Habibollah Latifi’s lawyer criticizes media

RAHANA: Saleh Nikbakht, Habibollah Latifi’s lawyer spoke out against misinformation published by the media regarding the detained Kurdish student who was to be hanged today in northwestern Iran in the city of Sanandaj.

Nikbakht told Rahana human rights website: “Some people want to politicize certain legal matters and this demeans my work and the work of my colleague, Mr. Nemat Ahmadi (Latifi’s other lawyer).”

He maintained that there are certain issued against their client but went on to add that it is in no one’s interest to hamper on the issue that the court was behind closed doors and only three minutes long.

“These things make our work more difficult,” Nikbakht stressed. He went on to add that the court was not in fact behind closed doors and the lawyers were present in court.

Nikbakht commented that with the stay of execution, Habibollah Latifi will definitely stay alive for another two months and expressed optimism that the judiciary may indeed grant Latifi a pardon.

Habibollah Latifi, the jailed Kurdish law student was to be hanged today in Sanandaj but the efforts of his lawyers and family along with widespread support from the people of the province won him a stay of execution today.

He is charged with a series of activities in Sanandaj four years ago which led to a fire. Latifi denies involvement in the incident and maintains that the confessions taken from him in prison were coerced and taken under torture.