A Kurdish teacher sentenced to death after tortured for months

Iranian Minorities’ Human Right Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.07

2008-02-29

Farzad Kamangar who arrested in July 2006 sentenced to death along Farhad Wakili and Ali Heydarian. All three men belong to Kurdish minority’s community in Iran.

During his arrest, Farzad kamangar many reports revealed that he was torture.

Source in Kurdistan told IMHRO “As result his torture they had to transfer him to hospital and every time he came back they started to Torture him again”

Iranian authority accused these three men of membership in Iranian P.K.K party branch, which there are no evidence for that. In fact Farzad Kamangar was environmental activist and active I some NGO activity.

Frazad kamangar who has a record of 12 years study in Kamyaran city, kept in solitary confinement for 17 month in prison of Sanandaj, Kermanshah and Evin Prison.

According to reports when his solicitor met him in prison, he was shaking all the time.

It is also reported that they arrested him because his brother was member of P.K.K. This is utterly unacceptable by international law it is clear case of extrajudicial and summary or arbitrary execution sentence and torture.

Iranian Minorities’ Human Right Organisation is against capital punishment and we believe freedom of expression should be for every one.

We call on UN high commissioner for human right, Mrs Louise Arbour to investigate the case of Farzad kamangar and put pressure on Iranian government to halt his execution.

Arresting innocent family member is one of the strange things that always happening in Iran. When the government can not arrest some one, they arrest member of his family. Many time these innocent member of family sentenced to death for some thing they never involve in.


Background
Kurdish minority in Iran which are numbered up to 6 million people are living in west midland and North West and also in north east of Iran.

Iranian Kurdish is banned from social and political rights. Various human right organisations reported that hundreds of Kurds are in prison, some of them are there for long time without trial or having access to lawyer.

In recent years situation in Kurdistan worsened. Papers and magazine even in cultural form did not tolerated by government and they had to close down. Magazine and papers which closed down by the government in recent years are Manisht, Payame Mardom Kurdistan, Heh Naran, Rojeh Lat, Asu, Asdhti, and Rasan.

Kurdistan area is the only areas in Iran that revolutionary guard’s bases are situated near almost every village. As result of non investment in area, poverty and unemployment are very high. As Kurds are mainly Sunni they treated with discrimination in Iran. Many Mufti and Movlavi (clergy) Sunni are killed during last decade. In recent years pressure on Sunni in Iran had increased.


Action
Write an appeal and show your concern for human right of Farzad Kamangar, Farhad Wakili and Ali Heydarian. Ask Iranian government to stop these sentences immediately.

Please send your appeal to:

Supreme leader of Iran
Sayyed Ali Khamenei
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/


Iranian president
Mahmud Ahmadinejad
E-mail via web site
http://www.president.ir/en/


Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmud 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


United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsLouise Arbour
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland


Chairwoman of European parliament Human Rights committee
Mrs Hélène FLAUTRE
Bureau d'Hélène Flautre au Parlement européen8G130, rue WierzB-1049, Bruxelles, Belgique

IMHRO: 16 years old boy arrested by Iranian security

Iranian Minorities’ Human Right Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.06

2008-02-27


Ibrahim Mehrnahad, 16 years old brother of Yaghub Mehrnahad who sentenced to death, had arrested by Iranian security forces.

Arrest happened in raid style Iranian government. They raid Ibrahim Mehrnahad house about 5 PM last Tuesday. His family still do not know where they keeping him. Ibrahim who is only 16 years old was spoken openly about death sentence of his brother.

He also earlier arrested along with his brother in May 2007, and kept in solitary confinement for 72 days before his released.

Last week Alireza Jamshidi, speaker of Iranian judicial system confirmed the death sentence of Yaghub Mehrnahad and accused him of involving with terrorist activities. But the entire Balochi activist rejected his involvement with any armed group. Mr. Yaghub Mehranahad is founder of Anjoman Sedayeh edalat (voice of justice association), which was recognised and registered by Iranian government. They organised cultural event like music concerts.

After large campaign and rumours that may Yaghub Mehrnahad already killed under torture, Iranian government allow his family to visit him. His family told IMHRO that he was Weaken more than before and there was sign of keeping him waking up for long time.

Both brothers belong to Baluchi community and from city of Zahedan.

IMHRO believes that arrest of Ibrahim Mehrnahad is attempt for silencing minorities from giving information regards of their arrested relatives.

Long time keeping up a person is practiced commonly by Iranian security service. After few days no sleep they will break the person and force him to sign fake confession.

Background

Baluch minority are at least 5 Million people living in south east of Iran and they suffering from various discrimination. As result of lack of state investment, unemployment rate is high.

Baluchi along side other minorities in Iran, can not speak in their mother tongue and are not benefited from social, economic and political right.

As Baluchi people are mainly Sunni, they also suffering from huge discrimination in job opportunity and education. Official ideology of theocracy government of Iran, indicate that non Shia means infidel.

Few days ago security forces open fire on fuel tanker without any warning and killed four Baluchi on board. Last week they arrested 3 Sunni students in city of khash.

Action

Yaghub and Ibrahim Mehrnahad are both in great danger. We ask human right organisations and activists in the world to call upon Iranian government and ask them for following:

To ask Iranian government release of 16 years old Ibrahim Mehrnahad
And stop and release of yaghub Mehrnahad

Please send your appeal to:

Supreme leader of Iran
Sayyed Ali Khamenei
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/


Iranian president
Mahmud Ahmadinejad
E-mail via web site
http://www.president.ir/en/


Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmud 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


United Nations High Commissioner Human RightsLouise Arbour
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais des Nations CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland


Chairwoman of European parliament Human Rights committee
Mrs Hélène FLAUTRE
Bureau d'Hélène Flautre au Parlement européen8G130, rue WierzB-1049, Bruxelles, Belgique

Beijing 2008 Campaign

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VOA: Iranian Repression of Balouchi Minority

Iranian authorities have reportedly sentenced to death ethnic Balouchi civil rights activist Ya’qub Mehrnehad. Mr. Mehrnehad is the head of the Voice of Justice Young People’s Society, a non-governmental educational and cultural organization that is registered with the Iranian government.

According to Amnesty International, he was arrested in May 2007, along with five other members of the association, following a meeting at the Provincial Office of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The governor of Iran’s Sistan-Balouchistan province was reportedly present at that meeting.

The reason for Mr. Mehrnehad’s arrest has not been disclosed. He was tried behind closed doors in December in Zahedan, the capital of Iran’s Sistan-Balouchistan province. Mr. Mehrnehad’s family and attorney say he has been tortured and has lost about fifteen kilograms of weight since his arrest. According to Amnesty International, Mr. Mehrnehad “may be in imminent danger of execution.”

Ethnic Balouchis make up about two-percent of Iran’s population of more than sixty-five million. Mainly Sunni Muslims, they have complained for years of discrimination by Iranian authorities. Hundreds of ethnic Balouchis have reportedly been detained following attacks by Jondallah, an ethnic Balouchi armed extremist group.

Masoud Balouchi is Director of Balouchi Human Rights Watch, a monitoring group based in Sweden. He says Iranian authorities are using the violence of a few extremists as a pretext for suppressing legitimate political dissent.

“We know that Ya’qub Mehrnehad and the organization he represents has done nothing except criticize the human rights abuses of the Iranian regime,” Masoud Balouchi said.

In its human rights report, the U.S. State Department says Iran’s Sunni Muslims claim they are discriminated against by the Iranian government, although it is “hard to distinguish whether the cause for discrimination was religious or ethnic, since most Sunnis are also ethnic minorities, primarily Arabs, Balouchis, and Kurds.”

In a written statement, U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack expressed U.S. concern about the growing number of cases in Iran “in which the death sentence is imposed after trials that were neither fair nor transparent.”

RWB: Iran - Annual report 2008

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit the world’s headlines in 2007 with his diatribes against the West and his talk of nuclear development, saying it was “the country’s greatest battle” and using it to hide Iran’s economic and social problems. Several journalists protected by the regime’s hardliners strongly criticised him in print and some papers, with bogus liberalism, opposed government policies. Freelance journalists who did the same, however, were punished and the country remained the Middle East’s biggest prison for journalists, with more than 50 journalists jailed in 2007. Ten of them were still in prison at the end of the year.

When asked abroad about human rights violations and imprisonment of dissidents and members of religious and sexual minorities, Ahmadinejad insists that Iranians are “the freest people in the world.” But the regime’s persecution of journalists and human rights activists continued in 2007.
The March 2008 parliamentary elections are expected to see further restrictions on the free flow of information. Many reformist papers were closed and news websites blocked during the last elections in 2004.

Journalist condemned to death

Hundreds of people were executed in 2007 and the supreme court confirmed in November a death sentence on freelance journalist Adnan Hassanpour, accused of “undermining national security,” “spying,” “separatist propaganda” and being a mohareb (fighter against God). He was arrested on 25 January and has been in Sanandaj prison, in Kurdistan, since 18 July and has refused to sign any confessions. He was probably arrested because of his contacts with journalists working for the US-funded radio stations Radio Farda and Voice of America.
Media under pressure

More than 50 journalists were prosecuted in 2007 and the independent and opposition media were targets of the usual financial and bureaucratic harassment. The ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, which is responsible for the media, ordered at least four publications to shut down permanently. A dozen papers, including the well-known Shargh and Madaresseh, were temporarily closed pending a court decision and news websites were also targeted. Iran has the biggest number of threatened cyber-dissidents in the Middle East and dozens of websites are shut down each year.

The Press Authorisation and Surveillance Commission cancelled the publishing licence of the bilingual Kurdish-Persian weekly Karfto in December for “failing to publish regularly.” The paper has only been able to bring out 62 issues since it was founded in 2005 because of frequent temporary suspensions by the regime and constant official summoning of senior staff, two of whom were still in prison at the end of 2007. One of them, Kaveh Javanmard, was sentenced at a secret trial on 17 May to two years in prison for “incitement to rebellion” and “undermining national security.” The other, Ako Kurdnasab, was given a six-month sentence at the end of the year by the appeals court in Sanandaj for “trying to overthrow the government through journalistic activities.”

The managing editor of the Kurdistan weekly Payam-e mardom-e Kurdestan, Mohammad Sadegh Kabovand, was arrested in July and at the end of the year was still in Teheran’s Evin prison awaiting trial for “undermining national security.” One of the paper’s journalists, Ejlal Ghavami, also arrested in July, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for “incitement to rebellion” and “undermining national security” for covering a peaceful demonstration in 2005, and is being held in Sanandaj prison. The paper was suspended in 2004.

Most journalists jailed in Teheran are held in Evin prison’s section 209, which is controlled by the intelligence services, and are often put in solitary confinement and have limited medical care. Emadoldin Baghi had a double heart attack on 26 December because of his poor conditions of detention and the stress of being interrogated. He was only allowed one night in hospital before being returned to his cell but was provisionally released on 18 January to continue his convalescence. Said Matinpour, of the Azeri-language Teheran weekly Yarpagh, was arrested at his home in the northwestern town of Zanjan on 28 May and sent to Evin prison, more than 300 km from his family.

Women take action

The Internet has become a battleground between the rigid regime and increasingly active militant feminists demanding abolition of discriminatory laws. Two “cyber-feminists” were held for more than a month at Evin prison in December for writing articles calling for equal rights with men. Thirty-three women journalists and activists were arrested in the spring while demonstrating for their rights and four of them were given prison sentences of between six months and a year. When journalist Jila Baniyaghoob was released, she told of very bad conditions of detention, in a filthy cell and being woken up several times at night to be interrogated blindfold. She spent over a week in the notorious section 209.

Two journalists with double nationality were arrested in 2007. The Iranian-American correspondent for Radio FreeEurope / Radio Liberty, Parnaz Azima, had her passport seized when she arrived in Teheran in January and only got it back nine months later. She was able to leave the country but charges of “undermining national security” are pending against her because she works for a US-funded media outlet.

A French-Iranian journalism student, Mehrnoushe Solouki, was arrested on 17 February and freed on bail a month later but banned from leaving the country. She was able to return to France in January 2008 after the court lifted the bail on her parents’ house. She was accused of “trying to make a propaganda film” in the form of a documentary on the aftermath of the 1988 ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq war. The regime refused to return her notes and the film footage she had shot.

IPS: Intolerance Marks Sunni Student's Death Sentence

Kimia Sanati

TEHRAN, Feb 19 (IPS) - The death sentence passed in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, on civil rights activist and journalist Yaghub Mehrnahad, 28, has highlighted repression on Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities. Mehrnahad, a Sunni Baluchi, was a student of Baluchistan state university at the time of his arrest. He was detained by security agents on Apr. 26, 2007 after attending the annual gathering of a youth association of which he had been the founder and head for five years. ‘Questioning Youth, Accountable Authorities,’ was the theme of the gathering of the organisation, held in Zahedan, capital of the province that borders Pakistan.

It was reportedly attended by a number of local officials, including the governor. TEHRAN, Feb 19 (IPS) - The death sentence passed in Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, on civil rights activist and journalist Yaghub Mehrnahad, 28, has highlighted repression on Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities. Mehrnahad, a Sunni Baluchi, was a student of Baluchistan state university at the time of his arrest. He was detained by security agents on Apr. 26, 2007 after attending the annual gathering of a youth association of which he had been the founder and head for five years. ‘Questioning Youth, Accountable Authorities,’ was the theme of the gathering of the organisation, held in Zahedan, capital of the province that borders Pakistan. It was reportedly attended by a number of local officials, including the governor.

The association that Mehrnahad founded in 2002 also helped organise various cultural events such as music concerts and painting and computer classes for youth. Mehrnahad was also the representative of a reformist newspaper called ‘Mardomsalari’ (Democracy) in the province.

"Mehrnahad was little known outside Baluchistan before he was arrested. He did criticise the government for the neglect of Sistan and Baluchistan province and collaborated with the Islamic Human Rights Commission, a national non-government organisation (NGO)," a student activist in Tehran, who asked not to be quoted by name, told IPS. "The death sentence is very unusual for something like that.

Nobody knows what could have led to such a heavy sentence because he is not known to have advocated any violence. But there are suspicions that the death sentence is intended to cover up evidence of physical torture that, according to his family, he has been subjected to," she said. Five others, including Mehrnahad’s 16-year-old brother who had been arrested with him, were released after being held for up to three months. Mehrnahad himself was held in a prison run by security bodies for five months. He was later transferred to the central state prison in Zahedan where his family was able to meet him for the first time since his arrest. Mehrnahad was tried by a court in Zahedan on Dec. 25 and was again transferred to the security prison.

A month and a half later his family and lawyer, who had not been allowed to attend the trial, were informed of the death sentence. Neither the sentence nor the charges that led to Mehrnahad’s death sentence have been officially announced.

At the time of his arrest newspapers reported the apprehension of an activist in Baluchistan for allegedly assisting the militant Baluchi group, Jundullah. In the absence of official reports and a free press most information about Mehrnahad and the death sentence passed on him come from unofficial sources such as his own blog and the news portal of the students of Amir Kabir University of Technology (AUT), which provides extensive coverage of human rights related news.

The contents of Mehrnahad’s blog indicate that he had been campaigning for establishment of a human rights committee in Baluchistan and for the recognition of the Baluchi language. Mehrnahad had also registered as a candidate to run in city council elections in 2003, but was disqualified by authorities with no reason assigned. As reported by the student news portal, Mehrnahad’s family claimed that signs of torture were visible on his body when it last visited him in prison two months ago.

They also said he had lost about15 kg and was not able to maintain his balance. Baluchis claim discrimination as an ethnic minority as well as for being Sunnis. In spite of recognition, by the Iranian constitution, for Sunnis as a legitimate Islamic sect they do not have equal rights as Shiites.

The constitution states that the supreme leader of the country and its president must be Shiites. The province of Sistan-Baluchistan has seen several bloody encounters between government forces and various armed Baluchi groups, including Jundullah, during the past three years. Foreign journalists and western nationals are banned from travelling to the province. Jundullah, that also calls itself the Iranian Popular Resistance Movement, has carried out several terrorist attacks against government officials in the province and has been involved in several hostage takings. The group has killed some of its hostages in the past, sending video recordings to the media. On Feb.14, 2007 a car bomb by planted Jundullah killed 14 passengers of a Revolutionary Guards staff transportation bus and injured 30 more.

A man arrested on the spot was hanged in public a few days later after a televised confession. Several other people, including a 17-year-old boy, were executed in connection with a bombing in May after making similar televised confessions.

Iranian officials allege Jundullah is connected to al-Qaeda or is sponsored by United States and British secret services. But Jundullah has denied these allegations and claims it is fighting for the rights of the Baluchi and Sunni people and for establishing democracy in Iran. The government also alleges that Jundullah is involved in drug trafficking.

According to a report by Amnesty International, from January to August 2007 out of the total 166 executions reported in Iran 50 happened in Baluchistan, many of them carried out in public for charges such as drug trafficking or murder. Iran has the second highest rate of death penalty after China.

According to a statement by the justice department of Sistan-Baluchistan on Jan. 6, released by Iranian Students News Agency, five men were sentenced to amputation of their right arms and left legs on the charges of taking up arms against the Islamic state, hostage taking and armed robbery and the sentences were carried out. In a statement released on Feb. 11, Jundullah denied any connection with Mehrnahad and condemned the death sentence passed on him. (END/2008)

VOA: Iran's Repressed Turkmen Minority

Human rights monitors are concerned over the reported detention of hundreds of ethnic Turkmen by Iranian authorities. The detentions followed the killing of an ethnic Turkmen fisherman, Husamettin Khadivar, by Iranian maritime security officers on December 28th.

According to the U.S. State Department, about two percent of Iran’s population, over one-million-three-hundred-thousand people, are ethnic Turkmen. Mr. Khadivar was fishing without a license in the Caspian sea near the Iranian city of Bandar-e Torkman.

Abdulgafur Setaesh is Director of the Center for Human Rights of Turkmenstan of Iran, a Canada-based human rights monitoring group. Mr. Setaesh said friends and relatives of the young fisherman protested the killing to Iranian military authorities:

“After two days of mourning, four-hundred or five-hundred people goes to Chapaqli military center [base] and asks why? This is an eighteen-year-old young person. Why did you kill him? Now his family is without any food. Here, as usual, they [Iranian authorities] started to hit people.”

Mr. Setaesh said Iranian security forces attacked the crowd. According to Amnesty International, “dozens of Turkmen protestors are said to have been injured, and two-hundred to three-hundred were arrested in villages in the region.” Amnesty International said the detainees were reportedly not told the reason for their arrest.

According to Amnesty International, “scores, if not hundreds of Turkmen have reportedly been taken to Zahedan in Sistan-Baluchistan province, possibly to make it harder for families to find out what has happened to them.” Amnesty International says two of the detainees, Jamshid Arazpour and Haji Aman Khadivar, are believed to be held incommunicado in Golestan province and “are at risk of torture.”

President George W. Bush said, “Iran’s rulers oppress good and talented people.” Mr. Bush said that the U.S. “message to the people of Iran is clear: we have no quarrel with you. We respect your traditions and your history. We look forward to the day when you have your freedom.”

Beijing 2008

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IMHRO: Children from minorities in Iran suffer discrimination in schools

Iranian Minorities’ Human Right Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.05

2008-02-18

In Iran education in mother tongue or first language is forbidden for Minorities. Cultural activists are calling for more pressure to be put on the Iranian government to end this discrimination and move forward to have more respect for indigenous people and ethnic minorities.

Yasser is 6 years old and from a Kurdish minority. Talking with IMHRO through his dad he explains that he cannot understand his teacher at all. ”At home we talk Kurdish, in school we have to talk Farsi”.

In Iran, minorities are only taught in Farsi or Persian. As a result many children from minorities leave school at an earlier age than their counterparts. As a result illiteracy amongst the minorities is very high. Various studies have proven that when learning takes place in the mother tongue, children learn more quickly.

Mansur, 10 years old and a Baluchi from Zahedan, told IMHRO that he has recently left his school because he has not progressed well over the last few years. He could not understand what the teacher said because he was forced to learn in Farsi.

The banning of teaching in the native language of minorities has a negative effect on their culture. Contributions to literature, art and music are declining due to lack of schooling for minority children. Work that is created is being lost and forgotten because of the lack of ability to publish the work.

Various human rights activists and organisations have named the banning of education in the mother tongue of minority groups a “Cultural Holocaust”. They have explained that “indeed you do not need to kill the people to stop their culture. By not allowing people to practice a culture, it is almost the same and it is very damaging.”

Yasamin is 9 years old and lives in the republic of Azerbaijan; she is originally from the north west of Iran. She has told IMHRO that since she moved with her family to republic of Azerbaijan and is taught in her native Turkish language, she feels she has progressed a lot better in school than when she lived in Iran. She found it very difficult when she had to talk and learn in Farsi.

If a culture is not practiced or expressed, it is in danger of dying. Language is not only a means of communication; it enables an expression of identity.

Rasul, an Ahwazi Arab and originally from city of Abadan, told IMHRO since he has moved to UAE (United Arab Emirates), he has found school less stressful as he does not have to worry about understanding the lessons. “In Iran I had a headache after every lesson and I did not understand them at all”.

Today is ‘World Mother Language’ day and the UN has named this year UN year of language to emphasis of importance of languages. However, many cultural activists who demand the right to learn in mother tongue in Iran are persecuted.

We ask the international community to pay attention to the enormous suffering that is caused by silencing millions of people in Iran. We ask for people to join us in demanding that the Iranian government allows people to study in any language, not just in Farsi or Persian.


I
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/files/38922/11127767843Benson_Languag
e_instruction.doc/Benson%2BLanguage%2Binstruction.doc

Amnesty: Ya'qub Mehrnehad (m), aged 28, member of Iran’s Baluchi minority

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/038/2008
12 February 2008


UA 38/08 Death sentence/Unfair trial/Torture

Baluchi cultural and civil rights activist Ya’qub Mehrnehad was sentenced to death in early February, for an unknown offence, after an unfair trial conducted behind closed doors. He has allegedly been tortured. His appeal before the Supreme Court has been scheduled for 17 February, denying him the minimum 20 days normally given in Iran for him to prepare his appeal.

His trial began on 25 December 2007 before a court in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province. This may have been a special court set up in the city in May 2006, and it is unclear if it operates as a branch of the Revolutionary Court it would be governed by the General and Revolutionary Court procedures, but it may be operating outside that framework. Furthermore, in June 2006 it was announced that a “special judicial complex for security affairs” had begun work and that a recommendation had been made to the Judiciary to establish a branch of the Supreme Court in the complex in order to expedite the implementation of sentences and to reduce the time between the commission of crimes and the implementation of sentences. Amnesty International is concerned that Ya’qub Mehrnehad may be in imminent danger of execution.

Ya’qub Mehrnehad is the head of a government-registered NGO, "The Voice of Justice Young People’s Society", which specializes in organising events such as concerts and educational courses for young Baluchi people. He was arrested in early May 2007 along with six other members of the association after they attended a meeting in the Provincial Office of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which the Governor of Zahedan reportedly attended. The six other men were later released. The exact reasons for his arrest are not known although some newspaper reports in July 2007mentionned that a man identified as Ya’qub M. was being detained on suspicion of "aiding Abdolmalek Rigi", the head of a Baluchi armed group, Jondallah, also known as the Iranian Peoples’ Resistance Movement.

Five months after his arrest, Ya’qub Mehrnehad was allowed visits from his lawyer and his family, who said afterwards that he had been tortured, had lost about 15kg and was unable to keep his balance.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Iran’s Baluchi minority live mainly in the south-east of the country, and are believed to make up between one and three percent of the total population of around 70 million. Mainly Sunni Muslims, they have for many years complained of discrimination by the authorities.

Jondallah has carried out a number of armed attacks on Iranian officials and has sometimes taken hostages and killed them. It reportedly seeks to defend the rights of the Baluchi people, though government officials have claimed that it is involved in drug smuggling and terrorist activities and has ties to foreign governments.

Attacks by Jondallah have been followed by widespread arrests of members of the Baluchi minority. According to a 15 March 2007 BBC report, Sistan-Baluchistan television said that at least two people had been hanged in connection with a 14 February 2007 attack on a bus carrying Revolutionary Guards. At least 17 other people are reported to have been either sentenced to death or executed in connection with a March 2006 attack in Tasuki, in which up to 22 people were reportedly killed. In an interview with the Iranian newspaper ‘Ayyaran on 17 March 2007, parliamentarian Hossein Ali Shahryari said prisons in Sistan-Baluchistan province held more than 700 people under sentence of death. In 2007, at least 312 people were executed in Iran, and the true figure may be considerably higher. There was a marked rise in the number of Baluchis executed.
For further information please see: Iran: Human Rights Abuses against the Baluchi Minority, MDE 13/104/2007, September 2007: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/104/2007.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, English, French, Arabic or your own language:
- calling on the authorities not to carry out the death sentence against Ya’qub Mehrnehad;
- asking for details of the charges against Ya’qub Mehrnehad and his trial;
- expressing concern at reports that Ya’qub Mehrnehad has been tortured, and has lost 15kg and cannot keep his balance as a result, and reminding the authorities of their responsibility to ensure that he has access to adequate medical treatment;
- stating that Amnesty International recognizes the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.

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

Head of the Judiciary
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
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

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, Baharestan Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3355 6408
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir (Ask for your message to be passed to 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 25 March 2008.

IMHRO: Baluchi activist is sentenced to death in secret trial

Iranian Minorities’ Human Right Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.04

Urgent action

2008-02-11

Mr. Yaghub Mehrnahad, a Baluchi cultural and civil rights activist, has been sentenced to death after spending 9 months in a detention centre.

His family have told IMHRO that Mehrnahad had been imprisoned 5 months before they were allowed to visit him. They discovered that during this time Mehrnahad had been subjected to torture and had lost about 15kg in weight.

“About one month ago they put him on a secret trial. After 10 days, instead of sentencing him, they moved him to Iranian Intelligent Custody for further investigation. They have now sentenced him to death”.

Mr. Yaghub Mehrnahad is the 28 year old founder of Anjoman Sedayeh edalat (Voice of Justice Association), which was recognised and registered by the Iranian Government, in May 2007. Anjoman Sedayeh edalat was a non-governmental organisation, organising events such music concerts and educational courses for the young in Baluchistan, in the South East of Iran. Mehrnahad was arrested along with five other members of Anjoman Sedayeh edalat. The rest of the members were released, but Yaghub Mehrnahad remained in prison.

Mr. Yaghub Mehrnahad is a pacifist and always protested with non-violent methods. Regardless, he was sentenced to death in a secret trial. He was charged with carrying out acts against national security as he had been condemning the actions of the Iranian government on the internet.

His family have told IMHRO:

“They reduced the time of appeal against his sentence from the usual 20 days to 6 days, which will end on Sunday 17/02/2008. Therefore, he is now at risk of imminent execution. It has been 45 days since we visited him in prison. We are afraid that he may have been killed under torture”. Mehrnahad also missed the birth of his daughter due to his imprisonment.

An arrest in Iran usually takes place in a public place such as from the street or from a person’s place of work. The authorities do not inform friends or relatives about where a detainee is, and they hardly allow suspects to contact their family. Often family members do not know anything about their missing relative for months.

Background
The Baluch minority make up around 5 million of Iran’s population and they mainly live in south east of Iran. These people suffer from various forms of discrimination. The lack of state investment is highly noticeable. One consequence of this is the high unemployment rate in this area.

It has been suggested that in Baluchistan the Iranian government has executed political and human rights activists under the pretence of drug smuggling charges. It is alleged that this is a cover used by the government, enabling them to attempt to inhibit the work of human rights activists. These acts against human rights are thus hidden from the world and media which allows the government to continue their oppression of minorities.

Armed groups, whose purpose is to fight against the government, have been set up by Baluchi. Some say this is a direct result of the non-investment, discrimination and oppression.

Baluchi alongside other minorities in Iran are prevented from speaking in their mother tongue and are not entitled to social, economic and political rights. As Baluchi people are mainly Sunni, they also suffer from religious discrimination. This affects them in many areas of their lives such as in the job market and with education opportunities. Official ideology of theocracy of the government of Iran indicates that non Shia means infidel. Last month the Iranian government amputated the right hands and left feet of five men who they claimed to be infidels in Zahedan, the capital of the Baluchistan province.

Action
We ask human right organisations and activists in the world to call upon
Iranian government and ask them for following:

Stop the death sentence of Yaghub Mehrnahad and demand the immediate release of him and other Baluchi activists.

Demand the government stops the practice of the inhuman penalty of amputation in Baluchistan.

Supreme leader of Iran
Sayyed Ali Khamenei
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/

Iranian president
Mahmud Ahmadinejad
E-mail via web site
http://www.president.ir/en/

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmud 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

United Nations High Commissioner Human Rights
Louise Arbour
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

Chairwoman of European parliament Human Rights committee
Mrs Hélène FLAUTRE
Bureau d'Hélène Flautre au Parlement européen
8G130, rue Wierz
B-1049, Bruxelles, Belgique

MRGI:Table 2: Major risers since 2006

Rank
Rise in rank since 2006
Country
Group
Total

8
8
Pakistan
Ahmadiyya, Baluchis, Hindus, Mohhajirs, Pashtun, Sindhis
18.97
14
47
Sri Lanka
Tamils, Muslims
16.00
15
13
Haiti
Political/social targets
15.72
20
5
Iran
Arabs, Azeris, Baha'is, Baluchis, Kurds, Turkomans
15.02
33
12
Yemen
Political/social targets
12.63
35
7
Lebanon
Druze, Maronite Christians, Palestinians, Shia, Sunnis
12.25
39
15
Turkey
Kurds, Roma
12.02
40
7
Guinea
Fulani, Malinke
11.83
53
New entry
Thailand
Chinese, Malay-Muslims, Northern Hill Tribes
10.96
54
New entry
Israel/OT/PA
Palestinians in Gaza/West Bank, Israeli Palestinians
10.83

MRGI: Table 1: Peoples under Threat 2007

shows that from 2006 to 2007, Somalia overtook Iraq as the country whose miunorities are most under threat in the world. Sudan took third place and Afghanistan fourth

Rank
Country
Group
Total


1
Somalia
Darood, Hawiye, Issaq and other clans; Bantu and other groups
21.95
2
Iraq
Shia, Sunnis, Kurds, Turkomans, Christians; smaller minorities
21.61
3
Sudan
Fur, Zaghawa, Massalit and others in Darfur; Dinka, Nuer and others in the South; Nuba, Beja
21.50
4
Afghanistan
Hazara, Pashtun, Tajiks, Uzbeks
21.03
5
Burma
Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Mons, Rohingyas, Shan, Chin (Zomis), Wa
20.40
6
Dem. Republic of the Congo
Hema and Lendu, Hunde, Hutu, Luba, Lunda, Tutsi/Banyamulenge, Twa/Mbuti
19.88
7
Nigeria
Ibo, Ijaw, Ogoni, Yoruba, Hausa (Muslims) and Christians in the North
19.22
8
Pakistan
Ahmadiyya, Baluchis, Hindus, Mohhajirs, Pashtun, Sindhis
18.97
9
Angola
Bakongo, Cabindans, Ovimbundu
16.68
10
Russian Federation
Chechens, Ingush, Lezgins, indigenous northern peoples, Roma
16.29
11
Burundi
Hutu, Tutsi, Twa
16.20
12
Uganda
Acholi, Karamojong
16.18
13
Ethiopia
Anuak, Afars, Oromo, Somalis
16.11
14
Sri Lanka
Tamils, Muslims
16.00
15
Haiti
Political/social targets
15.72
16
Côte d’Ivoire
Northern Mande (Dioula), Senoufo, Bete, newly-settled groups
15.62
17
Rwanda
Hutu, Tutsi, Twa
15.31
18
Nepal
Political/social targets, Dalits
15.07
19
Philippines
Indigenous peoples, Moros (Muslims)
15.06
20Iran

Arabs, Azeris, Baha'is, Baluchis, Kurds, Turkomans
15.02

Amnesty: Further Information

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/035/2008


7 February 2008

Further Information on UA 61/07 (MDE 13/027/2007, 09 March 2007) and follow-up (MDE 13/067/2007, 7 June 2007) – Prisoners of conscience/Torture

IRAN Jelil Ghanilou (m) ]

Released: Esma’il Javadi (m), aged 31, journalist ]
Ebulfezl Alilu (m) ]
Ramin Sadeghi (m) ] Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic
Qahreman Qanbarpour (m) ] rights activists
Adel Allahverdipour (m) ]
Safar Ali Kho’ini (m) ]
Ja’far Haqnazari (m) ]

All of those named above, except Jelil Ghanilou have been released. Safar Ali Kho’ini was released on 11 March 2007 on bail totalling around the equivalent of US$325,000. It is not known whether he has been charged or tried. Esma’il Javadi and Ebulfezl Alilu were released on 12 March and on 30 April respectively after a judge dismissed a case against them. Ramin Sadeghi was released on 15 March 2007. However he was sentenced on 20 October 2007 by Branch 14 of Ardabil Revolutionary Court to 50 lashes and a fine of the equivalent of, roughly, US$325. It is not known whether the flogging sentence was carried out. Qahreman Qanbarpour, Adel Allahverdipour and Ja’far Haqnazari have also been released. Amnesty International has no further information concerning them.

Azerbaijani cultural and linguistic rights activist Jelil Ghanilou continues to face torture and interrogation following six months’ arrest and ongoing interrogation, while being moved between prisons in two different cities. He has neither been charged nor given access to legal representation. He has however been allowed to meet with and speak with family members. Amnesty International believes that Jelil Ghanilou is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.

Jelil Ghanilou was arrested in Zenjan in February 2007 in connection with his participation marking International Mother Language Day. He was released around 10 days later but on 28 May 2007 he was re-arrested following demonstrations marking the anniversary of the publication in May 2007 of a cartoon seen by many Iranian Azerbaijani activists as offensive. It appears that he was then moved to incommunicado detention, prompting a statement by the National Movement of Azerbaijan – Zenjan (Harakat-e Melli-ye Azerbaijan – Zenjan) on 2 June 2007, entitled "Where are Sa’id Metinpour [another Azerbaijani activist] and Jelil Ghanilou?" Amnesty International has now learned that from June 2007, he was repeatedly been moved between Evin Prison in Tehran and a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Zenjan and that he continued to face both interrogation and torture throughout the latter part of 2007 and into 2008.

Amnesty International has learned that Jelil Ghanilou was permitted one family visit in September 2007. By then he had reportedly been deprived of sleep for long periods and faced 24-hour interrogation. Officials also threatened that members of his family could be harmed. He is reported to have required medical treatment several times and when family members apparently tried to post the bail that officials demanded, they were turned away. They reportedly had irregular telephone contact with him in the latter part of 2007, though if he spoke Azerbaijani Turkic, the line was sometimes cut, when conversations in Persian were allowed to continue. Guards watched over him during his telephone conversations.

Jelil Ghanilou has been held in the Ministry of Intelligence-run Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison since 4 December 2007. On 3 February 2008, flanked by guards, he is reported to have said in a telephone conversation that he had been held in solitary confinement for 6 months and that he continued to face torture. Jelil Ghanilou allegedly added that he is no longer afraid to say over the telephone that the psychological pressures of uncertainty, misleading information; of repeated interrogations and threats from the authorities are wearing him down. Secret detention has been shown to facilitate torture and ill treatment. Prolonged incommunicado detention can itself be a form of cruel inhuman and degrading punishment.

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.”

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Farsi, Arabic, French your own language:
- calling on the authorities to halt any torture that Jelil Ghanilou may continue to face, and ensuring that any such reports are fully investigated and, if necessary, the perpetrators brought to justice;
- urging the authorities to promptly charge Jelil Ghanilou with a recognisably criminal offense and try him in a fair trial or release him;
- expressing concern that Jelil Ghanilou has been detained without charge or access to a lawyer of his choice for over six months, and that prolonged Secret detention has been shown to facilitate torture and ill treatment;
- pointing out that if he is detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, Amnesty International would consider him a prisoner of conscience, and would call for his immediate and unconditional release.

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 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
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
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:
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

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 20 March 2008.

This is just a duplicate

Click on image to enlarge it

Amnesty: Further Information

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/036/2008
07 February 2008

Further Information on UA 301/06 (MDE 13/126/2006, 13 November 2006) and follow-up (MDE 13/123/2006, 7 December 2006; MDE 13/142/2006, 22 December 2006; MDE 13/006/2007, 25 January 2007 and MDE 13/042/2007, 03 April 2007) - Fear of imminent execution

IRAN

Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani (m)
Abdul Husain Haribi (m)
Ahmad Maramazi (m), previously named as Husain Maramazi
Husain Asakreh (m)

The four men named above were reportedly executed in a prison in Khuzestan. Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani was executed at dawn on 13 November 2007 and the three other men, Abdul Husain Haribi, Ahmad Maramazi and Husain Asakreh were executed on 30 December 2007. They had all been sentenced to death in connection with involvement in bomb explosions which took place in major cities in Khuzestan Province in 2005.

Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani was amongst seven men named on 10 January 2007 by three leading UN human rights experts - Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Leandro Despouy, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, and Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on torture who jointly called on the government of Iran to “stop the imminent execution of seven men belonging to the Ahwazi Arab minority and grant them a fair and public hearing.” The UN experts stated: “We are fully aware that these men are accused of serious crimes… However, this cannot justify their conviction and execution after trials that made a mockery of due process requirements.” All the seven named men have now been executed.

Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani was initially thought to have been executed on 14 February 2007 along with two other men. However, further reports later suggested that his execution had been temporarily postponed and that a teacher, Risan Sawari was executed instead of him (see update to UA 57/06, MDE 13/041/2007, 2 April 2007).

Abdul Husain Haribi, Ahmad Maramazi and Husain Asakreh were sentenced to death on 16 November 2006 following a one-day closed trial at a Revolutionary Court in Shadegan in Khuzestan province. They were accused of bombing oil pipelines in Khuzestan.

Many thanks to all who sent appeals. No further action is requested.

Amnesty: Fear of Torture and ill-treatment/ Incommunicado detention/ Death sentence and new concern: Imminent execution

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/034/2008
6 February 2008

Further Information on UA 233/05 (MDE 13/051/2005, 9 September 2005) and follow-up (MDE 13/065/2005, 2 November 2005; MDE 13/033/2006, 31 March 2006; MDE 13/072/2006, 23 June 2006) - Fear of Torture and ill-treatment/ Incommunicado detention/ Death sentence and new concern: Imminent execution


IRAN Mohsen Bawi (m), aged 34 ]
Imad Bawi (m), law student, aged 32 ] brothers
Hani Bawi (m), student, aged 23 ]
Moslem Bawi (m), student, aged 20 ]
Asad Bawi (m), their cousin, aged 35 ]
Mansour Tayouri (m) ] members of the extended Bawi family
Hassan Boughedar (or Bou Azar or Bozar) (m)]
Lefteh Sarkhi (m), student

Executed: Zamel Bawi (m), aged 30
Zamel Bawi, a member of the Iranian Arab minority, was executed on 29 January at 4am in Karoun Prison, Khuzestan province. On 28 January, the eve of his execution, Zamel Bawi was allowed a family visit. Neither Zamel nor his family nor his lawyer were informed of the imminence of the execution, although Iranian law states that the authorities should inform a detainee's lawyer at least 48 hours before a death sentence is due to be carried out.

Zamel Bawi, a businessman and shop owner, was arrested by security forces on 11 August 2005 along with four of his brothers and a cousin. At the end of October 2005, Zamel Bawi had been sentenced to death. On 10 June 2006 Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz city, Khuzestan province, confirmed the death sentences against Zamel Bawi and nine other men including Jaafar Sawari, Risan Sawari and Abdulredha Nawaseri who were executed in 2007 (see UA 57/06 MDE 13/023/2006, 10 March 2006 and follow-ups). The 10 men were accused of being “mohareb” (at enmity with God) which can carry the death penalty. Other charges included "destabilizing the country", "attempting to overthrow the government", "possession of home-made bombs", "sabotage of oil installations" and carrying out bombings in Ahvaz, which took place between June and October 2005. Zamel Bawi was further convicted of hiding seven home-made bombs.

The remaining men are serving prison sentences varying between 10 and 25 years in exile within the country. Amnesty International believes that Mohsen Bawi is detained in Konarak Prison, outside the town of Chabahar, in Sistan-Baluchistan province and Imad Bawi is detained in Tabas Prison, in Khorasan province. The two brothers were said to have been taken into solitary confinement following the news of the execution of their brother.

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. There were mass demonstrations in 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. 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 2005, the cycle of violence intensified, with hundreds of people reportedly arrested. There have been reports of torture. Further bombings on 24 January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further mass arrests. At least 17 men have now been executed as a result of their alleged involvement in the bombings. It is not clear if another man was executed or died in custody.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, French Farsi, Arabic, 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;
- deploring the execution of Zamel Bawi;
- seeking clarification as to why Zamel Bawi’s lawyer was not informed at least 48 hours before his execution, as he should have been according to Iranian law;
- seeking full details of the trials of Zamel Bawi, his brothers Mohsen, Imad, Hani and Moslem; their cousin Asad Bawi, relatives Mansour Tayouri and Hassan Boughedar; and Lefteh Sarkhi, including details of the charges and evidence against them and any appeals they may have made;
- expressing concern at reports that these prisoners were not granted access to a lawyer during some or all sessions of their trial, and as such, their trial did not meet international standards for fair trial, as laid down by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a State Party.



- seeking assurances that those who remain in prison are not being tortured or ill-treated in detention.

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

Head of the Judiciary
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
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

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, 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.

HT: Rights group: Syrian authorities detained Iranian Arab

February 6, 2008

DAMASCUS, Syria: Syrian authorities have arrested an Iranian Arab suspected of having links with an Iranian opposition group and there are concerns he might be handed over to Iran, a local human rights group said Wednesday.

The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria said that Mohammad Nohairi Bani-Skini, 36, was detained Jan. 22 from the Syrian Department of Passports and Migration in Damascus, where he had gone to stamp his passport before leaving to Sweden as a refugee.

NOHR said Bani-Skini — a registered refugee with the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees — was first held at the department's prison before being taken to an unknown destination. He was accepted as a refugee by Sweden where he had planned to travel on Feb. 4, it added.

The group said his detention violates "all international conventions ... particularly as Bani-Skini enjoys the protection of the UNHCR." It urged Syrian authorities to release him immediately and expressed concerns that he might be handed over to the Iranian government on suspicion of having links with an opposition group in the southern Iranian province of Ahwaz. It did not name the group.

The NOHR report could not be independently confirmed. Syrian officials do not usually comment on arrests or other security matters. Syria and Iran are close allies.

IMHRO: Further information on Mohammad Sadigh Kabodwand

Iranian minorities’ Human Right Organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.03

2008-02-05

The founder of a Kurdistan Human Rights Organisation, who was arrested seven months ago, has been denied access to his solicitor. Mr Mohammad Sadigh Kabodwand, the creator of the banned newspaper Payame Kurdistan, was arrested seven months ago in his place of work. He has been denied his right to see his solicitor of choice.

The court rejected [the lawyers he suggested]; Shirin Ebadi, Mohammad Sayf and Mrs Nasrin Sotodeh. However, Mrs Sotodeh continues to represent him,” his daughter has told IMHRO.

“For one and half months we did not knew where he was. For 6 months they kept him in solitary confinement. It is about 10 days since they moved him to the general section. During 6 months in solitary confinement, he began having difficulty breathing and he had pain in his kidneys.”

During his time spent in prison the doctor only visited Mr Mohammad Sadigh Kabodwand once. Kabodwand has been charged with acts against national security and destabilisation of the country. However, it is not clear at what stage his case is at.

Before his arrest, Mr Mohammad Sadigh Kabodwand was a human rights activist. He openly criticised the practice of stoning offenders and published news of human rights abuses in Kurdistan. His Human Rights group highlighted cases of increasing suicide rates in young Kurdish women as a result of depression.

The case of Mr Kabodwand clearly shows that political activists in Iran are being targeted by the government.

In Iran soon after the arrest of an activist, the government freezes their bank accounts. This denies them the ability to pay for lawyers or pay for the fee required for bail.

Background
The Kurdish minority make up 6 million of the population in Iran. Large numbers of Kurds live in the West Midlands, North West and North East of Iran.

Iranian Kurds are denied social and political rights. Various human rights
Organisations have reported that hundreds of Kurds are unjustly imprisoned, some having been so for years. Kurdistan areas are the only areas in Iran that have bases for security forces situated near most villages. The government has also deliberately diverted investment from Kurdish area.

In recent years the situation in Kurdistan has worsened. Papers and magazines that condemn the actions of the government have been closed down. Recent examples of such publications include Manisht, Payame Mardom Kurdistan, Heh Naran, Rojeh Lat, Asu, Asdhti and Rasan.

Take action
Write to Iranian government and call on them for immediate release of
Mohammad Sadigh Kabodwand.

Supreme leader of Iran
Sayyed Ali Khamenei
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/

Iranian president
Mahmud Ahmadinejad
E-mail via web site
http://www.president.ir/en/

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmud 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

IMHRO: Iranian security arrested brothers of execution victim

Iranian minorities’ human right organisation (IMHRO)

Ref.IMHRO.02

2008-02-04

Iranian security forces have arrested the two brothers of Zamel Bavi who has recently been executed in Ahwaz prison.

Zamel Bavi, the 29 year old father and shopkeeper, has been executed after spending two and a half years in solitary confinement. Bavi’s first confession, obtained during interrogation by Iranian Security, was declared too unreliable to enable his execution, so he had to endure a second. During both of these interrogations it is likely that Bavi experienced torture and suffered from inhumane treatment.

His sister has told IMHRO that main charge against his brother was that he had a traditional Arabic wedding. “He was not involved in any illegal activities”.

Bavi’s family were denied a traditional burial of their relative. The Iranian government only allowed his family to bury him an entire four days after his execution, several longer than is the norm. Security forces attended his funeral and requested that after the event his family did not hold any gatherings to commemorate the burial.


The brothers of Bavi, Mohsen aged 35 and Emad (Sohrab) aged 29, were kidnapped just hours after their brother Zamel was executed. It is feared that these men will suffer a similar fate at the hands of the Iranian government.


Background
Ahwaz is the home of 5 million Arabs and has rich reserves of oil and gas. Over recent years, the Iranian government has increasingly oppressed the Ahwazi people.

Since the uprising of the Ahwazi people in 2005, many have been arrested and at least 20 are known to have been executed by the Iranian government. Various human rights organisations estimate that the real number of those executed is much higher.

Confiscation of land by the government is another source of tension in the area. The government forced many Arab farmers to leave their land and sources of income. No compensation was given for this. This land has then been used for new towns and industrial areas employed by non-indigenous Arabs. 85% of Iranian revenue comes from this area. However, the Iranian government refuses to spend even 1% of this in the area. Unemployment is high above the national average.

An Ahwaz human rights organisation reported that thousands of Ahwazi Arabs have been arrested in recent years. Last month alone four Ahwazi Arabs were hanged.

The justice system in Iran is corrupt. Suspects are kept in solitary confinement until their trial date. Confessions made under torture are valid in Iran, so most suspects are tortured until a confession is made. Prisoners are often deprived of access to lawyer and the trial takes place in secret. Many innocent victims are executed.


Take action.

Write to the following organisations and express your concern for
Ahwazi prisoners. Call upon Iranian authorities to release Ahwazi prisoners of conscience including two brothers of Mohsen and Emad (Sohrab) Bavi. Stop the execution of Arab Ahwazi. Ask the world to hold the Iranian
Government accountable for their brutality.

High Commissioner for Human Rights

Mrs. Louise Arbour
High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland


Supreme leader of Iran
Sayyed Ali Khamenei
E-mail via web site
http://www.leader.ir/


Iranian president
Mahmud Ahmadinejad
E-mail via web site
http://www.president.ir/en/


Chairwomen of Human Rights Committee in European Parliament
Mrs Hélène FLAUTRE
Chairwomen of human rights committee in European parliament
Bureau d'Hélène Flautre au Parlement européen
8G130, rue Wierz
B-1049, Bruxelles, Belgique

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmud 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

European Parliament resolution of 31 January 2008 on Iran

Full text

Texts adopted by Parliament
Thursday, 31 January 2008 - Brussels
Provisional edition
Situation in Iran
P6_TA-PROV(2008)0031
B6-0046, 0048 and 0057/2008
European Parliament resolution of 31 January 2008 on Iran
The European Parliament ,

— having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran, notably those concerning the nuclear issue and human rights and in particular the resolutions adopted on 13 October 2005(1) and 17 November 2005(2) , its resolution of 15 February 2006 on the confrontation between Iran and the international community(3) and its resolution of 25 October 2007 on Iran(4) ,
— having regard to the conclusions of the European Council on Iran and in particular those of 14 December 2007,

— having regard to the UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737/ (2006) and 1747/ (2007) on the Iranian nuclear programme,

— having regard to the IAEA-Iran work plan agreed between Iran and the International Atomic

Energy Agency (IAEA) of 21 August 2007, and aimed at clearing up issues related to Iran's nuclear programme (included in attachment INFCIRC/711 to the IAEA Board of Governors' report (GOV/2007/48) of 30 August 2007 entitled "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran"),

— having regard to the IAEA Board of Governors' reports and in particular to the report (GOV/2007/58) of 15 November 2007 entitled "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) in the Islamic Republic of Iran",

— having regard to the United States 'National Intelligence Estimate' report on Iran's Nuclear Intentions and Capabilities (US INE) published on 3 December 2007 and the statement by the IAEA Director-General, Dr Mohamed ElBaradei, on this issue (press release 2007/22),
— having regard to UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions 61/176 of 19 December 2006 and 62/168 of 18 December 2007 on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in particular the latter,

— having regard to UNGA resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007 on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty,


— having regard to the second interparliamentary meeting between the European Parliament and the Majlis of the Islamic Republic of Iran held in Tehran on 8-9 December 2007,
– having regard to the declaration by the Council Presidency on behalf of the EU of 25 January 2008 concerning death sentences in Iran,

— having regard to Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas Article IV of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) states that nothing in that Treaty shall be interpreted as affecting the inalienable right of all Parties to that Treaty to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes without discrimination and in conformity with Articles I and II of that Treaty,

B. whereas Iran has not so far suspended all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities and has not ratified the NPT Additional Protocols as required to do by UNSC resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007) in order to restore confidence in the entirely peaceful nature of its programme,


C. whereas Dr ElBaradei, in the above-mentioned report of 15 November 2007, noted that progress had been made on the implementation of IAEA safeguards in Iran and that Iran had provided more information on past aspects of its nuclear programme; whereas he nevertheless underscored that more cooperation was needed to explain current activity, including traces of highly enriched uranium that inspectors have found at nuclear sites, and urged Iran to implement the additional protocol at the earliest possible date,

D. whereas in talks with Dr ElBaradei, in Teheran on 12 January 2008, the Iranian leaders agreed to answer all remaining questions about their country's past nuclear activities within four weeks,


E. whereas the US NIE established that Iran, having stopped its nuclear weapons programme in 2003, had not restarted it as of mid-2007, notwithstanding the concerns regarding the enrichment of uranium and its potential future use for nuclear weapon; whereas, following the publication of this US NIE, pre-emptive military action against Iran before the end of President Bush's term has been removed as a possibility,

F. whereas the G8 leaders, during their annual summit held from 6 to 8 June 2007 in Heiligendamm, stressed the importance of developing and implementing a mechanism of multilateral approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle as a possible alternative to pursuing national enrichment and reprocessing activities,

On human rights


G. whereas the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding the exercise of civil rights and political freedoms has deteriorated in the last two years, notably since the presidential elections of June 2005, despite the fact that Iran has undertaken to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms under the various international instruments in this field,

H. whereas the number of executions in Iran, including those of minors, often by public hanging, has dramatically increased in recent years and in particular during the last few months,

I. whereas there have been confirmed instances of executions, often carried out in public by hanging or stoning, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, the systematic and arbitrary use of prolonged solitary confinement, clandestine detention, the application of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations, and impunity for human rights violations,


J. whereas the violent repression against political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists, web loggers, teachers, intellectuals, women, students, trade unionists, and persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities has increased,


K. whereas minorities such as Azeris, Sufis and Sunnis are increasingly discriminated against and harassed due to their religious or ethnic background and continue to face repression of their cultural and civil rights; whereas members of certain minorities such as Ahwazis, Kurds and Baluchs even face torture and execution,

L. whereas members of the religious community of the Baha'is cannot exercise their faith, are exposed to severe persecution and deprived of virtually all civil rights (e.g. property rights and access to higher education), and whereas their religious sites are being vandalised,


M. whereas several activists belonging to the women's rights movement are being or have been prosecuted for their involvement in the 'one million signatures' campaign, which seeks to obtain the repeal of laws that discriminate against women and which plans to submit those one million signatures to the National Parliament (Majlis); whereas Iran is still not a party to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,

N. whereas hundreds of professors have been removed from their teaching posts under the accusation of being too secular and whereas numerous students have been arrested following protests, such as those participating in the demonstrations for the National University Students' Day on 7 December 2007,


O. whereas the registration of candidates for the Majlis parliamentary elections in March 2008 ended on 10 January 2008, the Ministry of the Interior will be announcing the decisions from 22 January 2008, and the Guardian Council, which supervises the validity of the elections according to the Constitution, has the right to disqualify candidates,
On EU-Iran relations


P. whereas the Comprehensive Dialogue between the EU and Iran was suspended by Iran in December 2003 and no meeting within the framework of the EU–Iran Human Rights Dialogue has taken place since June 2004,

Q. whereas the EU's relations with Iran in recent years have been based on a threefold approach characterised by negotiations on a Trade and Cooperation Agreement, political dialogue and a human rights dialogue, and whereas these three aspects cannot be separated,


On the nuclear issue


1. Reaffirms that the proliferation risks of the Iranian nuclear programme remain a source of serious concern to the EU and the international community, as expressed very clearly in UNSC Resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), and 1747 (2007); therefore regrets that Iran has still not complied with its international obligations to suspend all enrichment-related and reprocessing activities;

2. Expresses its support for the EU's efforts to find a negotiated long-term solution on the nuclear issue with Iran and underlines the essential role to be played by the IAEA;

3. Notes the progress made on the implementation of the IAEA-Iran work plan, and repeats its calls on Iran to restore the transparency of its nuclear programme by providing full, clear and credible answers to the IAEA, to resolve all outstanding issues and concerns on this programme, including topics which could have a military dimension, to fully implement the provisions of the Comprehensive Safeguard Agreement including its subsidiary arrangements, and to ratify and implement the Additional Protocol;

4. Reiterates its full support for the UNSC resolutions adopted under Article 41, Chapter VII of the UN Charter; endorses the above-mentioned European Council conclusions of 14 December 2007; welcomes the agreement reached at the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the UNSC permanent members and Germany, as well as the EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), at their meeting in Berlin on 22 January 2008 on a new draft resolution on Iran which foresees further measures and the fact that the international community maintains a common approach to the issue;

5. Reiterates its position that a solution to the present nuclear escalation is possible and that no military action should be taken into consideration; expresses its support for Dr ElBaradei's efforts to solve all outstanding issues with Iran by March 2008; calls on the United States Administration and all other actors involved to renounce all rhetoric on military options and regime change policies against Iran;

6. Notes the recent findings of the US NIE on the Iranian military and civilian nuclear programme; considers that these findings confirm the EU's policy of a two-track approach to convince Iran diplomatically to comply fully with the IAEA requests to abandon the potential military link to the civilian programme in a credible and controllable way;

7. Urges Iran, therefore, to enter, without delay, into a new round of negotiations on the future direction of its nuclear programme and to suspend all enrichment-related activities; calls on the United States, following its diplomatic success in the negotiations with North Korea, to participate directly in negotiations with Iran along with the EU, since the United States is in a position to offer additional security guarantees, notably in a multilateral framework under the auspices of the IAEA in Vienna;

8. Calls for credible multilateral nuclear disarmament steps through strengthening the NPT, and calls on the EU to take the lead in bringing the nuclear disarmament negotiations out of their current deadlock;

9. Stresses the importance of cooperation with the United States, Russia, China and non-aligned countries in order to consider complementary concepts with a view to achieving a comprehensive agreement with Iran on its nuclear facilities and their use which takes account of Iran's security concerns;

10. Considers that such a comprehensive agreement should help to achieve a sustainable regional security system comprising India, Pakistan and other nuclear powers, and believes that Iran should assume its responsibilities as a regional player;

11. Calls on the international community to think seriously about and act urgently on the creation of a new multilateral framework for the utilisation of nuclear energy, guaranteeing supplies of nuclear fuel while minimising the risk of proliferation, as proposed by the IAEA;

On human rights

12. Expresses its deep concern over the deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran during recent years; appeals to the Iranian authorities to honour their obligations in accordance with international human rights standards and instruments ratified by Iran, by promoting universal values and granting all persons the right to exercise their civil rights and political freedoms, and recalls its above-mentioned resolution of 25 October 2007 on the issue;

13. Strongly condemns the death sentences and executions in Iran, in particular those imposed or carried out on juvenile offenders and minors, and urges the Iranian authorities to respect the internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to minors, such as the International Convention on the Rights of the Child;

14. Is deeply concerned about the dramatic increase in the repression of civil society movements in Iran over the past year; calls on the Iranian authorities to put an end to the harsh repression against women's rights defenders, activists of the 'one million signatures' campaign, student movements, minority rights defenders, intellectuals, teachers, journalists, web loggers and trade unionists - notably Mansour Osanloo and Mahmoud Salehi - and calls for the release of all those who have been imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their convictions;

15. Protests vehemently against the execution in Iran on 31 January 2008 at 4 am local time of the Ahwazi activist Zamel Bawi, the 19th Ahwazi activist executed in the last twelve months, and urges the Iranian government to desist from executing the Dutch citizen and human-rights activist Faleh Abdulah al-Mansouri and the UNHCR-registered refugees Rasoul Ali Mazrea and Said Saki, whose resettlement to Norway has been secured, as well as to allow them to proceed to their countries of citizenship or refuge; calls for the release of the Kurdish journalists Abdolvahed "Hiwa" Butimar and Adnan Hassanpour who have been sentenced to death;

16. Urges the Iranian authorities to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of torture including extremely inhumane executions and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to uphold due process of law and end impunity for human rights violations; calls on the Iranian authorities to amend urgently the penal code in order to transform the moratorium on stoning into a definitive ban;

17. Welcomes the above-mentioned UNGA resolution 62/149 calling for a global moratorium to be introduced as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty; calls on Iran to apply the recently adopted resolution on a moratorium on executions;

18. Urges the Iranian authorities to respect internationally recognised legal safeguards with regard to persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities, recognised or otherwise; strongly condemns the current disrespect for minority rights and calls for minorities to be able to exercise all rights granted by the Iranian Constitution and international law; urges the Iranian authorities to act constitutionally and eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination and other human rights violations against persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities, including, inter alia, Arabs, Azeris, Baluchs, Kurds, Baha'is, Christians, Jews, Sufis and Sunni Muslims; calls in particular for the de facto ban on practising
the Baha'i faith to be lifted;

19. Condemns the repression against political opponents, human rights defenders, journalists, web loggers, teachers, intellectuals, women, students, trade unionists, and persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities; urges the Iranian authorities to end the harassment, intimidation and persecution of these citizens, and to release unconditionally all prisoners of conscience;

20. Calls on the Council and Commission to continue their examination of the human rights situation in Iran and to submit to Parliament in the first half of 2008 a comprehensive report on the matter, including proposals for projects that could be financed in the framework of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights;

21. Expresses its support for all democratic political forces and for civil society, especially for the women's and students' associations which are campaigning non-violently in Iran, despite growing repression, for democracy and human rights;

22. Expects the Iranian authorities to exercise their responsibility for the screening procedure of candidates for the upcoming national elections in such a way as to guarantee that they will be free and fair;

On EU-Iran relations

23. Underlines that the possible future conclusion of a Cooperation and Trade Agreement between Iran and the EU depends on a substantial improvement in Iran's human rights situation as well as on Iran's full cooperation with the IAEA and objective guarantees regarding the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme;

24. Calls on the Commission to submit a communication on the situation and the perspectives of EU-Iran relations and urges both sides to restart the human rights dialogue, in parallel with the negotiations for a Cooperation and Trade Agreement, which could be concluded if Iran makes the necessary progress in the field of human rights and on the nuclear issue;

25. Calls on the Commission to establish a delegation in Iran in order to promote dialogue with the authorities and with civil society and to intensify contacts concerning, notably, aid to refugees and the fight against drug trafficking;

26. Takes note of the decision of the British Proscribed Organisations Appeal Commission of 30 November 2007 calling on the UK Home Secretary to remove the People´s Mojahedin Organiszation of Iran (PMOI) from the list of proscribed organisations immediately;

27. Notes the judgment of the Court of First Instance of the European Communities of 12 December 2006(5) ;
oo o

28. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative of the CFSP, the Governments and Parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the Presidents of the UNSC, the UNGA and the UN Human Rights Council, the Director-General of the IAEA, the Head of the State Supreme Court of Iran, and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

(1)
OJ C 233 E, 28.9.2006, p. 111.
(2)
OJ C 280 E, 18.11.2006, p. 468.
(3)
OJ C 290 E, 29.11.2006, p. 145.
(4)
Texts adopted, P6_TA(2007)0488.
(5)
Case T-228/02 [2006] ECR II-4665.
Last updated: 31 January 2008
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