CODIR :. Committee for the Defence of the Iranian People's Rights

Amnesty International today deplored the first public executions to be reported in Iran since the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi banned such executions on 30 January 2008. It also expressed great concerns about the new draft Penal Code and other measures which seek to expand the number of crimes which carry the death penalty. It called on the Iranian authorities to uphold the ban on public executions and to take concrete steps to work towards the abolition of the death penalty, instead of increasing the number of crimes punishable by death.

The ban on public executions seemed to mark the recognition on the part of Ayatollah Shahroudi that carrying out executions in public adds to the already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the penalty and can only have a dehumanizing effect on the victim and a brutalizing effect on those who witness the execution. It is therefore extremely disappointing that permission was granted for these executions to take place in public, and for pictures to be circulated by news agencies despite the express instruction by Ayatollah Shahroudi that images depicting execution victims should not be published in the media.

Amnesty International was also extremely concerned that a new draft Penal Code currently under discussion by the Majles (Iran's parliament) does not reduce the scope of the death penalty in Iran, but expands it by introducing for example the crimes of apostasy, heresy and witchcraft into the Hodoud section of the Penal Code, and specifying the death penalty for these. Hodoud are crimes against divine will for which the penalty is prescribed by Islamic law. Another bill reportedly passed on first reading at the beginning of July aiming at increasing the protection of society's moral security also makes the creation of blogs and websites promoting corruption, prostitution and apostasy capital crimes.

The Iranian authorities should progressively and significantly reduce the number of offences which may incur the death penalty, in accordance with Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and paragraph 1 of the United Nations Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, which stipulate that the death penalty, if it is to be applied at all, should be reserved for only the most serious crimes.

top

Iran: Arbitrary arrest/fear of torture or ill-treatment about Mahboubeh Karami (f), aged 40, journalist and women's rights defender and about 200 others

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/089/2008
27 June 2008

Mahboubeh Karami is currently held in the women's section of Evin Prison in Tehran. According to women's rights organization, the Campaign for Equality (http://www.change4equality.info/spip.php?article2276) Mahboubeh telephoned her mother, Sedigheh Mosa'ebi, on 25 June. She told her mother that she had been transferred from Section 209 of the Prison (run by the Ministry of Intelligence) to the women's section, and was held in a cell with about 25 other women arrested on the same day.

According to her mother, Mahboubeh Karami, a member of the Campaign for Equality, said that about 90 women had been arrested on 13 June, most of whom, like her, had nothing to do with the demonstration in Mellat Park which had been the trigger for the mass arrests, but they had been ill-treated by security officers and arrested. Some of the women had been freed, while bail sums had been set for others. Mahboubeh Karami told her mother that there had been no decision about her own case. She said that all the women arrested had been accused of "acting against national security".

In an interview carried by the Iranian website on women's issues, Feminist School, dated 21 June, Sedigheh Mosa'ebi said that her daughter had called her twice since her arrest. The first time, Mahboubeh Karami had enquired about an operation her mother had undergone; the second time, she had said that she was being interrogated about her activities on behalf of the Campaign for Equality. Sedigheh Mosa'ebi went to Evin Prison to try to find out news about her daughter, and was eventually told that she was being held in Section 209.

Those demonstrating in Mellat Park were protesting about the arrest on 11 June of Abbas Palizdar, who had accused several senior Iranian officials of financial corruption in speeches he made at universities in Hamedan and Shiraz in May. He had been involved in a parliamentary Judicial Inquiry and Review Committee that had conducted an investigation into affairs of the Judiciary. At another demonstration in Mashhad, over at least 230 people were reportedly arrested. Their fate is unknown. On 27 June, a human rights group, Human Rights Activists in Iran, reported that up to 80 women aged between 16 and 60, who had been arrested in the aftermath of the demonstration in Mellat Park, were still being held.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- noting that at least 25 women arrested on 13 June, including Mahboubeh Karami, are being held in Evin Prison;

- calling on the authorities to clarify the whereabouts of all those arrested on 13 June;
- urging the authorities to ensure that none of those arrested are tortured or otherwise ill-treated while in detention;
- calling for all those detained to be allowed immediate access to their families, lawyers of their choice and to any medical treatment they may require;
- calling for the immediate release of all those detained unless they are charged with recognisably criminal offences and brought to trial promptly and fairly.

APPEALS TO:
Head of the Judiciary in Tehran
Mr Ali Reza Avaie
Karimkhan Zand Avenue,
Sana'i Avenue, Corner of Ally 17, No 152,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: avaei@Dadgostary-tehran.ir
Salutation: Dear Mr Avaei

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)

Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
Howzeh Riassat-e Ghoveh Ghazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhuri, Tehran 1316814737, Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)
Email: fsharafi@bia-judiciary.ir (In the subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
int_aff@judiciary.ir (In the subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after

top

RIGHTS-IRAN: List Sheds Light on Death Row Children

By Omid Memarian
IPS
Jun 18, 2008; A12

UNITED NATIONS, Jun 18 (IPS) - A human rights group has published the first detailed list of juvenile offenders on Iran's death row, finding that at least 114 children under the age of 18 are awaiting the ultimate penalty.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says that two child offenders have already been executed this year, and notes that Iran's judicial system is so opaque, it is unclear whether others on the list have already been put to death.

At least one of those awaiting execution, Ahmad Noorzehi, was just 12 years old at the time of his crime.

"Iran is the only country putting child offenders to death in great numbers," Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesperson for the campaign, told IPS. "This barbaric practice is justified in the name of Islamic law, but many religious scholars have challenged it," he added.

Launched on Wednesday, the list is the result of comprehensive research by prominent Iranian human rights defender Emad Baghi. It forms part of a book he has written called "Right to Life II", which argues that such executions are not sanctioned by Islamic law as claimed by Iranian authorities.

Baghi's book compiles numerous authoritative religious sources arguing for the abolition of executions of child offenders. Copies of it have been distributed to Iranian officials in the judiciary and parliament, as well as to human rights defenders and organisations inside Iran. However, Iranian censors have not permitted the book to be published.

The campaign obtained a copy of "Right to Life II", which documents 177 death sentences for child offenders over the past decade. At least 34 executions have been carried out, another 114 are apparently pending, and the remaining offenders were pardoned.

"While the whole world is moving towards abolishing death penalty in general, Iran's increasing number of executions of minors is shameful," said Ghaemi. "They should immediately abolish it. There is much momentum in this direction both domestically and on the international front, and this is the time for Iran to act and bring its practices in line with its international commitments."

According to a report published by Human Rights Watch this year, only Iran, Sudan, China and Pakistan are known to have executed juvenile offenders since 2004. Sudan carried out two such executions in 2005, while China executed one juvenile offender in 2004 and Pakistan executed one juvenile offender in 2006. In contrast, Iran is known to have executed at least three juvenile offenders in 2004, eight in 2005, and four in 2006.

In terms of total numbers, only China carries out more executions than Iran. On a per capita basis, Iran executes more people annually than any other country. Murder, rape, armed robbery, kidnapping and drug trafficking are all punishable by death in Iran.

Two major international human rights treaties -- the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights -- forbid imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed under the age of 18. Iran has ratified both treaties.

Most of the child offenders on the list were convicted of murder. However, as Baghi's research shows, many of the sentences appear to be based on dubious confessions extracted after torture and interrogations in which they were denied access to a lawyer. Courts routinely ignore evidence presented by defendants demonstrating that they acted in self-defence, says the campaign's report.

"In every case we've looked into, there have been serious violations of Iranian law and procedure, often at more than one stage of investigation, trial, and sentencing," said Clarisa Bencomo, a children's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Division.

"I have no doubt that in many cases on this list there are children who would have been found innocent if they had adequate legal assistance and fair trials by properly trained juvenile court judges who rejected coerced confessions," she told IPS.

The execution of minors in Iran will be one of the issues raised in a forthcoming report by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the General Assembly meeting in September.

The Iranian government has not allowed the U.N. Human Rights Council's special rapporteurs to enter Iran and investigate alleged abuses. But in a joint meeting with the Council in Geneva earlier this month, four human rights organisations from inside and outside the country provided evidence on major violations in areas such as the execution of minors.

Shirin Ebadi, the 2003 Noble Peace Prize Laureate, was one of the participants; she and others urged the Iranian government to cooperate with the U.N. investigators.

Human Rights Watch has followed some of the cases on the list, as well as several of the cases of juvenile offenders executed during the last several years.

"The Iranian lawyers and activists who collected this information should be applauded, as should all the lawyers, judges and activists in Iran working to end the use of the juvenile death penalty in Iran," said Bencomo.

"But the new parliament should make it a priority to pass legislation bringing Iran into compliance with its legal obligation to end the juvenile death penalty, that legislation... should include a provision guaranteeing free legal assistance to all children charged with criminal offences," she added.

"The head of the judiciary should order a stay of execution in all capital cases involving juvenile offenders pending further review, and trial judges should exclude coerced confessions from evidence," Bencomo said. "Prosecutors should ask children charged with crimes about their treatment by police and investigate and prosecute police who commit abuses, and lawyers' associations should organise a system to provide free legal aid to all children charged with capital offences."

*Omid Memarian is World Peace Fellow at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and a regular contributor to IPS.

top

Amnesty International - Iran: Turkmen students tortured

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/072/2008
22 May 2008

Further Information on UA 24/08 (MDE 13/016/2008, 25 January 2008) Fear of torture
IRAN
Jamshid Arazpour (m), ethnic Turkmen from Gomesh Deppeh ; Haji Aman Khadivar (m), ethnic Turkmen from Chapaqli, Golestan - 82 others

Jamshid Arazpour and Haji Aman Khadivar, who were among a group of Iranians of Turkmen ethnicity detained in early January 2008, are now known to have been charged with public order offences and tried, although the outcomes of their trials are not known. Meanwhile, reports have emerged that some of those detained, including children, were tortured by security forces.

Between 200 and 300 Iranian Turkmen living in the coastal province of Golestan, near the city of Bandar-e Torkman, were arrested after the killing of an Iranian Turkmen fisherman by maritime security officers on 28 December 2007. The fisherman was one of a group fishing without a license in the Caspian Sea. The killing caused severe and widespread unrest in Turkmen areas around Bandar-e-Torkman. Government buildings and other public and private property was reportedly damaged.

Most of those detained were released without charge in January. Eighty-four people were charged with public order offences and released on bail, amounting to the equivalent of around US$3,350 for each person. Most of those arrested are thought to be fishermen, labourers and students.

The trials of the 84, including Jamshid Arazpour and Haji Aman Khadivar, were scheduled to start on 6 May. Reports from human rights defenders mention that some of the defendants did not have access to legal assistance. The outcomes of the trials are not yet known.

At least six of those detained in January, students under the age of 15, were held for between seven and 12 days by security forces. According to their testimony, they were repeatedly beaten and kicked, and they were raped with an object. Amnesty International has previously received reports of the practice of male rape by security officials using, for example, glass bottles. The students say that their feet were bound with a wire or filament and they were subjected to electric shocks. One student claimed that the torture left him deaf for several days. Other detainees were kept outside, in sub-zero temperatures, for several hours, and food was denied to some prisoners. The students claim that in order to avoid being tortured, some of the detainees accepted all that was said about their alleged activities, even if they had nothing to do with the unrest.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Turkmen of Iran number around 2.2 million (no more than 3% of the population), and speak a Turkic language. They are Sunni Muslim and live in the north-west of the country. They are allowed no education or social services in their mother tongue, though a small number of newspapers are allowed to publish in Turkmen. Turkmen cannot obtain senior positions in even local government, under discriminatory selection policies.

According to a statement made by the Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights in Turkmen Sahra, on or around 8 February, a Turkmen fisherman was injured by gunfire. On or around 5 April, maritime security forces were reported to have seized fishing equipment and other property belonging to Turkmen fishermen in various towns and villages near the Caspian Sea for reasons that are not known.

The parliamentary representative for Bandar-e Torkman, who is himself a Turkmen, has reportedly complained to parliament on three occasions about the killing of the fisherman and the subsequent mass arrests of his constituents. In one of his statements he is reported to have said that, "One cannot tell poor villagers that they should continue to live in hunger."

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, English, (or Turkmen or Turkish to the Governor of Golestan) or your own language:
- expressing concern at reports that some of those detained in January 2008 following the unrest relating to the killing of a Turkmen fisherman were tortured and that this included children;
- calling for an immediate investigation into reports of torture used against Iranians of Turkmen ethnicity, with a view to bringing the perpetrators to justice;
- calling on the authorities to review the cases of the 84 reportedly charged with public order offences in connection with the unrest following the killing of the fisherman, to ensure that none of those who were charged were so as a result of the threat of torture; and to ensure that they are tried in accordance with international fair trial standards;
-calling on the authorities to allow all those detained to be granted immediate and regular access to their families and lawyer of their choice and to be granted any medical treatment they may require;

APPEALS TO:

Governor of Golestan province
Governorate of Golestan (Ostandari-ye Ostan-e Golestan)
Gorgan, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via website: http://www.golestanstate.ir/layers.aspx?quiz=contact
Put your name in the top field and your message in the last field. Click the grey box beneath to send.
Salutation: Dear Governor

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad Square,
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228 (mark FAO Office of His Excellency Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after after 3 July 2008.

top

Amnesty International - Urgent Action appeal (MDE 13/075/2008) - Farzad Kamangar and two other Kurds at risk

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/075/2008
30 May 2008

UA 147/08 - Death penalty/ torture and ill-treatment
IRAN Farzad Kamangar (alias Siamand) (m), aged 32, teacher ]
Ali Heydariyan (m) ] from Kurdish ethnic group
Farhad Vakili (m) ]

Teacher Farzad Kamangar, a member of the Kurdish ethnic group, has been sentenced to death on charges of moharebe, or 'enmity against God', a charge levelled against those accused of taking up arms against the state. Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili may also be facing execution.

Farzad Kamangar's death sentence was passed by Branch 30 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court on 25 February, following a flawed trial in which his contact with his lawyer was limited. He was accused of being a member of the armed group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and of possession of explosives. The Court viewed these accusations as an attempt to overthrow the state, which, under Iranian law, equates to "enmity against God".

The death sentence was confirmed by a spokesperson for Iran's judiciary on 27 May. Farzad Kamangar has lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court. If the sentence is upheld and confirmed by the Head of Judiciary, he may face the death penalty within weeks.

Farzad Kamangar was arrested by Ministry of Intelligence officials along with two other ethnic Kurds, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili, in Tehran around July 2006. The two other men are believed to have been sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment, but human rights groups fear they may have also been sentenced to death.

Farzad Kamangar has been held incommunicado at a series of locations, including in the cities of Kermanshah, Sanandaj and Tehran, and has been tortured regularly, including by being beaten, flogged and electrocuted. As a result of this torture, his arms and legs have started to tremble involuntarily.

The non-governmental organization Human Rights Activists in Iran reported that the trial of Farzad Kamangar started at Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in the city of Sanandaj, but was then transferred to Tehran. He is now held in Raja'i Shahr prison in Tehran province. He has been held incommunicado throughout his detention.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Kurds, who are one of Iran's many ethnic groups, live mainly in the west and north-west of the country, in the province of Kordestan and neighbouring provinces bordering Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq. For many years, Kurdish organizations such as the Kurdistan People's Democratic Party (KDPI) and Komala have taken up arms against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Another armed group, the Kurdistan Independent Life Party (PJAK), continues to carry out armed attacks against Iranian security and government. Iran has accused foreign governments of fomenting unrest among the country's ethnic minorities.

The scope of capital crimes in Iran remains extremely broad. Those found guilty of "enmity against God" are not eligible to be pardoned. Judges have discretionary powers to impose the death penalty for certain offences, including those relating to national security.

Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party, states: "In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes..." The UN Human Rights Committee, the independent body that reviews states' implementation of this treaty has stated: "The Committee is of the opinion that the expression 'most serious crimes' must be read restrictively to mean that the death penalty should be a quite exceptional measure."

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Kurdish, English and French or your own language:
- urging the authorities to commute Farzad Kamangar's death sentence immediately;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences in proceedings that adhere to international standards for fair trial, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;
- asking for full details of the charges against Farzad Kamangar, and the two men arrested with him, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakili;
- expressing concern that his trial may not have met international standards for fair trial, which are essential in capital cases;
- calling on the authorities to grant Farzad Kamangar immediate and regular access to his family and lawyer of his choice and to be granted any medical treatment he may require;
- expressing concern at reports that Farzad Kamangar was tortured, and urging the authorities to investigate those reports fully, with those responsible being brought to justice;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that none of the three men is tortured or ill-treated.

APPEALS TO:

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after after 11 July 2008.

top

Iranian Rights Lawyer Defiant Despite Threats

By Nora Boustany
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 29, 2008; A12

Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace laureate, said yesterday that authorities in Tehran have promised to investigate death threats she received this month.

"Before, each time I was threatened and I informed them, they turned a deaf ear," she said in an interview during a visit to Washington. "This time, they came to investigate. They asked a lot of questions." She added: "No visible results yet."

Ebadi, who has gained international acclaim for her work on behalf of dissidents, women and victims of human rights abuses, is a controversial figure in Iran. She was one of the country's first female judges until fundamentalist Islamist revolutionaries took power in 1979 and limited women's roles in public life. Since then, Ebadi has worked as a lawyer and human rights advocate.

"Those who threaten me are those who oppose my opinions and hate my mentality," she said, appearing unperturbed by what she described as an intensified campaign to intimidate her in recent weeks. "I don't have a financial dispute with anyone. I always defend those whose rights have been violated pro bono."

Ebadi said she has no idea who is responsible for the death threats against her. One note left behind her office door on April 2 said "Your death is near." Another, which appeared a few days later, warned her to "watch her tongue."

Ebadi reported the incidents to police in Tehran. "It is the duty of the police to keep the security of all, and I brought this to their attention because it is up to them to provide the security of intellectuals and all Iranians." she said. Ebadi shared a letter she wrote to the police department with Iranian news outlets. Only one local newspaper carried the letter.

One case of the sort that riles her critics concerns the killing of Zahra Bani Yacoub, a 27-year-old doctor, in Hamadan, 190 miles southwest of Tehran. Six months ago, as she was speaking with her fiance in a public park, Bani Yacoub was detained by members of a volunteer militia, known as the Basij, that helps to enforce a strict interpretation of Islamic law in Iran.

She was handed over to the morals police and jailed separately from her fiance, Ebadi said. When Bani Yacoub's family went to check on her two days later, they were presented with her corpse and official explanations that she had committed suicide.

"This was just an act," Ebadi said. "At the claimed time of suicide she was talking to her brother by cellphone."

"Where in the world does someone . . . end up dead for just speaking to her fiance in a park?" she asked.

Ebadi is representing the Bani Yacoub family in a lawsuit against the director of the prison and the Basij volunteers, whose names she cannot reveal in keeping with Iranian law.

Ebadi said she did not vote in Iran's recent elections because her ballot could have served to legitimize and confirm a government overseen by clerics. But Ebadi also observed that when satellite-dish raids are carried out, residents reinstall them soon after. "No one denies that the clergy are still influential, but this also means that technology has won over censorship," she said.

top

Further Information on UA 331/07 (MDE 13/147/2007, 13 December 2007) and follow-up (MDE 13/008/2008, 17 January 2008) -Arbitrary Arrests/Fear of Torture or ill-treatment/Possible prisoners of conscience

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/008/2008
17 January 2008
IRAN 20-30 students associated with the group Students for Freedom and Equality (Daneshjouyan-e Azadi Khah va Beraber Talab), including:
Rosa 'Essa'ie, (f), student at Tehran's Amir Kabir University
Mehdi Geraylou (m), student at Tehran University
Anousheh Azadfar (f), student at Tehran University
Ilnaz Jamshidi (f), student at Free University of Central Tehran
Rouzbeh Safshekan (m), student at Tehran University
Nasim Soltan-Beigi (m), student at ‘Allameh Tabatabai University
Yaser Pir Hayati (m), student at Shahed University
Anahita Hosseini (f)
Bita Naghashiyan (f)

New names: Peyman Piran (m) ]
Behrouz Karimizadeh (m) ] student activists
Ali Kantouri (m) ]
Released: Milad Moini (m)
Younes Mir Hosseini (m)
New names: Anahita Hosseini (f)
Bita Naghashiyan (f)
And at least seven others

All the students named above have been released, except for Peyman Piran, Behrouz Karimizadeh and Ali Kantouri. Like the others, they were detained for their alleged role in demonstrations around the time of Iran's National University Students' Day, on 7 December 2007. They have been tortured, and Ali Kantouri is not receiving the medication he needs.

Peyman Piran and Behrouz Karimizadeh are believed to be in solitary confinement in section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. Peyman Piran was arrested on 4 December by plainclothes police on his way out of Tehran University. He has been flogged on the soles of his feet and ankles. Behrouz Karimizadeh was arrested on 2 December at a friend's house. During interrogation a hard object was thrust into his left ear, and he has lost the hearing in that ear. He has also been given electro-shock torture. He has been forced to "confess" on television to having links with exile groups and attempting to destabilize the country.

The two men have been accused of "acting against state security," and their bail has been set at the equivalent of US$300,000, which their families cannot pay. Behrouz Karimizadeh's family have been told that if they do not pay the bail, he will have to share a cell with common criminals, where the authorities would not be able to guarantee his safety.

Ali Kantouri was arrested on 15 January in the north-western town of Qazvin. His family were telephoned three days later and told that Ali Kantouri was in solitary confinement and under intensive interrogation in Qazvin Prison. During this interrogation his ribs were broken when he refused to be filmed "confessing" to having links with exile groups and attempting to destabilize the country.

Ali Kantouri has been moved between prisons several times: to Evin Prison on 11 March, to Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj, Tehran Province, on 18 March and finally to Ghezel Hesar Prison in Karaj, Tehran province. He suffers from asthma and a chest infection for which he was receiving medical treatment before he was arrested. In mid-March he was seen by a prison doctor but has not yet received any medication.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Student groups have been at the forefront of demands for greater human rights in Iran in recent years. Since the election of President Ahmadinejad in 2005, there have been increasing restrictions on civil society. In April 2007, Minister of Intelligence Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie publicly accused student activists and campaigners for the rights of women of being part of an "enemy conspiracy," without giving any reason.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- urging the authorities to release all students detained since December 2007 in connection with National University Students' Day who are held solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights;
- urging the authorities to promptly charge the students with recognisably criminal offences or release them;
- asking what charges have been brought against Peyman Piran, Behrouz Karimizadeh and Ali Kantouri;
- calling for an urgent, independent investigation into their alleged torture and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, and urging the authorities to protect them from further torture and other ill treatment
- calling on the authorities to ensure that they are given access to their families, legal representation and any medical attention they may require;
- reminding the authorities that confessions extracted under torture are prohibited by Article 38 of the constitution of Iran.

APPEALS TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228 (mark FAO Office of His Excellency Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
via website: www.president.ir/email
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3355 6408
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir (Please ask that your message be brought to the attention of the Article 90 Commission)

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 28 May 2008. .

top

Amnesty International - Iran: Support the Global Trade Union Action Day for imprisoned Iranian trade unionists

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/042/2008 (Public)
5 March 2008

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PUBLIC STATEMENT

AI Index: MDE 13/042/2008 (Public)
Date: 5 March 2008

Iran: Support the Global Trade Union Action Day for imprisoned Iranian trade unionists

Amnesty International joins The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) in calling for the immediate and unconditional release from prison of trade union leaders Mansour Ossanlu, President of the Tehran Bus Workers' Union, and Mahmoud Salehi, the spokesperson for the Organisational Committee to Establish Trade Unions. Both are prisoners of conscience.

Amnesty International supports the ITF's and ITUC's the Global Action Day on Thursday 6 March in solidarity with both trade union leaders.

Both men are in prison for taking part in the creation of independent trade unions and for their peaceful promotion of the right of workers to form such unions. The October 2007 confirmation of a five- year prison sentence against Mansour Ossanlu, for 'acts against national security' and 'propaganda against the system' exemplify how the Iranian judiciary uses vaguely worded, security-related laws to repress dissent and imprison human rights defenders such as Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi.

Mansour Ossanlu is the elected leader of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, a trade union founded three years ago. which was reportedly founded in 1979 but only resumed activities in 2004 after a 25-year ban. It is still not legally recognised by the current authorities. Its members have been harassed and its activities restricted. As a result of his peaceful trade union and human rights work Mansour Ossanlu has been attacked, beaten, and repeatedly arrested. He is now serving a five-year prison sentence in Evin Prison, Tehran, following an unfair trial. Despite efforts to secure adequate medical care, he remains in danger of losing his sight in one eye due to a previous beating.

Mahmoud Salehi, a former leader of the Saqez Bakers' Union, is one of a number of Kurdish trade unionists to have been imprisoned by the Iranian authorities for the pursuit of their legitimate trade union activities. In March 2007, his conviction and sentence to three years' imprisonment for 'acts against national security' in connection with a peaceful May Day rally in 2004 was reduced to one year. Mahmoud Salehi, who is serving his sentence in Kordestan province, has only one kidney and requires regular specialist treatment, which has not always been provided by the prison authorities.

The ITUC, ITF and AI remain concerned at continued violations against trade unionists in Iran. Colleagues of both men have faced harassment and arbitrary arrest, including in connection with the August 2007 Global Action Day in support of both men, while others, including Reza Dehghan, member of the Painters' Union (Sindika-ye Naqqash), have faced arrest. In November 2007, workers representatives of a sugar factory in southern Iran were arrested and later released on bail, in connection with industrial action. In January 2008, Ali Reza Hashemi, the Secretary General of the Teachers' Association, had his three-year prison sentence confirmed by the Appeal Court, in connection with peaceful demonstrations organised by teachers in 2007 demanding better pay and conditions. He is not believed to be currently detained.

Trade union rights are restricted in Iran. Government 'selection', or gozinesh panels can reject those who wish to stand for trade union bodies, in effect enabling the authorities to bar those of whom they do not approve. Trade union bodies have no independent, national representation capable of raising or defending labour concerns. In its 2008 report on states' implementation of labour-related treaties, the International Labour Organization, of which Iran is a member, expressed concern over gender discrimination in access to jobs, the Iranian authorities' long-standing failure to amend discriminatory regulations - which, among other things, allow a husband to prevent his wife from taking employment, limit women's access to employment in the judiciary.

Freedom for Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi will help independent trades unions move beyond discriminatory practices such as gozinesh and will contribute to Iranian human rights defenders' efforts towards having Iran uphold international human rights standards.

The parliamentary election in Iran in the coming weeks represents an opportunity for a review of the labour laws and to bring Iran's law and practice into conformity with the core labour standards of the International Labour Organisation.

top

IRAN Reza Daghestani (m), aged 27, Azerbaijani rights activist, student, journalist

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/040/2008
6 March 2008
UA 58/08 Fear of Torture

Azerbaijani rights activist Reza Daghestani was arrested on 21 February 2008 at his family's house in the city of Oroumiye. His house was searched and his computer, CDs, papers and books were confiscated, along with printouts of his newsletters. He is in danger of torture.

He called his family the following day to tell them he was being held in a detention centre belonging to the Ministry of Intelligence in Oroumiye. He may have been tortured to force him to provide information, as security forces searched his house a second time on 26 February and appeared to know where to find other papers and books. Reza Daghestani has had no access to a lawyer. His family, who are very religious, have been told he is accused of defamation of the Prophet. It is not clear what this accusation relates to, and there are fears that his family may have been told this so that they would withdraw their support for him. Amnesty International believes he is a prisoner of conscience held solely on account of his peaceful activities on behalf of Iranian Azerbaijanis.

His family tried to visit him on 25 February, but were not allowed. They have been told that Reza Daghestani will not be allowed to receive visits until at least 10 March.

Reza Daghestani is the editor of a student newsletter, Chamlibel, published in both Azerbaijani Turkic and Persian and he has written for several other publications. His other activities have included starting a series of Azerbaijani Turkic classes in the town of Naghadeh and establishing groups to organize peaceful demonstrations in the province of West Azerbaijan in connection with International Mother Tongue Day, 21 February.

He was a member of the committee of a campaign group called Urmu Azerbaijan Sesi, which actively supported several would-be candidates from Oroumiye who all were disqualified from standing for the Majles (parliament) elections to be held on 14 March. Urmu Azerbaijan Sesi issued a public statement objecting to the "unfair and undemocratic disqualification of its candidates". Amnesty International believes his arrest is connected to some or all of these peaceful activities.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Iranian Azerbaijanis speak a Turkic language and are mainly Shi'a Muslims. The largest minority in Iran, they live mainly in the north and north-west of the country, and in the capital, Tehran. Many Iranian Azerbaijanis demand greater cultural and linguistic rights, including implementation of their constitutional right to education in Azerbaijani Turkic. Article 15 of Iran's Constitution states that Persian is the official language of Iran and that "official documents, correspondence and texts, as well as textbooks, must be in this language and script." It adds that "the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as for teaching of their literature in schools, is allowed in addition to Persian."

A small minority want Iranian Azerbaijani provinces to break away from Iran and join with the Republic of Azerbaijan. In recent years the authorities have grown increasingly suspicious of Iran's minority communities, many of which are situated in border areas, and have accused foreign powers such as the US and UK of stirring unrest among them. Those who seek to promote Azerbaijani cultural identity and linguistic rights are often charged with vaguely worded offences such as "acting against state security by promoting pan-Turkism".

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, French, Arabic, Persian or your own language:
- calling on the authorities to release Reza Daghestani immediately and unconditionally, as Amnesty International believes he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely on account of his peaceful activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani community
- seeking assurances that Reza Daghestani is not being tortured;
- urging the authorities to allow Reza Daghestani immediate and regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice, and to any medical treatment he may require;
- reminding the authorities that the use of confessions extracted under duress is prohibited by Article 38 of the constitution of Iran.

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:     info@leader.ir
Salutation:    Your Excellency

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation:    Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax:     +98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)
Email:         info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation:     Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:     dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
    via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation:     Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax:     +98 21 3355 6408
Email:    hadadadel@majlis.ir
Salutation:     Your Excellency

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 17 April 2008

Amnesty International - Jelveh Javaheri (f), journalist and women's rights defender

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/140/2007
3 December 2007

Jelveh Javaheri, journalist and women's rights defender, was arrested on 1 December 2007 at a branch of the Revolutionary Court in the capital, Tehran. She had been summoned to report to the Court for questioning. According to other women's rights defenders, she is accused of "disturbing public opinion", "propaganda against the system" and "publication of lies" in connection with articles posted on the Internet. She is believed to be held in Ward 3 of Evin Prison in Tehran.

Amnesty International believes she is a prisoner of conscience, held solely on account of her peaceful activities in support of equal rights for women in Iran, and is calling for her immediate and unconditional release.

Jelveh Javaheri is an active member of the Campaign for Equality, which aims to collect one million signatures of Iranians for a petition demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in Iran. As well as serving on the Campaign's education committee, Jelveh Javaheri has written several articles for its website (http://www.we4change.info/). She has also written extensively on women's issues for other websites.

She was among 33 women arrested on 4 March 2007 while protesting at the trial of five women's rights activists. She was released four days later (see UA 52/07, MDE 13/021/2007, 5 March 2007, and follow-ups), and summoned to attend court on 18 December 2007 in connection with her attendance at the protest.

She was also among 25 people arrested in Khorramabad, Lorestan province, in September 2007 during an educational workshop held by the Campaign for Equality. On that occasion, she was released the same day after being questioned about the Campaign's activities. Three other activists, Reza Dolatshah, Bahman Azadi, and Khosrow Nasimpour, were released the following day, having been beaten in custody.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Repression of activists associated with the Campaign for Equality, and of other members of Iranian civil society, has intensified in recent weeks. Two women, Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi, are detained in the city of Sanandaj, Kordestan province, and have not been permitted access to families or lawyers (see UA 297/07, MDE 13/130/2007, 7 November 2007). Another Campaign for Equality activist who also edits the website, Maryam Hosseinkhah, has been detained in Evin Prison since 18 November (see UA 312/07, MDE 13/137/2007, 19 November 2007). Dr Sohrab Razzaghi, the Director of the Iranian Civil Society Organizations Training and Research Center (ICTRC), was detained between 24 October and 23 November 2007, apparently for interrogation about the activities of his organization, including the financial assistance it receives from international donors, like the Dutch non-governmental organization Hivos.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern at the arrest of Jelveh Javaheri in connection with her peaceful activities in support of equal rights for women in Iran;
- urging the authorities to release her immediately and unconditionally since she is a prisoner of conscience;
- asking the authorities to ensure that while in detention she is granted immediate and regular access to her family and lawyer of her choice and that she is protected from any form of torture or ill-treatment.

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir -- istiftaa@wilayah.org
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228 (mark FAO Office of His Excellency Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
C/o Office of the Deputy for International Affairs
Ministry of Justice,
Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad (Ark) Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 5 537 8827 (please keep trying)

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 14 January 2008 .

top

Amnesty International - Amnesty International - update of Urgent Action: Adnan Hassanpour and 'Hiwa' Boutimar

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/133/2007
13 November 2007
Further Information on UA 39/07 (MDE 13/017/2007, 16 February 2007) and follow-up (MDE 13/039/2007, 30 March 2007 and MDE 13/090/2007, 24 July 2007) - Fear of torture/ Arbitrary arrest/Death penalty
Adnan Hassanpour (m) aged 27, Kurdish journalist and cultural rights activist
Mansour Tayfouri (m), Kurdish journalist and translator
Abdolwahed Butimar known as Hiwa (m) aged 29, Kurdish activist and environmentalist

The death sentence against Iranian Kurdish journalist and cultural rights activist Adnan Hassanpour has been upheld by Branch 32 of the Supreme Court. The sentence needs to be approved by the Head of the Judiciary before it can be carried out.

The Court also overturned the death sentence against Abdolwahed (Hiwa) Butimar because of irregularities in legal procedure. His case was sent back for review to the Revolutionary Court in the city of Marivan, Kordestan province, which had initially sentenced him.

The rulings on both cases were issued on 23 October, but were not immediately made public. Saleh Nikhbakht, one of the lawyers representing Adnan Hassanpour and Hiwa Butimar, was informed of the Supreme Court’s verdict on 5 November but on 11 November told the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that the verdict has not formally been issued by the Supreme Court, and therefore not subject to implementation.

Adnan Hassanpour was detained on 25 January 2007and Hiwa Butimar on or around 23 December 2006, both in Marivan. On 17 July Adnan Hassanpour was told that he had been sentenced to death on charges including espionage and in connection with allegedly revealing the location of military sites and establishing contacts with the US foreign affairs ministry and assisting in the flight from Iran of a person wanted for questioning by the judiciary. Taken together these were considered as amounting to to the capital offence of moharebeh (being at enmity with God). The Supreme Court upheld this conclusion and therefore upheld the death sentence.

The two men began a hunger strike on 14 July and remained on it for up to 50 days, demanding improved conditions of detention, an end to their solitary confinement and their transfer from a detention centre under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence to an official prison in Marivan, to which their families would have access. They also demanded the right to have access to their lawyers whenever they wanted. Following their hunger strike, Adnan Hassanpour and Hiwa Butimar were reportedly given better access to their families and lawyers.

In April, the Mehr News Agency, which is said to have close links with Iran’s judiciary, apparently alleged that Adnan Hassanpour had been in contact with Kurdish opposition groups and had helped two people from Khuzestan province who were wanted by the authorities to flee from Iran.

Adnan Hassanpour is a former member of the editorial board of the Kurdish-Persian weekly journal Aso (Horizon), which the authorities closed down in August 2005 following widespread unrest in Iran's Kurdish areas. Adnan Hassanpour had reportedly been tried for offences supposedly arising from articles published in the journal. Hiwa Butimar heads an environmental organization called The Green Mountain Society, and has also reportedly written articles for Aso. The Iranian judiciary reportedly said that the two men were not prosecuted for their work, but for taking up arms against Iran.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The scope of capital crimes in Iran remains extraordinarily large and includes vaguely worded charges, such as "enmity against God" (moharebeh ba Khoda) and "being corrupt on earth" (mofsed fil arz), which refer, inter alia, to those accused of using firearms against the state or carrying out acts of robbery and to those who are considered to be carrying out espionage against the government. These crimes are regarded as crimes against God and as such are not subject to pardon. Offences for which judges have discretionary powers to impose the death penalty include those relating to national security offences.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Kurdish, English, French or your own language:
- urging the authorities to commute Adnan Hassanpour’s death sentence immediately;
- welcoming the review of Abdolwahed (Hiwa) Butimar’s case;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;
- asking for full details of the charges and evidence against Adnan Hassanpour and expressing concern that his trial may not have met international standards for fair trial, which are especially important in capital cases;
- asking the authorities for information on the detention of Kurdish journalist Mansour Tayfouri, including any charges and evidence brought against him and of any trial proceedings, and calling for him to be released unless he is to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and given a prompt and fair trial;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that none of the three men is tortured or ill-treated.

Governor of Kordestan
Governor Esmail Najjar Salutation: Your Excellency Email: In Persian and Kurdish, send via feedback form on the website: http://www.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?tabId=150&cv=4@0_1
In English, French or your own language, use the feedback form on the website: http://en.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?TabID=59

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 25 December 2007 .

top

Amnesty International urges immediate and unconditional release of Sohrab Razzaghi

AI Index: MDE 13/135/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 223
16 November 2007

Amnesty International today said that it had written to the Head of the Judiciary in Iran, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, urging the immediate and unconditional release of Dr Sohrab Razzaghi, the Director of Iranian Civil Society Organizations Training and Research Center (ICTRC) (Koneshgaran Davtalab) (also known as Volunteer Actors Institute), whom the organization considers to be a prisoner of conscience. Dr Razzaghi was arrested on 24 October 2007 and is held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, a section under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence.

ICTRC is a non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 2002, which provides capacity-building support for Iranian civil society organizations, promotes greater access to information, promotes enhancement of the situation of women and children in connection with the Millennium Development Goals, and seeks to raise public awareness of human rights within Iran.

In March 2007, Iranian security forces closed the offices of the ICTRC, froze its bank accounts and confiscated computer equipment and documents. They also accompanied Sohrab Razzaghi to his home, where other documents were confiscated. Since then, occasional government statements in Iran have accused NGOs and wider civil society in Iran of promoting political change through a "soft revolution" in Iran. For example, Minister of Intelligence Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie, on 10 April 2007, publicly accused the womens' movement and student campaigners of being part of an enemy conspiracy for a "soft subversion" of the government in Iran. Some newspaper articles have made similar arguments and have specifically referred to the role of Hivos as an international donor in this regard. Sohrab Razzaghi has publicly criticised the increasing restrictions placed by the government of President Ahmadinejad on civil society in Iran and has stated that he regards financial aid from legal and legitimate sources abroad as a positive measure for Iranian civil society, providing it is made on the basis of equal partnership and that the aid is given in a transparent manner.

Academics and journalists, including some with dual nationality, have been detained in 2007 and interrogated about their writings and activities, which the authorities have claimed have been intended as part of this "soft subversion". Ali Farahbakhsh, a journalist specialising in economic issues, was released in October 2007 after 11 months in detention. He had been arrested in November 2006 when he returned from a conference in Thailand, on government and the media, organised by Thai NGOs. Sentenced to three years' imprisonment after conviction of "espionage" and "receiving money from foreigners", this was reduced to 16 months on appeal and he was then granted an early conditional release. Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbaksh, Iranian academics who hold US citizenship, were both detained in May and spent several months in detention. They were accused of "acting against national security by [spreading] propaganda against the system."

Since his arrest, Sohrab Razzaghi has not been allowed to meet family members or his lawyer, although he is believed to have been permitted to telephone his family on several occasions. In a meeting with family members on 12 November 2007, the judge in charge of his case suggested that a release order allowing Sohrab Razzaghi's release on bail was likely to be issued within a week. Since his arrest, other board and staff members of the ICTRC have been summoned for questioning about the ICTRC and their roles within it, although none has yet been arrested.

top

Amnesty International - Urgent Appeal: Hana Abdi and Rounak Safarzadeh - Campaign for Equality detainees in Sanandaj

IRAN PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/130/2007
UA 297/07 Prisoners of conscience/fear of torture or other ill-treatment

Women's rights activists Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi have been detained in the city of Sanandaj, in the north-western province of Kordestan, and are believed to be held in a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility. Neither is known to have been charged. They are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Amnesty International considers them prisoners of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and association.

Both women are active members of the Campaign for Equality, which is seeking an end to legalised discrimination against women, and of the NGO Azar Mehr Women's Organization of Sanandaj, which is affiliated to the Campaign for Equality.

Ronak Safazadeh had attended a meeting on the International Day of the Child in Sanandaj on 8 October, during which she had collected signatures in support of the Campaign for Equality. The following day, men understood to be agents of the Ministry of Intelligence reportedly came to her house at 8.20am, confiscated her computer, copies of the campaign’s petition and a booklet it had produced, and detained her. After six days, her mother was permitted a brief telephone conversation with her.

In an interview with the Campaign for Equality (http://www.we4change.info/english/spip.php?article152), Ronak Safarzadeh’s sister said, "On Thursday [25 October] court proceedings were held in the case of Ronak and the authorities informed us that during these court proceedings the arrest order of Ronak was renewed for the period of one month." She also said that family members had not been allowed to attend her court hearing and that they had been told that Ronak Safarzadeh is being held in the detention facility of the Sanandaj Office of the Ministry of Intelligence, although they were not sure whether this was true. According to the Campaign for Equality, Ronak Safarzadeh’s mother was beaten by officials in the local office of the judiciary on 30 October when she went to try to find out about her daughter.

Hana Abdi is studying psychology at Payam-e Noor University in Bijar. She was arrested on 4 November by seven Ministry of Intelligence agents at her grandfather’s home in Sanandaj. The agents then searched her father’s home where they confiscated Hana Abdi’s computer and pamphlets explaining the aims of the Campaign for Equality.

The Campaign for Equality, launched in August 2006, aims to collect one million signatures from Iranians in support of an end to legalised discrimination against women. So far, 13 of its members have been arrested while collecting signatures, though this is not forbidden under Iranian law.

On 5 November, a 28 month jail sentence passed on Campaign for Equality activist Delaram Ali, 24, was upheld by an appeal court. She was reportedly one of around 70 people arrested in June 2006, following a peaceful demonstration against laws discriminating against women. Five other women activists who organised the protest were earlier this year given shorter jail terms of up to a year and suspended sentences of up to three years. She is expected to start serving the sentence immediately. In an interview, Nobel laureate and Iranian lawyer, Shirin Ebadi said: "Why should a woman who wants equal human rights be charged with acting against national security?"

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern that Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi have been detained for their peaceful activities in support of the Campaign for Equality, such as collecting signatures;
- urging the authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally, as they are a prisoners of conscience, detained solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and association;
- asking the authorities to ensure that, while they remain in custody, they are protected from torture and ill-treatment.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 18 December 2007 .

top

Iran: End Harassment of Women's Rights Defenders—Human Rights Groups Protest Imminent Imprisonment of Delaram Ali

Amnesty International (AI)
Equality Now (EN)
Federation Internationale des Droits de l'Homme (FIDH)
Front Line (FL)
Human Rights First (HRF)
Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

Seven leading international human rights organizations today demanded that the Iranian authorities immediately set aside the prison sentence against a women’s rights defender, and drop charges against others facing trial because of their peaceful activities demanding equal rights for women in Iran.

Amnesty International (AI), Equality Now (EN), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Front Line (FL), Human Rights First (HRF), Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) and World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) were reacting to news that 24 year old social worker and women’s rights defender Delaram Ali faces imminent imprisonment. In July 2007, she was sentenced to 34 months in prison and to a 10 lash flogging on charges of "participation in an illegal gathering," "propaganda against the system" and "disrupting public order and peace." These charges were brought against her after she participated in a peaceful demonstration in Tehran’s Haft Tir Square on 12 June 2006 calling for an end to discriminatory legislation against women. She was beaten by police during her arrest and had her left hand broken. At her trial, her defence lawyer was not allowed to speak and address the court in her defence.

Delaram Ali received a phone call from the authorities on 4 November 2007 in which she was told that her appeal against conviction and sentence had been completed and that she should report to the court by 10 November for the sentence to be carried out. She was warned that, if she failed to do so, she would face arrest. She was told that her prison sentence had been reduced to 30 months’ imprisonment and the flogging sentence had been commuted, but as yet, neither she nor her lawyers have received any other notification – under the law, she should be issued with the court’s written verdict.

Several other women’s rights defenders have been sentenced to prison terms in connection with the June 2006 demonstration but all are currently free awaiting the outcome of appeals. If Delaram Ali is imprisoned, she will be the first to have her sentence implemented.

The authorities have also been harassing members of the Campaign for Equality, launched shortly after the 12 June 2006 demonstration, which aims to collect a million signatures of Iranians to a petition demanding an end to legislation, which discriminates against women. More than a dozen people have been arrested while collecting signatures. Most recently, Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi, active members of the Campaign in Kordestan province, were detained on 9 October and 4 November and are currently held without charge or trial in Sanandaj, apparently by local officials from the Ministry of Intelligence.

Amnesty International, Equality Now, FIDH, Front Line, Human Rights First, Women Living Under Muslim Laws and OMCT would regard the imprisonment of Delaram Ali, solely for her peaceful actions as a defender of women’s rights, as a gross violation of her rights to freedom of expression and association. Her summons appears to be part of a deliberate campaign by the Iranian authorities to intimidate human rights activists and wider civil society in Iran, where an unprecedented crack down on peaceful dissent is underway.

In addition, the above-mentioned organisations expressed concern at the degree to which Iranian security forces who ill-treat detainees during arrest are able to act with impunity.Delaram Ali lodged a complaint against her ill-treatment during arrest, along with the others who were beaten, but in October 2007, despite the existence of photographs of the demonstration showing ill-treatment, and the medical evidence presented, the case against the police officers who had been present at the demonstration was dismissed.

Amnesty International (AI):
Nicole Choueiry
Middle East and North Africa Press Officer
+44 7831 640 170 (mobile)
+44 207 413 5511 (direct line)
email:nchoueir@amnesty.org

Equality Now (EN):
Lakshmi Anantnarayan
Communications Director in New York
tel: +1 212 586 0906
email: lanant@equalitynow.org

Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de l'Homme - International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Emmanouil Athanasiou
Programme Officer
Asian Desk
tel: +33 1 43 55 25 18
direct line: +33 1 43 55 14 07
fax: +33 1 43 55 18 80
email: eathanasiou@fidh.org

Human Rights First (HRF)
Neil Hicks
Director, Human Rights Defender Program
tel +1 212 845 5248
email: hicksn@humanrightsfirst.org

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)
Aisha Lee Shaheed
Communications and Networking Office
tel +44207 281 9203
e-mail: gaisha@wluml.org

World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
Delphine Reculeau
Programme Manager, Human Rights Defenders Programme / Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
tel: + 41 22 809 49 39
fax: + 41 22 809 49 29
email: dr@omct.org

Amnesty International - Urgent Action - relatives of prisoners killed in 1988 prison massacre arrested at commemoration in Khavaran, risk torture

IRAN UA 286/07 Fear of ill-treatment/possible prisoner of conscience
IRAN Ali Sarami (m)
Mohammad Ali Mansouri (m), aged 47
Iran, or Masoumeh, Mansouri (f), aged 22, his daughter
Nasser Sodargari (m), aged 46
Tahereh Pour-Rostam (f), aged 44, his wife
Farshid Sodargari, relative of Nasser Sodagari
Misaq Yazdanejad (m), aged 21

The seven people named above were detained by Ministry of Intelligence officials in late August and early September because they had taken part in a ceremony marking the 19th anniversary of the 1988 "prison massacres" in which thousands of political prisoners were executed. On 29 August relatives of those killed gathered at Khavaran in south Tehran, near a mass grave where some of the prisoners were buried.

They were taken to Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence and off-limits to Evin Prison officials. All are reportedly being interrogated by a man from the office of public prosecutions in Tehran.

Ali Sarami was detained by four plainclothes officials while shopping near his home in south Tehran. They took him to his home, searched his possessions and confiscated many items, including photograph albums and his laptop computer. His family made inquiries, but were told to stop or face unspecified consequences.

Mohammad Ali Mansouri was reportedly arrested on 2 September at his house, which had just been searched. His family asked about him at a branch of the Revolutionary Court and were threatened with imprisonment. On 27 October, his daughter Iran, or Masoumeh, Mansouri was called and told to collect her father’s belongings. Her brother and an uncle went but were sent back with a demand that she come in person. She went, and has been detained incommunicado since then. She had not taken part in the commemoration ceremony in Khavaran, and appears to have been detained for asking about her father, and possibly for discussing his detention in a 10 October interview with the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet. The interrogator has reportedly told the family not to speak about the case to any journalists. They have appointed human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani to represent Mohammad Ali Mansouri, but have been told to get a different lawyer.

Nasser Sodargari and his wife Tahereh Pour-Rostam both took part in the commemorations in Khavaran. Nasser Sodargari was detained at his place of work and taken to his home, which was subjected to a thorough search: possessions including photo albums and a laptop computer were taken. The couple has two teenage boys who now do not appear to have a guardian as one of them is 18, and considered to be an adult. A relative of Nasser Sodagari, Farshid Sodargari, was detained at his place of work on 9 or 10 September. He too was taken to his home which was thoroughly searched, and a variety of his possessions were removed.

Misaq Yazdanejad was arrested at home on 10 September. He reportedly needs medicine, which his mother took to Evin Prison for him, but the guards refused to accept it. Officials have sent a text message from his mobile phone to all the contacts in the phone's memory.

Footage from this year’s commemorations at Khavaran can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfinvzW4mxw and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf8FD0ZymwE

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Between 27 July 1988 and the end of that year, thousands of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, were executed in prisons nationwide. The vast majority were sentenced to death after summary trials or brief interviews. The executions were authorized at the highest level of the Iranian leadership and were supposed to tackle the perceived threat from armed opposition groups, in particular the People's Mojahedin of Iran and the Fedayan-e Khalq. Amnesty International believes these executions amount to a crime against humanity. Under international law, valid in 1988, crimes against humanity consist of widespread or systematic attacks against civilians on discriminatory, including political, grounds. Amnesty International believes that there should be no impunity for human rights violations, no matter where or when they took place. The 1988 executions should be subject to an independent impartial investigation,
and all those responsible should be brought to justice, and receive appropriate penalties. Amnesty International's report, Iran: Violations of human rights 1987-1990 (December 1990) detailed the magnitude of the 1988 prison massacres and was the basis for Amnesty International's subsequent campaigning on this issue.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- urging the authorities to ensure that those detained in connection with the 29 August Khavaran commemoration of the 1988 "prison massacres" are treated humanely, and not tortured;
- asking why they were detained, and calling on the authorities to give them immediate and regular access to their families, lawyers and any medical treatment they may require;
- expressing concern at reports that some were beaten during arrest, and urging the authorities to investigate those reports fully, and bring those responsible to justice;
- expressing concern that in almost 20 years no one has been brought to justice for the 1998 prison massacres, and urging the authorities to take action to address this.

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 14 December 2007 .

top

Amnesty International - Urgent Action - Soghra Najafpour (f) at risk of imminent execution if she comes out of hiding

IRAN UA 271/07 Death penalty/ Fear of imminent execution Soghra Najafpour (f), aged 30

Soghra Najafpour is currently believed to be in hiding. If she is taken into custody, it is believed she could face imminent execution. She was sentenced to qesas (retribution) 18 years ago for a murder committed when she may have been only 13 years old. Soghra Najafpour was released on bail on 1 October, however, when the family of the victim found out about her release, they reportedly asked for her to be re-arrested and for the execution to take place.

At the age of nine, Soghra Najafpour was sent by her family to work as a servant in a doctor's home in the northern city of Rasht. Four years later she was accused of the murder of the eight-year-old son of the family. Soghra Najafpour reportedly confessed to the murder during interrogation; soon afterwards, however, she denied that she was involved. Nevertheless she was sentenced to death, as the judge did not believe her to be innocent. At the age of 17, Soghra Najafpour was taken to be executed, but the family of the victim changed their mind at the last minute.

With the help of her new lawyer and human rights defender, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Soghra Najafpour's case went before the courts again and a new judge authorized her release on bail. However, her bail stipulated that she would have to return to prison on order of the Judiciary. Soghra Najafpour was reportedly summoned to return to prison on 22 October 2007, following the complaint made by the family of the victim, but it appears that she has gone into hiding. According to reports, the father of the victim had recently agreed to pardon Soghra, however, his wife insisted that she be executed. Failing to reach an agreement between all the blood relatives of the victim, in this case the parents, Soghra Najafpour is at risk of imminent execution should she be detained by the authorities.

On 23 October, Nasrin Sotoudeh submitted an appeal to the Supreme Court calling for a review of the case of Soghra Najafpour, but it is not known whether it will be considered acceptable for submission.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION International law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the CRC, Iran has undertaken not to execute child offenders. However, since 1990, Iran has executed at least 24 child offenders. There are fears that at least two other executions may have taken place on 17 October 200. At least 77 child offenders are currently on death row in Iran. This number may be even higher as according to yet unconfirmed reports at least a further 15 Afghan child offenders may be under death sentence. For more information about Amnesty International's concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see: Iran: The last executioner of children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007)

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- calling on the Head of the Judiciary to urge the Supreme Court to review the procedures in the case of Soghra Najafpour, including the manner of the interrogation, which led to her initial conviction;
- expressing concern that, if she were to be taken into custody, Soghra Najafpour would be at risk of execution for a crime committed when she was under 18;
- calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt any efforts to proceed with the execution of Soghra Najafpour;
- calling for the death sentence against Soghra Najafpour to be commuted;
- reminding the authorities that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which prohibit the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18, and that the execution of Soghra Najafpour would therefore be a violation of international law;
- urging the authorities to pass legislation to abolish the death penalty for offences committed by anyone under the age of 18, so as to bring Iran's domestic law into line with its obligations under international law;
- stating that Amnesty International acknowledges the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but unconditionally opposes the death penalty.

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 4 December 2007 .

top

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - Statement about Imprisonment of Emaddedin Baghi

23 August 2007

Amnesty International today again expressed its deep concern at continuing repression of human rights defenders and civil society activists in Iran which has deepened in recent months.

Imprisonment of Emaddedin Baghi
One of Iran's best known human rights defenders, Emaddedin Baghi, the head of the Association for the Defence of Prisoners Rights and leading anti-death penalty campaigner, was detained on 14 October when he attended a session before Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. His lawyers were not allowed to attend the session with him. Although bail of 50 million Iranian Touman (USD 53,619) was reportedly set for his release, when his family attempted to meet the bail, the judge apparently refused to accept it.

He was detained on the basis of a suspended sentence of one year's imprisonment handed down in 2002. It is not clear where Emaddedin Baghi is currently being held.

Emaddedin Baghi also faces other politically motivated criminal charges: in July 2007 he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, two of which related to the charge of meeting and colluding to commit offences against national security, and one year to the charge of propaganda against the system for the benefit of foreign and opposition groups. His lawyer said that the evidence against him included media interviews and letters to the authorities regarding Ahwazi Arabs sentenced to death in connection with lethal bomb explosions in Khuzestan province. Four other people, including Emaddedin Baghi's wife and daughter were sentenced to three years' imprisonment, suspended for five years, in the same case. Their charges were said to relate to their participation in a human rights conference held in the United Arab Emirates. All remained free pending appeal.

Amnesty International considers the charges against Emaddedin Baghi to be politically motivated and aimed at silencing the human rights defender's criticism of the human rights situation in Iran. The organisation considers him a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Women's rights activists
Activists in the Campaign for Equality who are demanding an end to legalised discrimination against women in Iran are also continuing to face harassment and arrest. Most recently, 21 year-old Ronak Safazadeh was arrested in Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan province, on 9 October 2007. Ronak Safazadeh is a member of the Campaign for Equality, as well as a member of Azar Mehr, an NGO in Sanandaj. On 8 October, she had attended a meeting on the International Day of the Child in Sanandaj, during which she had collected signatures in support of the Campaign for Equality. The following day, security officials reportedly came to her house at 08.20, confiscated her computer, copies of the Campaign's petition and a booklet produced by the Campaign, and then detained Ronak Safazadeh. After six days, her mother was permitted a brief telephone conversation with her daughter. It is not clear where she is being held.

In September, at least 25 people (including five members of the Campaign's Education committee who had travelled from Tehran) were arrested during an educational workshop held by the Campaign in a private house in Khorramabad, Lorestan province. Of these 22 were released later that night, after being questioned about the Campaign's activities; the other three, Reza Dolatshah, Bahman Azadi, and Khosrow Nasimpour, who are social activists in the city of Khorramabad were released the following day, although they were beaten while in custody.

Women's rights activists are also continuing to face trial proceedings in connection with their activities. Shadi Sadr and Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh were both recently summoned to court. Both were among 33 women arrested in March 2007during a peaceful gathering outside a court where five other women were on trial. They were released on bail after two weeks in detention. Farideh Ghayrat, a lawyer, told the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) on 14 October that their case was under consideration by the Special section for security of the Tehran General and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office, and that the charge against her clients was acting against national security, although it had not been confirmed that it was connected to the March gathering outside the courtroom, although she expected this to be the case.

In September, journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amou'i was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, after being convicted of acting against state security. He had been detained for a week following a peaceful demonstration in June 2006 which called for equal rights for women. The evidence against him reportedly included a number of open letters to Iran's parliament, or Majles, that he had signed, including one supporting the June 2006 demonstration.

Trade Unionists
According to the Iranian Teachers' Association, dozens of the hundreds of teachers arrested during peaceful demonstrations earlier in 2007 have been sentenced to dismissal or exile. At least two have received suspended prison sentences: Mohammad Reza Rezai-Gorkani and Rasul Badaqi received two-year and three-year suspended sentences respectively. Their lawyer, Hushang Purbabai, told ISNA on 9 October that both were convicted of acting against national security.

A strike by workers at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Plant in Khuzestan Province, who had reportedly received no wages or benefits for over three months, was forcibly broken up by security forces on 3 October. The workers had staged a series of around 15 strikes over more than a year. In August, they had written an open letter to the International Labour Organization, announcing their determination to continue strike action if their demands, which include the right to participate in the election of their own representatives, were not met. There are unconfirmed reports that at least two workers, Ramazan Alipour and Fereydoun Nikofar, were arrested after being summoned to an Intelligence Ministry facility.

According to the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization, five Kurdish workers' activists have reportedly been sentenced to three months imprisonment and 40 lashes for "disturbing public security". The sentences were suspended for 3 years, during which time they have reportedly been banned from meeting "prominent" political and social figures. They had reportedly been detained for several days earlier in the year during a demonstration protesting at the arrest of another workers' rights activist, Mahmoud Salehi in April 2007.

Kurds
Kurdish human rights defenders have reported a new wave of arrests and sentences of civil society and student activists. For example, Yasser Gholi, the former head of the Kurdish Democratic student's union who had been banned from studying, was reportedly arrested on 10 October in Sanandaj by security forces that also searched his home and confiscated his computer and other personal items. Ako Kordnasab, a journalist with the newspaper Gerefto, has reportedly been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for espionage.

Amnesty International continues to call on he Iranian authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of association and expression and to end its repression of human rights defenders. The organization urges the authorities to implement the measures provided for in the United Nations General Assembly's Declaration on human rights defenders, adopted in 1998.*

Amnesty International continues to campaign for the release of all prisoners of conscience, for those accused of offences to be tried in full accordance with international fair trial standards and without recourse to the death penalty, and for all reports of torture or other ill-treatment of prisoners to be rapidly, thoroughly and independently investigated and for any officials responsible for torturing or abusing prisoners to be brought to justice.

*The full name of General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/144 is the 'Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms' and can be viewed at: http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N99/770/89/PDF/N9977089.pdf?OpenElement

top

Iran-Human Rights Abuses against the Baluchi Minority

17 September 2007

1. Introduction

State repression of Iran’s ethnic minorities, which have been demanding greater recognition of their cultural and political rights, has intensified in recent years. With potentially hostile foreign military forces stationed in countries to the east and west of Iran, the authorities have become increasingly wary of minority communities, many of whom, such as the Iranian Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Arabs and Baluchis, are concentrated in border areas. In certain of these areas, armed groups are active, some of which commit human rights abuses.

In particular, a Baluchi armed group called Jondallah, also known as the Iranian Peoples’ Resistance Movement, has mounted several attacks since 2005, including armed assaults (some lethal) on officials and members of the security forces, hostage-taking and the killing of hostages. Other attacks targeting civilians have been attributed to Jondallah by the authorities, although Jondallah has denied responsibility. In response, Iranian security forces have carried out arrests of suspected militants and obtained “"confessions”" from them using torture, some of which have been shown on television, and committed unlawful killings. New judicial procedures have been introduced which further undermine the right to a fair trial, and there has been an increase in the use of the death penalty, marked by a huge rise in the numbers of executions of ethnic Baluchis.

Amnesty International condemns in all circumstances attacks by armed groups that deliberately target civilians, as well as hostage-taking, indiscriminate attacks and other abuses. It calls for those who commit such abuses to be brought to justice through fair trials and without recourse to the death penalty.
Amnesty International also urges governments not to respond to human rights abuses with further abuses. Governments have a duty to take measures to safeguard the public and protect people from violent attacks, but when doing so they must adhere to their obligations under international law and not use methods that flout human rights.

At a time when world attention on Iran is focused on the country’s nuclear programme, with sanctions in place and the possibility of military intervention, there is a danger that serious human rights issues may disappear from the international agenda. As an independent human rights organization, Amnesty International generally takes no position on the imposition of sanctions or on military action, but is concerned that at times of heightened international tension, as now exists in relation to Iran, there is a danger both that human rights violations increase and that when Amnesty International and other organizations draw attention to them this can be exploited to further agendas unrelated to the protection and promotion of human rights. Amnesty International’s role, however, is to be an impartial defender of human rights across the globe, and it documents and reports on human rights violations as part of its campaigning and other efforts to end such violations and obtain redress for the victims.

This report focuses on human rights violations committed against Baluchis, one of Iran’s ethnic minority communities, and follows a report about the situation of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab community issued in May 2006.(1) Many of the concerns and individual cases detailed in this report were included in a detailed letter which Amnesty International addressed to Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar, Iran’s Minister of Defence, in December 2006. Subsequently, Amnesty International raised further cases with the Iranian authorities in July and August 2007. No response to any of these communications had been received at time of writing. Unfortunately, the Iranian authorities rarely respond to Amnesty International’s interventions. The authorities have not permitted the organization to visit Iran in order to assess human rights situation at first hand for more than 28 years, since shortly after the Islamic Revolution in February 1979.

Amnesty International is greatly concerned about the rise in human rights violations against members of the Baluchi minority and is calling on the Iranian authorities to take urgent steps to end abuses and respect human rights. In particular, they should end arbitrary arrests and torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, and bring to justice those members of the security forces and officials responsible for torture; ensure that all those accused of crimes receive fair trials and end the use of the death penalty. They should also review the security provisions in place in Iran’s Baluchi minority areas to ensure they do not facilitate the commission of human rights violations, and end discrimination against Baluchis in law and practice. They should also give particular attention to violations against women and girls by taking steps to end trafficking of girls and women and to improve access to education by girls and women.

Amnesty International is also calling on Jondallah to desist immediately from carrying out human rights abuses, including indiscriminate attacks, hostage-taking and the killing of hostages.

2. The Baluchi community in Iran

Iran’s Baluchi minority is believed to constitute one to three per cent of the country’s total population of around 70 million.(2) Most ethnic Baluchis live in Sistan-Baluchistan province, with smaller numbers in Kerman province. However, Baluchis have migrated elsewhere in Iran, particularly Tehran, to find work. Many have strong tribal and family ties to Baluchi populations in neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan and several hundred thousand are believed to have migrated to find work in other Gulf countries. Baluchis in Iran mostly speak Baluchi as a first language, with a minority speaking Brahoui. Most are Sunni Muslims, although the majority (around 90 per cent) of Iranians are Shi’a. An estimated 20,000 of the 1.7 million inhabitants of Sistan-Baluchistan province are said to be nomads.(3)

2.1 Economic and cultural discrimination

Sistan-Baluchistan is one of the poorest and most deprived provinces in Iran. In recent years it has suffered severe drought and extreme weather conditions, which have placed further strain on the province’s resources. It has Iran’s worst indicators for life expectancy, adult literacy, primary school enrolment, access to improved water and sanitation, and infant and
child mortality.(4)

Women and girls

Baluchi women and girls face particular problems accessing education and health care. Early marriage of girls, often when they are as young as 12, is common. In 2002, the minimum age for voluntary marriage of girls was raised from 9 to 13, but parents can still apply to the courts for approval for marriages of girls who are below the age of 13. In considering the Second Periodic report submitted by Iran in 2005, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted “"the increase in the age of marriage for girls from 9 to 13 years (while that of boys remains at 15) and is seriously concerned at the very low minimum ages and the related practice of forced, early and temporary marriages.”"(5) The Committee went on to recommend that Iran, “"take the necessary steps to prevent and combat forced, early and temporary marriages.”"(6)

Although primary schooling from 6 to 11 is free and compulsory, school enrolment rates in the province are 71.5 per cent for girls and 81.8 per cent for boys, well below the national average(7). The primary reasons for families deciding to keep girls at home include the long distances between schools and the isolated Baluchi communities, a lack of female teachers, the relatively high level of poverty which leads to children being kept out of school to work, and cultural attitudes which place less value on education for a girl than for a boy. For example, UNICEF has found that:

few teachers are willing to serve in sparsely populated rural and nomadic areas. This means that many of the teachers are men on military service – and are thus considered unsuitable by families living there. In addition, owing to the lack of not only school buildings but also teachers, some classes are multi grade, co-educational and take place outside.

Negative attitudes towards female education continue to exist in these areas too. Some families still view girls as better engaged in housekeeping and child care activities. Whilst they may allow their daughters to go to primary school nearby, they are reluctant to let them travel long distances to reach secondary school

Under its development plans, the Iranian authorities have been working with organizations like UNICEF to try to improve the access of girls to school in deprived areas such as Sistan-Baluchistan with some very positive results. According to UNICEF:

dozens of female assistant teachers were recruited from the community and trained to teach subjects such as hygiene, basic mathematics and science, literacy, life-skills education, school preparatory activities and storytelling. Training was also given to teachers on how to facilitate peer education, multi-grade classes and activity-based teaching. In order to enhance community participation, weekly after-school classes were held in villages with groups of young girls already enrolled in the school system supervising the activities. The results have been astounding: girls’ enrolment in primary school increased nearly threefold in one year.

“"Now that there are more female teachers, the situation for girls has improved a lot,”" says Mehri Maleki Meshkini, a young teacher, who dresses in the traditional black chador. ‘In our classes we try to discuss serious issues like early marriage, so that the girls become more aware of the situation. But it is difficult because the men in the family decide everything.(9)

The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, who visited Iran in January-February 2005, stated in her January 2006 report that women from minorities experienced multiple forms of discrimination, but noted that the government did not accept this. She also highlighted the issue of trafficking in girls and women, stating that “"[m]ost of the trafficking is said to occur in the eastern provinces and mainly in border towns with Pakistan and Afghanistan [which are mainly Baluchi areas] where women are kidnapped, bought or entered into temporary marriage in order to be sold into sexual slavery in other countries”".

The Iranian authorities have taken some steps to address the problem of trafficking of girls and women. In August 2004, the Law on Combating Human Trafficking was passed which specifically criminalizes trafficking in persons in Iran. In some cases, people involved in trafficking, including some operating through Sistan-Baluchistan province, have been tried and convicted.(10)

In her recommendations the Special Rapporteur urged the government to “"provide special programmes for women from minority groups who suffer multiple forms of discrimination”" and to “"ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and protect women victims of trafficking, ensure accountability of the traffickers and provide compensation to the victims”".(11)

Amnesty International appalled at the spiralling numbers of executions

Amnesty International is appalled at the reports of the execution of 21 people in Iran this morning, bringing the total number of executions recorded by the organization since the start of 2007 to 210.

This figure exceeds the 177 executions recorded in 2006, although the true figure for both years is likely to be higher. At least two child offenders were among those executed to date in 2007.

Amnesty International has catalogued scores of unfair trials in recent years and the organisation is concerned that many of those executed today faced unfair trials, and a failure to ensure that fair trial safeguards in death penalty cases are implemented in all cases without exemption or discrimination.

Under Iranian law, the accused has no right to legal representation prior to being formally charged. The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has stated that all defendants facing the imposition of capital punishment must benefit from the services of a competent defence counsel at every stage of the proceedings

The scope of capital crimes in Iran remains extraordinarily large and includes vaguely worded charges, such as "enmity against God" (moharebeh ba Khoda) "being corrupt on earth" (mofsed fil arz), which refer, inter alia, to those accused of using firearms against the state; carrying out acts of robbery and to those who are considered to be carrying out espionage against the government. These crimes, including those of are adultery by married people, and same-sex sexual conduct, regarded as a crime against God and as such are not subject to pardon. Discretionary laws over which judges have the power to impose the death penalty include those relating to national security offences.

Article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party states: "In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes..." The UN Human Rights Committee, the independent body that reviews states' implementation of this treaty has stated: "The Committee is of the opinion that the expression 'most serious crimes' must be read restrictively to mean that the death penalty should be a quite exceptional measure." Furthermore, Safeguard 1 of the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty, adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1984, states: "In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes, with lethal or other extremely grave consequences."

At least four of the executions today, in Shiraz, were carried out in public, although the UN Human Rights Committee has stated: "Public executions are... incompatible with human dignity." At least two of those executed in Shiraz appeared to have belonged to Iran's Baluchi minority. Amnesty International is concerned that members of Iran's Baluchi minority have formed a significant proportion of those executed in Iran.

Amnesty International continues to urge the Iranian authorities to stop executing child offenders; to implement all required safeguards in capital cases and to limit the scope of crimes punishable by death, as a first step towards its total abolition. The organisation is calling for an immediate moratorium on executions in Iran. The UN General Assembly's (UNGA) 62nd session in October 2007 will vote on a resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions, to be introduced as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty. Amnesty International calls on Iran to halt the continuing use of this most extreme penalty, which is a gross violation of human rights and to back this resolution.

The organisation also calls on the people of Iran to support the campaign entitled "Stop the Death Penalty: The World Decides," initiated by World Coalition against the Death Penalty (WCADP) and other non-governmental organizations by signing an online petition found at: http://www.worldcoalition.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=10&sel_lang=english

top

UA 220/07 Prisoner of Conscience/Fear of torture or ill-treatment/Medical concern

IRAN Saleh Kamrani (m), aged about 35, lawyer and human rights defender

Human rights defender Saleh Kamrani was arrested on 18 August, and is held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, run by the Ministry of Intelligence. He is at risk of torture or ill-treatment. He needs regular medication for a heart condition.

Amnesty International believes that he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely in connection with his legitimate activities as a lawyer and for the peaceful exercise of his internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression and association in support of greater rights for the Iranian Azerbaijani community.

He was arrested at a family wedding in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. Four men in plain clothes took him away from the wedding to the house where he was staying, where they confiscated his computer, documents, family photographs and his wife's camera, as well as documents and photographs belonging to the owner of the house.

His family did not know what had happened until 21 August, when he was allowed a brief phone call in which he told his wife that he was in Section 209. He was apparently not allowed to speak in his native language, Azerbaijani Turkic, so could not speak to his mother, who does not understand Persian. He apparently said he did not know why he had been arrested, but believed it might have been connected to his arrest in 2006, when he was detained for three months because of his work representing Iranian Azerbaijanis and others, and for the peaceful exercise of his internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression and association in support of greater rights for the Iranian Azerbaijani community.

He had been arrested on 14 June 2006 on the way home from work. His family only found out on 18 June that he was being held in Section 209 of Evin Prison. He spent 97 days in solitary confinement and was subjected to psychological torture, including threats that his wife would be arrested. He was questioned about all aspects of his life and was threatened. The evidence against him reportedly included speeches, interviews and correspondence from the previous 15 years, recorded telephone conversations, SMS messages, statements from his brothers which had been extracted under torture and even included a picture of Saleh Kamrani wearing a tie, regarded by the authorities as a sign of western influence. He was accused of contacting human rights organisations such as Amnesty International, and having contact with foreigners, including Israelis. He was not allowed to take the medication he needs to control his heart rate because of a defective heart valve, and his condition reportedly worsened as a result. (See UA 171/06, MDE 13/067/2006 and follow-ups.) On 18 September 2006 he was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, suspended for five years, for "spreading propaganda against the system". He was released, but the authorities retained his lawyer's card, without which he could not return to work as a lawyer.

Iranian Azerbaijanis, who are mainly Shi'a Muslims, are the largest minority in Iran, constituting at least 25-30 per cent of the population. They live mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. There is a growing demand for greater cultural and linguistic rights among Iranian Azerbaijanis, including the right to education in their mother tongue of Azerbaijani Turkic. A small minority advocate secession of Iranian Azerbaijan from the Islamic Republic of Iran and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Those who seek to promote Iranian Azerbaijani cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who often accuse them of vague charges such as "promoting pan-Turkism".

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern that Saleh Kamrani was detained on 18 August, and calling on the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for his peaceful activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani community;
- asking why he was arrested, including any charges brought against him;
- urging the authorities to protect him from torture or ill-treatment;
- urging them to give him immediate and regular access to his family and a lawyer of his choice, and to all necessary medical treatment.

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir -- istiftaa@wilayah.org
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228 (mark FAO Office of His Excellency Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 4 October 2007.

top

Iran: Release Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi and help end legalised discrimination against independent trades unions

In support of the International Day of Action for Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi, Amnesty International joins voices with the ITUC and ITF in calling for the two men to be released immediately and for any charges that have been levelled against them in connection with their peaceful and legitimate trades union work to be dropped.

Mansour Ossanlu, head of the Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, and Mahmoud Salehi, Spokesperson for the Organisational Committee to Establish Trade Unions and former head of the Saqez Bakers' Union, are trades union leaders who have been detained on vaguely worded charge in order to halt their efforts to build strong trades unions capable of defending the human rights of workers against the discriminatory laws and practices that curtail workers' rights in Iran.

Securing freedom for Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi will help independent trades unions move beyond the discriminatory 'gozinesh', or selection, regulations that enable the Iranian authorities to decide who is able to form trades unions and seek employment in a range of sectors.

In 2003, the ILO's Committee on the Application of Standards reviewed the application of Convention No. 111 on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (1958) in Iran. The Workers' Representative called on the Committee of Experts to review the practice known as 'gozinesh', or selection. Gozinesh regulations empower the state authorities to select, on the basis of perceived ideological suitability, those individuals who may be employed in the public sector, hold a wide range of posts, such as lawyers or teachers, and create or join the boards of NGOs and Islamic Labour Councils, (Islamic Councils) which are the only labour organizations permitted in the workplace.

Islamic Councils are a form of collective organization provided for under the 2001 Procedure Code [on the] Manner of Establishment, Limits of Duties, Powers and Manner of Operation of Islamic Workers' Councils (the Procedure Code).

The Procedure Code sets out how workers in productive, industrial, agricultural, service and guild units that employ more than 50 individuals may establish unions, or Islamic Councils.

The functions, duties and powers of the Islamic Councils are set out in the Procedure Code. According to Article 1 of the Procedure Code, they are formed to 'propagate and spread Islamic culture and [to] defend the achievements of the Islamic Revolution'. They are more concerned with the furtherance of a religious and ideological programme, therefore, than with the promotion and protection of workers' rights.

Article 10 of the Procedure Code contains gozinesh criteria which impose discriminatory restrictions on who is eligible to be a member of the central committee of a given Islamic Council. Article 10c requires that applicants be of "good reputation and the disposition required for growth" relating to the council, and Article 10d, that they have completed a year's experience in the work of the council. However, Article 10a requires candidates to have practical engagement towards Islam and the principle of Velayat-e Faqih [or Leadership by a religious jurisprudent] and the Constitution (Article 10a), and Article 10b requires that they have a record of being present and active in various fields of the Islamic Revolution.

The activities of Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi are testimony to the engagement of trades unionists in reaching beyond discriminatory practices, for the benefit of workers and for all of Iran, and above all, for the advancement of human rights in Iran.

top

UA 194/07 Arbitrary arrest/fear of torture/prisoners of conscience

IRAN Behareh Hedayat (f) ]
Mohammad Hashemi (m) ]
Ali Nikou Nesbati (m) ] student activists
Mehdi Arabshahi (m) ]
Hanif Yazdani (m) ]
Ali Vafaqi (m) ]
Abdollah Momeni, Spokesperson of the Alumni Association of Iran
Mojtaba Bayat (m), Alumni Association member
Seven others (names known to Amnesty International)

The 15 people listed above were arrested on 9 July, the eighth anniversary of student demonstrations in 1999 which were violently suppressed by the security forces. The eight who are named are believed to be held in solitary confinement in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence; the other seven are also held in Evin Prison and may also be in solitary confinement. Amnesty International believes they are prisoners of conscience.

Behareh Hedayat is the head of the Women's Commission of the student body Office for the Consolidation of Unity (OCU). She was detained at a demonstration opposite Amir Kabir University of Technology, protesting at the continued detention of eight students arrested in May and June 2007 over articles regarded as insulting to Islam (see UA 113/07, MDE 13/054/2007, 15 May 2007 and follow up). OCU Central Council members Mohammad Hashemi, Ali Nikou Nesbati, Mehdi Arabshahi, Hanif Yazdani and Ali Vafaqi were detained with her.

Ten other people were arrested later that day at the offices of the Alumni Association of Iran, including Association spokesperson Abdollah Momeni, and they are said to have been beaten during their arrest. The arresting officials reportedly fired their guns in the air, and confiscated computers and documents before sealing the office. One Association staff member was reportedly released after five days.

Several detainees have been able to telephone their families, but not to meet their families or lawyers. Some have had their houses searched and personal property confiscated. The people who searched his house took Abdollah Momeni with them, apparently in handcuffs and with visible injuries from his beating. He is said to have complained about the treatment he was receiving.

A Judiciary spokesperson confirmed the arrests on 16 July: "They are in prison and the investigation is ongoing regarding their participation in illegal gatherings and acting against national security."

The Alumni Association of Iran is legally registered as a political organisation. Its membership is open to graduates of Iranian universities and it is active in promoting democracy and human rights. Association head Ali-Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini was arrested during a peaceful demonstration in Tehran on 12 June 2006, which called for legal reforms to end discrimination against women. He was allegedly tortured during the more than four months he spent in Evin Prison. (See UA 181/06, MDE 13/075/2006, 30 June 2006 and follow-ups).

Women's rights activist Behareh Hedayat was also arrested during the 12 June 2006 demonstration, for which she was sentenced in May 2007 to two years' imprisonment, suspended for five years, on charges of "acting against state security". She had been tried in April, without her lawyer being present. She may now be at risk of having to serve this suspended sentence. On 10 April, the Minister of Intelligence publicly accused the women's movement and student campaigners of being part of an enemy conspiracy aiming at a "soft subversion" of the government. Since then, there has been a marked deterioration in the human rights situation in Iran (see News Release Iran: Violations of human rights continue unabated, 13 July 2007, MDE 13/085/2007).

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- calling on the authorities to release Behareh Hedayat and others detained on 9 July immediately and unconditionally, as they are prisoners of conscience, held solely for the peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression and association;
- expressing concern at reports that at least some were beaten during their arrest and urging the authorities to investigate those reports fully, with those responsible brought to justice;
- urging the authorities to ensure that none of those in custody suffers any further torture or ill-treatment;
- calling for all those detained to be granted immediate and regular access to their families, lawyers and any medical treatment they may require.

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 7 September 2007

top

UA 191/07 Arbitrary arrest/Fear of torture

IRAN Loghman Mehri (m), member of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (RMMK) His wife

Iranian Kurdish human rights activist Loghman Mehri and his wife were reportedly taken away in a car on 18 July by three men in plain clothes who stopped them at the East Bus Terminal in Tehran. Eyewitnesses apparently saw Loghman Mehri being beaten and pushed into the back of a car along with his wife. Their whereabouts are now unknown, and they are at risk of torture.

Loghman Mehri is a member of the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (RMMK). He has been arrested several times before. He was arrested in May 2004 during a peaceful May Day celebration in Saqqez, and during a demonstration against discrimination against women in June 2005, for which he was reportedly sentenced to six months' imprisonment and 25 lashes. He was last arrested in August 2005 in Saqqez following widespread unrest in Kurdish areas. He was released on bail, but was later sentenced to five years' imprisonment in connection with these demonstrations, apparently on charges of "acting against internal security", "membership of an illegal opposition group" and "incitement to riot". This sentence was reportedly confirmed on appeal and was further confirmed by the Supreme Court on or around 11 July 2007.

Iran's Kurds live mainly in the west and north-west of the country, in the province of Kurdistan and neighbouring provinces bordering Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq. For many years, Kurdish organisations such as the Kurdistan People's Democratic Party (KDPI) and Komala carried out armed opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, although more recently they have abandoned armed opposition in favour of a federal solution. Iran continues to face armed opposition from some Kurdish groups, and has accused foreign governments of fomenting unrest among its ethnic minorities.

Violent unrest broke out in Kurdish areas in July 2005 and continued for several weeks, after the security forces shot dead a Kurdish opposition activist, and reportedly dragged his body through the streets behind a jeep. Thousands of Kurds took to the streets to protest, and in some places attacked government buildings. The security forces responded with substantial force and up to 20 people were reportedly killed and hundreds injured. The authorities acknowledged that five people were killed, and said their deaths were under investigation. At least 190 were arrested, according to official reports, although the true figure may well be higher.

Other Kurdish human rights defenders have been detained recently. RMMK head Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand was detained on 1 July and is held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran (See UA 171/07, MDE 13/081/2007, 4 July 2007). RMMK board member Ajlal Qavami was arrested on or around 9 July after being summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj. He had previously been sentenced to three years' imprisonment for organizing a demonstration in July 2005. He had appealed against this sentence but his appeal is reported to have been rejected, although neither he nor his lawyer was told this before he was arrested.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern at reports that Loghman Mehri, an Iranian Kurdish human rights activist, and his wife were seized and detained by the security forces on 18 July;
- asking the authorities to say whether they are in custody, and if so, where they are held and why they were arrested, including any charges against them;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that they are not tortured or ill-treated, and to allow them immediate access to their families and lawyers of their own choosing, and to any medical treatment they may require;
- if they are in custody, calling on the authorities to release them immediately and unconditionally unless they are to be charged with a recognisably criminal offence.

Head of the Parliamentary Article 90 Commission
Mohammad Reza Faker
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Baharestan Square, Tehran, Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408

Kurdistan Human Rights Organization
PO Box 188-13465
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: prmmkkurd@gmail.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 31 August 2007.

top

Further Information on UA 08/06 (MDE 13/002/2006, 9 January 2006) and follow-ups (MDE 13/094/2006, 17 August 2006; MDE 13/129/2006, 29 November 2006 and MDE 13/011/2007, 31 January 2007) - Arbitrary arrest/Possible prisoner of conscience/Medical concern

IRAN Mansour Ossanlu (m), Head of Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company

Trade unionist Mansour Ossanlu, who had been released in December, was detained on 10 July. He was reportedly pushed into a car at around 7pm by men in plain clothes who beat him. On 12 July it was reported that he was being held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran.

He had spent eight months in detention between December 2005 and August 2006, and a further month between November and December 2006 in connection with his activities as head of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), and was facing trial. He had recently travelled to Europe to build international support for an independent trades union movement in Iran.

Amnesty International believes he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely on account of his peaceful trades union activities, who should be released immediately and unconditionally.

The Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company is said to have been founded in 1979 and resumed activities in 2004 after a 25-year ban. It is still not legally recognised.

Iran is a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Article 22 (1) states: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests." Article 26 of Iran?s Constitution states: "The formation of parties, societies, political or professional associations ? is permitted provided they do not violate the principles of independence, freedom, national unity, the criteria of Islam, or the basis of the Islamic republic. No one may be prevented from participating in the aforementioned groups, or be compelled to participate in them."

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- asking why Mansour Ossanlu was rearrested on 10 July, and asking for details of any charges he is facing;
- expressing concern that he appears to be held solely on account of his peaceful trade union activities, and calling on the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally;
- in the meantime, calling on the authorities to ensure that he is given immediate and regular access to his lawyers, and his family;
- expressing concern at reports that Mansour Ossanlu was beaten during his arrest and urging that these reports be fully investigated, with anyone found responsible for abuses brought to justice and given a fair trial;
- calling for him to be given immediate access to any medical treatment he may require;
- reminding the authorities of their obligations under the ICCPR, Article 22 (1) of which provides for the right to form and join trade unions.

APPEALS TO:
Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Parliamentary Article 90 Commission
Mohammad Reza Faker
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Baharestan Square, Tehran, Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 24 August 2007.

top

Human rights defenders arrested

Amnesty International is greatly concerned by continuing human rights violations in Iran, including new arrests of human rights defenders and the high rate of executions, including the first execution by stoning confirmed by the authorities since a moratorium on stonings was announced in 2002

The organization is again calling on the Iranian authorities to uphold their obligations under international law and ensure that no one is detained for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression or association, and to impose an immediate moratorium on all executions and take steps to remove the death penalty from Iranian law.

Two Iranian Kurdish journalists and human rights defenders were arrested earlier this month. Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, Chair of the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (RMMK), was taken from his workplace in Tehran by plain-clothed security officers on 1 July. He was facing a one-year prison sentence because of articles he had published in the now banned Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdestan (Message of the People of Kurdistan), but it is not clear if this is the reason for his current detention.

Ajlal Qavami, a member of the RMMK board and former journalist of Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdestan and member of the editorial board of the bilingual weekly Didgah (Viewpoint), was arrested on or around 9 July after being summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj. He had previously been sentenced to three years' imprisonment by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Sanadaj for organizing a demonstration in July 2005 in protest at the killing of, Showan Qaderi, a member of the Kurdish minority, by security forces. He had appealed against this sentence but his appeal is reported to have been rejected, although this outcome had not been communicated to either Ajlal Qavami or his lawyer before Ajlal Qavami's arrest.

Sa'id Sa'edi, another Kurdish journalist who was sentenced to two and a half years' imprisonment in the same case, may also now be at risk of arrest.

Sixteen people were arrested on 9 July -- 18 Tir in the Iranian calendar -- the eighth anniversary of student demonstrations in 1999 which were violently suppressed by security forces.

Behareh Hedayat, the head of the Women's Commission of the Office for the Consolidation of Unity (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat -- a student body), and five other members of the OCU's Central Council -- Mohammad Hashemi, Ali Nikou Nesbati, Mehdi Arabshahi, Hanif Yazdani and Ali Vafaqi -- were detained opposite Amir Kabir University of Technology. At the time, they were holding a demonstration to protest against the continued detention of eight other students arrested in May and June 2007 in connection with the publication of articles regarded as insulting to Islam. The eight deny any connection to the articles.

Ten other people were arrested on 9 July at the offices of the Alumni Association of Iran (Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami [Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat]). Those held reportedly include members of the association and the mother of Mohammad Hashemi, who had gone there to enquire about her son. The arresting officials reportedly fired guns in the air, and confiscated computers and documents before sealing the office.

The 16 arrests were confirmed by Alireza Jamshidi, a spokesperson for Iran's Judiciary: "They are in prison and the investigation is ongoing regarding their participation in illegal gatherings and acting against security,"

Trade unionists are also being targeted. Mansour Ossanlu, head of the unrecognized Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), was reportedly pushed into a car at around 7pm on 10 July by men in plain clothes who beat him. On 12 July it was reported that he was being held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran. Mansour Ossanlu spent eight months in detention between December 2005 and August 2006, and a further month between November and December 2006 in connection with his trade union activities. He had recently travelled to Europe in order to build international support for an independent trades union movement in Iran.

Women's rights activists also continue to face reprisals for their activities demanding an end to laws which discriminate against women. At least three more women have recently been sentenced for participating in a June 2006 demonstration calling for reform of Iran's discriminatory legislation.

Delaram Ali was sentenced to 34 months of imprisonment and 10 lashes after being convicted on charges of "participating in an illegal gathering", "propaganda against the system", and "disrupting public order and peace". Aliyeh Aghdam Doust was reportedly sentenced to three years and four months of imprisonment and 20 lashes. Both are currently believed to be at liberty pending the outcome of appeals.

A third woman activist, Nasim Soltan Beigi, was sentenced on or around 7 July to two years' imprisonment, suspended for five years, for "participating in an illegal demonstration".

If imprisoned, Amnesty International would consider all three women to be prisoners of conscience and call for their immediate, unconditional release. Amnesty International is also calling for their flogging sentences to be commuted immediately. Amnesty International believes that the use of corporal punishment such as flogging constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment amounting to torture.

Iran continues to have one of the highest rates of executions in the world. Amnesty International has recorded at least 120 executions since the beginning of 2007, suggesting that by the end of this year the total number of executions could exceed the total of 177 executions that Amnesty International recorded in 2006.

Two recent victims of the Iranian authorities' use of the death penalty were child offenders, whose alleged crimes were committed before the age of 18, and a third was a man who was stoned to death. The two child offenders -- Mohammad Mousavi and Sa'id Qanbar Zahi -- were executed in April and May respectively, in direct contravention of international law, which requires that no-one should be executed for crimes committed while under the age of 18.

The stoning execution of Ja'far Kiani was carried out on 5 July in the village of Aghche-Kand, near Takestan in Qazvin province, despite a 2002 moratorium on the use of stoning issued by the Head of the Judiciary, and a stay of execution which had been ordered in his case. The stoning was confirmed by Judiciary Spokesperson Alireza Jamshidi on 10 July, who said it had been carried out because it was a final sentence, and judges in Iran are independent. It was the first confirmed stoning since the moratorium, although a woman and a man were reportedly stoned to death in Mashhad in May 2006. There are grave concerns that Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, a woman sentenced in the same case, will suffer the same fate unless Iran's Head of the Judiciary intervenes immediately. On 11 July the Islamic Students News Agency reported that a judiciary official had said that the actions of the judge in the case were to be investigated by the Judges' Disciplinary Court.

The Judiciary Spokesperson said that a further 20 executions would be carried out in the coming days of people convicted of crimes such as "repeated rape, 'sodomy' and violent assault and battery".

While Amnesty International recognizes the right of governments to bring to justice those suspected of serious crimes, it opposes the death penalty in all cases as a violation of the right to life and the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

The organization does not have any details of those whose executions the Judiciary Spokesperson said were imminent, but is appealing to the Iranian authorities to stay the executions and commute all the death sentences of all of them.

Amnesty International opposes the criminalization of consensual adult sexual relations conducted in private and urges the Iranian authorities to review legislation with a view to decriminalising such acts, although there is no evidence available to Amnesty International that any of these 20 individuals at risk of execution have been sentenced solely for such consensual sexual relations.

top

Amnesty International outraged at reported stoning to death and fears for victim's co-accused

Amnesty International today expressed outrage at the reported execution by stoning of Ja'far Kiani on 5 July 2007 in the village of Aghche-kand, near Takestan in Iran's Qazvin province. The organization urged the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, to immediately intervene to prevent the execution by stoning of Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, a woman convicted in the same case.

Ja'far Kiani and Mokarrameh Ebrahimi were sentenced to death by stoning after conviction of adultery. Under article 83 of Iran's Penal Code, execution by stoning is prescribed for adultery committed by a married man or a married woman. Under Iranian law, adultery can only be proved by the testimony of eyewitnesses (the number required varying for different types of adultery), a confession by the defendant (repeated four times), or the judge's "knowledge" that the adultery has taken place. In this case, the basis for the conviction of adultery was the judge's "knowledge" that adultery had taken place. The couple had been imprisoned for the past 11 years in Choubin prison. Their two children are believed to live in prison with their mother. The executions by stoning were initially scheduled for 17 June 2007 after an appeal to the Judicial Commission for Amnesty and Clemency was rejected, but later changed to 21 June. The stonings were to be carried out publicly in the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery, in the presence of the judge from Branch 1 of the Criminal Court who sentenced them to death.

However, the planned executions were again delayed after activists involved in the "Stop Stoning Forever" campaign in Iran broke news of the couple's plight and the Iranian government was exposed to widespread domestic and international demands, including by Amnesty International, to prevent the stonings. Following this, it was reported on the afternoon of 20 June that the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, had issued a written order requiring the judiciary in Takestan to stay the execution temporarily. The couple remained under sentence of death by stoning, but they were thought not to be at imminent risk of execution.

It caused shock, therefore, when the "Stop Stoning Forever" campaign reported on 7 July that Ja'far Kiani had been stoned to death in Aghche-kand two days earlier. According to reports, the stoning was conducted mostly by local governmental and judiciary officials, and only a few members of the public participated.

On 8 July, the newspaper E?temad-e Melli reported that local people and a source connected to one of the local parliamentary representatives had confirmed the execution, although as yet there has been no statement from the judiciary.

Amnesty International is calling on the Head of the Judiciary immediately to clarify whether Ja?far Kiani was stoned to death on 5 July and, if so, whether this was in breach of the stay of execution that he had imposed.

The organization is calling on the Head of the Judiciary and other Iranian authorities to take immediate steps to prevent the execution of Ja?far Kiani?s co-accused, Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, and to commute her sentence without delay

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. Execution by stoning is particularly cruel, being specifically designed to increase the victim's suffering since the stones are deliberately chosen to be large enough to cause pain, but not so large as to kill the victim immediately.

Amnesty International is also calling on the Iranian government to abolish altogether executions by stoning and to impose a moratorium pending the repeal or amendment of article 83 of the Penal Code. Amnesty International is aware of other individuals under sentence of execution by stoning in Iran: Ashraf Kalhori (f), Iran (f), Khayrieh (f), Shamameh Ghorbani (also known as Malek) (f), Kobra N. (f), Soghra Mola'i (f), Fatemeh (f), and Abdollah F. (m). Amnesty International calls for these, and any other existing sentences of stoning to death in Iran, to be commuted.

Amnesty International also opposes the criminalization of consensual adult sexual relations conducted in private, and further urges the Iranian authorities to review all relevant legislation with the aim of decriminalizing such acts.

Background

In December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, reportedly sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning, pending a decision on a permanent change in the law, which was apparently being considered by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, in September 2003, a law concerning the implementation of certain kinds of penalties, including stoning, was passed, which appeared to undermine this moratorium. Also despite the supposed moratorium, Amnesty International continued to record sentences of stoning being passed, though none of these were known to have been implemented until May 2006, when a woman and a man were reportedly stoned to death. The two victims- Abbas (m) and Mahboubeh (f) were reportedly stoned to death in a cemetery in Mashhad, after being convicted of murdering Mahboubeh?s husband, and of adultery - a charge which carries the penalty of stoning. Part of the cemetery was cordoned off from the public, and more than 100 members of the Revolutionary Guard, and Bassij Forces, who had been invited to attend, reportedly participated in stoning the couple to death. On 21 November 2006, the late Minister of Justice, Jamal Karimi-Rad, denied that stonings were being carried out in Iran, a claim repeated on 8 December 2006 by the Head of the Prisons Organization in Tehran. The campaigners against stoning have since stated in response that there is irrefutable evidence that the Mashhad stoning did indeed occur. In mid-2006, a group of Iranian human rights defenders began a campaign to abolish stoning, having initially identified 11 individuals at risk of stoning. Since the campaign began, three individuals have been saved from stoning: Hajieh Esmailvand (f), Parisa (f) and Najaf (m). Others have been granted stays of execution, and some of the cases are being reviewed or re-tried.

Governor of Kordestan
Esmail Najjar
Email: In Persian and Kurdish via the feedback form on the Persian part of the website: http://www.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?tabId=150&cv=4@0_1 In other languages, use the feedback form on the English part of the website: http://en.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?TabID=59
Salutation: Dear Governor

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 17 August 2007.

top

Prisoner of Conscience/Medical concern

Mahmoud Salehi (m), trade union activist

Trade union activist Mahmoud Salehi, who has been imprisoned since 9 April, is seriously ill and is allegedly not receiving the specialist medical treatment that he requires. Amnesty International believes that he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and association in connection with the 2004 May Day demonstration, and with his peaceful trade union activities.

Mahmoud Salehi is the Spokesperson for the Organisational Committee to Establish Trade Unions, former President of the Saqez Bakery Workers' Association, and co-founder of the Coordinating Committee to Form Workers' Organisations. He was arrested after a peaceful demonstration to celebrate May Day 2004 along with six other trade union activists. They were all were later released on bail that same month. In November 2005 he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and three years' internal exile in the city of Ghorveh, in the north western province of Kordestan. At his trial, the prosecutor reportedly cited his trade union activities as evidence against him, and referred to a meeting he had held with officials from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in April 2004, shortly before the May Day demonstrations. His conviction was overturned on appeal, but after a retrial he was sentenced on 11 November 2006 to four years' imprisonment by Saqez Revolutionary Court for "conspiring to commit crimes against national security" under article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code. Following an appeal, whose last hearing took place on 11 March, this was reduced to one year's imprisonment, and a three-year suspended prison sentence.

Mahmoud Salehi was arrested on 9 April 2007. His son, in a letter carried on the website of the Iranian Workers' Solidarity Network, described his father's arrest:

"One of the officers of the Saqez security force went to where Mahmoud Salehi (my father) works and told my father that the Governor and the Prosecutor would like to talk to him about this year's May Day ceremonies. My father� went to courthouse with this officer. Immediately after he entered the courthouse my father realised that this had nothing to do with the issue of [this year's] May Day! Instead this was about the May Day celebration of 2004 and the four-year sentence passed against him. Recently the appeal court changed the sentence to one year in custody and three years suspended, which the legal authorities are, in an illegal way, trying to implement. The legal authorities, despite my father and mother's protests, and my father's refusal to sign the summons and without paying any attention to his appeals and protests, immediately used severe security measures. Several officers surrounded him and bundled him into a car. The car carrying my father was escorted by several police vehicles and� left town for an undisclosed destination. My father is the first person who has had his sentence carried out in this way and transferred to prison immediately. The summons is supposed to have been given to him beforehand so that he could prepare himself for it."

Mahmoud Salehi has only one kidney, is reported to be suffering from kidney stones, and is said to require dialysis treatment. A letter from his doctor, stating that Mahmoud Salehi requires treatment outside prison, was apparently delivered to prison officials on 15 May. His lawyer announced on 8 June that Mahmoud Salehi had begun a hunger strike in protest at his detention in Sanandaj Prison, which is 400km from where his family live. Amnesty International does not know whether he is continuing his hunger strike, but he is reported also to be suffering from heart and intestinal problems. On 17 June, he was reportedly taken to Towhid Hospital in Sanandaj, but was afterwards returned to prison.

Mahmoud Salehi has been denied visits from his lawyer and family; his family have been able to contact him by telephone.

He has been arrested several times before now. Amnesty International took action on his behalf in 2000 (see Medical Writing Action: Ill-health Mahmood Salehi, AI Index: MDE 13/30/00).

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, Kurdish, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern at reports that trade union activist Mahmoud Salehi is seriously ill in detention in Sanandaj prison, and calling for him to be granted all necessary medical treatment, if necessary in specialist medical facilities outside the prison where he is held;
- calling for him to be granted regular access to his family and his lawyer.
- calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Mahmoud Salehi as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and association in connection with the 2004 May Day demonstration, and with his peaceful trade union activities.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 17 August 2007.

top

Fear of torture/ Possible prisoner of conscience

IRAN Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand (m), Human rights defender and journalist

Iranian Kurdish journalist and human rights defender Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand is detained in an unknown place, possibly Section 209 of Evin Prison. He was arrested on 1 July 2007 at his place of work in Tehran by plain-clothed security officers. Amnesty International is concerned that he may be at risk of torture and ill-treatment and believes he is very likely to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association.

Upon his arrest, Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand was initially taken to his house in Tehran, where the security officers confiscated three computers, books, photographs, family films and personal documents, before taking him away to an unknown destination. He is believed to have had no contact with his family since his arrest.

Chair of the Kurdish Human Rights Organization (RMMK) based in Tehran, Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, is also the editor of Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdestan (Kurdistan People’s Message) a weekly published in Kurdish and Persian, which was banned on 27 June 2004 after only 13 issues for "disseminating separatist ideas and publishing false reports". Convicted of "disseminating tribal issues and publishing provocative articles" and "spreading lies with the intention of upsetting public opinion" by a Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj, western Iran, Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand received on 18 August 2005 a suspended prison sentence of 18 months, and a five-year ban on working as a journalist. His conviction was reportedly upheld on appeal, but the suspended prison sentence was increased to one year’s actual imprisonment. In September 2006 he was summoned to begin his prison sentence, but remained free pending an appeal against his conviction to the Supreme Court.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Kurds are one of Iran’s many ethnic groups. They live mainly in the west and north-west of Iran, in the province of Kurdistan and neighbouring provinces bordering Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq. For many years, Kurdish organizations such as the Kurdistan People’s Democratic Party (KDPI) and Komala carried out armed opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran, although more recently they have abandoned armed struggle in favour of a federal solution. Iran continues to face armed opposition mainly from the Kurdistan Independent Life Party (PJAK), which reportedly began operations in 2004, and is affiliated to the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Iran has accused foreign governments of fomenting unrest among its ethnic minorities.

Violent unrest in the Kurdish areas of Iran broke out in July 2005 and continued for several weeks, after Iranian security forces shot dead a Kurdish opposition activist, Showan Qaderi, and reportedly dragged his body through the streets behind a jeep. Thousands of Kurds took to the streets to protest. Security forces reportedly used light and heavy weaponry in response to the demonstrations, which in at least some places included attacks by demonstrators on government buildings and offices. Up to 20 people were reportedly killed and hundreds more injured. The authorities acknowledged that five people were killed, and stated that their deaths were under investigation. At least 190 were arrested, according to official reports, although the true figure may well be higher.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, French, Persian or your own language
- asking to be informed in detail about the reasons for Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand’s arrest, including any charges and evidence brought against him and of any trial which may be held;
- asking to be informed of his place of detention;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that he is not tortured or ill-treated;
- calling for him to be allowed immediate and regular access to his family, a lawyer of his own choosing, and to any medical treatment he may require;
- stating that if Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand has been detained in connection with his peaceful activities on behalf of Iran’s Kurdish community, or with his peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression or association, then he is a prisoner of conscience, who should be released immediately and unconditionally; otherwise he should be released unless he is to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and brought to trial promptly and fairly.

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 981 6 674 790 (Via Foreign Ministry. Mark "Please forward to H.E. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad")
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir, via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Parliamentary Article 90 Commission
Mohammad Reza Faker
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Baharestan Square, Tehran, Iran
Fax: + 98 21 3355 6408

Kurdistan Human Rights Organization
PO Box 188-13465
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: prmmkkurd@gmail.com

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15 August 2007. Working to protect human rights worldwide

top

Iran: End child executions

Amnesty International is calling on Iran's judicial and political authorities to order an immediate moratorium to prevent further executions of child offenders and to amend the laws so no children who commit crimes can be sentenced to death. In a new report, the organization said at least 71 child offenders were awaiting execution in Iran, where more child offenders have been executed than in any other country since 1990.

"Iran stands virtually alone as a country in which child offenders - persons under 18 at the time of the crime of which they were convicted - are put to death," said Malcolm Smart, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme. "It is high time that the Iranian authorities put an end to this shameful practice - for once and for all - and bring themselves in line with the rest of the international community, which has long recognized the obscenity of executing those who commit crimes while children."

In the report, Iran: The last executioner of children, Amnesty International lists the names of the 71 child offenders known to be facing the death penalty, but notes that the total number could be much higher as many death penalty cases in Iran are believed to go unreported. Of the 24 child offenders recorded as having been executed since 1990, 11 were still under the age of 18 at the time of their execution while the others were either kept on death row until they had reached 18 or were convicted and sentenced after reaching that age.

"The Iranian authorities deny that they execute children but so far this year we have already recorded two executions of child offenders," said Malcolm Smart. "Mohammad Mousavi, aged 19, was executed in April for a crime committed when he was 16, and Sa'id Qanbar Zahi, hanged on 27 May 2007 at Zahedan prison, was only 17 when he was sentenced to death with six other members of Iran's Baluchi minority two months earlier."

The execution of Atefeh Rajabi Sahaaleh, sentenced for "crimes against chastity" and hanged at the age of 16 on August 2004, is one of seven cases highlighted by the report. A day after her execution, a judiciary official told a newspaper that she was 22 years old. Rajabi's case highlights the failure of the Iranian judicial system to protect children and provides further evidence that some child offenders are executed in Iran even before they reach the age of 18. The report also lists the cases of 17 other people who were executed for crimes committed when they were under 18.

Although executions of child offenders are few compared to the total number of executions in Iran, they highlight the government's disregard for its commitments and obligations under international law, which prohibits in all circumstances the use of the death penalty against child offenders. Apart from Iran, the only countries in which executions of child offenders have been recorded since 2003 are China, Sudan and Pakistan; though the Chinese and Pakistani authorities insisted that those executed were aged 18 or over at the time of the crime. In each year the number of child offenders executed in Iran exceeded the total number of all other executions of child offenders.

Some members of the government and the judiciary are also believed to favour at least reducing, if not abolishing, the death penalty for child offenders, but progress is painfully slow. For example, a draft law proposed by the judiciary in 2001 could pave the way for the abolition of the death sentence for minors or at least result in a reduction in the number of offences for which child offenders could be sentenced to death, but the draft law is still under consideration by the political and judicial authorities.

Amid the horror of child executions and the wider problem of the death penalty in Iran, there are some positive signs, particularly, the emergence of a growing movement in favour of the abolition of the death penalty for child offenders. This is being led by a courageous band of human rights defenders and activists within Iran, and it has already achieved some notable successes.

"Amnesty International opposes the death penalty unreservedly for anyone, regardless of their age and regardless of the nature of the crime or the character of the condemned," said Malcolm Smart. "Every execution is an affront to human dignity - a human rights violation of premeditated cruelty that denies the right to life enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

top

Iran: Amnesty International appeals against planned executions by stoning

Amnesty International today made an urgent appeal to the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, to prevent the executions of two people due to be publicly stoned to death tomorrow, 21 June 2007. The two - Mokarrameh Ebrahimi (f) and an unnamed man - are scheduled to be killed in a cemetery in the town of Takestan, Qazvin province.

According to activists involved in the 'Stop Stoning Forever' campaign in Iran, (which can be viewed in Persian at http://www.meydaan.com/news.aspx?nid=391) Mokarrameh Ebrahimi and the unnamed man were sentenced to death after conviction of adultery. Under article 83 of Iran's Penal Code, execution by stoning is prescribed for adultery committed by a married man or a married woman. Under Iranian law, adultery can only be proved by the testimony of eyewitnesses (the number required varying for different types of adultery), a confession by the defendant (repeated four times), or the judge's "knowledge" that the adultery has taken place. In this case, the basis for the conviction of adultery was the judge's "knowledge", apparently on the basis that they had a child together.

Mokarrameh Ebrahimi and the unnamed man have been imprisoned for the past 11 years in Choubin prison. Qazvin province. Recently, they reportedly appealed to the Judicial Commission for Amnesty and Clemency to overturn their stoning sentence, but the appeal was rejected. The stoning was then scheduled for 17 June, but is now due to take place on 21 June - in public, and reportedly in the presence of the judge from Branch 1 of the Criminal Court in Takestan. It is reported that he will throw the first stone, following which those present at the public gathering will continuing stoning the two until they are pronounced dead. The pits in which Mokarrameh Ebrahimi and the unnamed man will be placed in order to be stoned are reported to have been dug already in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in preparation for the executions.

Amnesty International is urging the Iranian authorities to intervene immediately to prevent the planned stonings and to commute the death sentences in both cases. The organization opposes the death penalty in all cases as the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. Execution by stoning aggravates the brutality of the death penalty, being specifically designed to increase the victim's suffering since the stones are deliberately chosen to be large enough to cause pain, but not so large as to kill the victim immediately.

Execution by stoning is prescribed under Iranian law for adultery committed by a married man or a married woman. The Iranian Penal Code is very specific about the manner of execution and types of stones which should be used. Article 102 states that men will be buried up to their waists and women up to their breasts for the purpose of execution by stoning. Article 104 states, with reference to the penalty for adultery, that the stones used should "not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes; nor should they should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones".

In December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, reportedly sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning, pending a decision on a permanent change in the law, which was apparently being considered by the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. However, in September 2003, a law concerning the implementation of certain kinds of penalties, including stoning, was passed, which appeared to undermine this moratorium. Also despite the moratorium, Amnesty International continued to record sentences of stoning being passed, though none of these were known to have been implemented until May 2006, when a woman and a man were reportedly stoned to death. The two victims- Abbas (m) and Mahboubeh (f) were reportedly stoned to death in a cemetery in Mashhad, after being convicted of murdering Mahboubeh's husband, and of adultery - a charge which carries the penalty of stoning. Part of the cemetery was cordoned off from the public, and more than 100 members of the Revolutionary Guard, and Bassij Forces, who had been invited to attend, reportedly participated in stoning the couple to death.

On 21 November 2006, the late Minister of Justice, Jamal Karimi-Rad, denied that stonings were being carried out in Iran, a claim repeated on 8 December 2006 by the Head of the Prisons Organization in Tehran. The campaigners against stoning have since stated in response that there is irrefutable evidence that the Mashhad stoning did indeed occur.

In mid-2006, a group of Iranian human rights defenders, mostly women, including activists, journalists and lawyers, began a campaign to abolish stoning, having identified nine women and two men under sentence of death by stoning: Hajieh Esmailvand, Ashraf Kalhori, Parisa, Iran, Khayrieh, Shamameh Ghorbani (also known as Malek), Kobra Najjar, Soghra Mola'i, Fatemeh, Abdollah F., and Najaf. The 'Stop Stoning Forever' campaign aims to save the lives of the nine women and two men under sentence of stoning, and to abolish stoning in law and practice. Lawyers in the group undertook to represent them. Since the campaign began, three individuals have been saved from stoning, others have been granted stays of execution, and some of the cases are being reviewed or re-tried. Hajieh Esmailvand was acquitted on 9 December 2006 of the charge of adultery, for which she had been sentenced to stoning, and is now free from prison; Parisa was released on 5 December 2006 after receiving 99 lashes, following a Supreme Court ruling which changed her sentence of execution by stoning to flogging; the stoning sentence of Najaf - Parisa's husband - was also changed to flogging by the Supreme Court.

top

Amnesty International Report 2007 • Iran

Islamic Republic of Iran
Head of state: Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
Head of government: President: Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed

The human rights situation deteriorated, with civil society facing increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms of expression and association. Scores of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, continued to serve prison sentences imposed following unfair trials in previous years. Thousands more arrests were made in 2006, mostly during or following demonstrations. Human rights defenders, including journalists, students and lawyers, were among those detained arbitrarily without access to family or legal representation. Torture, especially during periods of pre-trial detention, remained commonplace. At least 177 people were executed, at least four of whom were under 18 at the time of the alleged offence, including one who was under 18 at the time of execution. Two people were reportedly stoned to death. Sentences of flogging, amputation and eye-gouging continued to be passed. The true numbers of those executed or subjected to corporal punishment were probably considerably higher than those reported.

Background
The rift between Iran and the international community over the government's insistence on maintaining its nuclear enrichment programme continued to widen. In March, the International Atomic Energy Agency referred Iran to the UN Security Council. In December the Security Council agreed on a programme of sanctions against Iran following Iran's failure to meet an August deadline to suspend the programme. Iran continued to accuse foreign governments of fomenting unrest in border areas, and in turn was accused of involvement in the worsening security situation in Iraq. In February the US government sought an extra

US$75 million to "support democracy" in Iran. President Ahmadinejad continued to make statements threatening to the State of Israel and questioning the Holocaust. The European Union-Iran human rights dialogue remained suspended.

Local elections and elections to the Assembly of Experts, which oversees the appointment of the Supreme Leader, were held in December. The Council of Guardians, which reviews laws and policies to ensure that they uphold Islamic tenets and the Constitution, excluded all but 164 Assembly of Experts candidates, including at least 12 women who registered, on the basis of discriminatory selection procedures. The results of both elections were generally seen as a setback to the government of President Ahmadinejad.

In December, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in Iran. Iran failed to set a date for visits by any UN Human Rights mechanisms despite having issued a standing invitation in 2002.

Repression of minorities
Ethnic and religious minorities remained subject to discriminatory laws and practices which continued to be a source of social and political unrest.

Arabs continued to complain of discrimination, including in access to resources, as well as forced evictions. In October, the Council of Guardians approved a bill allocating 2 per cent of Iran's oil revenues to Khuzestan province, home to many of Iran's Arabs.

Scores of Arabs were detained during the year. At least 36 were sentenced to death or received lengthy prison terms after conviction in unfair trials of involvement in causing bomb explosions in Ahvaz and Tehran in 2005. Five were executed including Mehdi Nawaseri and Mohammad Ali Sawari who were executed in public in February following the broadcast of their televised "confessions".

• At least five women were detained, some along with their children, between February and April, in circumstances which suggested that they may have been held in order to force their husbands to give themselves up or make confessions. Four women and two children were believed to be still held at the end of the year.

• Seven lawyers defending some of those accused in connection with the bombings were summoned to appear before the Ahvaz Revolutionary Prosecutor in October on charges of "acting against state security". The summons was issued in connection with a letter they had sent to the Head of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz complaining about deficiencies in the trial of their clients. Azerbaijanis

In May, widespread demonstrations took place in mainly Azerbaijani north-western towns and cities in protest at the publication of a cartoon offensive to Azerbaijanis in the state-run Iran newspaper. Hundreds, if not thousands, were arrested and scores reportedly killed by the security forces, although official sources downplayed the scale of arrests and killings. Further arrests occurred, many around events and dates significant to the Azerbaijani community such as the Babek Castle gathering in Kalayber in June, and a boycott of the start of the new academic year over linguistic rights for the Azerbaijani community.

• Prisoner of conscience Abbas Lisani was detained in June for over three months for his participation in the demonstrations in Ardabil against the cartoon. In September, he was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment and 50 lashes on charges including "disturbing state security". At the end of October, five days after submitting an appeal, he was redetained, and his family was later informed that his sentence had been increased to 18 months' imprisonment with an additional three years of enforced internal exile. He stated his unconditional opposition to the use of violence. By the end of the year he faced two further prison sentences imposed for his attendance at the 2003 and 2005 Babek Castle gatherings. Kurds

In February, clashes between Kurdish demonstrators and the security forces in Maku and other towns reportedly led to at least nine deaths and scores, if not hundreds, of arrests. In March, Kurdish Majles deputies wrote to the President demanding an investigation into the killings and calling for those responsible to be brought to justice. An investigation was reportedly set up, but its findings were not known by the end of the year. Some of those detained later reportedly received prison terms of between three and eight months.

• Mohammad Sadeq Kabudvand, the Head of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and editor of the banned weekly newspaper Payam-e Mardom, had his 18-month suspended prison sentence for "publishing lies and articles aimed at creating racial and tribal tension and discord" increased on appeal to one year's actual imprisonment. Although summoned to prison in September, he remained at liberty at the end of the year, pending an appeal to the Supreme Court. Other Payam-e Mardom journalists were also brought to trial.

In March a Baluchi armed group, Jondallah, killed 22 Iranian officials and took at least seven hostage, in Sistan-Baluchistan province. Following the incident, scores, possibly hundreds, of people were arrested; many were reportedly taken to unknown locations. In the months following the attacks, the number of executions announced in Baluchi areas increased dramatically. Dozens were reported to have been executed by the end of the year.

Religious minorities
Members of Iran's religious minorities were detained or harassed on account of their faith.

In February over 1,000 Nematollahi Sufis peacefully protesting against an order to evacuate their place of worship in Qom were arrested. Hundreds were injured by members of the security forces and members of organized pro-government groups. In May, 52 Sufis, including two lawyers representing the group, were sentenced to one year's imprisonment, flogging and a fine, and the lawyers were banned from practising law. In August, Grand Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani issued a religious edict designating Sufism as "null and void".

Several evangelical Christians, mostly converts from Islam, were detained, apparently in connection with their religious activities.

• In September, Fereshteh Dibaj and her husband, Reza Montazemi, were detained for nine days before being released on bail. Fereshteh Dibaj is the youngest daughter of convert Mehdi Dibaj who was murdered in 1994 shortly after being released from prison where he had been held for nine years for "apostasy".

Sixty-five Baha'is were detained during 2006 and five remained held at the end of the year. In March Mehran Kawsari was released early from his three-year prison sentence imposed in connection with an open letter sent to the then President in November 2004.

In March, the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief expressed concern about an October 2005 letter instructing various government agencies to identify, and collect information about, Baha'is in Iran.

Human rights defenders
Human rights defenders faced deepening restrictions on their work and remained at risk of reprisals. In January, the Ministry of the Interior was reported to be preparing measures to restrict the activities of non-governmental organizations that allegedly received finance from "problematic internal and external sources aimed at overthrowing the system". Students, who remained a politically active section of society, were frequently targeted for reprisals, including arbitrary arrest and denial of the right to study in the new academic year.

• In August, the Ministry of the Interior banned activities by the Centre for Defenders of Human Rights (CDHR), run by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi and other leading lawyers, stating that it did not have a permit. In September, the Ministry of the Interior said a permit would be issued "if changes were made to the [centre's] mission statement".

• Abdolfattah Soltani, a lawyer and co-founder of the CDHR, was released on bail in March. He was later sentenced to five years' imprisonment for "disclosing confidential documents" and "propaganda against the system". The sentence was under appeal at the end of the year.

• Prisoner of conscience Akbar Ganji, a journalist who implicated government officials in the murder of intellectuals and journalists in the 1990s, was released in March after completing his six-year prison sentence.

Torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments
Torture remained common in many prisons and detention centres, particularly in the investigative stage of pre-trial detention when detainees are denied access to a lawyer for indefinite periods. At least seven people reportedly died in custody, some in circumstances where torture, ill-treatment or denial of medical care may have been contributory factors.

• Political prisoners Akbar Mohammadi and Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi died in July and September respectively after going on hunger strike to protest at their continued detention.

• Fourteen-year-old Mohammad Reza Evezpoor, an Iranian Azerbaijani, was arrested in April after writing "I am a Turk" on a wall. He was reportedly tortured during his three days in detention, including by being suspended by his feet for 24 hours and denied food and water. He was beaten again when rearrested in September.

At least two amputations were carried out and one person was sentenced to eye-gouging. Flogging remained a common punishment.

• Leyla Mafi received a flogging of 99 lashes in February before being released from prison into a women's rehabilitation centre. Forced into prostitution as an eight-year-old and raped repeatedly, she was arrested in early 2004 and charged with "acts contrary to chastity" for which she was sentenced to flogging followed by death. Following international pressure, her death sentence was overturned.

Impunity
Victims of human rights violations and their families continued to lack redress.

• A re-examination, ordered in 2001, of the cases of Ministry of Intelligence officials accused of the 1998 "serial murders", remained incomplete. Nasser Zarafshan, lawyer for the families of some of the victims, continued to serve a five-year prison sentence following his conviction on politically motivated charges.

Death penalty
At least 177 people were executed in 2006, including one minor and at least three others who were under 18 at the time of the alleged offence. Death sentences were imposed for a variety of crimes including drug smuggling, armed robbery, murder, political violence and sexual offences. Following domestic and international protests, the death sentences of some women and of some prisoners aged under 18 at the time of the alleged offence were suspended or lifted; some were sentenced to death again after a retrial. Two people were reportedly stoned to death despite a moratorium on stoning announced by the judiciary in 2002. Others remained under sentence of stoning to death. In September, Iranian human rights defenders launched a campaign to save nine women and two men sentenced to death by stoning and to abolish stoning in law. By the end of the year the stoning sentences of at least three of the 11 had been quashed.

Freedom of expression and association
Freedom of expression and association was increasingly curtailed. Internet access was increasingly restricted and monitored. Journalists and webloggers were detained and sentenced to prison or flogging and at least 11 newspapers were closed down. Relatives of detainees or of those sought by the authorities remained at risk of harassment or intimidation. Independent trade unionists faced reprisals and some academics, such as Ramin Jahanbegloo, were detained or dismissed from their posts.

• Up to 1,000 members of the independent, but banned, Sherkat-e Vahed Bus Company Union were arrested in January after striking to demand recognition of their union and to protest at the detention of the union's head Mansour Ossanlu. All were later released, but dozens were still forbidden from returning to their jobs at the end of the year. Mansour Ossanlu was released on bail in August after being held for over seven months in connection with his trade union activities, but was redetained for one month in November, reportedly after attending meetings organized by the International Labour Organization.

Women's rights
Demonstrations in Tehran in March and June demanding an end to discrimination in law against women were broken up harshly by the security forces. Some protesters were injured.

• Former Majles deputy Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini was arrested at the June demonstration and held for over four months before his release on bail in October. He reported that he had been tortured in detention.

In August, women's rights activists launched a campaign to gather a million signatures to a petition demanding equal rights for women. p>AI country reports/visits
Reports

• Iran: Human rights defender at risk ? appeal case: Abdolfattah Soltani (AI Index: MDE 13/009/2006)

•Iran: New government fails to address dire human rights situation (AI Index: MDE 13/010/2006)

• Iran: Defending minority rights ? the Ahwazi Arabs (AI Index: MDE 13/056/2006)

top

Iran continues to pass death sentences on child offenders

Amnesty International

Amnesty International (AI) is calling on the Iranian authorities to take immediate steps to end the shameful practice of executing child offenders (those convicted of crimes committed before the age of 18).

According to the report Iran: The last executioner of children, Iran has executed more child offenders than any other country in the world since 1990.

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has committed not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under the age of 18.

Officials from the Iranian Government and the judiciary have repeatedly stated that Iran does not execute children. However, the facts tell a different story.

The report states that 24 child offenders have been executed in Iran since 1990, 11 of whom were under 18 at the time of their execution. In most cases, the authorities waited until child offenders turned 18 before executing them. It is not clear whether the authorities understand that such executions still violate Iran's international obligation not to execute child offenders under the ICCPR.

AI is aware of 71 child offenders who are currently under sentence of death in Iran. However, the lack of information available on the death penalty in the country means this number may only be a fraction of the total.

Campaigning against the death penalty both inside and outside Iran can make -- and has made -- a difference. In some cases, death sentences have been overturned and the person has been released. In many more, stays of execution have been won.

Campaigns have also prompted the Iranian authorities to publicly comment on cases, initiate reviews of cases, order retrials and even grant pardons or amnesties.

Human rights defenders in Iran stress that international publicity and pressure in support of local efforts can help bring about change in the country. AI believes that campaigning can save lives and will eventually persuade the Iranian authorities to end the illegal execution of child offenders and bring their legal practices into line with their obligations under international law.

AI opposes the death penalty for anyone, regardless of their age and the nature of the crime or the character of the condemned. Every execution is an affront to human rights and an act of premeditated cruelty that denies the right to life as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

AI's report calls for the abolition of the death penalty for child offenders in Iran. The Head of the Judiciary should immediately implement a moratorium on the execution of child offenders until such changes can be made law.

The death sentences of the 71 child offenders documented in AI's report, and any other child offenders on death row in Iran, must be commuted.

Ending executions of child offenders in Iran, while a major objective in itself, is just one step on the road to total abolition -- but a vitally important step that should be taken without delay.

Sina Paymard, the 16-year-old reprieved at the gallows in 2006 by relatives of the murder victim after he had played the flute.

Delara Darabi, aged 20, faces execution after being convicted of the murder of her father's 58-year-old female cousin. She was 17 at the time of the crime.

top

Tehran Regime's Paranoia

Talk to foreigners and we will view you as a spy, Iran warns academics
Robert Tait in Tehran
The Guardian

Iran's powerful intelligence ministry has stepped up its war of nerves with the west by telling the country's academics they will be suspected of spying if they maintain contact with foreign institutions or travel abroad to international conferences.

The blunt warning has been issued by the ministry's counter-espionage director in an atmosphere of rising suspicion and paranoia as Iran claims to have cracked a CIA-backed spy ring and has charged three American citizens with spying.

In a briefing with Iranian journalists, the official - whose identity was not disclosed - accused western intelligence agencies of using academic contacts to lure scholars into an espionage network against Iran. He said seminars inside and outside the country were used.

"Unfortunately, our lecturers are exposed to intelligence threats," he said. "We are worried about many academic conferences which foreigners attend and establish relations [with Iranian academics]. Any foreigner who establishes relations is not trustworthy. Through their approaches, they first establish an academic relationship but this soon changes into an intelligence relationship.

"Some conversations which take place under the auspices of academic or scientific interviews are pretexts for getting close to the country's scientific figures. Unfortunately some decent individuals fall into the trap of these plots."

The official also elaborated on claims that Iran had uncovered a spy network run by US and British intelligence from Iraq. The network was active in Tehran and six western provinces neighbouring Iraq, he said, and was engaged in planning bombings, assassinations and kidnappings, and filming sensitive installations. He said the ring included many Iranians but did not say if academics were among them.

Some scholars claim spying allegations are a pretext to purge universities of those deemed too liberal or pro-western. Some say they have been hounded from their posts after their foreign contacts or attendance at international seminars aroused suspicion. Dozens of lecturers have been forced into early retirement as Iran's fundamentalist president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has sought to stamp out the relatively permissive campus atmosphere that flourished under his reformist predecessor, Mohammad Khatami.

"I have been told that my services will not be required in the next academic year, even though I am not close to retirement age and they need lecturers in my field," one social scientist, who has taught in the US, told the Guardian. "I was told that I was in touch with quite a few foreign academics and travelled abroad quite frequently to lectures and, therefore, I was a suspicious person. They warned that if I followed it up and created publicity, they would make more trouble for me and even threatened my family. It's terrible. For the first time in my life I have the feeling I'm living in a police state. I think things will get worse before they get better."

The mood has been captured on campuses by the appearance of slogans such as "the cultural revolution is forthcoming", seen as signalling a return to puritanical values of the 1979 Islamic revolution. It has been accompanied by tales of harassment for such perceived offences as advocating a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or even wearing a tie, seen as a decadent western affectation.

This week Iran said it was charging two American-Iranian scholars Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh with spying after accusing them of fomenting a "velvet revolution". Parnaz Azimi, a journalist, has been charged with acting against national security.

top

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on human rights cases in Iran

The European Union is deeply concerned by recent developments in the human rights situation in Iran. The EU is particularly troubled by the recent wave of arrests of civil society and women's rights activists. Teachers, students, union members, scholars and journalists exercising their right to freely express their opinion are facing constant intimidation, and stricter dress codes for men and women are being imposed by force. It has been noted with concern that at least three offices of non-governmental organisations were recently closed. The EU also wishes to draw attention to the worsening of the situation of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, in particular to the plight of the Baha'i, who are excluded from public life, discriminated against and harassed.

The EU expresses its concern about continued executions in Iran and urges the Iranian Government to actively respect and protect the fundamental human rights of its citizens by completely abolishing, in particular, the juvenile death penalty, amputations and other cruel punishments, such as stoning. It calls on Iran to uphold its moratoria on these practices and, as a matter of urgency, to introduce them into law, as recommended by the last UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Iran.

In particular, the EU deplores the execution of Mohammad Moussavi on 22 April 2007 in Shiraz, Iran, despite the fact that he was only 16 at the time of his crime. The EU had previously raised his case on two occasions with the Iranian authorities, including in 2005, when the Iranian authorities told us that the Chief of the Judiciary would intervene to stop any juvenile executions which came to his attention. The EU recalls its long-held position that the death sentence may not, in any circumstances, be imposed on persons who were below the age of 18 when their crime was committed.

This execution is a direct contravention of Iran's freely undertaken obligations under the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is also a breach of the moratorium on the execution of juvenile offenders that the Iranian Government announced in 2005 and which it assures the EU is still in place. The EU urges the Iranian Government to implement the moratorium fully and to consider alternative sentences for the juvenile offenders remaining on death row in Iran.

The EU also expresses its deep concern that two amputation sentences were carried out against thieves in Kermanshah, Western Iran on 27 February and 13 May 2007. These sentences contravene the commitment that Iran made to the EU in March 2003 to implement a moratorium on amputations. The EU calls on the Iranian Government to take action to ensure that no amputation sentences are handed down by judges or carried out in future.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

top

Urgent Action: Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi - Kurdish trade unionists held

UA 115/07 Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment/ prisoners of conscience IRAN
Heis Amani (m) ]
Sedigh Karimi (m) ] trade unionists

Amnesty International fears that trade unionists Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi may be held incommunicado at an unknown location and are possibly at risk of torture or ill-treatment. Amnesty International believes that the two men are prisoners of conscience, held solely for the peaceful expression of their conscientiously held beliefs, and calls for their immediate release.

Heis Amani is the head of the Union of Unemployed and Dismissed Workers (Ettehadiye Kargaran-e Bikar va Ekhraji), while Sedigh Karimi is a member of the union's governing body. The two men were among some 400 people who took part in a demonstration on 1 May in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran�s Kordestan province, marking International Workers' Day. An unknown number of people were detained following the demonstration in Sanandaj. At least 12 people were held until 10 May and another was scheduled to be released on bail on 12 May. Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi are now the only protesters still held by the authorities. Amnesty International has no news of their whereabouts, nor of any charges brought against them.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In recent months, members of Iran�s organised labour movement have held numerous demonstrations aimed at drawing attention to their working and living conditions. On 1 May, demonstrations were broken up by security forces, including in Sanandaj and Tehran, where up to 600 workers reportedly chanted slogans against the government and parliament.

In March and April, hundreds of teachers, mostly members of local Teachers� Associations or the National Council of Teachers� Associations, were detained in connection with demonstrations which began in March 2007 by teachers demanding higher pay and better working conditions. All those arrested in connection with the demonstrations were later released. Late in April, many more teachers were arrested, including, on 7 April, the entire board of the Hamedan Teachers� Association, who were held in connection with events organized by the Association's leadership. They have since been freed.

The harassment and arrest of labour leaders has been accompanied by arrests of students and women�s rights activists as part of an apparent crackdown on the internationally recognized rights to free expression and free association by the Iranian authorities. For more information, please see: Iran: Arrests of peaceful demonstrators and activists continue, at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130452007?open&of=ENG-IRN and Iran: Beating and arrest of workers is no way to commemorate May Day, at http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130492007?open&of=ENG-IRN .

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, English, Arabic or your own language:
- calling on the authorities immediately to reveal the whereabouts of trade unionists Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi, who have reportedly been detained incommunicado in Sanandaj since 1 May;
- urging the authorities to release Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi immediately and unconditionally, if they are held solely for their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of expression or association in support of workers rights;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that while Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi are in custody they have unconditional access to their families and lawyers of their choice;
- asking for a detailed account of the reasons for their arrest, including any charges brought against them;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi are not tortured or ill-treated, and to allow them immediate access to any medical treatment they may require.

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

Governor of Kurdistan
Esmail Najjar
Email:If sending emails in English, French or your own language, please use the feedback form on the English part of the website: http://en.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?TabID=59 If sending emails in Persian and Kurdish, please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian part of the website: http://www.ostan-kd.ir/Default.aspx?tabId=150&cv=4@0_1
Salutation: Dear Governor

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 27 June 2007. Working to protect human rights worldwide

top

Iran (MDE 13/052/2007) - lawyers appeal against prison terms

Further Information on UA 265/06 (MDE 13/116/2006, 03 October 2006)
Arbitrary arrest/fear for safety/possible prisoner of conscience

IRAN Keyvan Rafi'i (m), human rights defender
Kheyrollah Derakhshandi (m), member of the Alumni Association
of Iran and former student activist
Abolfazl Jahandar (m), journalist and former student activist
Dr Keyvan Ansari (m), Central Council member of the Alumni Association of Iran

Lawyers representing three of the four men named above, all held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, reportedly lodged appeals against their prison sentences during April, in Branch 32 of the Appeals Courts. The case of the fourth man, Keyvan Rafi'i, has reportedly been sent back for review.

Dr Keyvan Ansari was sentenced to four-and-a-half years by Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court for "acting against state security, meeting and colluding with the intention of carrying out propaganda activities against the government and insulting officials". Dr Keyvan Ansari, a member of the Alumni Association of Iran (Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami [Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat]), was reportedly arrested on 18 September outside his house and held in solitary confinement in Section 209 of Evin Prison. His appeal was scheduled to be heard on around 17 April before Branch 32 of the Appeals Court in Tehran.

Kheyrollah Derakhshandi and Abdolfazl Jahandar were sentenced to three and two-and-a-half years' imprisonment respectively for "acting against state security, meeting and colluding with those intending to disturb state security". The lawyers for the three men have reportedly launched an appeal against the sentences before Branch 32 of the Appeals Court. Kheyrollah Derakhshandi, a graduate in industrial management, and journalist Abolfazl Jahandar, who was a member of the general council of the student organisation Office for Fostering Unity (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat) while he was a student, were both reportedly arrested on 19 August.

In mid-January Keyvan Rafi'i's case reportedly went before a judge of Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The judge reportedly said that, due to deficiencies in the case, including the matter of his failing health, brought about by conditions he faced in section 209 of Evin Prison, and an earlier lack of access to legal representation, he could not issue a verdict and has sent the case for review. Keyvan Rafi'I, who had undertaken several hunger strikes in protest against the conditions he was held in, was transferred on 20 April to Section 7 of Evin Prison, where drug addicts are reportedly held. He was arrested on 9 July 2006 and the exact reasons for his arrest are not known, but it is feared it may have been in connection with his activities to publicize human rights violations in Iran: He is the spokesman in Iran for an organization called Human Rights Activists in Iran

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On 5 September President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a speech to a selected group of students, saying, "Our education system has been under the influence of secular and arrogant thinking for 150 years in such a way that self-belief and identity were ignored and efforts were made to promote a secular system and secular thoughts in society... I tell young people that changing the secular teaching regime that has dominated for 150 years is a difficult thing " We need to do it together. Measures have been taken before, but it is not sufficient". A number of students have been denied permission to return to university for the new academic year, apparently because of their political activities.

Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Khoini, the Head of the Alumni Association of Iran, was detained on 12 June 2006 and released on bail on 21 October. He had reportedly been tortured and ill-treated (see UA 181/06, MDE 13/075/2006, 30 June 2006, and follow-up). He is now believed to be facing charges of acting against state security by participating in the demonstration for women's rights"; "disturbing public order"; "propaganda against the system"; and "insulting the Leadership". No date is known to have been set for his trial before Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

The Alumni Association, whose membership is open to graduates of Iranian universities, has been active in promoting democracy and human rights in Iran. The office of the Alumni Association was raided by the security forces on 18 September, and computers and other office equipment was seized. The association's website, www.advarnews.com, which posted news about the student movement and human rights, was forced to close, but has since reopened on www.advarnews.us.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Kurdish, English or your own language:
- asking what charges Keyvan Rafi'I, Kheyrollah Derakhshandi, Abolfazi Jahandar and Dr Keyvan Ansari are facing and what evidence there is against them;
- urging the authorities to drop any charges which relate solely to the peaceful exercise of their internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and association;
- stating that if they were to be convicted and imprisoned solely on the basis of such charges, Amnesty International would consider them to be prisoners of conscience, who should be released immediately and unconditionally;
- urging the authorities to end any harassment of student or human rights organizations carried out solely in connection with their peaceful defence of human rights or other peaceful political activities.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 22 June 2007. Working to protect human rights worldwide

top

Iran: Beating and arrest of workers is no way to commemorate May Day

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: MDE 13/049/2007 (Public)

Amnesty International is concerned at the reported beating today of workers taking part in peaceful May Day demonstrations in Tehran and Sanandaj as well as the arrest in Sanandaj of Sedigh Karimi and Khaled Rasouli, members of the Union of Unemployed and Dismissed Workers (Ettehadiye Kargaran-e Bikar va Ekhraji). According to information available to Amnesty International, scores of others may have been detained in the course of the May Day demonstrations.

Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is upheld and to promptly charge those detained with an internationally recognisable criminal offence or to release them.

Reports indicate that a small number of peaceful demonstrators separated from the May Day demonstration permitted by the authorities in Shahid Shiroudi stadium in central Tehran and began to move towards the 7th of Tir Square. A group of around 600 workers reportedly chanted slogans against the government and parliament, as clashes between demonstrators and security forces broke out in places.

Up to 15 Intelligence Ministry officials reportedly attempted to detain Mansour Ossanlu, head of the Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs United Bus Company at the 7th of Tir metro station, though he apparently managed to escape. Reports suggest that scores of others have been detained in connection with the May Day demonstration in Tehran.

In Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan province in north-western Iran, at 10 am, Intelligence Ministry officials reportedly broke up a gathering of around 400 workers, injuring and arresting an unknown number of participants.

Behzad Sohrabi and Hassan Qaderi, workers rights activists, were reportedly beaten and injured while Sedigh Karimi, member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Unemployed and Dismissed Workers, and Khaled Rasouli, Deputy Director of the same organisation, were detained by Intelligence Ministry officials.

Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party, guarantees the right to peaceful assembly.

Article 3 of the United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials states that force may only be used when strictly necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty. The same Code of Conduct states that the use of force by law enforcement officials is an exceptional and principles of proportionality are to be respected.

In advance of a planned demonstration by teachers, scheduled to take place on 2 May, Amnesty International is calling on the authorities to protect the right of participants to assemble peacefully and to ensure that the policing of any demonstration, whether a permit has been granted or not, is in accordance with international human rights standards.

Background
Since March teachers have held demonstrations and strikes demanding better pay and conditions in Tehran and other towns and cities which have led to the arrest of dozens of trade union activists. Up to nine teachers continue to be held apparently without charge or trial in connection with these activities.

On 28 April, a speech by Mansour Ossanlu, to be given to the Islamic Society of Students at the Faculty of Law of Tehran University was cancelled at the last minute by the university officials. He had been scheduled to discuss the problems faced by labour organisations and delivered his talk informally at gates of the university.

Mansour Ossanlu was detained between December 2005 and August 2006, and was re-arrested in November 2006 and held at Section 209 of Evin Prison until 19 December, when he was released on bail. His lawyer said on 12 December 2006 that he had been detained because of his trade union activities as well as his contacts with international organizations such as the International Labour Organization, UN and international workers organisations. Amnesty International believes that Mansour Ossanlu was a prisoner of conscience.

For more information, see: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130112007?open&of=ENG-2MD

top

Arrests of women may be an attempt to prevent International Women's Day calls for equality

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: MDE 13/022/2007 (Public)

Amnesty International today called for the immediate and unconditional release of over 30 women activists who were arrested on Sunday, 4 March while staging a peaceful demonstration in Tehran. The organization believes the arrests may be intended to deter activists from organizing events to mark International Women's Day on 8 March.

The women were arrested outside Tehran's Revolutionary Court, where they had gathered to protest at the trial of five women charged in connection with a demonstration held on 12 June 2006 to demand that women be given equal rights with men under the law in Iran. The June demonstration was violently dispersed by security forces, who arrested at least 70 people.

"Rather than arresting peaceful demonstrators, the Iranian authorities should be taking seriously women's demands for equality before the law and addressing discrimination against women wherever it exists in the Iranian legal system," said Irene Khan, Amnesty International's Secretary General. "We worry that the women detained yesterday may be kept in detention until after 8 March, a day on which they were planning to campaign for their internationally recognized right to equality."

Those arrested on Sunday, who included at least four of the five on trial, were taken to the Vozara Department for Social Corruption, a detention centre usually used for people accused of minor crimes, such as violations of the dress code. Family members of those detained are said to have gone to the Vozara Building in an attempt to gain access and secure the release of their relatives, without success. According to reports, all the women were later transferred to Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence and is outside the control of Iran's prison service.

Background
Those arrested in the 12 June 2006 demonstration include Fariba Davoodi Mohajer, Shahla Entesari, Noushin Ahmadi Khorassani, Parvin Ardalan and Sussan Tahmasebi. All had been summoned to appear before Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on charges of "propaganda against the system", "acting against national security" and "participating in an illegal demonstration".

Others have also been charged in connection with the 12 June demonstration, but have not yet been summoned to court. Another, Zhila Bani Ya'qoub, a journalist who was among those arrested on 4 March, was tried and acquitted in January 2007 on a charge of participating in an illegal demonstration relating to the 12 June demonstration.

In August 2006, Iranian women's rights activists launched a "Campaign for Equality", aimed at collecting a million signatures from Iranians in support of changes to the law to end legalised discrimination against women. The campaign's website has been filtered by the Iranian authorities on several occasions in recent weeks, making it difficult for people in Iran to access information about the campaign. Amnesty International is supporting this campaign and will issue a joint statement calling for equal rights for women in Iran on International Women's Day with Iranian lawyer and prominent human rights activist Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.

Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

top

Jailed Student Leader Batebi Suffers Brain Stroke

Hasan Zarezade Ardeshir
ROOZ

In a background of increasing intimidation against student activists, yesterday, jailed student leader Ahmad Batebi suffered a second brain stroke and was taken to the hospital.

Batebi had several seizures on Friday night and was in a coma for a few hours. Yesterday, Batebi had a second brain stroke and was taken to the Evin Prison's clinic, where doctors began monitoring his condition.

Batebi's colleagues in prison contacted outside sources to announce that Batebi had a brain stroke on Friday and had spent 3 hours in a coma.

Ahmad Batebi, who was first arrested in the aftermath of the 1999 student uprising, was taken back to jail this summer and lived under deplorable prison conditions. It was reported that prison officials had confiscated and taken away all of Batebi's personal belongings after his second stroke.

After being discharged from the hospital on Friday, Batebi was first taken to the prison clinic and then to his own cell. But after his second stroke yesterday, he was taken back to the prison clinic. According to his cellmates, Batebi was only half-conscious when he was being transported to the clinic.

Batebi's doctors believe that he is suffering from numerous physical and mental ailments resulting from harsh prison conditions, and should be treated outside prison.

In recent months, there has been an increase in the number of summons orders issued against student activists, particularly in Sabzevar Tarbiat Moallem, Sanandaj Azad, Tabriz Azad, Mazandaran Technical and Polytechnic universities.

Ali Nikoo Nesbati, who is a member of the central committee of Daftare Tahkim Vahdat [Office of Student Solidary], told Rooz, "In the past month at least 300 students have been summoned to disciplinary committees, and that number has actually increased with the new wave of summoning."

According to him, in the past 8 months alone 75 University of Tehran students have been summoned to disciplinary committees, which is unprecedented in the history of the university.

Akbar Atri, former member of Daftare Tahkim, told Rooz, "The new administration's biggest problem is the university, and they have not been able to solve it yet. Contrary to their predictions, students have proved to be much more active and resilient in the past few months. Now, given the background of the people in the Ahmadinejad administration, they will continue to suppress the students; unless the opposition persists and expands, and forces the administration to retreat."

In Atri's view, "Because of the country's situation, there is possibility of a major retreat against foreign pressures. Since they usually feed these things to people as victories for the Revolution, but anticipate large opposition to come from students and student activists, they have already begun to take preventative measures."

top

Iran: Appeal Case: Abbas Lisani - Prisoner of Conscience

Abbas Lisani, aged 39, is an activist for the rights of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority. He has been held in Ardebil Prison since 31 October 2006, when he was arrested by members of the security forces, apparently without a warrant, in violation of Iranian law. He is currently serving two prison sentences: one of 18 months and the other of one year. Abbas Lisani undertook a hunger strike between 1 January and 31 January 2007 in protest at being denied short-term prison leave and at the harassment of his family. Amnesty International believes him to be a prisoner of conscience, held for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and of association.

Abbas Lisani was initially arrested on 3 June 2006, and spent nearly four months in detention in poor health before being released on bail of 80 million rials (over US $8,600). He faces other trials related to his peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority.

Abbas Lisani was arrested at his home in the north-west town of Ardebil on 3 June 2006. More than 30 plainclothes security officials are said to have shot the lock off the door and entered the house without showing a warrant, in violation of the law. Abbas Lisani was beaten by security officials in front of his wife and two young children, and they insulted his wife when she asked them not to beat him. The security officials reportedly said that they had orders allowing them to shoot him, and then handcuffed him and took him away. They also confiscated CDs, books, two mobile phones and a computer from the house.

From 22 May 2006 onwards, there had been widespread demonstrations in cities in north-west Iran, in protest at a cartoon published in the state-owned daily newspaper Iran, which many Iranian Azerbaijanis found offensive. On 27 May 2006 there was a mass demonstration in Ardebil, which Abbas Lisani attended. He had reportedly been threatened by security officials prior to the demonstration that he would be killed if he attended the demonstration. Abbas Lisani was reportedly injured during the demonstration, but managed to escape and went into hiding for about a week. He was arrested after he returned home. Before he was arrested, he told his family and friends that he would go on hunger strike if detained.

For two days, Abbas Lisani was detained at a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence in Ardebil, before being transferred to Ardebil Prison. His family did not know his whereabouts until 7 June, when, in a phone call lasting only a couple of minutes, he told them that he was detained in Ardebil Prison, held in solitary confinement, and was on hunger strike.

Abbas Lisani had limited access to his family. He was permitted his first family visit on 29 June 2006, some 26 days after his arrest. His lawyer was only allowed to see him once, though several other requests for visits were denied.

Abbas Lisani's hunger strike reportedly lasted for 58 days, for some of which he also refused liquids. He was reportedly put on a drip on several occasions: once while in a prison medical facility, and on two other times it was administered to him inside his prison cell. Throughout his hunger strike he was detained in solitary confinement. He finally ended his hunger strike on 30 July 2006, after being granted his first family visit, during which he was reportedly very weak and could barely speak. By the end of his hunger strike he had lost about 30 kilograms in weight.

Four days prior to his release, on 26 September 2006, Abbas Lisani and some other prisoners went on hunger strike again to protest at the arrest of a three-months' pregnant woman. Kobra Gorbanzadeh and her husband Fazayel Azizian had participated in a protest for the release of all political prisoners in Iran in front of Ardebil's justice department. Her husband was arrested and when Kobra Gorbanzadeh attempted to visit him later in prison, she was arrested too. Having found out about his wife's arrest, Fazayel Azizian began a hunger strike and was joined by Abbas Lisani and others. The authorities finally released Kobra Gorbanzadeh as well as Abbas Lisani, thus breaking the hunger strike.

Abbas Lisani reportedly told his wife, Roghayeh Lisani, that he was sharing his cell with Ostovar Ebrahimi, one of the prison guards, who was apparently detained with him after having received several warnings from his superiors about treating Abbas Lisani with too much respect, which he had ignored.

On 27 September 2006, one day after Abbas Lisani was released from detention, Branch 105 of Ardebil General Court sentenced him to 10 months' imprisonment and 50 lashes for participating in the "cartoon demonstration" on 27 May 2006 in Ardebil, and to a further six months' imprisonment for participating in the destruction of public and state property by calling on people to participate in the demonstration which had led to this damage.

Abbas Lisani submitted a written appeal against this sentence, dated 26 October 2006. He claimed in his defence that the demonstration was not illegal, and that he had never called on people to cause damage, but had rather sought to keep matters calm. He alleged that the authorities had ignored video and other evidence from the demonstration to this effect.

On 31 October 2006, five days after lodging his appeal, he was re-arrested. His family later received a copy of a verdict from Branch 1 of Ardebil Appeal Court, which indicated that the prosecution had also appealed the initial verdict. The Appeal Court judge increased the sentence of 10 months' imprisonment to one year, bringing the total to 18 months' imprisonment. The verdict apparently confirms the sentence of 50 lashes and, in addition, states that his punishment should include spending three years in forced exile in the city of Tabas in the central province of Yazd. His current imprisonment is in order to serve this sentence, and another sentence confirmed later relating to his participation in a cultural gathering in 2003.

Amnesty International is concerned that the procedure before the Ardebil Appeal Court, particularly the speed with which the review appears to have taken place, may not have provided a genuine review, both in facts and in law, of Abbas Lisani's case.

On 20 December 2006, Abbas Lisani's lawyer, Mohammad Reza Faqihi, stated in an interview with the Iranian Students News Agency that Abbas Lisani's case was being considered by Branch 15 of the Supreme Court.

Amnesty International recognizes that although the May 2006 demonstrations were largely peaceful, some ended with attacks on government buildings and cars. Some Iranian Azerbaijani sources have claimed these attacks were instigated by government agents. The Iranian government has accused the United States (US) and other outside forces of stirring up the unrest. The US government has denied this.

However Amnesty International has noted Abbas Lisani's statement that he had never called on people to cause damage, but had rather sought to keep matters calm. As such, it believes that he was detained solely on account of his participation in the organization of demonstrations in May 2006, which he believed should have remained peaceful. Amnesty International therefore believes that Abbas Lisani is a prisoner of conscience and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Abbas Lisani wrote a letter to the Prosecutor General of Ardebil in late December 2006 in which he criticised the failure to grant him leave, his increased sentence and the manner of his latest arrest. He announced that he would start a hunger strike after three days if he was not granted leave from prison.

On 16 January 2007, Abbas Lisani was moved from solitary confinement to Section 1 of Ardebil Prison, where he was forced to share a cell with non-political prisoners, some of whom are drug addicts. In Iran, although many prisons have sections for political prisoners, at times political detainees are detained with non-political prisoners; a measure which political prisoners believe is implemented by the authorities in order to increase pressure on them. On 18 January 2007, Abbas Lisani was transferred back to solitary confinement, where he was reportedly detained in a very small cell without any heating, in an area of Ardebil where the temperature can reach -10°C during the night. After several days he was reportedly given a heater. Prison officials have allegedly threatened him.

Abbas Lisani is said to suffer from stomach and kidney problems, and pain in his ribs, which is allegedly a consequence of torture inflicted during previous periods of detention. According to reports, he is receiving no medical treatment in prison.

On 27 January 2007, Abbas Lisani's family was permitted to see him. He was said to have lost a lot of weight and to be unable to recognize some members of his family. On 28 January 2007, following rumours that he had died, his mother was permitted to speak to him inside the prison very briefly.

On 27 January, Abbas Lisani wrote a letter to the prison authorities protesting at their decision to send his file to Tehran to seek a pardon for him. On 30 January, Akbar A'lami, Majles member for Tabriz, talked about Abbas Lisani's case in an interview with the Iranian Labour News Agency ILNA. He said, "It seems that his protest stems from double-standards and arbitrary interpretations of a circular issued by the Head of the Judiciary and Article 216 of the regulations of the Prisons' Organization. Based on the said circular … the prison's classification council can give prisoners five days leave per month after they have served a minimum of two months, whereas, according to Lisani's lawyer, he has not benefited from this facility…Experience shows that the continuation of such a trend is not by any means beneficial for the country. Hence, in view of the steps that have been taken to obtain the release of the people detained and jailed in relation to the recent events in Azerbaijan - which … Ayatollah Shahrudi's [the Head of the Judiciary] …has issued the relevant order [for] �" the expectation continues to be that they should arrange for the people, including Abbas Lisani, who still remain in prison on the charge of taking part in the recent unrest, to be released as soon as possible so that they can return to the arms of their families."

On 31 January 2007, Abbas Lisani ended his hunger strike, in response to requests from his family and supporters. There are still concerns about his health, and access to medical treatment.

Abbas Lisani has been detained on several occasions previously because of his peaceful activities for the rights of the Iranian Azerbaijani community. Several cases have been brought against him in connection with these arrests. These include charges related to attending a commemorative gathering for Constitution Day at the mausoleum of Baghir Khan in August 2005; attending an annual cultural gathering at Babek Castle in 2003 and 2005; and his participation in a protest at the Sarchesme mosque in Ardebil in 2004.

On 25 August 2003, Abbas Lisani was arrested after participating in an annual cultural gathering at Babek Castle in the town of Kalayber, north-western Iran. Each year, thousands of Iranian Azerbaijanis gather in Kalayber and walk up to the castle to celebrate the birthday of Babek Khorramdin, who lived in the ninth century and is regarded as a hero by Iranian Azerbijanis. He was eventually released on bail of 50 million rials (equivalent to over US$6,000) on 18 September 2003.

On 6 August 2005 Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Ardebil sentenced him to one year's imprisonment, to be served in exile in the province of Khuzestan, after conviction on the charges of ‘acting against national security', ‘propaganda against the system', ‘pan-Turkism', and ‘publishing a Turkish calendar'. Abbas Lisani appealed against this sentence and his case was referred to the Supreme Court in Tehran which sent it for retrial in Kalayber. On 13 August 2006, the Revolutionary Court in Kalayber sentenced Abbas Lisani to one year's imprisonment. The requirement for the sentence to be served in exile was removed. This sentence was confirmed on appeal, and has been added to the time he must serve in prison.

On 22 June 2004, Abbas Lisani was arrested for his participation in a peaceful sit-in protest at the Sarcheshme mosque in the city of Ardebil. On this occasion, after security forces took control of the mosque, they beat Abbas Lisani severely, and suffocated him by covering his mouth and nose with a blanket until he fainted. He was left with severe injuries, including broken ribs, a punctured left lung, damage to his left kidney, a broken nose, facial injuries, but was denied medical treatment. He continues to suffer ill-health as a result of his ill-treatment. He lodged a complaint against his treatment in court, but this was dismissed.

Abbas Lisani was then detained in solitary confinement for two days at an unknown location, believed to be a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence. He then appeared before a judge in Branch 7 of the Revolutionary Court in Ardebil, who ordered that he be detained for a further month. The judge reportedly refused to order medical treatment for him and told him that the Intelligence service "should have done worse". In Ardebil prison he was again detained in solitary confinement on two occasions; the first for 13 days, and a second time for 7 days. Abbas Lisani went on hunger strike twice to demand medical care, but without success. He was released on 22 July 2004 following a bail payment of 200 million rials (equivalent to over US$25,000). He was later fined 800,000 rials (equivalent to around US$87), and given a suspended sentence of 15 lashes, for ‘disturbing public order'.

Abbas Lisani was also arrested in connection with his participation in the 2005 annual gathering at Babek Castle, which took place on 29 June. He was reportedly arrested at the Babek Hotel, by Ministry of Intelligence officials. He spent eleven days in detention, and was on hunger strike for eight days in protest at his arbitrary arrest, prior to his release on bail.

On 6 September 2006, while he was still in detention in Ardebil, Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Kalayber sentenced Abbas Lisani to one year's imprisonment, for spreading "propaganda against the system" under Article 500 of the Penal Code. According to the court verdict, the basis for the charge includes his participation in the annual Babek Castle demonstration in 2005; encouraging others to participate in this gathering; reciting Azerbaijani poems and other material at the gathering; publishing and distributing an Azerbaijani Turkic language calendar, sending messages abroad via the internet, being in telephone contact with his supporters abroad, and intending to promote Azerbaijani Turkic nationalism and independence. He is believed to have appealed against this sentence and his case to be under review by a Revolutionary Court in Tabriz.

Amnesty International believes that the charges of "propaganda against the system" and "acting against state security" of which Abbas Lisani has been convicted in relation to his attendance of the 2003 and 2005 Babek Castle gatherings, do not constitute recognizably criminal offences. Moreover, according to the court verdicts, the bases for the charges appear to relate solely to his peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority. If he were to serve these prison sentences Amnesty International would continue to consider him a prisoner of conscience and call for his immediate and unconditional release.

Abbas Lisani was also arrested on 3 August 2005 among with several other Iranian Azerbaijani activists, after participating in a gathering to celebrate Constitution Day, at the mausoleum of Baghir Khan, the leader of the constitutional movement and a national hero for Iranian Azerbaijanis. He was released on bail after several days in detention. According to recent reports, Abbas Lisani will soon face a further trial before the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz on charges related to his participation in this event.

In addition to arrest, imprisonment and torture, Abbas Lisani has been subject to other forms of harassment as a consequence of his activism. His house and butcher's store have been searched on numerous occasions by officials from the Ministry of Intelligence, often without a court order. During these searches property has been confiscated from the house, including Turkish-language books, music cassettes and videos, copies of a Turkish calendar which he had designed and published; and photographs of friends, family members and of the Babek Castle events. He has been verbally insulted, and received threats to his personal safety, including death threats, on many occasions.

Members of Abbas Lisani's family have also been subject to harassment. Some of them have been questioned and threatened, in phone calls and in person, by officials from the Ministry of Intelligence. After his arrest in June 2006, Abbas Lisani's wife was threatened on numerous occasions that she should not talk about her husband's condition to the media or she too would be arrested. The family's butcher's store - their sole source of income - has been closed. The store had previously been vandalized on several occasions by unknown individuals, and customers of the store have also reportedly been questioned by Ministry of Intelligence officials. Following the closure of the store, a former employee was briefly detained and was released on condition that he no longer works in the shop. The authorities then withdrew the store's license to operate. While free from prison between 27 September 2006 and 31 October 2006, Abbas Lisani was allowed to reopen his shop, but was unable to find any workers so was unable to trade. As a result of this, and his subsequent detention, his family is suffering financial hardship. While out of detention, his house was monitored by the authorities using CCTV, with guards stationed outside who questioned guests who entered or left.

BACKGROUND: The Iranian Azerbaijani minority

Iranian Azerbaijanis, who are mainly Shi'a Muslims, are recognized as the largest minority in Iran and are generally believed to constitute at least 25-30 percent of the population. They are located mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. Although generally well-integrated into society, in recent years, they have increasingly called for greater cultural and linguistic rights, such as the right to education through the medium of the Azerbaijani Turkic language (often referred to as "Turkish" in Iran), which they believe is provided for under the Constitution, and to celebrate Azerbaijani culture and history at events such as the annual Babek Castle gathering and Constitution Day. However, these demands have often been suppressed by the Iranian authorities. A small minority advocate secession of Iranian Azerbaijan from the Islamic Republic of Iran and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Those who seek to promote Iranian Azerbaijani cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who often accuse them of vague charges such as "promoting pan-Turkism".

At the end of June 2005, scores of Iranian Azerbaijani participating in the Babek Castle gathering in Kalayber were arrested. At least 21 were later sentenced to prison terms of between three months and one year, some of which were suspended, reportedly after conviction of charges such as "spreading propaganda against the system" and "establishing organizations against the system". Some were also banned from entering Kalayber for a period of 10 years.

On 31 March 2006, scores were reportedly arrested after holding an annual commemorative demonstration in the city of Tabriz.

In May 2006, massive demonstrations took place in towns and cities in north-western Iran, where the majority of the population is Iranian Azerbaijani, in protest at a cartoon published on 12 May by the state-owned daily newspaper Iran which many Iranian Azerbaijanis found offensive. Hundreds were arrested during or following the demonstrations. Some of those detained were allegedly tortured, with some requiring hospital treatment. Publication of the newspaper was suspended on 23 May and the editor-in-chief and the cartoonist were arrested. Iranian Azerbaijani sources have claimed that dozens were killed and hundreds injured by the security forces. The security forces have generally denied that anyone was killed, although on 29 May a police official acknowledged that four people had been killed and 43 injured in the town of Naqada. While many have now been released, others remain detained and some, like Abbas Lisani, have been sentenced to prison terms and flogging in connection with the demonstrations.

Further arrests took place around the 2006 Babek Castle gathering and in September 2006, when many Iranian Azerbaijanis participated in a boycott of the new academic year which began on 23 September.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send faxes/ e-mail letters in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
-calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Abbas Lisani, as he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely on account of his peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani community, including his participation in the 2003 Babek Castle gathering and the May 2006 "cartoon demonstration" in Ardebil;
-asking the authorities to give details of the procedure before the Ardebil Appeal Court, particularly as the review of Lisani's case was conducted so quickly and expressing concern that the procedure followed may not have provided a genuine review of Abbas Lisani's case;
-expressing concern that Abbas Lisani is facing further prison terms connected to his peaceful activities;
-urging the authorities to commute his sentence of flogging immediately, as it amounts to torture;
-calling on the authorities to grant Abbas Lisani immediate and unconditional access to his lawyer, continued and regular access to his family, and access to any medical treatment that he requires;
-calling for an investigation into Abbas Lisani's allegations that he was tortured and denied medical care for his injuries in June 2004;
-reminding the authorities of their responsibilities as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Article 7 says "No one shall be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment";
-calling for all those found responsible for torture of detainees or prisoners to be brought to justice in fair trials;
-expressing concern for the safety of Abbas Lisani's family, who have reportedly been harassed and intimidated by the authorities, and calling for them to be given all necessary protection to ensure their safety.

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Imam Khomeini Avenue,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:hadadadel@majlis.ir

Minister of the Interior
Hojjatoleslam Mustafa Purmohammadi
Ministry of the Interior, Dr Fatemi Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: ravabetomomi@moi.gov.ir
Fax: +98 21 8 896 203 / 8 899 547 / 6 650 203

Islamic Human Rights Commission
Mohammad Hassan Ziaie-Far
Secretary, Islamic Human Rights Commission
P.O. Box 13165-137 or PO Box 19395/4698
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:ihrc@majlis.ir
Fax: +9821 2204 0541 to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

top

Iran: Amnesty International concerned by prosecution of Dr Hesam Firouzi and abuses against "18 TIR" students

Amnesty International welcomes the release on bail on 24 January 2007 of Dr Hesam Firouzi, detained since 6 January 2007, but is concerned that he continues to face prosecution because of his work as a medical doctor and for his human rights activities. He is reportedly charged with "hiding an escaped prisoner" in his house; "acting against the security of the system" by giving interviews to foreign radio stations about the existence of torture in prison; and "possessing a satellite dish", which is illegal in Iran. The prisoner to whom the charges refer is former student Ahmad Batebi, one of those imprisoned in connection with the so-called "18 Tir" demonstration in July 1999.

Amnesty International is urging the Iranian authorities to drop all charges against Dr Firouzi which relate solely to his peaceful exercise of his internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and association, or his right to practise his profession. If he were to be imprisoned on the basis of such charges, he would be a prisoner of conscience and Amnesty International would call for his immediate and unconditional release.

Dr Hesam Firouzi was first arrested and detained for two days on 2 October 2006. Members of the security forces reportedly raided his home and confiscated all his books, documents and computer, without noting what they were removing, in violation of Iranian law. On 3 January 2007, he received a summons to appear before Branch 14 of Tehran's Revolutionary Court on 6 January. When he attended, he was arrested and taken to Evin Prison. His wife said, in an interview with Deutsche Welle Radio that Ahmad Batebi had visited her husband in his office and had stayed in their house for one week to get rest and constant care. She said, "the judge told my husband that he should not have done that, but my husband said 'I am a physician and have taken an oath to treat my patients without discrimination and what their crime is and what kind of personality they have is irrelevant. I must provide them with medical treatment anyway'. For this reason, they sent my husband to Evin Prison."

At a court session on 22 January 2007, bail for Dr Firouzi's release, which had originally been set at 5 million toumans in cash (around US$5,500) was increased to 25 million toumans collateral security (over US$270,000). In a report carried by the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA) on 24 January 2007, his lawyer announced Dr Hesam Firouzi's release. On 26 January 2007, his wife, Mahta Bordbar, stated to ILNA that her husband had been released in the evening of 24 January.

Ahmad Batebi was initially arrested in connection with involvement in a student demonstration in July 1999, known as the "18 Tir" demonstration, which was violently suppressed by security forces. Hundreds were arrested and many were brutally tortured, including Ahmad Batebi, who continued to suffer severe health problems as a result.

Ahmad Batebi and three others were sentenced to death on charges relating to endangering national security following unfair and secret trial procedures by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran. Ahmad Batebi's death sentence was commuted to a 15-year prison term by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, later reduced to 10 years on appeal in early 2000. In March 2005, Ahmad Batebi was reportedly temporarily released, in order to allow him to get married and to seek medical treatment. The period of leave was then extended, but Ahmad Batebi failed to return to prison after it had expired. During his absence from prison, Ahmad Batebi continued to receive medical treatment, including from Dr Hesam Firouzi.

Ahmad Batebi was re-arrested on 27 July 2006 and is held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, run by the Ministry of Intelligence and outside the control of the Prisons Organization, which is responsible for sentenced prisoners. It is believed he spent about the first three months of his time there in solitary confinement. He is now said to be held in a communal cell in which he is deprived of access to fresh air and sunlight. It is feared he is not receiving the medical treatment he needs for his serious health problems.

In August 2006, shortly after Ahmad Batebi was rearrested and after he had begun a hunger strike in protest at his re-imprisonment, Dr Hesam Firouzi wrote an open letter to the prison authorities in August 2006 in which he said that his patient was at risk of paralysis or a heart attack in prison. The letter detailed Ahmad Batebi's health problems, which included dislocation of the hips, bleeding in the kidneys, gastritis and a duodenal ulcer, and stated that there was a risk he could die if he was not released.

In December 2006, shortly after meeting his son in prison, Ahmad Batebi's father expressed his serious concern over his son's state of health and queried why he remained held in Section 209, which is where detainees under interrogation are usually held. He said, "if they don't mean harm, why is Ahmad in Section 209? They are playing with our emotions. Our son is slowly losing his life and no one takes responsibility for this. I really feel that they might do something to him this time. I can see in his eyes that he is asking for help but what can I do?"

Another "18 Tir" student, Abbas Deldar, was conditionally released on or around 10 January 2007 after serving half his 15-year sentence. He too had originally been sentenced to death. Mehrdad Lohrasbi, whose death sentence was also commuted to 15 years' imprisonment, remains detained in Section 2 (where violent prisoners are held) in Raja'i Shahr prison near Tehran. He is reportedly in need of medical treatment for both mental and physical ailments. In November 2005 he wrote in a letter from prison: "At this moment however, I am extremely ill and suffer from everything from problems with my left knee, my lungs, gums and teeth (scurvy) and a tumour that has begun to rapidly grow in the left side of my cerebellum which I am told may be malignant and probably cancerous. I have requested a medical furlough from the prison authorities and they have categorically refused to permit me to receive medical attention."

It was reported in December 2005 that Mehrdad Lohrasbi had been told that in order to be granted medical leave, he would have to provide bail of over US$22,000, which his family was unable to afford. In September 2006 it was further reported that Mehrdad Lohrasbi had gained a massive amount of weight, and was suffering from shooting pains in his chest and constant leg-pain. He was also said to be suffering from insomnia, and to be taking a lot of sedatives.

Akbar Mohammadi, another "18 Tir" student, died in custody in suspicious circumstances in July 2006. Released on long-term medical leave in July 2004 to treat his health problems stemming from his torture in detention, he was rearrested from his home in Amol on 11 June 2006 shortly after having published a book in which he described some of his experiences in prison.

On 19 July 2006, Akbar Mohammadi was transferred to the medical clinic inside Evin Prison. A prison doctor reportedly refused to give him any pain-relief medication, which led to a verbal altercation between himself and the doctor. Akbar Mohammadi was then allegedly beaten by a prison guard, before being transferred back to his prison cell. To protest the denial of medical care and his ill-treatment, Akbar Mohammadi decided to go on hunger strike, stating to his family that "the regime is trying to kill me slowly in jail by refusing me proper medical care. Therefore, if I am going to die anyway, I will choose my own way".

Akbar Mohammadi began a hunger strike on or around 21 July 2006. On the last three days of his hunger strike he refused liquids as well as solids, apparently because prison officials were not permitting him to use the toilet. Akbar Mohammadi's lawyer sought to meet him following the news that he had begun a hunger strike, but this was prevented by the prison authorities. On 26 July 2006 Akbar Mohammadi was transferred to the prison medical facility where he stayed until 30 July. An Iranian parliamentary delegation visiting Evin Prison was denied permission to visit the section of the prison -- possibly the clinic itself -- in which he was held. It is alleged that he was gagged and bound to a bed while this delegation visited the prison. He was later transferred back to his prison cell. His condition reportedly worsened in the course of that day and he died on 31 July 2006.

A lawyer acting on behalf of his relatives has submitted a request for an investigation into Akbar Mohammadi's death. The lawyer stated that other prisoners detained with Akbar Mohammadi reported that Akbar Mohammadi did not receive adequate medical treatment and was returned to the prison cell at 7.30pm on 30 July 2006. Akbar Mohammadi reportedly told the other prisoners that the prison doctor had told him he had suffered a heart attack. When the prisoners asked him why he had been transferred back to the cell, he said that prison officials had told the medical facility officials, "Let him go back to the ward, and die like a dog". He died the next day.

In November 2006, the lawyer for Akbar Mohammadi's family said the case had been referred to the police criminal office from the Disciplinary Court for Government Employees, but stated that he believed that the police criminal office would not be able to conduct an independent investigation of the witnesses in the prison. He added that the criminal prosecutor had found some faults in the forensic medicine report into Akbar Mohammadi's death and called for its revision. The lawyer went on to say that an independent medical assessment of Akbar Mohammadi's case was required.

Amnesty International is repeating its call for an immediate judicial review of the cases of Ahmed Batebi, Mehrdad Lohrasbi and any other person imprisoned after unfair trials in Iran. It is also calling on the Iranian authorities to ensure that both prisoners have access to all necessary medical treatment. In addition, Amnesty International is also calling for a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture of the "18 Tir" students, and into Akbar Mohammadi's death in custody, which should be consistent with the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions.

top

Iran - Further Information on UA 331/06 (MDE 13/135/2006, 12 December 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/137/2006, 14 December 2006) - Incommunicado detention/Fear of torture or ill-treatment/possible prisoner of conscience New concern: Unfair trial Sherko Jihani (m), journalist and human rights defender

Journalist and human rights defender Sherko Jihani has been transferred to Mahabad Central Prison in northwestern Iran. He had previously been held incommunicado at an unknown location, believed to be a detention facility belonging to the Ministry of Intelligence. He is believed to have been tortured, including by being beaten severely, and he is said to be in poor health. He may have been detained for his peaceful activities in defence of the rights of Iran's Kurdish minority, in which case Amnesty International would consider him a prisoner of conscience.

A report published on 31 December 2006 on the website of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan (HROK), (see http://basharnews.blogspot.com/2006_12_01_basharnews_archive.html) stated that Sherko Jihani had been moved back to Mahabad Central Prison. On 25 January 2007, the HROK reported that Sherko Jihani had appeared before Branch 1 of the General Court of Mahabad on 22 January, charged with "spreading lies". He appeared in a separate case on 24 January 2007 before Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court of Mahabad charged with "propaganda against the system" and "acting against state security" (http://basharnews.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_basharnews_archive.html). Both trial sessions were said to have been closed and to taken place without the presence of a defence lawyer.

Sherko Jihani's family were able to visit him in Mahabad Central Prison on 8 January 2007, and again shortly before his first trial hearing. They have not been permitted to visit him since then.

Sherko Jihani, the correspondent of the Turkish news agency Euphrat in Mahabad and a member of the HROK, was detained on 27 November 2006. During his interrogation, he was reportedly accused of involvement in organizing protests against the kidnapping on 8 January 2006 of a woman human rights activist, Sarveh Komkar (Kamkar), and for giving interviews to foreign stations about the killing by Iranian security forces of a Kurdish activist, Showan (Shivan) Qaderi, in July 2005.

Sherko Jihani reportedly refused to pay bail of 50 million Rials (about US$ 5,500) and on 30 November began a hunger strike in protest at his arrest and detention. On 4 December, he began refusing to speak. On 6 December 2006, Sherko Jihani was removed from Mahabad Prison and was held incommunicado at an unknown location until 13 December when he was allowed to phone his family briefly.

Sherko Jihani has reportedly been arrested nine times since 1999 and is said to have been tortured during previous periods of detention.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Violent unrest in the Kurdish areas of northwest Iran broke out in July 2005 and continued for several weeks after Iranian security forces shot dead a Kurdish opposition activist, Showan Qaderi, and reportedly dragged his body through the streets behind a Jeep. Thousands of Kurds took to the streets to protest. Security forces reportedly used light and heavy weaponry in response to the demonstrations, which in at least some places included attacks by demonstrators on government buildings and offices. Up to 20 people were reportedly killed and hundreds more injured. The authorities acknowledged that five people were killed, and stated that their deaths were under investigation. At least 190 people were arrested, according to official reports, although the true figure may well be higher.

Kurdish human rights defenders in Iran are at risk. Several human rights defenders and journalists involved in the July 2005 demonstrations have received death threats.

On 8 January 2006, Sarveh Komkar, also a member of HROK, was reportedly arrested by a special intelligence and security unit of the Revolutionary Guards before witnesses in the town of Mahabad, Kurdistan. She was released five hours later, having sustained injuries and bruises from a severe beating, after her family and the members of HROK complained to the authorities and pointed to a lack of evidence against her. Other members of the HROK have also been imprisoned or are facing prosecution, possibly in connection with their peaceful activities on behalf of the Kurdish minority in Iran.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern that Sherko Jihani may have been detained solely in connection with his peaceful activities on behalf of the rights of the Kurdish minority. If this is the case, he is a prisoner of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally;
- asking to be informed in detail of the charges against Sherko Jihani , including the evidence against him and the outcome of any trial proceedings against him;
- expressing concern that his trial proceedings on 22 and 24 January 2007 without the presence of a defence lawyer do not appear to have met international standards for fair trial;
- calling for an investigation in to the allegations that he has been tortured in detention, and for anyone found responsible for abuses to be brought to justice promptly and fairly;
- calling for him to be granted immediate access to a lawyer of his own choosing and to any medical treatment he may require.

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746
Salutation: Your Excellency to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 9 March 2007.

top

Iran - Further Information on 301/06 (MDE 13/126/2006, 13 November 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/123/2006, 7 December 2006) - Fear of imminent execution

Abdullah Suleymani (m) aged 27
Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani (m),
Qasem Salamat (m) aged 43,
Mohammad Jaab Pour (m),
Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab (m),
Alireza Asakreh (m),
Majed Alboghubaish (m),
Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi (m),
Malek Banitamim (m) aged 30,
Abdul Husain Haribi (m),
Husain Maramazi (m),
Husain Asakreh (m)

Alireza Asakreh, Malek Banitamim and Ali Matouri Zadeh were reportedly executed on 19 December in Sepidar prison in Khuzestan province. The other nine men named above remain at grave risk of imminent execution.

The bodies of the executed men were reportedly not handed to their families for burial, and it is feared they will be buried in an unmarked, mass grave site called La'natabad (Place of the damned). The security forces are reportedly preventing people from visiting the families to offer condolences.

On 13 November, an Iranian local television station, Khuzestan TV, broadcast a documentary which included the "confessions" of nine of these men, as well as a tenth man named as Ali Motairi Nejad, whom Amnesty International believes to be Ali Matouri Zadeh, who was arrested along with his pregnant wife on 28 February 2006 (see UA 107/06, MDE 13/042/2006, 28 April 2006 and follow up). The 10 men had been sentenced to death in connection with involvement in bomb explosions which took place in cities in Khuzestan province in 2005. In the programme, the 10 people, said to be members of a group named Al-e Naser, (a little-known Iranian Arab militant group that is not known to have been active since the time of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s) "confessed" to their involvement in the bomb explosions.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Much of Iran's Arab community lives in the province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq. The province is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran's oil reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population. Historically, the Arab community has been marginalised and discriminated against. In April 2005, Iranian Arabs took part in mass demonstrations in Ahvaz city, after it was alleged that the government planned to disperse the country's Arab population or to force them to relinquish their Arab identity. Hundreds were arrested and some were reportedly tortured. Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz city in June and October 2005, which killed at least 14 people, and explosions at oil installations in September and October, the cycle of violence intensified, with hundreds people reportedly arrested. Further bombings on 24 January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further mass arrests. Two men, Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Awdeh Afrawi, were executed in public on 2 March 2006 after they were convicted of involvement in the October bombings. Their executions followed unfair trials before a Revolutionary Court during which they are believed to have been denied access to lawyers, and their "confessions", along with those of seven other men, were broadcast on television. Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but is unconditionally opposed to the death penalty as the ultimate violation of the right to life. Please see Iran: Death Sentences appeal case - 11 Iranian Arab men facing death sentences, AI Index MDE 13/051/2006, May 2006).

Iran has a history of airing video-taped "confessions" on television. In previous cases, people who have made such "confessions" have later stated that such confessions were made after they had been tortured or ill-treated. Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which includes the right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess guilt (Article 14.3.g). Principle 21 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states that it should be prohibited to take undue advantage of the situation of a detainee for the purpose of compelling him to confess or incriminate himself.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing grave concern that the nine remaining men (naming them) may be in imminent danger of execution;
- urging the Iranian authorities to commute their death sentences immediately;
- expressing concern that their trials appear to be have been unfair, and asking for details of their trial proceedings, including whether they were granted access to independent lawyers of their choice, and, if indeed convicted and sentenced to death, whether they have been allowed to appeal against their convictions and sentences, as required by Article 14 (5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
-expressing concern that the men may have been compelled to testify against themselves or to confess guilt during interrogations which did not respect the necessary human rights safeguards, such as the right to access to legal counsel;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@iranjudiciary.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO: to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 2 February 2007.

top

Iran - Human rights defender and lawyer - Appeal Case Saleh Kamrani

Saleh Kamrani, an Iranian Azerbaijani lawyer and human rights defender, was released from Section 209 of Evin prison (which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence) on 18 September 2006. Amnesty International believes that he was detained solely in connection with his activities as a lawyer defending Iranian Azerbaijanis and others and for the peaceful exercise of his internationally recognized rights to freedom of expression and association in support of greater rights for the Iranian Azerbaijani community. Amnesty International is also concerned that Saleh Kamrani and his family have continued to be harassed by the Iranian authorities since his release, and that the charges brought against him have been used to prevent him from practicing his profession.

Incommunicado detention Saleh Kamrani "disappeared" on 14 June 2006. At around 3pm on that day, he called his wife, Mina Esgeri, at their house in Tehran to say that he was on his way home. He should have arrived by 4.30 or 5pm. When he did not arrive as expected, she tried to call him, but found his mobile phone switched off, which was unusual for him. She called all the hospitals and police stations in Tehran but did not find any trace of him. In the evening, she called Ministry of Intelligence officials who at that time reportedly refused to confirm whether or not they were holding her husband. Saleh Kamrani's office staff later said that he had left his office expecting to give an interview to an employee of INS, an Azerbaijani news agency, who is also said to work for the BBC.

Saleh Kamrani had, in fact, been accosted by three plain-clothes men five minutes after finishing the interview, one of whom said they were from the Anti-Drugs Department and who demanded he go with them. When he objected and demanded a court order, the men threatened to shoot him. After getting into their car, he was handcuffed, sworn at and insulted. One of the men pressed his hands against Saleh Kamrani's face. He was finally taken to Section 209 of Evin Prison. At the entrance, he was blindfolded and the handcuffs were removed. He was forced to undress and all his belongings were confiscated before he was taken to Cell 77 (measuring 2x1.5m) on the second floor, where he was given two old blankets. The door had only one small window with three bars for the guards to look in. The cell light was kept on permanently, and this, combined with the shouts and cries of other prisoners and their conflicts with their interrogators, meant that Saleh Kamrani had extreme difficulty sleeping. He had no access to books or newspapers, or to fresh air in the cell, which he described as a small dungeon.

After four days, it became clear that Saleh Kamrani was indeed detained by the Ministry of Intelligence. In an interview on 19 June 2006 on Araz Radio, broadcasting from Sweden, Mina Esgeri said that she had been allowed to meet her husband on 18 June 2006. Further information relating to this meeting suggested that it lasted for 20 minutes and took place in the Revolutionary Court detention facility.

Saleh Kamrani was held in solitary confinement and reportedly subjected to psychological torture, which included threats of arresting his wife. He was also prevented from sleeping as he was repeatedly summoned for lengthy interrogation sessions in the middle of the night. He spent a total of 97 days in solitary confinement, but said that occasionally other prisoners were brought to his cell in order that he could not complain to the court that he had never been held with others. He reportedly went on hunger strike for seven days, demanding an end to threats against his wife and the release of one of his lawyers, Ramin Mohammadkhani, who had been arrested during the interrogation of Saleh Kamrani before Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office and had been brought to Evin Prison handcuffed to Saleh Kamrani.

Saleh Kamrani was questioned about all aspects of his life and was threatened. The evidence against him reportedly included speeches, interviews, and correspondence from the previous 15 years, recorded telephone conversations, SMS messages, statements of other people about him, including from his brothers, which had been extracted under torture (see below) and even included a picture of Saleh Kamrani wearing a tie. He was also accused of contacting human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and of having contacts with foreigners, including Israelis.

The authorities reportedly discussed with Mina Esgeri the possibility of releasing her husband on bail and she was told that he could be conditionally released if she paid 10 million Toumans (over US$10,000). Mina Esgeri reportedly used family property deeds to guarantee the sum, but was told that the bail amount had been increased to 50 million Toumans (around US$54,000). She managed to raise this amount, and on 6 July 2006 reportedly spent the day outside Evin Prison awaiting his release only to be told that the authorities had changed their mind about releasing her husband on bail, and that the order for his detention had been extended. On 18 July 2006 she reportedly waited for the whole day in front of Evin Prison, hoping to be able to visit her husband, but to no avail.

Since then Mina Esgeri was permitted to visit her husband several times in Evin Prison at an approximate interval of two weeks. The visits always took place in the presence of officers of the Ministry of Intelligence who requested that Saleh Kamrani and his wife spoke in Persian, which they categorically refused to do.

Saleh Kamrani suffers from a defective heart valve for which he has to take regular medication in order to control his heart rate. If his heart rate increases too much, he is at risk of heart failure. During his detention he was reportedly denied access to his medication. On 9 August, his wife was reported as saying that he had been examined on two occasions by prison doctors, but that a request that he be transferred to the medical ward had been denied by the prison authorities. When his heart rate increased during his detention, despite the recommendation of his doctor that in such cases he should be treated by a heart specialist, he was taken to the prison clinic where he was treated by a doctor, or on occasion, by a nurse, who gave him medication without the presence of a doctor. Following medical examinations after his release, it has been reported that his heart condition has worsened.

Saleh Kamrani is also suffering stomach pains as a result of his hunger strike, skin rashes for which he is receiving treatment from a dermatologist, and leg pain.

In July, it was reported that Saleh Kamrani's case was under investigation by Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Tehran. However, in August, if was reported that the case had been referred to Branch 13 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran and that his initial court hearing had been set for 13 September 2006. This was the first time that he was allowed to meet his other lawyer, who had never been given an opportunity to meet Saleh Kamrani to discuss his case. A further court hearing took place on 18 September 2006, in which he was charged under Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran which states that "Whoever propagates in whatever manner against the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran or in favor of groups or organizations who oppose the system shall be sentenced to imprisonment from three months to one year". He was sentenced to one year's imprisonment, suspended for five years. Ministry of Intelligence officers were present at both court hearings.

The verdict in his trial stated: "In respect of the charge against Mr. Saleh Kamrani, son of Morad, concerning his propaganda activity against the sacred Islamic Republic of Iran, his guilt and delinquency has been ascertained and established with a view to the indictment issued, the report by the Ministry of Intelligence, interviews with foreign radio stations including VOA News and the BBC on 14/6/2006, page 72 of the file, his legal representation of opponents of the system and disrupters of national security and ethnic nationalists, page 71 of the file, exacerbating the lack of security by various means, sending SMS messages to various persons containing propaganda against the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran, confessions of the defendant in this regard and his unjustified statements before the court and other indications and circumstantial evidence. Under Article 500 of the Islamic Penal Code, he is sentenced to one year's imprisonment, accounting for the period of his detention. The said sentence is suspended for five years in accordance with Article 25 of the Islamic Penal Code, to be enforced should he commit a crime during the period of suspension." Following this court session, Saleh Kamrani was released from detention.

Caption
Saleh Kamrani after his release from detention in Section 209 of Evin Prison (� Private)

According to information, following his release, Saleh Kamrani is reportedly under tight surveillance by the Ministry of Intelligence: he is being followed and has been threatened with arrest should he "misbehave". His wife, Mina Esgeri, reportedly said that he has since visited a cardiologist who ordered him to rest for two months; however she added that he now seems to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder as he is too nervous and worried to sleep.

Since his release, Saleh Kamrani has been unable to practice as a lawyer as his lawyer's card was retained by the authorities, and as a result he has no source of income to support himself and his wife. Without his card, he is unable to carry out functions such as entering court. His mobile phone was also confiscated while he was in detention and has not been returned to him and as he has had to close his office, his clients have no means of contacting him. Saleh Kamrani and his lawyer have both requested that his phone and lawyer's card be returned to him, but this has been refused.

Article 9 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders affirms the right of everyone to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. Article 11 of the same Declaration states that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to the lawful exercise of his or her occupation or profession (UN General Assembly resolution 53/144 of 1998).

Iranian Azerbaijani lawyer Saleh Kamrani has been practicing his profession since 1999. He has represented a number of Iranian Azerbaijanis who have been detained in connection with their political or cultural activities. Saleh Kamrani has also defended members of other ethnic groups, such as Iranian Arab writer Yusuf Azizi Bani Torof and Persian human rights defender Mohsen Sazegara. He has repeatedly suffered harassment at the hands of the Iranian security forces, including phone calls threatening him with arrest. His telephone conversations, correspondence and contacts are monitored and he and his wife have been interrogated and threatened by security officials when leaving or entering the country. Saleh Kamrani has also been prevented from leaving Iran on several occasions. In 2005 he was detained for three days with his brother in the town of Oromieh.

Iranian Azerbaijanis, who are mainly Shi'a Muslims, are the largest minority in Iran, who constitute at least 25-30 per cent of the population. They are located mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. As Shi'a, they do not suffer as much discrimination as minorities of other religions, and are well-integrated into the economy, but there is a growing demand for greater cultural and linguistic rights, including implementation of their constitutional right to education through the medium of Azerbaijani Turkic. A small minority advocate secession of Iranian Azerbaijan from the Islamic Republic of Iran and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Those who seek to promote Iranian Azerbaijani cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who often accuse them of vague charges such as "promoting pan-Turkism".

At the end of June 2005, scores of Iranian Azerbaijanis participating in an annual cultural gathering at Babek Castle in Kalayber were arrested. At least 21 were later sentenced to prison terms of between three months and one year, some of which were suspended, reportedly after conviction on charges such as "spreading propaganda against the system" and "establishing organizations against the system". Some were also banned from entering Kalayber for a period of 10 years. On 31 March 2006, scores were reportedly arrested after holding an annual commemorative demonstration in the city of Tabriz.

In May 2006, massive demonstrations took place in towns and cities in north-western Iran, where the majority of the population is Iranian Azerbaijani, in protest at a cartoon published on 12 May by the state-owned daily newspaper Iran which many Iranian Azerbaijanis found offensive. Hundreds were arrested during or following the demonstrations. Some of those detained have allegedly been tortured, with some requiring hospital treatment. Publication of the newspaper was suspended on 23 May and the editor-in-chief and the cartoonist were arrested. Iranian Azerbaijani sources have claimed that dozens were killed and hundreds injured by the security forces. The security forces have generally denied that anyone was killed, although on 29 May a police official acknowledged that four people had been killed and 43 injured in the town of Naqada. While many have now been released, others remain detained and some have been sentenced to prison terms and flogging in connection with the demonstrations.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- welcoming the release of Saleh Kamrani;
- stating that you consider Saleh Kamrani to have been a prisoner of conscience, detained solely on account of his peaceful activities, including his duties as a lawyer;
- urging the authorities to review his conviction with a view to dropping his suspended sentence, which, if it were implemented, would lead to his re-detention as a prisoner of conscience;
-calling on the authorities to return his mobile phone and lawyer's card to him to enable Saleh Kamrani to continue working as a lawyer;
- reminding the authorities that, as a state party, they have undertaken to uphold Article 19 of the ICCPR which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS To:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir -- istiftaa@wilayah.org
Fax: +98 251 774 2228 (mark "FAO the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei")
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to H.E Ahmadinejad
Email:dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: (Via Ministry of Justice) + 98 21 3 311 6567 (Mark: "Please forward to HE Ayatollah Shahroudi")
Email: info@iranjudiciary.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Imam Khomeini Avenue,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746

Islamic Human Rights Commission
Secretary of the Islamic Human Rights Commission
P.O. Box 13165-137 or PO Box 19395/4698
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +9821 2204 0541
E-mail: ihrc@majlis.ir

Iranian Bar Associations Union
No. 3, Zagros St.,
Argentina Sq.
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 8771340
E-mail: tamas@iranbar.org

top

Iran: Amnesty International concerned at increasing censorship

Amnesty International is greatly concerned at the rising tide of censorship in Iran and the government's continuing harassment of human rights defenders. The blocking of access to Internet sites, closure of newspapers and websites, the banning of books, and arrests and intimidation of journalists, bloggers and human rights defenders who spread the news of human rights violations indicate the Iranian authorities' continuing and increasing restriction of the right to freedom of expression, including the right to freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.

Most recently, popular sites such as Wikepedia, YouTube and Amazon.com have been blocked, permanently or temporarily, as part of a growing trend of restriction of sites which are deemed "immoral or against the principles of Islam". In practice, many sites belonging to domestic and foreign news organizations, political organizations, and those carrying information about human rights have been blocked. For example, the Tehran-based Kurdish Human Rights Organization's site, and the Meydaan site which carries information about women's human rights, including a campaign launched recently aimed at abolishing execution by stoning in Iran, have both been blocked.

Human rights activists and others have also faced interrogation and charges related to their accessing of Internet sites abroad, or their sending or receiving information by e-mail. For example, Mehdi (Oxtay) Babaei Ajabshir, an Iranian Azerbaijani, was arrested in July 2006 prior to his planned attendance of an annual Iranian Azerbaijani cultural gathering, and sentenced in September to six months of imprisonment for "membership of illegal opposition groups aimed at harming national security". The evidence against him included "sen[ding] several e-mails to the Gamoh website to protest, as he alleges, their action of preparing a new flag. In addition he visited other ethnic nationalist websites and forwarded some of their items to his friends".

The Iranian authorities' increasing attempts to control the use of the Internet have been reflected in official statements. For example, in May 2006, Reza Rashidi Mehrabadi, managing director of the government-owned Information Technology Company (ITC), announced that Iran's nationwide filtering database, which can be used to block access to Internet sites, would shortly begin work. He was reported as stating that his company would be able to identify every Internet user in the country and log their access to Internet sites.

In September 2006, according to the ITC, more than 10 million Internet sites were being filtered by the relevant authorities, including the judiciary, the committee for identifying unauthorized websites and the filtering system database, and that around "200 - 300 immoral and filter-busting websites per day" were being newly filtered.

In October, the organization in charge of setting out regulations governing radio telecommunications issued regulations which would restrict online speeds to 128 kilobits per second and which would ban Internet service providers from offering fast broadband packages, a technical measure which would severely restrict the ability of Iranians to download information from the Internet. This order was protested by members of the Majles (Iran's parliament). In late November, it was reported that all websites dealing with Iran would be required to register with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance within the next two months, a move likely to facilitate the future closure of websites that have not registered.

This year, 2006, has also seen a continuing clampdown on other mass media. The authorities have continued to shut down newspapers, and their editors and journalists have been arrested or summoned to court on vague charges such as "propaganda against the system" or "insulting the leadership". Others who have travelled abroad have been harassed on their return. In November, for example, a group of journalists who had attended a training seminar in the Netherlands arranged by a Dutch NGO and the Iranian Journalists Association were detained and interrogated for three hours at Tehran airport on their return before being released. An increasing number of books, including some which had previously been granted permission to be published, have been banned. In July, the authorities announced a crackdown on the private use of satellite receiving dishes, which, although illegal, have been widely used in Iran in recent years. Thousands of dishes are reported to have been confiscated.

International law guarantees the right to freedom of information and the free flow of ideas across borders. Iran has specific obligations under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to safeguard the right to freedom of expression. While this right may be legitimately restricted in specified circumstances, Amnesty International is concerned that the restrictions imposed by the Iranian authorities go far beyond what is permissible under international human rights law.

In a December 2005 report the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression recommended that: [any] intergovernmental body administering, partially or totally, Internet governance must ensure freedom of opinion and expression; all States take measures to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression on the Internet, inter alia, extending to website contributors and bloggers the same protection as other media; Internet providers and website registration with national authorities should not be subject to any specific requirement. (UN Doc. E/CN.4/2006/55, par. 78-79).

Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to release all prisoners of conscience, including detained bloggers such as Arash Sigarchi and Kianoosh Sanjari, immediately and unconditionally and to remove all restrictions on the operation and usage of the Internet that violate the right to freedom of expression, and to end practices such as censorship, monitoring and surveillance that do not conform with its international obligations. Iran should also review its legislation to ensure that, among other things, ambiguous provisions such as those relating to national security, propaganda, or insulting state officials should be clearly defined or removed to ensure that they cannot be applied in an arbitrary manner to stifle legitimate dissent, debate, opposition and freedom of expression.

top

Political Prisoners Attacked in Evin

Hasan Zarezade Ardeshir
ROOZ

Last Saturday, a number of political prisoners, including attorney Dr. Naser Zarafshan, were attacked and severely beaten by violent convicts in Evin prison in Tehran. Dr. Zarafshan's wife confirmed this report in an interview with Rooz.

At about 4 p.m. Naser Zarafshan called his wife from prison to inform her that the clashes were ongoing. He believed that the clashes were completely preplanned and staged.

As Dr. Zarafshan's wife told Rooz, "My husband was able to contact me for a very short time after two days to tell me that a number of very violent convicts had been transferred from the Rajaishahr Prison in Karaj to Evin to pressure and intimidate Evin's political prisoners. They were also being helped by some of Evin's violent convicts, such as Ismail Eftekhari, better known as Ismail the Stabber."

Also on Saturday the Student Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners released a statement saying, "According to our reports, a number of political prisoners including Dr. Naser Zarafshan, Saeed Shah Ghaleh, Gholam Kalbi and Shahin Nia have been injured after being attacked and severely beaten by some of the prison's most violent convicts."

According to the student committee's reports, the attacks took place again on Thursday but the prison's guards did not do anything to stop it.

The statement continues, "According to the news coming out of the Evin Prison, the attacks were preplanned and organized by the prison's management. They were carried out by violent convicts and led by a man named Seyyed Jalil Gharib, a former government employee who is serving time on charges of corruption.

Though present at the seen, the prison's guards did not do anything to prevent the beating of the political prisoners.

A few months ago a similar incident tool place at the Rajaishahr Prison in Karaj, as a result of which another political prisoner, Behrouz Javid Tehrani, was severely injured.

A former prisoner, Bina Darabzand, who is in touch with some of Evin's political prisoners told Rooz, "Following these clashes, and after Saeed Shah Ghaleh [one of the victims] was transferred to solitary, the political prisoners have threatened the prison's management that they would go on a hunger strike if Mr. Shah Ghaleh does not return from the solitary and the prison's head, Zareh, is not held accountable for the incident."

In Darabzand's words, "Prisoners in ward 350 believe that, ever since Zareh has taken charge of the Evin Prison, he has tried to instill terror and fear in the political section with the help of his security officers; and that the past few days' clashes follow this trend. For this reason, the political prisoners have decided to go on a hunger strike beginning this week if their demands are not met."

IRAN - Further Information on UA 107/06 (MDE 13/042/2006, 28 April 2006) Fear of torture and ill-treatment/ Medical concern/ Possible prisoners of conscience - New concern: Fear of imminent execution
Ali Matouri-Zadeh (m), aged 30 ] husband and wife
Fahima Ismail Badawi (f) aged 26
] Salma', aged eight months ] daughter

Ali Matouri-Zadeh, a member of Iran's Arab minority and one of the founding members of Hizb al-Wifaq (or Lejnet al-Wefaq) an illegal political party in Iran, has reportedly had his death sentence upheld by the Supreme Court. He could be executed at any time.

On 9 November, the head of the Khuzestan Prosecutor's offices, Abbas Ja'afari Dowlat Abadi, reportedly announced that the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence against ten out of 19 people accused of involvement in bomb explosions in Khuzestan, including Ali Matouri-Zadeh, and that they would be publicly hanged.

Ali Matouri-Zadeh was reportedly arrested on 28 February and held incommunicado in an unknown place of detention where he has been at risk of torture or ill-treatment. His wife, Fahima Ismail Badawi, and her mother were reportedly arrested at the couple's home a few hours later and taken to Sepidar prison, in Khuzestan province. Her mother was released a week later.

Fahima Ismail Badawi was eight months' pregnant when she was arrested and gave birth to a daughter Salma' in the prison on 25 March 2006. Both mother and child were then reportedly transferred to Karoon prison. At the beginning of June, Fahima Ismail Badawi was reportedly sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by Branch 3 of the Revolutionary court in Ahvaz. She had been a school teacher in Ahvaz city, in Khuzestan province and had studied mathematics at Dezfoul University, north of Ahvaz, where she became politically active.

On 4 November, the Judiciary banned Hizb al-Wifaq and declared it illegal on charges of instigating unrest and opposing the system. According to a statement from the Ahvaz Prosecutor's office "The Lejnat al-Wefaq party (Committee of reconciliation) is illegal and ... membership and connection with that party will be severely confronted".

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Much of Iran's Arab community lives in the province of Khuzestan which borders Iraq. It is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran's oil reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population. Historically, the Arab community has been marginalised and discriminated against. Tension has mounted among the Arab population since April 2005, after it was alleged that the government planned to disperse the country's Arab population or to force them to relinquish their Arab identity. Hundreds were arrested and there have been reports of torture. Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz City in June and October 2005, which killed at least 14 people, and explosions at oil installations in September and October, the cycle of violence intensified, with hundreds more people reportedly arrested. Further bombings on 24 January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further mass arrests. Two men, Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Awdeh Afrawi, were executed in public on 2 March after they were convicted of involvement in the October bombings. Their executions followed unfair trials before a Revolutionary Court during which they are believed to have been denied access to lawyers, and their confessions, along with those of seven other men, were broadcast on television. At least 13 other Iranian Arabs are also reportedly under sentence of death, accused of involvement in the bombings, distributing material against the state, having contact with dissident organizations operating abroad, and endangering state security. Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but is unconditionally opposed to the death penalty as the ultimate violation of the right to life. Please see Iran: Death Sentences appeal case - 11 Iranian Arab men facing death sentences, AI Index MDE 13/051/2006, May 2006, http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130512006?open&of=ENG-IRN

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing grave concern that Ali Matouri-Zadeh may be in imminent danger of execution;
- urging the Iranian authorities to commute his death sentence immediately;
- asking for details of Ali Matouri-Zadeh and Fahima Ismail Badawi's trial proceedings, including the specific charges against them, whether they have been granted access to independent lawyers of their choice, and of any appeals they may have made against their sentences;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.
- calling on them to ensure that they are given immediate access to lawyers, their family, interpreters and any medical treatment they may need;
- seeking assurances that they are not being tortured or ill-treated;

COPIES TO: to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

top

IRAN - Fear of imminent execution
Abdullah Suleymani (m) aged 27,
Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani (m),
Qasem Salamat (m) aged 43,
Mohammad Jaab Pour (m),
Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab (m),
Alireza Asakreh (m),
Majed Alboghubaish (m),
Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi (m),
Malek Banitamim (m) aged 30

The nine men named above, all members of Iran's Arab minority, are believed to be at imminent risk of execution. According to reports the men have been convicted of being mohareb (at enmity with God) in connection with involvement in bomb explosions in the city of Ahvaz, in Khuzestan province, which took place in October 2005.

On 9 November, the head of the Khuzestan Prosecutor's offices, Abbas Ja'afari Dowlat Abadi, reportedly announced that the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentences against 10 out of 19 people involved in bomb explosions in Khuzestan and that they would be publicly hanged. There are fears these executions will be carried out in the coming days. The tenth man sentenced to death, Ali Matouri-Zadeh, is the subject of a separate Urgent Action (see UA 107/06, MDE 13/042/2006, 28 April 2006 and follow up MDE 13/127/2006, 13 November 2006).

According to information received by Amnesty International, Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi was reportedly shot by the security forces on or around 2 March 2006 before being taken away. His family believed he had died in the shooting, but a few days later received a phone call from the authorities informing them that he had been transferred to the Sepidar detention centre. His wife Soghra Khudayrawi and four-year-old son Zeidan son were arrested in Ahvaz on 7 March 2006. (See UA 65/06, MDE 13/028/2006, 23 March 2006) and Iran: Appeal Case: Four women and two children prisoners of conscience, AI Index: MDE 13/059/2006, 17 May 2006).

Abdullah Suleymani, Mohammad Jaab Pour and Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab were also reportedly arrested on 7 March 2006.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Much of Iran's Arab community lives in the province of Khuzestan which borders Iraq. The Province is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran's oil reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population. Historically, the Arab community has been marginalised and discriminated against. Tension has mounted among the Arab population since April 2005, after it was alleged that the government planned to disperse the country's Arab population or to force them to relinquish their Arab identity. Hundreds were arrested and there have been reports of torture. Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz City in June and October 2005, which killed at least 14 people, and explosions at oil installations in September and October, the cycle of violence intensified, with hundreds people reportedly arrested. Further bombings on 24 January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further mass arrests. Two men, Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Awdeh Afrawi, were executed in public on 2 March after they were convicted of involvement in the October bombings. Their executions followed unfair trials before a Revolutionary Court during which they are believed to have been denied access to lawyers, and their confessions, along with those of seven other men, were broadcast on television. At least 13 other Iranian Arabs are also reportedly under sentence of death, accused of involvement in the bombings, distributing material against the state, having contact with dissident organizations operating abroad, and endangering state security. Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but is unconditionally opposed to the death penalty as the ultimate violation of the right to life. Please see Iran: Death Sentences appeal case - 11 Iranian Arab men facing death sentences, AI Index MDE 13/051/2006, May 2006).

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing grave concern that the nine men (naming them) may be in imminent danger of execution;
- urging the Iranian authorities to commute their death sentences immediately;
- asking for details of the men's trial proceedings, including the specific charges against them, whether they have been granted access to independent lawyers of their choice, and of any appeals they may have made against their sentences;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.

COPIES TO: to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

top

Fear for safety/ Fear of torture and ill-treatment
IRAN Kianoosh Sanjari (m), aged 24, student activist and blogger

Student activist and blogger Kianoosh Sanjari was arrested on 7 October whilst reporting on clashes between security forces and supporters of Shi'a cleric Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi. Kianoosh Sanjari is being held incommunicado at an unknown location and Amnesty International fears that he may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Kianoosh Sanjari, a member of a group known as the United Students Front, had allegedly gone to the home of Ayatollah Boroujerdi in the capital, Tehran, to prepare a report on the clashes that were taking place there. He was reportedly arrested along with scores of Ayatollah Boroujerdi's supporters and transferred to an unknown location.

Kianoosh Sanjari has been arrested several times in the past. When he was only 17 years old in July 1999 he was arrested during student-led demonstrations against the closure of the newspaper Salam (Peace). He was subsequently held in solitary confinement for many months. Prior to his recent arrest, he lived in Tehran and was reportedly closely monitored by the authorities.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Sh'ia cleric Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi reportedly advocates the separation of religion from the political basis of the state. He was arrested at his home in Tehran on 8 October 2006, along with an unknown number, possibly around 300, of his followers. The arrests took place during violent clashes with security forces. A total of around 418 of his followers are now thought to be in detention (see UA 262/2006, MDE 13/114/2006, 29 September 2006:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE131142006?open&of=ENG-IRN and follow-up, MDE 13/120/2006, 13 October 2006:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE131202006?open&of=ENG-IRN

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern for the safety of Kianoosh Sanjari;
- asking for clarification of his whereabouts and of the reasons for his arrest, including any charges against him, which should be made public and communicated to him and his lawyer without delay;
- calling for his immediate release if he is not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence;
- calling for him to be granted immediate and unconditional access to his lawyer, family members, and any medical treatment he may require;
- seeking assurances that he is not being tortured or ill-treated in detention.

Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 4 December 2006.

top

Further Information on UA 262/06 (MDE 13/114/2006, 29 September 2006) Arbitrary arrest/fear for safety/ possible prisoners of conscience
Iran - Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, Shi'a cleric More than 418 people (note revised number) y

Sh'ia cleric Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi was arrested at his home in Tehran on 8 October, along with an unknown number, possibly around 300, of his followers. The arrests took place during violent clashes with security forces. It is believed that those arrested are detained in Evin Prison in Tehran.

At least 41 followers of Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi were reportedly arrested in the courtyard of his house in Tehran during the morning of 28 September. They are thought to have been taken to Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. The following day, up to 35 others were reportedly arrested, and by 2 October, at least 118 of his followers were said to have been detained. Their names are known to Amnesty International.

On the night of 4 and 5 October, security forces reportedly attacked the Ayatollah's house, but were forced back by his followers. A further attack was launched on 7 October, during which the Ayatollah's supporters are reported to have fought the security forces with swords, sticks and other implements. The Ayatollah's followers are said to have captured several members of the security forces but released them later, after photographing their identity cards.

Following the arrests, the Deputy Governor-General of Tehran for Political and Social Affairs told the Iranian Labour News Agency, "For some time, a number of sectarian elements had engaged in a series of operation s in Tehran� disturbing citizens and causing traffic problems for the people � On Wednesday night, a number of people who were crossing the road were seized by this group, only to be freed after being beaten up� Since Saturday, a number of thugs from Tehran and other towns, recruited by the group, had embarked on blocking the streets leading to the district. They then initiated an attack on the Law-Enforcement Force [LEF, Iran's police], throwing Molotov cocktails and using over a thousand cold weapons, knives, daggers and swords. At first, the LEF avoided violence, but the group embarked on taking LEF forces hostage and sought to wreak havoc by setting tyres ablaze and throwing acid at some people� The LEF was left with no option but to act, and in very little time arrested the armed men, seized their weapons and handed them over to the judicial authorities. They also discovered hundreds of cold weapons and several firearms and grenades". The Deputy Governor-General said there were no precise figures on the number of those arrested, and said "I should like to point out that the gentleman is not an ayatollah. Mr Boroujerdi, who had unfortunately caused the incident owing to his wilful actions, has also been arrested."

On 10 October, an unattributed article entitled "On the plot of Kazemeyni-Boroujerdi; Propagating Islam with the assistance of the BBC and CIA" appeared in the Iranian newspaper Keyhan. The article described the incident as part of a plot by Western intelligence services such as those of the USA, Israel and the UK to use ethnic and religious minorities to damage Iran, and referred to the fact that the Ayatollah had made telephone calls to foreign radio stations such as the Persian-language service of Radio Free Europe (Radio Farda) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) before his arrest.

On 11 October, another report in Keyhan quoted LEF Brigadier-General Esma'il Ahmadi Moghaddam as stating that nine people had been taken hostage, two officers were shot, and more than 300 people, including "this person" were arrested and taken to Evin Prison

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi reportedly advocates the separation of religion from the political basis of the state. Since 1994 he says he has been summoned repeatedly before the Special Court for the Clergy and has been detained in Towhid and Evin Prisons. He has reportedly developed heart and kidney problems as a result of torture. His father was a prominent cleric who refused to accept the principle of velayat-e faqih (rule of the [Islamic] jurisconsult, or of those who know Islamic law), on which the Islamic Republic of Iran is based. He died in 2002 and his grave in the Masjed-e Nour mosque in Tehran has reportedly been desecrated and the mosque taken over by the state.

The Special Court for the Clergy, which operates outside the framework of the judiciary, was established in 1987 by Ayatollah Khomeini to try members of the Shi'a religious establishment in Iran. Its procedures fall short of international standards for fair trial: among other things, defendants can only be represented by clergymen nominated by the court, who are not required to be legally qualified. In some cases the defendant has been unable to find any nominated cleric willing to undertake the defence and has been tried without any legal representation. The court can hand down sentences including flogging and the death penalty.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- noting that Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi and more than 418 of his followers have been arrested, at least some following violent clashes with the security forces;
- seeking assurances that all those detained are protected from torture or ill-treatment;
- seeking information about the reasons for the arrest of all those detained, including any charges and trial proceedings;
- urging that all those detained be allowed immediate and regular access to family visits and to lawyers of their choice;
- calling for the release of all those detained unless they are to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence and tried promptly and fairly;
- reminding the authorities that Amnesty International would consider anyone detained solely on account of their religious beliefs or their support for Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, who has not used or advocated violence, to be a prisoner of conscience; and would call for their immediate and unconditional release.

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 31 October 2006.

top

Iran: Amnesty International Secretary General, Irene Khan, calls on the Iranian government to abolish stoning

On the occasion of the fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty, Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said:

"I associate myself wholeheartedly with those in Iran who are campaigning so courageously, and at no small risk to themselves, to end the practice of execution by stoning.

It is appalling that some in authority in Iran have attempted to revive this obscene practice, despite the reported moratorium on such killings imposed by the Head of the Judiciary in 2002. Today, up to nine women and two men are under sentence of execution by stoning.

Execution by stoning is a grotesque and horrific practice. It aggravates the innate brutality of the death penalty, being specifically designed to increase the victim's suffering, and is the ultimate form of torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

Stoning must be abolished. I call on the Iranian government to ensure that it is - immediately and totally."

Background Information
According to reports at the time, in December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning, pending a decision on a permanent change in the law which was apparently being considered by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

However, in May 2006 it was reported that Abbas (m) and Mahboubeh (f) were executed by stoning in a cemetery in Mahshhad, having been convicted of murdering Mahboubeh's husband, and of adultery - a charge which carries the penalty of execution by stoning. Part of the cemetery was cordoned off from the public and more than 100 members of the Revolutionary Guards and Bassij Forces, who had previously been invited to attend, reportedly participated in the stoning. Amnesty International wrote to the Head of the Judiciary seeking clarification of these reports, but to date has not received a reply.

A group of human rights defenders in Iran, who are mostly women, including activists, journalists and lawyers, have begun a campaign to abolish stoning. The campaign is being led by Shadi Sadr (f), a lawyer and women's rights defender (WHRD). Amnesty International is taking action on behalf of nine women sentenced to death by stoning featured in this campaign. These are Ashraf Kalhori (see UA 203/06, MDE 13/083/2006, 27 July 2006; and updates), Parisa, Iran, Khayrieh, Kobra Najjar, Shamameh Ghorbani (who is also known as Malek), Soghra Mola'i, and Fatehmeh (see UA 257/06, MDE 13/113/2006, 28 September 2006) and Hajieh Esmailvand (see UA 336/04, MDE 13/053/2004, 16 December 2004; and updates).

The climate in Iran for human rights defenders is dire. Iranian legislation severely restricts freedom of _expression and association and human rights defenders often face reprisals for their work in the form of harassment, intimidation, attacks, detention, imprisonment and torture. Many are subject to travel bans that prevent them from leaving the country. Amnesty International is aware that those campaigning against the death penalty, including to abolish stoning, have been subjected to pressure and harassment.

The World Day Against the Death Penalty is organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) a coalition of over 53 organisations, including Amnesty International, bar associations, trade unions and local and regional authorities which have joined together in an effort to rid the world of the death penalty.

For more information or to arrange for an interview, please contact Nicole Choueiry, Middle East and North Africa Press Officer on +44 207 413 5566.

Public Document **************************************** For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

top

Further Information on UA 163/06 (MDE 13/063/2006, 08 June 2006) Incommunicado detention/ Fear of torture/ Medical concern new concern: Prisoner of Conscience
Abbas Lisani (or Leysani), (m) aged 38, activist His family

Prisoner of conscience Abbas Lisani is detained in Ardebil Prison in the north-west of Iran. He has received a one-year prison sentence for "spreading anti-government propaganda", and faces other trials apparently related to his peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority community. He is reportedly in poor health.

Abbas Lisani was arrested on 3 June 2006, shortly after participating in a demonstration in Ardebil on 27 May. He was held detained for about two days in a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence in Ardebil, before being transferred to Ardebil prison. His family did not know his whereabouts until 7 June, when, in a phone call lasting only a couple of minutes, he told them that he was detained in solitary confinement in Ardebil prison, and was on hunger strike.

On or around 8 June, Ali Khodabakhshi was arrested at his home in the village of Kahriz Yekan, in northwestern Iran. He had participated in mass demonstrations that took place across the region in May. He was detained for 30 days in solitary confinement, at a detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence (Etelaat) in the city of Tabriz, northwestern Iran. During this time, he did not have access to his family or lawyer, and his family did not know where he was detained. He was then transferred to Qirkhlar prison in the city of Marand, northwestern Iran, where he is still being held.

Abbas Lisani has had limited access to his family. He was permitted his first family visit on 29 June, some 26 days after his arrest. His lawyer has only been allowed to see him once, though he has made several other requests for visits which have been denied.

Abbas Lisani's hunger strike reportedly lasted for 58 days, for some of which he also refused liquids. Throughout his hunger strike, he was detained in solitary confinement. He finally ended his hunger strike on 30 July, after being granted his first family visit, during which he was reportedly very weak and could barely speak. By the end of his hunger strike he had lost about 30 kilograms in weight.

Amnesty International remains concerned for the safety of Abbas Lisani. He is currently detained in a prison cell with non-political prisoners, some of whom are drug addicts. In Iran, although many prisons have sections for political prisoners, at times political detainees are detained with criminal prisoners, which they believe is a means of increasing pressure on them. It is believed that Abbas Lisani has been harassed and threatened by his cell-mates. He is said to suffer from stomach and kidney problems, and pain in his ribs, which is allegedly the legacy of torture during previous periods of detention. It is not known whether he has access to adequate medical care.

Several cases have been brought against Abbas Lisani. These include charges related to attending a commemorative gathering for Constitution Day at the mausoleum of Baghir Khan in August 2005; attending the annual cultural gathering at Babek castle in 2005; and his participation in the widespread demonstrations that took place in north-western Iran in May 2006.

On 6 September 2006, the Revolutionary Court in Kaleybar sentenced Abbas Lisani to one year's imprisonment, for "spreading anti-government propaganda" according to Article 500 of the Penal Code. According to the court verdict, the basis for the charge includes his participation in the annual Babek Castle demonstration in 2005; encouraging others to participate in this gathering; reciting Azerbaijani poems and other material at the gathering; publishing and distributing a "Turkish-language" calendar; sending messages abroad via the internet; making calls to his supporters abroad; and intending to promote Azerbaijani Turkic nationalism and independence.

Amnesty International believes that the charge of "spreading anti-government propaganda", of which Abbas Lisani has been convicted, does not constitute a recognizably criminal offence. Moreover, according to the court verdict, the basis for the charge appears to relate solely to his peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority. As such, Amnesty International believes that Abbas Lisani is a prisoner of conscience, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.

According to recent reports, Abbas Lisani will soon face a further trial before the Revolutionary Court in Tabriz on charges related to his participation in the Constitution Day commemoration in August 2005.

Members of Abbas Lisani's family have also been subject to harassment. His wife has allegedly been threatened with arrest if she publicises her husband's condition. The family's butcher's shop- their sole source of income- has been closed, and its licence to operate revoked.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern that Abbas Lisani has been sentenced to one year imprisonment for 'spreading anti-government propaganda' in connection with his peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority community, including his participation in the 2005 Babek Castle gathering;
- stating that, as such, Amnesty International believes that Abbas Lisani is a prisoner of conscience, and should be released immediately and unconditionally;
- calling on the authorities to grant Abbas Lisani immediate and unconditional access to his lawyer, and continued and regular access to his family, and access to any medical treatment that he requires;
- expressing concern about Abbas Lisani's safety and calling on the Iranian authorities to offer him protection from prisoner-on-prisoner violence;
- expressing concern for the safety of Abbas Lisani's family, who have reportedly been harassed and intimidated by the authorities, and calling for them to be given all necessary protection to ensure their safety

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: Please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian site of the website:
http://www.iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html
(The text of the feedback form translates as: 1st line: name, 2nd line: email address, 3rd line: subject heading, then enter your email into the text box)
Salutation: Your Excellency

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 31 October 2006.

top

Further Information on UA 21/05 (MDE 13/003/2005, 25 January 2005) Death penalty/Unfair trial New concerns: Fear of imminent execution/ medical concern
IRAN Khaled Hardani (m)

Khaled Hardani is reported to be at risk of imminent execution. He was sentenced to death for his part in the January 2001 attempted hijacking of a 30-seater passenger aircraft.

On 6 September 2006, Khaled Hardani's father-in-law and wife met the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, and the judge who presided at Khaled Hardani's trial. On hearing that Khaled Hardani had not yet been executed, the judge is reported to have said, "Has it not been carried out? We confirmed it and sent it for implementation". Ayatollah Shahroudi told them that he was unable to grant an amnesty in this case as his crime of hijacking was too serious. His family members were given a letter, which was read out to them, confirming his death sentence, although no date was set for his execution. They were told to take it to the Office for Implementation of Sentences, which they did on 9 September. Press reports have suggested that Khaled Hardani may be executed in the Iranian month of Aban, which begins on 23 October.

Khaled Hardani was originally scheduled to hang on 19 January 2005, but the Head of the Judiciary ordered a stay of execution the previous day, apparently to allow lawyers to appeal. In May 2006 Khaled Hardani, who is currently held in Evin Prison in Tehran, told Amnesty International from prison that following the stay of execution, his case and that of his brothers-in-law had been referred to the Board of Monitoring and Follow-up (Heyat-e Nezarat va Peigiri), which had failed to issue any decision. He said he had been left not knowing his fate: "The death sentence is there. It has not been removed and at any time they decide, they can call me and say that your sentence must be carried out today or tomorrow or in the next hour� The only thing that is in my file is the order from [Head of the Judiciary] Shahroudi to stop the execution. But for how long it is going to be effective, is not clear. It is possible that they could call me in the next hour and say that your sentence has been confirmed and you must be executed tomorrow morning." He added that neither he nor his lawyer had ever received any documents concerning the confirmation of his death sentence by the Supreme Court. He said, "For six years the Islamic Republic has kept me, together with my two brothers-in-law, under the sentence of death and have also sentenced a brother of mine to 22 years' imprisonment. In addition, my wife, my small child and a number of my other relatives have been kept in jail for some time... Have you ever experienced receiving a death sentence? Have your partner, parents, brother, sister and relatives been told that tonight a close relative of yours is going to be executed? Can you understand the horror and shock of hearing such news? Have you even imagined that? But me, two of my close relatives and our families have been going through this - not for a night or two or few nights, but for a period of over two thousand nights." Khaled Hardani also complained that he was not getting adequate medical treatment for injuries to his face sustained when he was shot during the attempted hijacking, and that he had been denied visits from his family for three months.

Khaled Hardani announced that he was going on hunger strike on 20 May 2006 to protest at his ongoing detention and the uncertainty surrounding his fate. He is believed to have stopped his hunger strike shortly afterwards. Khaled Hardani's two sons, aged 7 and 5, are both reportedly suffering distress at their father's situation. His elder son, who is refusing to go to school, is apparently receiving medical treatment as a result of this distress.

Khaled Hardani was one of 11 members of an extended family who attempted to commandeer a scheduled flight between the southern Iranian cities of Ahvaz and Bandar Abbas, and force it to fly to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Security guards already on board ended the hijack attempt while the plane was still on the runway at Ahvaz, reportedly shooting Khaled Hardani in the process. The family were reportedly trying to escape the poverty and hopelessness they were experiencing as members of Iran's Arab minority. Khaled Hardani was sentenced to death, together with his brothers-in-law, Shahram and Farhang Pourmansouri, on charges of "acts against national security" (eqdam aleyhe amniyat) and Moharebeh, or "enmity with God", rather than charges relating specifically to hijacking an aircraft. At the time of the hijacking, the brothers were reportedly aged 17 and 18 respectively. As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and political Rights (ICCPR), Iran has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under the age of 18. The Head of the Judiciary reportedly ordered the executions of all three men to be stayed because of the ages of the two brothers. It is not clear if the confirmation of Khaled Hardani's death sentence also applies to the Pourmansouri brothers.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- urging the authorities to commute immediately the death sentences against Khaled Hardani and his brothers-in-law, Shahram and Farhang Pourmansouri;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences such as murder, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;
- expressing concern that Shahram, aged 17 at the time of his offence, is facing execution;
- reminding the authorities that they are a state party to the ICCPR, which states that the "sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age";
- pointing out that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child called on Iran in January 2005 to "immediately suspend the execution of all death penalties imposed on persons for having committed a crime before the age of 18, and to abolish the death penalty as a sentence imposed on persons for having committed crimes before the age of 18, as required by article 37 of the Convention [on the Rights of the Child]";
- asking for details of the trial of Khaled Hardani and his brothers-in-law, Shahram and Farhang Pourmansouri, and any appeals they may have made;
- urging the authorities to ensure that Khaled Hardani and his brothers-in-law receive any necessary medical treatment.

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 251 774 2228 (mark "FAO the office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khameni")
Email: info@leader.ir OR istiftaa@wilayah.org
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 26 October 2006.

top

UA 246/06 Fear for safety/ Unfair trial/ Possible prisoner of conscience
IRAN Reza Abbasi (m), human rights defender

Human rights defender Reza Abbasi, a member of the Azeri Turkish minority in Iran (who sometimes refer to themselves as Iranian Azerbaijanis), has been detained in the city of Zenjan in northwestern Iran since 27 June, and is at risk of torture or ill-treatment. His trial, which does not appear to comply with international fair trial standards, is in progress. He may be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely on account of the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, including his human rights work.

Reza Abbasi is a member of ASMEK (Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners) and of the Alumni Association of Iran (Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami [Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat]), an organization which has been active in promoting democracy and human rights. He was reportedly arrested on 27 June, after he refused to comply with a verbal summons to attend an Intelligence Ministry facility for interrogation. He is believed to be held in the Central Prison in Zenjan. According to reports, the Zenjan office of the Ministry of Intelligence has been harassing Reza Abbasi's family, including by repeatedly summoning his elderly parents for interrogation.

On 5 September, Reza Abbasi reportedly appeared before Branch One of the Revolutionary Court in Zenjan, in a closed session without the presence of his defence lawyer or his family. A second closed session was held on 11 September, this time in the presence of his lawyer, who afterwards reportedly stated that Reza Abbasi had been questioned about his activities in various student organizations and for ASMEK. The charges against him reportedly include "insulting the Leader [of the Islamic Republic of Iran] " and "propaganda against the system". The Court is expected to deliver its verdict during the next weekt be executed tomorrow morning." He added that neither he nor his lawyer had ever received any documents concerning the confirmation of his death sentence by the Supreme Court. He said, "For six years the Islamic Republic has kept me, together with my two brothers-in-law, under the sentence of death and have also sentenced a brother of mine to 22 years' imprisonment. In addition, my wife, my small child and a number of my other relatives have been kept in jail for some time... Have you ever experienced receiving a death sentence? Have your partner, parents, brother, sister and relatives been told that tonight a close relative of yours is going to be executed? Can you understand the horror and shock of hearing such news? Have you even imagined that? But me, two of my close relatives and our families have been going through this - not for a night or two or few nights, but for a period of over two thousand nights." Khaled Hardani also complained that he was not getting adequate medical treatment for injuries to his face sustained when he was shot during the attempted hijacking, and that he had been denied visits from his family for three months.

Reza Abbasi's arrest followed widespread demonstrations in predominantly Azeri Turkish areas in May 2006 in protest at a cartoon published on 12 May by the state-owned daily newspaper Iran, which many Azeri Turks found offensive. The arrest was in advance of the annual Babek Castle gathering on 30 June, at which thousands of Azeri Turks gather to celebrate the birthday of Babek Khorramdin, who lived in the ninth century and is regarded as a hero by Iranian Azeri Turks. These gatherings have frequently met with repression on the part of the Iranian authorities, and this year the security forces were reported to have carried out arrests prior to the event, possibly to prevent certain people attending (for further information see AI Public Statement: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130742006?open&of=ENG-IRN).

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Hundreds of people were reportedly arrested during or following the May 2006 demonstrations (see UA 151/06, MDE 13/055/2006, 26 May 2006 and UA 163/06, MDE 13/063/2006, 8 June 2006). Some of those detained have allegedly been tortured, with some requiring hospital treatment. Publication of the newspaper was suspended on 23 May and the editor-in-chief and the cartoonist were arrested. Azeri sources have claimed that dozens were killed and hundreds injured by the security forces. The security forces have generally denied that anyone was killed, although on 29 May a police official acknowledged that four people had been killed and 43 injured in the town of Naqada.

ASMEK was reportedly founded in 2002. Four of its founding members, including Reza Abbasi, are said to have been detained in April 2004 in connection with their activities.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern that Reza Abbasi may have been detained solely in connection with his work as a human rights defender;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that he is not tortured or ill-treated, and to allow him immediate access to a lawyer of his own choosing, and to any medical treatment he may require;
- calling on the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally unless he is to be promptly charged with a recognizably criminal offence and given a prompt and fair trial.
- asking the authorities for information about the reasons for his arrest, including any charges brought against him;
- expressing concern for the safety of his family, who have reportedly been harassed and intimidated by the authorities, and calling for them to be given all necessary protection to ensure their safety.

Ministry of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street
Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
Salutation: Your Excellency

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 24 October 2006.

top

says Robert Tait

Wednesday August 23, 2006
Guardian Unlimited

Seven years ago, he was the symbol of a brave new dawn of student protest in Iran. Famously featured on the cover of The Economist waving the bloodied T-shirt of a fellow demonstrator beaten by security forces, Ahmad Batebi seemed emblematic of the raw courage of the country's pro-reform student movement in its clamour for greater freedoms from a repressive Islamist government.

His subsequent death sentence on charges of endangering the security of the state - later commuted to 10 years in prison - bestowed on him a halo of martyrdom, while bearing eloquent testimony to the demise of his quixotic cause.

Today, Batebi is still a symbol - though, in contrast to those intoxicating 1999 student protests, very much a hidden one. And the martyr's mantle which he never sought is in danger of becoming his epitaph.

Still only 28, Batebi, a former film studies student, is in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, the authorities' holding pen of choice for their most troublesome political critics. He was reimprisoned last month after 18 months out on medical leave, and is apparently being held in closed secret wing run by the widely feared intelligence ministry.

His re-arrest came as he was about to undergo surgery for serious back injuries sustained through torture while under interrogation. Though his family cannot be sure, having been denied access to him since his reimprisonment, he is now believed to be have been on hunger strike for more than three weeks. His doctor has warned that, with the multiple illnesses Batebi has suffered through torture and the privations of prison, his life is now in grave danger.

What Batebi represents today is not the hope of seven years ago, but growing despair. With international attention focused almost exclusively on Iran's nuclear activities, the country's small and beleaguered human rights community fear its cause is becoming more forlorn than ever. Under the cloak of national security, a fierce crackdown is underway, and Batebi's case is just the tip of the iceberg.

Activists long becalmed since the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year are being arrested and given jail sentences for offences committed during the term of the former reformist president, Mohammed Khatami.

In an ominous move, the Centre for Defence of Human Rights - an advocates' group headed by the Nobel peace prize-winning human rights lawyer, Shirin Ebadi - has been outlawed on the flimsy pretext of failing to apply for a proper permit. The group has provided free legal defence for academics, journalists and political advocates.

This is no mere administrative detail. The Ahmadinejad government has made clear that it will not brook criticism. Just this week, its official spokesman, Gholamhossein Elham, wrote to Tehran's public prosecutor, Said Mortazavi, exhorting him to legally pursue journalists and news outlets responsible for printing "lies" about the government. He was referring to the chorus of media criticism over Mr Ahmadinejad's economic policy, which many experts believe is failing to deliver his pre-election promises, while producing a witch's brew of high inflation and rising unemployment.

The threat is clear. The government is prepared to embark on the same wave of newspaper closures and mass arrests of journalists that followed the brief Tehran spring of free _expression of the late 1990s, when hundreds of new publications opened, only to be forcibly closed.

A pattern has already been set. Ramin Jahanbegloo, a philosopher and activist arrested in May after having addressed the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, remains in Evin prison, suspected of trying to foment a "velvet revolution". Rumours abound that a taped "confession", in which Jahanbegloo admits to establishing an internet spy network, is to be televised soon to a nationwide audience.

Another high-profile dissident, Mansour Osanloo, a trade unionist, was released from jail this month on �100,000 bail after seven months in detention on charges of organising an illegal bus drivers' strike.

The outlook for Osanloo appears bleak, but he may be one of the lucky ones. More drastic has been the fate of Akbar Mohammadi, another iconic figure of the 1999 student protests, who died in his prison cell on July 30 after a nine-day hunger strike. Like Batebi, Mohammadi - whose imprisoned brother Manouchehr is also believed to be fasting - had been reincarcerated after having been freed for medical reasons.

The tragedy of this trend is that, with all eyes on the Islamic republic's supposed yearning for the bomb, few in the outside world are watching. It is an oversight that has not escaped Amnesty International, which has written to the Iranian authorities about Batebi. "At a time when the world is paying so much attention to Iran's nuclear programme, we are concerned that individual governments and the wider international community are not making enough of the appalling human rights situation inside the country," said an Amnesty spokeswoman, Sarah Green.

Conventional wisdom amongst diplomats and analysts in Tehran has it that Iran's chief decision-makers are loathe to reach a deal on the nuclear dispute because they fear the US will simply shift the ground to human rights in its quest for regime change. They might consider that one way of forestalling that would be to release men like Ahmad Batebi, who hardly constitutes a threat.

top

Further Information on UA 203/06 (MDE 13/083/2006, 27 July 2006) - Imminent execution
IRAN Ashraf Kalhori (previously spelt as Kolhari) (f) aged 37

The execution by stoning of Ashraf Kalhori, which was scheduled to be carried out by the end of July, has been temporarily stayed by the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi. Ashraf Kalhori remains under sentence of death.

Ashraf Kalhori was sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, in accordance with laws relating to married women. She was also sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment for allegedly taking part in the murder of her husband. Her husband was killed in April 2002 after quarrelling with their neighbour, Mahmoud Mirzaei. According to Ashraf Kalhori, the killing was accidental, but police accused her of having an affair with her neighbour and encouraging the attack. She reportedly confessed to adultery under police interrogation, but later retracted her confession. Under Iranian law, either the eyewitness testimony of a number of individuals - the number varying according to the alleged act of adultery - or the repetition in court on four occasions of a 'confession', constitute 'proof' that adultery has taken place.

By law, Ashraf Kalhori should serve her 15-year prison sentence prior to her execution. However, at around the beginning of July, the order for the implementation of her execution was issued, and it was reportedly scheduled for the end of July.

Ashraf Kalhori's lawyer, women's human rights defender (WHRD) Shadi Sadr, who is leading a campaign against stoning in Iran, submitted a petition to Ayatollah Shahroudi, calling upon him to halt the execution. The petition was signed by more than four thousand people, including more than one hundred Iranian women's rights activists.

On or around 10 August, the Head of the Judiciary announced that he had temporarily stayed Ashraf Kalhori's execution. Her case has been sent to the 'Office of Monitoring and Follow Up' (in Persian, Daftar-e Nezarat a Paygiri) for review.

Since her arrest in 2002, Ashraf Kalhori has been detained in Tehran's Evin prison. She has not seen her four children (aged between nine and 19) since her arrest.

Ashraf Kalhori had requested a divorce from her husband, but the request was rejected by a Judge who ruled that she had to continue living with her husband because they had children. Mahmoud Mirzaei was convicted of adultery, but was sentenced to 100 lashes rather than execution by stoning, as he is an unmarried man. However, he was also convicted of the murder of Ashraf Kalhori's husband, for which he was sentenced to death. His death sentence cannot be carried out for another nine years, when the youngest of the victim's heirs reaches the age of 18 and can decide to forgo their right to retribution and accept the payment of diyeh (blood money) instead.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases as the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment and a violation of the right to life. Amnesty International further believes that execution by stoning aggravates the brutality of the death penalty and is a method specifically designed to increase the victim's suffering since the stones are deliberately chosen to be large enough to cause pain, but not so large as to kill the victim immediately. The Iranian Penal Code is very specific about the manner of execution and types of stones which should be used. Article 102 states that men will be buried up to their waists and women up to their breasts for the purpose of execution by stoning. Article 104 states, with reference to the penalty for adultery, that the stones used should "not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes; nor should they should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones". Death by stoning violates Articles 6 (concerning the right to life) and 7 (concerning the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). According to Iranian WHRDs, there are several other women who are under sentence of execution by stoning in Iran.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
- welcoming the announcement that His Excellency Ayatollah Shahroudi has stayed the execution by stoning of Ashraf Kalhori;
- reminding the Iranian authorities that the UN Human Rights Committee (in the case of Toonen v Australia) has made clear that treating adultery and fornication as criminal offences does not comply with international human rights standards. Therefore the sentence of execution by stoning imposed on Ashraf Kalhori breaches Iran's commitment under article 6(2) of the ICCPR that if it imposes the deaths sentence this will be "only for the most serious crimes";
- stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;
- calling for the abolition of execution by stoning in Iran.

COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to H.E Ahmadinejad Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir OR via website: www.president.ir/email

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 29 September 2006.

top

UA 215/06 Fear for safety/ Medical concern/ Incommunicado detention
IRAN Ahmad Batebi (m), aged 28, former student activist

Former student activist Ahmad Batebi was reportedly re-arrested on 27 July and taken to an undisclosed place of detention, believed to be Evin Prison in Tehran. He is reportedly being denied access to his family and his lawyer, and is at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. He is already in poor health after being tortured and ill-treated during his previous period in detention, and has begun a hunger strike in protest at his re-arrest. He may not be receiving the medical treatment he needs.

Ahmad Batebi was reportedly arrested without being given a reason by plain clothed officers belonging to the Ministry of Information outside his home in Tehran. His home was reportedly searched and some of his personal belongings confiscated. As he was being arrested, Ahmad Batebi stated that he would protest against his treatment by starting a hunger strike immediately. On 6 August Ahmad Batebi's wife, Somaie Baiienat, wrote to the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, stating that she still did not know the whereabouts of her husband and expressing her concern that he could die. These fears were heightened by the death in custody of fellow student activist Akbar Mohammadi on 31 July 2006.

According to a press report, Dr Hesam Firouzi, who treated Ahmad Batebi outside prison, wrote to the authorities on 6 August stating that his patient was at risk of paralysis or heart attack. In his letter he stated: "Owing to the dislocation of the hips� resulting from a blow, Ahmad Batebi is in need of regular physiotherapy, medication, treatment and observation to determine need for surgery. If he is not treated, and his hunger strike continues, he will suffer from a total paralysis of the senses and movements in the lower limb. His high level of haemoglobin� could in the event of continued hunger strike lead to hardening of the arteries and, ultimately, a heart attack. He has bleeding of the kidneys, which could be a result of high haemoglobin or kidney stones, hence the need for further observations to determine the cause. [He suffers from] gastritis and duodenal ulcer which, as in the above cases, could become worse and end up piercing the stomach or the duodenum, causing internal bleeding. In view of the cases mentioned, I deem it necessary to warn the prison doctors that in the event his hunger strike continues and he is not sent outside prison for treatment, then, God forbid, he will suffer the same fate as Akbar Mohammadi".

Ahmad Batebi was previously detained in Evin prison from 1999 until 2005, after being arrested during student-led demonstrations against the closure of the newspaper Salam (Peace). He was sentenced to death on charges relating to endangering national security following an unfair and secret trial by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran, but his death sentence was commuted to a 15-year prison term by Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei. His prison sentence was reduced to 10 years on appeal in early 2000. Around March 2005, Ahmad Batebi was reportedly temporarily released, in order to allow him to get married. The period of leave was then extended, but Ahmad Batebi failed to return to prison after it had expired. On 23 June 2005, an interview with Ahmad Batebi appeared in the US newspaper, the New York Sun. The article described Ahmad Batebi as being "currently on the run, avoiding the authorities in Iran". On 28 June 2005, a Judiciary spokesperson announced that an arrest warrant for Ahmad Batebi had been issued after he had failed to return to prison at the expiry of his leave.

Ahmad Batebi suffers from a number of medical problems as a result of being tortured and ill-treated during his previous period of detention. He has lost some of his teeth, and has permanent hearing problems and poor vision. He has suffered from repeated lung infections and breathing difficulties. In March 2000, local newspapers printed a letter Ahmad Batebi had sent to the Head of Judiciary, in which he wrote that soldiers had bound his hands to plumbing pipes; beat his head and abdominal area with soldiers' shoes, and held him under a drain full of excrement for so long that he was unable to breathe. In March 2004 Ahmad Batebi's father told an Iranian news agency that his son had suffered a nervous breakdown due to his treatment in detention. While he was transferred to hospital for treatment on a number of occasions, it has been reported that he has frequently experienced lengthy delays in being granted access to necessary medical treatment.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Hundreds of people, including Ahmad Batebi, Akbar Mohammadi and his brother Manuchehr Mohammadi, were arrested following violent clashes in Tehran in July 1999, known after the Iranian date as the 18 Tir demonstrations. Dozens faced torture and ill treatment in incommunicado detention, followed by manifestly unfair trials and imprisonment. The events leading up to the violence began on 8 July 1999, when a small number of students gathered in a peaceful demonstration outside their university to protest against the closure of the daily newspaper Salam.

Akbar Mohammadi died in custody in the early hours of 31 July 2006, following a nine-day hunger strike in protest at the denial of medical treatment both inside and outside prison. According to sources inside Evin prison, he sought medical care from around 26 July during his hunger strike, but he was chastised by medical officials who rejected his request. Between 26 and 29 July, he was reportedly provided unspecified treatment, though an Iranian parliamentary delegation visiting Evin prison was denied permission to visit the section of the prison in which he was held. For more information please see
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130862006?open&of=ENG-IRN.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
- expressing concern for the safety of Ahmad Batebi;
- seeking assurances that he is not being tortured or ill-treated in detention;
- calling for him to be given immediate access to lawyers, his family and any necessary medical treatment;
- urging the authorities to allow him medical leave to seek treatment outside prison, as has reportedly been recommended by the doctor treating him, in accordance with the provisions of article 291 of Iran's Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows courts to order that inmates receive medical treatment outside prison;
- calling on the authorities to order a judicial review of the case against Akbar Batebi, and to release him immediately and unconditionally if the review finds that he was imprisoned solely for the expression of his conscientiously held beliefs.

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 12 September.

top

Iran: Human Rights Defenders under attack- Amnesty International calls for the ban on leading independent human rights organization to be over-turned

Amnesty International is alarmed at the continuing erosion in the human rights situation in Iran, highlighted by the announcement that the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR, in Persian, Kanoon-e Modafean Hogooge Bashar), co-founded by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Shirin Ebadi, has been banned.

The banning of the CDHR, and threats of arrest against its members should they continue their work, strikes at the heart of the struggle for human rights in Iran. The targeting of the CDHR is symbolic of the climate of intimidation and harassment endured by Iran's community of human rights defenders in the course of their work.

On 3 August, the Ministry of Interior announced that the CDHR had been banned. A statement by the Secretariat of the Committee for Article 10 of the Law on Party and Organization Activities said "�any activity under the name of Kanoon-e Modafean Hogooge Bashar is illegal and violators will be prosecuted accordingly".

The CDHR was established in 2002, by Shirin Ebadi. Its members include some of Iran's leading human rights defenders and lawyers. The CDHR has made an inestimable contribution to the development of a culture of human rights in Iran, and the efforts of other human rights defenders in Iran have been bolstered its work.

The CDHR has three stated roles, reporting violations of human rights in Iran; providing pro-bono legal representation to political prisoners; and support to the families of political prisoners. Its members have pursued high profile cases of impunity, and defended high profile victims of human rights violations. Lawyers for the CDHR represented the family of Zahra Kazemi, the Iranian-Canadian journalist who died in Evin prison in June 2003, and prisoner of conscience Akbar Ganji.

Like other human rights organizations in Iran, it has faced delays in its registration. The CDHR submitted documentation regarding its founding four years ago, but had not received a response, despite regulations that oblige the Ministry of Interior to respond within three months of an application.

Like other human rights defenders in Iran, the members of the CDHR have been subject to ongoing harassment and intimidation. For example, in July 2006, Abdolfattah Soltani was sentenced to five years imprisonment by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in July 2006, convicted of "disclosing confidential documents" and "propaganda against the regime". He has also been deprived of social rights for five years, which would include practising law. Following the verdict, Abdolfattah Soltani said "my crime is accepting political cases including cases of journalists, students, and two nuclear defendants�otherwise, I did not break the law. They are trying to treat me in a way so that no other lawyer would accept political case". Abdolfattah Soltani was imprisoned for over seven months, 43 days of which in solitary confinement, before he was released on bail in March 2006, pending trial.

The CDHR have declared their intention to continue their activities defending the human rights of Iranians. If members of the CDHR are arrested and imprisoned solely on account of these legitimate activities, Amnesty International would consider them prisoners of conscience, and campaign for their immediate and unconditional release.

In the face of a growing human rights crisis, Iran's human rights defenders need to be allowed to carry out their legitimate activities in defence of human rights.

Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to freedom of belief, expression and association. Amnesty International reminds the Iranian authorities of Article 12 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders. This states that "Everyone has the right�to participate in peaceful activities against violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms." The Declaration requires states to "take all necessary measures to ensure the protection�against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration."

Amnesty International calls for the ban to be immediately rescinded. Rather than closure and persecution of the CDHR, Amnesty International calls on the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran to grant recognition to those seeking to promote and protect human rights in Iran and to direct the judiciary, government and parliament to implement the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders into national law.
Background

Human Rights defenders in Iran face severe limitations on their work. Iranian legislation severely restricts freedom of expression and association and human rights defenders often face reprisals for their work in the form of harassment, intimidation, attacks, detention, imprisonment and torture. Many are subject to travel bans that prevent them from leaving the country. The registration process for independent non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is complex and registration is frequently denied, leaving NGOs at risk of enforced closure. Few risk accepting foreign funding for fear of opening themselves up to charges of contact with, and support for, "hostile foreign organizations" or "espionage". For example, in January 2006 the Ministry of the Interior was said to be compiling a list of NGOs that allegedly received finance from "problematic internal and external sources aimed at overthrowing the system", some of which had received support from the office of former President Khatami. The Ministry of the Interior was said to be preparing measures to restrict their activities.

top

Iran: Akbar Mohammadi's death in custody signals need for justice reform

The death in custody of Akbar Mohammadi, a 38-year-old former student, in the early hours of 31 July 2006 casts a pall over the entire Iranian justice system, Amnesty International said today.

"The series of failures to afford Akbar Mohammadi justice have robbed him of his life and his family of human dignity. There can be no more deaths in Iranian custody. A thorough reform of the criminal justice system is urgently needed," added the organisation.

"The Iranian authorities need to take urgent measures to ensure that political prisoners are afforded a fair and open trial; that torture and other ill-treatment in Iranian prisons is halted and that the practice of delaying or denying medical care is stopped immediately."

Amnesty International is alarmed at reports indicating that following an inspection of Akbar Mohammadi's detention conditions by senior officials he was administered a drug which may have resulted not only in his tranquillisation but possibly, as a result of a complication, his death.

From around 21 July, Akbar Mohammadi had reportedly undertaken a hunger strike, the last three days of which he refused liquids as well as solids.

Amidst reports that an autopsy has been carried out domestically by the coroner (pezeshk-e qanouni), Amnesty International considers that there needs to be an independent investigation and autopsy by fully independent pathologists to determine the cause of Akbar Mohammadi's death and the conditions that facilitated it.

Principle 9 of the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions states: "There shall be thorough, prompt and impartial investigation of all suspected cases of extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions, including cases where complaints by relatives or other reliable reports suggest unnatural death in the above circumstances. [�] The purpose of the investigation shall be to determine the cause, manner and time of death, the person responsible, and any pattern or practice which may have brought about that death. It shall include an adequate autopsy, collection and analysis of all physical and documentary evidence and statements from witnesses."

Amnesty International also expressed concern that political prisoners Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, Ahmad Batebi and Akbar Mohammadi's brother Manuchehr are facing heightened risk following this latest death in custody.

Amnesty International said his death in custody had cast a pall over the entire Iranian justice system.
Background

Akbar Mohammadi was one of the thousands of students arrested in July 1999 after student demonstrations which erupted following the closure of newspapers and one of the periodic clampdowns on freedom of expression that occurred throughout the late 1990s in Iran.

Akbar Mohammadi and other students were sentenced to death in September 1999 following a manifestly unfair trial. He was brutally tortured while in incommunicado detention, denied the right of legal representation and access to family. Following domestic and international outcry, in November 1999 the sentences were commuted to 15 years' imprisonment.

From the day of his arrest, Akbar Mohammadi was routinely tortured. While in the custody of the Ministry of Intelligence, he was allegedly suspended by his arms, and violently beaten. Guards beat him to the edge of consciousness, telling him that all he had to do was blink to accept the charges against him.

The information available strongly indicates that the repeated delays or outright denials of adequate medical care by Iran's judicial and prison authorities have contributed to his death in custody. At the end of November 2003, for example, judicial authorities permitted his hospitalisation in response to urgent stomach and kidney problems, internal bleeding and possibly a lung infection. Despite medical advice that he be hospitalised for one month, he was returned to Evin Prison one week later.

Between July 2004 and June 2006, Akbar Mohammadi resided at his family home in Amol, northern Iran, where he received medical treatment and wrote a prison memoir. He was re-arrested on 11 June 2006 and returned to Evin prison where, once again, he was denied the right to meet with his family. Following one visit by his lawyer, Akbar Mohammadi was said to be in ill health and suffering from acute abdominal pain. Prison medical staff reportedly advised that he should be removed from prison for medical treatment.

According to sources inside Evin prison, he sought medical care from around 26 July during his hunger strike but he was chastised by medical officials who rejected his request. Between 26 and 29 July, he was reportedly provided unspecified treatment, though an Iranian parliamentary delegation visiting Evin prison was denied permission to visit the section of the prison -- possibly the clinic itself -- in which he was held.

On or around 29-30 July he was reportedly gagged and bound to a bed while senior officials visited the prison. The Chief Prosecutor for the province of Tehran, Said Mortazavi, and two senior prison officials, along with a prison guard reportedly inspected him on 30 July, during which time he was administered an unspecified 'medicine'. His condition reportedly worsened in the course of that day and he died on 31 July. Despite the call by his lawyer that his body be examined by an independent team of pathologists, his body was transferred to a coroner on 31 July.

Akbar Mohammadi's parents arrived at Imam Khomeini Airport in Tehran on Tuesday 1 August 2006, at 02:30 local time, from a visit outside the country. They were forcibly taken directly from the aircraft to awaiting vehicles and driven directly to their house in Amol, northern Iran. They were denied permission to see the body of their deceased son, as was his brother Manuchehr, who remains in Evin prison. At the time of writing, there are reports that the body of Akbar Mohammadi has been buried.

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566
Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

top

Further Information on 04/06 (MDE 13/001/2006, 06 January 2006) Death penalty/ legal concern

Delara Darabi, has reportedly been sentenced to death for a second time after her case was retried. She is at risk of imminent execution for a murder which took place when she was 17 years old.

Delara Darabi was initially sentenced to death by a lower court in the northern city of Rasht, and according to press reports, the Supreme Court had upheld the death sentence. However, new reports suggested that the sentence was rejected in January 2006 by Branch 33 of the Supreme Court and that her case was sent for retrial. It is unclear whether Delara Darabi was retried by Branch 107 of the Special Court for Children or the General Court in Rasht. However, following two trial sessions in January 2006 and on 15 June, Delara Darabi was reportedly sentenced to death (qesas or retribution).

According to reports Delara Darabi and a 19-year-old man named Amir Hossein broke into a woman's house to commit a burglary. Amir Hossein allegedly killed the woman during the burglary. Delara Darabi initially confessed to the murder, but subsequently retracted her confession. She claims that Amir Hossein asked her to admit responsibility for the murder to protect him from execution, believing that as she was under the age of 18, she could not be sentenced to death. Iran is a state party to international treaties that expressly prohibit the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by those under the age of 18.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As a state party to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Iran has undertaken not to execute anyone for an offence committed when they were under the age of 18. Despite this, since 1990 Iran has executed at least 18 people for crimes committed when they were children.

In January 2005 the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Iran to suspend the practice immediately. Nevertheless at least eight child offenders were executed that year, including two who were still under 18 at the time of their execution. On 13 May, Iran carried out the first known execution of a child offender in 2006. An unnamed 17-year-old male was executed by hanging, along with an unnamed 20-year old male, in Khorramabad, the capital of Lorestan province. According to reports, they had been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old boy.

Children are still being sentenced to death in Iran. On 3 January, 18-year-old Nazanin was sentenced to death for murder by a criminal court, after she reportedly admitted stabbing to death one of three men who attempted to rape her and her 16-year-old niece in a park in Karaj in March 2005. She was 17 at the time. (See Iran: Amnesty International calls for end to death penalty for child offenders, MDE 13/005/2006, 16 January 2006). At the end of May the Supreme Court rejected the death sentence against Nazanin, reportedly on the instructions of the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi. The case will reportedly be retried in August and sent to a lower court for further investigation.

In March 18-year-old Mehdi was reportedly sentenced to death for killing a man in Robat Karim, Tehran Province about two years previously, when he was aged either 16 or 17. His brother was imprisoned for his involvement in the killing.

A man known only as Mohammad was sentenced to death by Branch 71 of Tehran's Criminal Court, for a murder reportedly committed when he was 16. He had originally been sentenced by a Children's Court to five years' imprisonment and the payment of blood money. However, two years later, when he reached the age of 18, the Supreme Court announced that he had reached the age of majority and could now be tried in a criminal court, which sentenced him to death. When the sentence came before it for approval in April 2006, the Supreme Court rejected it on the basis that the crime was committed when he was under the age of 18.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
- urging the authorities to commute the death sentence imposed on Delara Darabi immediately;
- reminding the authorities of their commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that "sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age";
- asking for details of her trial and any appeals;
- expressing concern at reports that Delara Darabi confessed to the murder in order to protect her co-accused;
- calling on the Iranian authorities to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which called on Iran in January 2005 to "immediately suspend the execution of all death penalties imposed on persons for having committed a crime before the age of 18, and to abolish the death penalty as a sentence imposed on persons for having committed crimes before the age of 18, as required by article 37 of the Convention";
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences such as murder, but stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 12 September.

top

Further Information on UA 57/06 (MDE 13/023/06, 10 March 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/073/2006, 29 June 2006) - Death Penalty/ Fear of imminent execution

01 Aug 2006
IRAN Dr Awdeh Afrawi (m) aged 52
Nazem Bureihi (m)
Aliredha Salman Delfi (m)
Ali Helfi (m)
Jaafar Sawari (m)
Risan Sawari (m), teacher
Mohammad Ali Sawari (m), teacher
Moslem al-Ha'i (m)
Abdulredha Nawaseri (m), aged 31

New names: Yahia Nasseri (m)
Abdulzahra Helichi (m)
Abdul-Imam Za'eri (m)

At the end of July, the Supreme Court reportedly upheld the death sentences against Nazem Bureihi, Mohammad Ali Sawari, Yahia Nasseri, Abdulzahra Helichi and Abdul-Imam Za'eri. Amnesty International is concerned that they are at risk of imminent execution.

The men were reportedly sentenced to death at the beginning of June by a Revolutionary Court in the city of Ahvaz, Khuzestan province. They were charged with acting against national security, "waging war against God" ("mohareb") and carrying out bombings in Ahvaz, which took place between June and October 2005. No details of which bombings they were alleged to have participated in were made public nor was the exact date of their execution revealed.

Amnesty International currently has no further information about Yahia Nasseri, Abdulzahra Helichi and Abdul-Imam Za'eri. However, Mohammad Ali Sawari was reportedly arrested on or around 4 November 2005. Nazem Bureihi has reportedly been in custody since 2000 having been arrested on charges of "insurgency". Though he was serving a 35 year prison sentence, he was among nine men shown on Khuzestan Provincial TV on 1 March 2006, "confessing" to involvement in the October 2005 bombings.

Given the secretive nature of the trials in Iran, the current stage of the legal proceedings against the other men is unclear to Amnesty International.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Arabic, Persian or your own language:
- stating that Amnesty International recognizes the rights and responsibilities of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but strongly opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;
- urging that the death sentence imposed on Nazem Bureihi, Mohammad Ali Sawari, Yahia Nasseri, Abdulzahra Helichi and Abdul-Imam Za'eri be commuted immediately;
- seeking full details of the status of all 12 men (naming them), including any details of any charges and evidence against them and any appeals they may have made;
- expressing concern at reports that they were not granted access to a lawyer during some or all sessions of their possible trials, which reportedly did not meet international standards for a fair trial, as laid down by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a State Party.
- calling for the 12 men to be given continuous access to lawyers, their families, interpreters and medical treatment if necessary;
- seeking assurances that they are not being tortured or ill-treated in detention.

COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to H.E Ahmadinejad
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Imam Khomeini Avenue,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746 and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 12 September 2006.

top

Imminent execution

Ashraf Kolhari, a mother of four children between the ages of nine and nineteen, is at imminent risk of execution by stoning for adultery. She has been held in Tehran's Evin prison for five years, and should by law serve the remaining ten years of her prison sentence before she is executed. However, on or around July 2006, she received the order for the implementation of her sentence, and is reportedly due to be executed by stoning by the end of July.

Ashraf Kolhari had an extra marital affair after her divorce request was rejected by the court, reportedly on the basis that she had children, and therefore had to resume living with her husband. She was sentenced on two charges; the first was for participating in the murder of her husband, for which she received a sentence of 15 years imprisonment; the second was for adultery as a married woman, for which she was sentenced to execution by stoning. Article 83 of the Iranian Penal Code stipulates that the penance for adultery by a married woman with an adult man is execution by stoning.

In death penalty cases such as murder, in which the sentence is 'qesas' (retribution), the victim's family has the right to pardon the condemned. However, in death penalty cases where the charge is adultery, according to Article 72 of the Penal Code, if a person confesses to adultery and subsequently repents, the Judge can ask for his or her pardon by the Supreme Leader. Article 4 of the Implementation of Execution Law states that after repentance, the case must be referred to the Parole Commission. Ashraf Kolhari has reportedly written to the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, asking for forgiveness.

As a state party to the ICCPR, Iran has made an explicit and unreserved commitment under article 6(2) that if it imposes the death sentence this will be "only for the most serious crimes". The UN Human Rights Committee (in the case of Toonen v Australia) has made clear that treating adultery and fornication as criminal offences does not comply with international human rights standards. Therefore the sentence of execution by stoning imposed on Ashraf Kolhori breaches Iran's commitments under the ICCPR, as adultery is not a recognizably criminal charge. Amnesty International opposes the criminalization of private, adult consensual sexual relations.

According to reports at the time, in December 2002 Ayatollah Shahroudi, the Head of the Judiciary, sent a ruling to judges ordering a moratorium on execution by stoning, pending a decision on a permanent change in the law to be taken by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, on 18 September 2003, the Official Gazette published a law entitled 'Implementation regulations for sentences of retribution, stoning, killings, crucifixion, execution and lashing'.

Since December 2002, Amnesty International has recorded cases in which a sentence of execution by stoning was passed, but not any in which the sentence was implemented. However, in May 2006 it was reported that Abbas Hajizadeh (m) and Mahboubeh Mohammadi (f) were executed by stoning in a cemetery in Mahshhad, part of which was cordoned off from the public. More than 100 members of the Revolutionary Guards and Bassij Forces, who had previously been invited to attend, participated in the stoning. They were reportedly convicted of murdering Mahboubeh Mohammadi's husband, and of adultery. It was for the charge of adultery that they were reportedly sentenced to death by stoning. Mahboubeh Mohammadi also reportedly received a 15-year prison sentence, which should have been served before she was executed. Amnesty International wrote to the Head of the Judiciary seeking clarification of these reports, but to date has not received a reply. According to Shadi Sadr (f), a lawyer and women's rights defender (WHRD), who is defending Ashraf Kolhari, and has begun a campaign against stoning, there are several other women under sentence of execution by stoning.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:
- expressing concern that Ashraf Kolhari is reportedly facing imminent execution by stoning for adultery;
- reminding the Iranian authorities that the UN Human Rights Committee (in the case of Toonen v Australia)
has made clear that treating adultery and fornication as criminal offences does not comply with international human rights standards. Therefore the sentence of execution by stoning imposed on Ashraf Kalhori breaches Iran's commitment under article 6(2) of the ICCPR that if it imposes the deaths sentence this will be "only for the most serious crimes";
- calling for the death sentence on Ashraf Kolhori to be commuted immediately;
- stating your unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;
- calling for the abolition of execution by stoning in Iran as a positive step towards implementing international law and standards for the protection of human rights.

top

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Amnesty International is seeking information from the Iranian government about a letter which calls for government ministries and the Republican Guard to compile information and report to the Armed Forces Command on the activities of adherents of the Baha'i faith (also referred to as Babism), an unrecognized religious minority in Iran, and the authorities' intentions if they are compiling data relating to members of one of Iran's minority religious communities.

The letter, dated 29 October 2005, purportedly was written by the Chairman of the Armed Forces Command, Major General Seyyed Hossein Firuzabadi acting on instructions from Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The letter directs the Ministry of Information and the Commanders of the Army, Police and Revolutionary Guards, among others, to provide information to the Armed Forces Command as it has been "given the mission to acquire a comprehensive and complete report of all the activities of [Baha'is and Babists] for the purpose of identifying all the individuals of these misguided sects".

As an independent non-governmental organization that works throughout the world for the protection and promotion of universal human rights, Amnesty International is greatly concerned when it receives information about steps taken or being considered by governments against racial, religious or other minorities or vulnerable groups or which suggest that discriminatory measures or other actions which would violate human rights are being contemplated. Amnesty International has been concerned for many years about violations of human rights committed against Baha'is in Iran and was therefore particularly concerned to learn of this letter and has taken steps to seek clarification about it. Amnesty International wrote to Major General Firuzabadi and those named as intended recipients of the letter in mid-May 2006 but, to date, has not received any response

Baha'is and members of other religious minorities have suffered extensive persecution in the past. Many Baha'is were executed amid the political convulsions which occurred in the early years after Iran's Islamic Revolution in 1979, and they and other religious minorities continue to be subject to widespread discrimination and recurrent bouts of repression at the hands of the authorities. Most recently, 54 Baha'is were arrested in Shiraz on 19 May 2006 while engaged in teaching underprivileged children, for which they had official permission. Most were released by 26 May; the remaining three were released on 14 June 2006. None was formally charged but all risk facing unspecified charges in the future.

Anyone wishing to obtain a copy of the letter referred to above should contact the Iran Research Team at the International Secretariat on +44-20-7413-5500.

top

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Iran: Amnesty International renews calls for release of three Iranian detainees at a meeting with Akbar Ganji

Iranian Kurdish journalists and human rights defenders (HRDs) Sa'id Sa'edi and Ajlal Qavami will appear before a court in Sanandaj, north-west Iran on 17 July 2006. They are accused of acting against national security and crossing the border illegally. If convicted, they face between two to five years' imprisonment. If imprisoned, Amnesty International believes both men would be prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and movement. Another Kurdish HRD, Roya Toloui, is also facing trial in the same case, although she has left the country and been granted asylum in the USA.

Roya Toloui was arrested on 1 August 2005. Sa'id Sa'edi and Ajlal Qavami were arrested on 2 August 2005, following their participation in organizing a demonstration against the killing of a Kurdish man, Showan Qaderi in July 2005 which was followed by violent unrest in Iranian Kurdistan. Their cases went before Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj and on 5 October 2005 they were released on bail of 100 million Toumans (around US$114,000). The original charge sheet carried further charges, including that of being "mohareb" (at enmity with God) which can carry the death penalty. However, this was not included on the bail release warrant, and following a legal challenge by lawyers in the case, this and other charges were dropped and the two charges referred to above remain.

Sa'id Sa'edi
Sa'id Sa'edi is a freelance journalist who worked briefly on the editorial team of the Kurdish/Persian paper, Asou, before resigning, along with 11 others. Asou was reportedly closed down by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance on 3 August 2005 following the unrest. Following his resignation, he helped to establish a non-governmental organization (NGO), the East Kurdistan Cultural Research Institute (EKCRI) (or the Xorkhelat Institute), for which their application for an official permit was turned down by the police.

Following the killing of Showan Qaderi, the EKCRI called for a peaceful demonstration which took place on 30 July 2005, demanding an investigation into his death, and the release of political prisoners. At the end of the demonstration, Sa'id Sa'edi, Roya Toloui, Azad Zamani, a member of the Association for the Defence of Children's Rights (ADCR, or Kanoun-e Defa' az Hoqouq-e Koudekan), and two others were allowed to meet the Regional Governor.

Following this, Kurdish opposition groups called for another demonstration to be held on 1 August 2005 in towns and cities in Iranian Kurdistan. EKCRI agreed to participate in such a demonstration in Sanandaj on the condition that it was peaceful. However, the demonstrators were reportedly attacked by security forces and the protest turned violent.

Sa'id Sa'edi did not participate in this last demonstration as he was at the time appearing in a court in Marivan, accused of illegally crossing the border into Iraq. Nevertheless, the authorities later accused him of going to Marivan in order to organize the demonstration there.

On 2 August 2005, Ministry of Intelligence officials came to his home. He was not there at the time, but when he telephoned home and was told they had come, he returned and was arrested on the spot. He was held for eight days in the Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Sanandaj and was beaten during his first day in detention. He was then transferred to Sanandaj Central Prison where, after two weeks of incommunicado detention, he was allowed visits from his family and lawyer. Following his release from detention, he travelled to the UK to attend a Chevening Fellowship course on 'Government and Non-Governmental Organisation relations', following which he received death threats from an organization calling itself Ommat-e Hezbollah-e Kurdistan (Sanandaj Branch), which accused him of being a British spy. These threats were included in a statement by Ommat-e Hezbollah on 14 January 2006 which can be read (in Persian) at http//azad.gooya.name/politics/archives/042527.php

Ajlal Qavami
Ajlal Qavami is a journalist who began work in about 2000 with the daily newspaper, Iran, which he was forced to leave following pressure and threats by the Ministry of Intelligence. He then became a member of the editorial board of the journal Payam-e Mardom-e Kurdestan (People's Message). After only 12 issues had been published, a court in Sanandaj summoned the paper's editor and some of its journalists, including Ajlal Qavami, who was charged with supporting dissident groups by writing articles, and insulting the system's leadership. Ajlal Qavami was released on bail of 2 million toumans (approx US$2,170). Payam-e mardom-e Kurdestan was later closed down. Ajlal Qavami then helped to establish the Kurdistan Human Rights Organization of which he is currently a member of the central council.

On 2 August 2005 Ajlal Qavami was arrested at his workplace after members of the security forces initially raided his house. In protest at his detention, his prison conditions and his deteriorating health condition, he reportedly started a hunger strike, which lasted 22 days including at the Sanandaj Central Prison where he was transferred after his initial detention in the Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Sanandaj. He has said that during his detention he was tortured, including by being threatened by prison officials with death at the hands of other prisoners, and with rape by prisoners infected with AIDS.

He too was mentioned in the Ommat-e Hezbollah statement which accused him of acting in the interests of the USA and he has received threatening phone calls from individuals claiming to be from the same group. Ajlal Qavami continues to suffer health problems relating to his detention, including problems with his eyes, which he says became infected as a result of the unsanitary conditions in Sanandaj Prison.

Roya Toloui
Roya Toloui, a pathologist and founding member of the Association of Kurdish Women for the Defence of Peace and Human Rights and editor of the monthly cultural magazine Rassan, was arrested on 1 August 2005 and spent 66 days in detention before being released on bail. She then fled Iran and was granted asylum by UNHCR in Turkey before being resettled in the USA. She has described her torture in detention on several occasions. For example, in an interview with Radio Farda on 27 January 2006 she said, "During the night of 6 August, [an official] personally tortured me in the most brutal ways and subjected me to such behaviours that cannot be expressed," she said. "They were forcing me to confess. I wrote that I will speak only in the presence of my lawyer and they laughed at me. I wrote that this is against human rights and that I had the right to see my lawyer. They lost their patience and they ordered that my children should be brought in and they threatened me and said that they will burn my children alive in front of my eyes." She added, "It's very difficult for me to talk about [what I went through]�I'm partly worried that women who are actively involved in the women's movement would fear that they could face torture in case of arrest. But my message to all Iranian women who fight for their rights is that their struggle should [continue] with courage". More details of her testimony about her detention can be read (in English) at:http://www.abfiran.org/english/document-243-499.php and http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/05/28/wislam28.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/05/28/ixnews.html

Travel bans
Both Sa'id Sa'edi and Ajlal Qavami have received travel bans and are believed to have had their passports confiscated, leaving them unable to leave the country. In Sa'id Sa'edi's case this came into effect after his return from the UK.

Charges
Amnesty International believes that Ajlal Qavami and Sa'id Sa'edi were detained solely on account of their participation in the organization of demonstrations which they believed should have remained peaceful in July and August 2005. Amnesty International recognizes that they have also been charged with crossing the border illegally, but notes that Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which Iran is a state party) expressly recognizes the right to freely leave one's own country and that crossing the border legally between Iran and Iraqi Kurdistan can be made difficult by Iranian officials. In this context, Amnesty International believes the main reason for their detention was their participation in the organization of the demonstrations.

Amnesty International believes that if Ajlal Qavami and Sa'id Sa'edi are convicted and imprisoned, they would be prisoners of conscience and would therefore call for their immediate and unconditional release.

Background
The Kurds are one of Iran's many ethnic groups. They live mainly in the province of Kurdistan and neighbouring provinces bordering Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq.

Violent unrest in the Kurdish areas of Iran broke out in July 2005 and continued for several weeks, after Iranian security forces shot dead a Kurdish opposition activist, Showan Qaderi, and reportedly dragged his body through the streets behind a jeep. Thousands of Kurds took to the streets to protest. Security forces reportedly used light and heavy weaponry in response to the demonstrations which in at least some places included attacks by demonstrators on government buildings and offices. Up to 20 people were reportedly killed and hundreds more injured. The authorities acknowledged that five people were killed, and stated that their deaths were under investigation. At least 190 were arrested, according to official reports, although the true figure may well be higher

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Please send faxes/ e-mail letters in Persian, Arabic, English or French:
- urging the Iranian authorities to immediately drop any charges relating to Sa'id Sa'edi's and Ajlal Qavami's organization of the July and August 2005 demonstrations and to illegal border crossing;
- stating that Sa'id Sa'edi and Ajlal Qavami are facing trial on 17 July, and that if convicted and imprisoned, you would consider them to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their peaceful political activities;
- reminding the Iranian authorities that Article 12 of the ICCPR expressly recognizes the right to leave one's own country and urging them to remove the travel bans against Sa'id Sa'edi and Ajlal Qavami and to return their passports to them;
- urging the Iranian authorities to conduct a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation into the alleged beating of Sa'id Sa'edi and the torture of Ajlal Qavami and Roya Toloui. Anyone found responsible for abuses should be brought to justice promptly and fairly and the authorities should publicly condemn any instances of torture and ill-treatment by security and prison officials. If any violations are found to have occurred, the victims should be granted an effective remedy and appropriate compensation.
PLEASE SEND YOUR APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir, istiftaa@wilayah.org
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to H.E Ahmadinejad
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran Fax: (Via Ministry of Justice) + 98 21 3 311 6567 (Mark: "Please forward to HE Ayatollah Shahroudi")
Email: Please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian site of the website:http://www.iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html
(The text of the feedback form translates as: 1st line: name, 2nd line: email address, 3rd line: subject heading, then enter your email into the text box)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746

COPIES TO
Minister of the Interior
Hojjatoleslam Mustafa Purmohammadi Ministry of the Interior, Dr Fatemi Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: ravabetomomi@moi.gov.ir
Fax: +98 21 8 896 203 / 8 899 547 / 6 650 203

Islamic Human Rights Commission
Mohammad Hassan Ziaie-Far Secretary, Islamic Human Rights Commission P.O. Box 13165-137 or PO Box 19395/4698 Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +9821 2204 0541
E-mail: ihrc@majlis.ir

top

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Iran: Amnesty International renews calls for release of three Iranian detainees at a meeting with Akbar Ganji

At a meeting today with Akbar Ganji, Iran's most prominent ex-prisoner of conscience and advocate of freedom of expression, Amnesty International's Secretary General Irene Khan renewed the organization's calls for the release of three detainees in Iran whom it believes are, or are very likely to be, prisoners of conscience, held solely on account of their peaceful opinions or activities. All three are believed to be held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence. They are:

Mansour Ossanlu, the head of the unrecognized Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sharekat-e Vahed), who has been detained since 22 December 2005 apparently in connection with his peaceful trade union activities. He is reported to suffer from eye and stomach problems for which he may not be receiving adequate medical attention. In June his case was reportedly sent to Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court, but he has not yet been brought to trial.

Ramin Jahanbegloo, a prominent intellectual and writer on democracy and non-violence who holds joint Iranian and Canadian citizenship. He has been held without charge or trial since 27 April 2006. Some Iranian media believed to have close links to the authorities have reported that he is being held for allegedly co-operating with "counter-revolutionary" groups and US and Israeli intelligence services. The Minister of Intelligence stated on 7 May that he was in the custody of his ministry for "having contacts with foreigners".

Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini a former student leader and former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Majles (Iran's parliament), is also the head of the Alumni Association of Iran (Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami [Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat]), which he helped found in 2000. This organization, whose membership is open to graduates of Iranian universities, has been active in promoting democracy and human rights in Iran. During his term in parliament he was an active advocate of human rights, and highlighted the cases of imprisoned students and political prisoners, including by inspecting prisons and illegal detention centres. He was detained during a peaceful demonstration on 12 June 2006, which was being held by women and men advocating an end to legal discrimination against women in Iran. He was reportedly beaten during his arrest and in prison after his detention.

At her meeting with Akbar Ganji, Ms Khan said, "It is outrageous that these three men should be held without charge or trial -- one for over six months -- apparently for peacefully expressing their opinions, or for defending human rights."

She added, "The Iranian authorities should release them, and any other prisoner of conscience in Iran, without delay or, at the very least, allow them the opportunity to answer any charges against them in fair and prompt trials, to which international observers are permitted access."

An international protest to be held in cities across the world has been initiated by Akbar Ganji, who was himself released from six years' imprisonment in March 2006. In Tehran, this will take the form of a three-day hunger strike by individuals in protest at the continuing detention of these three detainees.

"At a time when the world is paying attention to Iran's nuclear programme, it should also pay attention to the human rights situation in that country. The hunger strike is another desperate attempt to draw attention to the plight of prisoners of conscience in Iran," said Ms Khan.

Irene Khan urged people to take action on these cases by visiting the following links on the Amnesty International website:

top

Iran: Arbitrary arrest/prisoner of conscience/ fear of torture and ill-treatment: Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini (m)

UA 181/06 Arbitrary arrest/prisoner of conscience/ fear of torture and ill-treatment

IRAN Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini (m), Human rights defender

Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini was reportedly arrested during a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Tehran, which called for legal reforms to end discrimination against women in Iran. At least 69 other people were arrested, but all except Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini have since been released. Amnesty International believes him to be a prisoner of conscience, held solely on account of the peaceful exercise of his internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and association, and he is at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini, a former student leader and former member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Majles (Iran's parliament), is also the Head of the Alumni Association of Iran (Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami [Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat]), which he helped found in 2000. This organization, whose membership is open to graduates of Iranian universities, has been active in promoting democracy and human rights in Iran. During his term in parliament he was an active advocate of human rights, and highlighted the cases of imprisoned students and political prisoners, including by inspecting prisons and illegal detention centres.

Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini is reportedly held in section 209 of Tehran's Evin Prison, run by the Ministry of Intelligence. Security officials were alleged to have beaten him when he was arrested, and further reports have suggested that he has been beaten while held in detention.

Fourteen days after his arrest he was reportedly allowed visits from his family and one of his lawyers. The lawyer reportedly said that the charges against his client included making a statement to the Mehr news agency based in Tehran, the details of which were not specified. Other reports have suggested that he is accused of "spreading lies". According to reports, prior to his participation in the women's rights demonstration, security officers had contacted Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini by telephone and warned him against supporting and participating in the protest.

On 12 June 2006 the Iranian security forces forcibly broke up a peaceful demonstration by women and men advocating an end to legal discrimination against women in Iran. The demonstrators had gathered in the "Seventh of Tir" Square in Tehran to call, among other things, for changes in the law to give a woman's testimony in court equal value to that of a man; and for married women to be allowed to choose their employment and to travel freely without obtaining the prior permission of their husband.

Police officers, including a large unit of policewomen, reportedly moved in as soon as the demonstration began and forced the protesters to disperse, including by beating some with batons. Scores of protesters were detained; on 13 June 2006, Minister of Justice and Spokesman for the Judiciary Jamal Karimi-Rad stated that 42 women and 28 men had been arrested for participating in what he alleged was an illegal demonstration. When questioned about the reports of beatings by police, he said, "If there was any beating, it will be reviewed".

AI Index: MDE 13/075/2006 30 June 2006

top

Amnesty International warns Iranian regime against violating human rights of Azeri people

As the annual Babek Castle cultural gathering of Iranian Azeri Turks approaches on 30 June 2006, Amnesty International is urging the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint while policing the gathering. In addition, it is calling on the authorities urgently to address increasing human rights violations being committed by Iranian security forces and others against members of Iran's Azeri Turkish minority (who sometimes refer to themselves as Iranian Azerbaijanis).

The largest ethnic minority in Iran, the Azeri Turkish community is believed to number between 25-30 percent of the total population and is found mainly in the north-west. Mostly Shi'a Muslims, like the majority of the population, they are not subject to as much discrimination as minorities of other religions, and are well-integrated into the economy. In recent years, however, they have increasingly called for greater cultural and linguistic rights, such as the right to be taught in Turkish and to celebrate Azerbaijani culture and history at events such as at the annual Babek Castle gathering and Constitution Day, celebrated in October. A small minority advocate the secession of Iranian Azerbaijani provinces and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Activists who promote Azeri Turkish cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who often charge them with vaguely worded offences such as "promoting pan-Turkism".

The annual Babek Castle gathering has reportedly been held for the last six years at Babek (or Bazz) castle in the town of Kalayber, north-western Iran. Each year, thousands of Azeri Turks gather in Kalayber and walk up to the castle to celebrate the birthday of Babek Khorramdin, who lived in the ninth century and is regarded as a hero by Iranian Azeri Turks. These gatherings have frequently met with repression on the part of the Iranian authorities. In 2005, for example, scores of people were reportedly arrested and at least 21 were sentenced to prison terms of up to one year, though some of these were suspended.

Mass demonstrations broke out in towns and cities in north-west Iran following the publication on 12 May 2006 of a cartoon in the state-owned daily newspaper, Iran, which offended many in the Azeri Turkish community. The government suspended publication of the newspaper on 23 May and both the editor-in-chief and cartoonist were arrested. Protests began on a small scale mainly among Azeri Turkish students in universities in Tehran and Tabriz, but rapidly to Azeri Turkish areas. A huge demonstration took place in Tabriz on 22 May and further demonstrations were held in other places in the following days. Most of these protests were peaceful, but some ended with attacks on government buildings and cars. Some Iranian Azeri Turkish sources have claimed these attacks were instigated by government agents. The Iranian government has accused the United States (US) and other outside forces of stirring up the unrest. The US government has denied this.

The Iranian authorities reportedly used excessive force to disperse demonstrators, including beatings and lethal gunfire. Amnesty International has received the names of 27 people who are alleged to have been killed, including seven in Tabriz and 14 in Naqadeh (known as Sulduz by Iranian Azeri Turks). One, 26-year-old Jalil Abedi was reportedly shot in the left side of his head by a member of Iran's Intelligence service in Meshkin Shahr (known as Khiyov in Azeri Turkish) during a demonstration on 25 May, and left to die by security officials who would not let a doctor treat him. His family were reportedly prevented from holding his funeral in a mosque and only a few of them were permitted to attend his burial. The Iranian authorities have generally denied that any deaths occurred during the demonstrations, although a police official acknowledged publicly on 29 May that four people had been killed and 43 injured in Naqadeh.

Hundreds, possibly thousands, of demonstrators, are reported to have been detained, of whom Amnesty International has received the names of almost 200. On 23 June, Hojjatoleslam Aghazadeh, Head of the Office of the Ministry of Justice in East Azerbaijan province, told the press that some 330 people had been arrested in Tabriz, most of whom had already been released, although as many as 85 would be tried later. He said that 20 to 25 people had been identified as playing a major role in the disturbances and that some were Baha'is, some Tudeh party members (communists) and two had "links with Israel". While many protestors have been released, scores are believed to remain in detention, including Changiz Bakhtavar, Dr Ahmad Gholipour Rezaie (known as Dr Heydaroglu) and Hassan Ali Hajabollu (known as Hassan Ark), all of whom were detained after the Tabriz demonstration on 22 May. Hassan Damirchi, aged 65, a businessman and a well-known musician from Tabriz (also known as Hassan Azerbaijan) and his son Babak were arrested at home on 26 May and Gholam Reza Amani was detained on 28 May; he is now reported to be on hunger strike. Some or all of these may have been transferred to Evin prison in Tehran for questioning but their current whereabouts are unclear. Some detainees are reported to have been tortured, including Davoud Maghami, held in Parsabad (known as Mughan in Azeri Turkish) who is said to have required hospital treatment as a result. He has now been released.

Other prominent Azeri Turkish activists who are reported to have been detained include Abbas Lisani (or Leysanli), who was arrested on 3 June when he returned home after hiding for a week following a demonstration in Ardebil in which he was beaten by security forces. He is reportedly on hunger strike and his condition is causing concern. His home telephone line has apparently been cut, possibly to prevent his wife publicising his plight. Abbas Lisani has previously been detained several times because of his political activities on behalf of the Azeri Turkish community, including during or following the Babek Castle gatherings in 2003 and 2005. He was severely tortured during his arrest at a sit-in protest by Azeri Turks at the Sarcheshme Mosque in Ardebil in June 2004.

In advance of this year's Babek Castle gathering, Iranian security forces are reported to be carrying out arrests, possibly to prevent certain individuals attending. One, Akbar Qorbani, was reportedly arrested on 26 June at his workplace in Ardebil by unidentified men in plain clothes (lebas-e shakhsi), having previously been threatened by such people since he took part in the demnonstration in Ardebil. Another, political activist Ebrahim Ja'farzadeh, was reportedly arrested on 26 June in Khoy after being summoned to an Intelligence Ministry facility; he was released the next day. On 27 June, Reza Abbasi, a member of ASMEK (Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani political prisoners) and of the Office for Strengthening Unity (Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat), a student body, was reportedly arrested in Zenjan after he refused to comply with a verbal summons to attend an Intelligence Ministry facility for interrogation. On the same day, Jahanbaksh Bekhtavar, the brother of Changiz Bekhtaver (see above) was reportedly arrested at his home in Tabriz by Intelligence Ministry officials who are also said to have confiscated his books and other personal belongings. Also on 27 June, 'Isa Yeganeh, the managing director of the suspended newspaper Payam-e Sulduz was reportedly arrested in Naqadeh, Sayed Mehdi Sayedzadeh was arrested in Tabriz and at least five people released after the May demonstrations in Miandoab were reportedly redetained.

Amnesty International recognizes that the Iranian authorities have a right and a responsibility to bring those suspected of criminal offences to justice. However it is concerned that many of those detained may be prisoners of conscience, detained solely on account of their peaceful exercise of their right to freedom of _expression and association, or on account of their peaceful political activities on behalf of the Iranian Azeri Turkish community.

Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to

Iran: First public executions since January 2008 ban are a retrograde step

AI Index: MDE 13/093/2008 (Public) 11 July 2008

Iran: Arbitrary arrest/fear of torture or ill-treatment about Mahboubeh Karami (f), aged 40, journalist and women's rights defender and about 200 others

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/089/2008 27 June 2008

RIGHTS-IRAN: List Sheds Light on Death Row Children

By Omid Memarian IPS Jun 18, 2008; A12

Amnesty International - Iran: Turkmen students tortured

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/072/2008 22 May 2008 Further Information on UA 24/08 (MDE 13/016/2008, 25 January 2008) Fear of torture IRAN Jamshid Arazpour (m), ethnic Turkmen from Gomesh Deppeh ; Haji Aman Khadivar (m), ethnic Turkmen from Chapaqli, Golestan - 82 others

Amnesty International - Urgent Action appeal (MDE 13/075/2008) - Farzad Kamangar and two other Kurds at risk

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/075/2008 30 May 2008 UA 147/08 - Death penalty/ torture and ill-treatment IRAN Farzad Kamangar (alias Siamand) (m), aged 32, teacher ] Ali Heydariyan (m) ] from Kurdish ethnic group Farhad Vakili (m) ]

Iranian Rights Lawyer Defiant Despite Threats

By Nora Boustany Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, April 29, 2008; A12

Further Information on UA 331/07 (MDE 13/147/2007, 13 December 2007) and follow-up (MDE 13/008/2008, 17 January 2008) -Arbitrary Arrests/Fear of Torture or ill-treatment/Possible prisoners of conscience

Amnesty International - Iran: Support the Global Trade Union Action Day for imprisoned Iranian trade unionists

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/042/2008 (Public) 5 March 2008

IRAN Reza Daghestani (m), aged 27, Azerbaijani rights activist, student, journalist

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/040/2008 6 March 2008 UA 58/08 Fear of Torture

top

Amnesty International - Further Information on UA 331/07 (MDE 13/147/2007, 13 December 2007) Arbitrary arrests/fear of torture or ill-treatment/possible prisoners of conscience

DEATH PENALTY-IRAN: Top Campaigner Harassed, Hangings Increase

By Kimia Sanati TEHRAN, Jan 14 (IPS) - Emaddedin Baghi, Iran's leading anti-death penalty campaigner, is back behind bars in the country's notorious Evin prison after intense harassment leading to his hospitalisation and concern that he may have suffered a heart attack.

Amnesty International - Iran: Execution of child offender Makwan Moloudazdeh is a mockery of justice

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/141/2007 6 December 2007

top

Amnesty International - Jelveh Javaheri (f), journalist and women's rights defender

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/140/2007 3 December 2007

Amnesty International - Amnesty International - update of Urgent Action: Adnan Hassanpour and 'Hiwa' Boutimar

Amnesty International urges immediate and unconditional release of Sohrab Razzaghi

AI Index: MDE 13/135/2007 (Public) News Service No: 223 16 November 2007

Amnesty International - Urgent Appeal: Hana Abdi and Rounak Safarzadeh - Campaign for Equality detainees in Sanandaj

IRAN PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/130/2007 UA 297/07 Prisoners of conscience/fear of torture or other ill-treatment

top

Amnesty International - Urgent Action - relatives of prisoners killed in 1988 prison massacre arrested at commemoration in Khavaran, risk torture

Amnesty International - Urgent Action - Soghra Najafpour (f) at risk of imminent execution if she comes out of hiding

IRAN UA 271/07 Death penalty/ Fear of imminent execution Soghra Najafpour (f), aged 30

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - Statement about Imprisonment of Emaddedin Baghi

Iran-Human Rights Abuses against the Baluchi Minority

top

Amnesty International appalled at the spiralling numbers of executions

UA 220/07 Prisoner of Conscience/Fear of torture or ill-treatment/Medical concern

IRAN Saleh Kamrani (m), aged about 35, lawyer and human rights defender

Iran: Release Mansour Ossanlu and Mahmoud Salehi and help end legalised discrimination against independent trades unions

UA 194/07 Arbitrary arrest/fear of torture/prisoners of conscience

UA 191/07 Arbitrary arrest/Fear of torture

IRAN Loghman Mehri (m), member of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (RMMK) His wife

Further Information on UA 08/06 (MDE 13/002/2006, 9 January 2006) and follow-ups (MDE 13/094/2006, 17 August 2006; MDE 13/129/2006, 29 November 2006 and MDE 13/011/2007, 31 January 2007) - Arbitrary arrest/Possible prisoner of conscience/Medical concern

IRAN Mansour Ossanlu (m), Head of Union of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company

Human rights defenders arrested

Amnesty International outraged at reported stoning to death and fears for victim's co-accused

Prisoner of Conscience/Medical concern

Mahmoud Salehi (m), trade union activist

Fear of torture/ Possible prisoner of conscience

IRAN Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand (m), Human rights defender and journalist

Iran: End child executions

Iran: Amnesty International appeals against planned executions by stoning

Amnesty International Report 2007 • Iran

Islamic Republic of Iran Head of state: Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei Head of government: President: Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Death penalty: retentionist International Criminal Court: signed

Iran continues to pass death sentences on child offenders

Amnesty International

Tehran Regime's Paranoia

Talk to foreigners and we will view you as a spy, Iran warns academicsRobert Tait in TehranThe Guardian

Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on human rights cases in Iran

Urgent Action: Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi - Kurdish trade unionists held

UA 115/07 Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment/ prisoners of conscience IRAN Heis Amani (m) ] Sedigh Karimi (m) ] trade unionists

Iran (MDE 13/052/2007) - lawyers appeal against prison terms

Iran: Beating and arrest of workers is no way to commemorate May Day

AMNESTY INTERNATIONALAI Index: MDE 13/049/2007 (Public)

Arrests of women may be an attempt to prevent International Women's Day calls for equality

AMNESTY INTERNATIONALAI Index: MDE 13/022/2007 (Public)

Jailed Student Leader Batebi Suffers Brain Stroke

Hasan Zarezade ArdeshirROOZ

Iran: Appeal Case: Abbas Lisani - Prisoner of Conscience

Iran: Amnesty International concerned by prosecution of Dr Hesam Firouzi and abuses against "18 TIR" students

Iran - Further Information on UA 331/06 (MDE 13/135/2006, 12 December 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/137/2006, 14 December 2006) - Incommunicado detention/Fear of torture or ill-treatment/possible prisoner of conscience New concern: Unfair trial Sherko Jihani (m), journalist and human rights defender

Iran - Further Information on 301/06 (MDE 13/126/2006, 13 November 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/123/2006, 7 December 2006) - Fear of imminent execution

Iran - Human rights defender and lawyer - Appeal Case Saleh Kamrani

Iran: Amnesty International concerned at increasing censorship

Political Prisoners Attacked in Evin

Hasan Zarezade ArdeshirROOZ

IRAN - Fear of imminent execution Abdullah Suleymani (m) aged 27, Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani (m), Qasem Salamat (m) aged 43, Mohammad Jaab Pour (m), Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab (m), Alireza Asakreh (m), Majed Alboghubaish (m), Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi (m), Malek Banitamim (m) aged 30

AI Index: MDE 13/093/2008 (Public)
11 July 2008

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/089/2008
27 June 2008

By Omid Memarian
IPS
Jun 18, 2008; A12

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/072/2008
22 May 2008

Further Information on UA 24/08 (MDE 13/016/2008, 25 January 2008) Fear of torture
IRAN
Jamshid Arazpour (m), ethnic Turkmen from Gomesh Deppeh ; Haji Aman Khadivar (m), ethnic Turkmen from Chapaqli, Golestan - 82 others

PUBLIC - AI Index: MDE 13/075/2008
30 May 2008

UA 147/08 - Death penalty/ torture and ill-treatment
IRAN Farzad Kamangar (alias Siamand) (m), aged 32, teacher ]
Ali Heydariyan (m) ] from Kurdish ethnic group
Farhad Vakili (m) ]

By Nora Boustany
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, April 29, 2008; A12

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/042/2008 (Public)
5 March 2008

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/040/2008
6 March 2008
UA 58/08 Fear of Torture

By Kimia Sanati

TEHRAN, Jan 14 (IPS) - Emaddedin Baghi, Iran's leading anti-death penalty campaigner, is back behind bars in the country's notorious Evin prison after intense harassment leading to his hospitalisation and concern that he may have suffered a heart attack.

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/141/2007
6 December 2007

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/140/2007
3 December 2007

AI Index: MDE 13/135/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 223
16 November 2007

IRAN PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/130/2007
UA 297/07 Prisoners of conscience/fear of torture or other ill-treatment

Islamic Republic of Iran
Head of state: Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran: Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
Head of government: President: Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Death penalty: retentionist
International Criminal Court: signed

Talk to foreigners and we will view you as a spy, Iran warns academics
Robert Tait in Tehran
The Guardian

UA 115/07 Incommunicado detention/ fear of torture or ill-treatment/ prisoners of conscience IRAN
Heis Amani (m) ]
Sedigh Karimi (m) ] trade unionists

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: MDE 13/049/2007 (Public)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
AI Index: MDE 13/022/2007 (Public)

Hasan Zarezade Ardeshir
ROOZ

Hasan Zarezade Ardeshir
ROOZ

IRAN - Fear of imminent execution
Abdullah Suleymani (m) aged 27,
Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani (m),
Qasem Salamat (m) aged 43,
Mohammad Jaab Pour (m),
Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab (m),
Alireza Asakreh (m),
Majed Alboghubaish (m),
Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi (m),
Malek Banitamim (m) aged 30

Fear for safety/ Fear of torture and ill-treatment
IRAN Kianoosh Sanjari (m), aged 24, student activist and blogger

Further Information on UA 262/06 (MDE 13/114/2006, 29 September 2006) Arbitrary arrest/fear for safety/ possible prisoners of conscience
Iran - Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, Shi'a cleric More than 418 people (note revised number) y

Further Information on UA 163/06 (MDE 13/063/2006, 08 June 2006) Incommunicado detention/ Fear of torture/ Medical concern new concern: Prisoner of Conscience
Abbas Lisani (or Leysani), (m) aged 38, activist His family

Further Information on UA 21/05 (MDE 13/003/2005, 25 January 2005) Death penalty/Unfair trial New concerns: Fear of imminent execution/ medical concern
IRAN Khaled Hardani (m)

UA 246/06 Fear for safety/ Unfair trial/ Possible prisoner of conscience
IRAN Reza Abbasi (m), human rights defender

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Iran: Urgent need for effective investigations into deaths in custody