TRANIAN STUDENTS
STAGE PROTEST HUNGER STRIKE
Some forty Iranian students in Hamburg, West Germany, have been on a hunger strike since April 22 to protest the death sen- : tences of three young Iranians -- Bodjnourdi, Khavari, and Hekmatjoo, the Iranian Students Association in the United States reported , April 29.) ©
As an expression of solidarity and protest, Iranian students in the U.S. demonstrated the same day in front of the United Nations.
The three young men were defendants, along with sixty others, in two military courts that handed down . tong prison terms besides the three death penalties.
“"Since neither the indictment, nor the defense, nor the text. of the courts' decisions have been published, " said a press release . issued by the Iranian Students Association in the United States, "the exact nature of the charges remains unknown. The government of Iran has claimed, however, that the prisoners had plotted against the security of the state. No evidence has been so far offered to the public to prove, the charges. Rumors.of. torture of the prisoners as well as the fact that the trials were -- in direct violation of the Iranian constitution -- held secretly. and in. the absence of a jury, have cast considerable doubt on the: justice of the sentences."
~ Worldwide’ protests against the; irregular proceedings of the trials and the savage sentences have included telegrams sent to | the Iranian government by the International Association of Demo- . cratic Lawyers , a large number of members of Parliament in Britain, deputies in Italy, the Amnesty International, International Union of Students and the International Student Conference.
The Confederation of Iranian Students and affiliated organizations in the United States and Europe have issued urgent appeals for protests against the violation of the constitutional and human rights of these young victims of political repression in Iran.
-Demands for the inmediate release of the political prisoners can be addressed to the Iranian Ambassador, 3005 Massachusetts . Avenue, N.W. » Washington, D.C.
ISAAC DEUTSCHER