian resident who was born in Iran, and was arrested in that country in October 2008, was sentenced to death in Tehran on Saturday.

Saeed Malekpour, 35, is a website developer who came to Canada in 2004.
The People Without Nation web site stated that, while working as a developer, Saeed designed a program that would allow clients to upload photos and web content.
This program, which included his name and information in the web file, was later used – unknown to him – as part of an adult content website.
“Because his name was the only recognizable name associated with the program, Saeed was arrested in October 2008 after returning to Iran to see his terminally ill father,” reads the information on People Without Nation. “There, he was faced with the false allegation of being responsible for the development and administration of an adult website.
“Today, the baseless charges against him include “taking action against national security by designing and moderating adult content websites;” “agitation against the regime;” “contact with foreign entities;” and “insulting the sanctity of Islam.””
In a letter to the judiciary, Malekpour relates the details of his arrest, which he says “resembled abduction” and of being beaten and forced to sign forms he was not allowed to read.
At the time he wrote the letter, written in March, he stated that 12 of his 17 months in detention had been spent in solitary confinement, and not once was he allowed to visit his lawyer.
“During this time, and particularly in the first months, I was subject to various forms of physical and psychological torture by the “Revolutionary Guards Cyber Counterattack” team. Some of the torture procedures were performed in the presence of Mr. Moussavi, the magistrate of the case,” he wrote.
“A large portion of my confession was extracted under pressure, physical and psychological torture, threats to myself and my family, and false promises of immediate release upon giving a false confession to whatever the interrogators dictated.”
He said interrogators threatened to arrest his wife and torture her in front of him, rape him with a bottle of water and pull teeth with tongs.
As well as beating him, they used electrical shocks which would temporarily paralyze him.
He said he was forced to make “confessions” which were recorded and later shown on television.
He did not learn of his father’s death, in March 16, 2009, until 40 days after, when he was allowed to call his family.
“Masoud, one of the interrogators, burst into laughter and mocked me once he saw me crying about the news of my father’s death,” he wrote. “Despite my pleas, they did not allow me to attend my father’s memorial service.”
CBC News reported that an Iranian judge told Malekpour’s lawyer the death sentence was not his decision but one made by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
“I’m shocked. I cannot even cry,” The Globe and Mail quoted his wife, Fatima Eftekhari, as saying after learning of the decision from Malekpour’s sister in Tehran on Sunday morning.
Those campaigning for his release organized a petition calling for Ottawa to appeal to the Iranian government and demand Malekpour's release, as well as a phone campaign. They have also set up a Facebook group.
More information on the case can be found on the People Without Nation web site.

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