Ako Kurdnasab

Who is Ako Kurdnasab?

Ako Kurdnasab is a Kurdish journalist for the weekly Kurdish journal Krafto. Krafto, which is based in Sanandaj, the capital of the Kurdistan province of Iran, was closed by the authorities last year.

Kurdnasab was arrested in a polling station in December 2006 while covering municipal elections. Reporters Without Borders and other organizations condemned his arrest.

Kurdnasab was released on bail on January 3, 2007 but re-arrested on July 23, 2007, because he expressed support for imprisoned journalists Adnan Hassanpour and Abdolwahed Butimar. On September 10, 2007, Kurdnasab was charged with "espionage," "actions against national security," and "attempts to overthrow the government by means of journalistic activities." He was sentenced to three years in prison. His sentence was reduced to six months in prison on November 13, 2007, after an appeals court overturned the espionage charge but confirmed the charge of “trying to overthrow the government by means of journalistic activities.” “We welcome the quashing of Kurdnasab’s espionage conviction but the fact remains that a journalist should not be imprisoned for what he writes and we therefore call for the entire conviction to be overturned and for him to be released unconditionally,” Reporters Without Borders said. The European Union also called for Kurdnasab's release.