Iranian authorities intend to execute three Kurdish men accused of opposing state policies.
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)*
Farhad Vakili (m)*
(*) from Kurdish ethnic group
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: Using your own words, please choose a few of the suggestions below to create a personal appeal and send it as quickly as possible:
- 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:
Head of the Judiciary:
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
Panzdah-Khordad Square,
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
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
Mr Seyed Mahdi Mohebi
Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy for the Islamic Republic of Iran
245 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario K2P 2K2
Fax: (613) 232-5712
31.05.2008
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Misreading the Iran Report
December 13, 2007
Henry Kissinger
The Washington Post
link to original article
The extraordinary spectacle of the president's national security adviser obliged to defend the president's Iran policy against a National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) raises two core issues: How are we now to judge the nuclear threat posed by Iran? How are we to judge the intelligence community's relationship with the White House and the rest of the government?
The "Key Judgments" released by the intelligence community last week begin with a dramatic assertion: "We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program." This sentence was widely interpreted as a challenge to the Bush administration policy of mobilizing international pressure against alleged Iranian nuclear programs. It was, in fact, qualified by a footnote whose complex phraseology obfuscated that the suspension really applied to only one aspect of the Iranian nuclear weapons program (and not even the most significant one): the construction of warheads. That qualification was not restated in the rest of the document, which continued to refer to the "halt of the weapons program" repeatedly and without qualification.
The reality is that the concern about Iranian nuclear weapons has had three components: the production of fissile material, the development of missiles and the building of warheads. Heretofore, production of fissile material has been treated as by far the greatest danger, and the pace of Iranian production of fissile material has accelerated since 2006. So has the development of missiles of increasing range. What appears to have been suspended is the engineering aimed at the production of warheads.
The NIE holds that Iran may be able to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon by the end of 2009 and, with increasing confidence, more warheads by the period 2010 to 2015. That is virtually the same timeline as was suggested in the 2005 National Intelligence Estimate. The new estimate does not assess how long it would take to build a warhead, though it treats the availability of fissile material as the principal limiting factor. If there is a significant gap between these two processes, it would be important to be told what it is. Nor are we told how close to developing a warhead Tehran was when it suspended its program or how confident the intelligence community is in its ability to learn when work on warheads has resumed. On the latter point, the new estimate expresses only "moderate" confidence that the suspension has not been lifted already.
It is therefore doubtful that the evidence supports the dramatic language of the summary and, even less so, the broad conclusions drawn in much of the public commentary. For the past three years, the international debate has concentrated on the Iranian effort to enrich uranium by centrifuges, some 3,000 of which are now in operation. The administration has asserted that this represents a decisive step toward Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons and has urged a policy of maximum pressure. Every permanent member of the U.N. Security Council has supported the request that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment program; the various countries differ on the urgency with which their recommendations should be pressed and in their willingness to impose penalties.
The NIE then highlights, without altering, the underlying issue: At what point would the nations that have described an Iranian military nuclear program as "unacceptable" agree to act on that conviction? Do they wait until Iran starts producing nuclear warheads? Does our intelligence assume that we will know this threshold? Is there then enough time for meaningful countermeasures? What happens to the growing stock of fissile material that, according to the estimate, will have been accumulated? Do we run the risk of finding ourselves with an adversary that, in the end, agrees to stop further production of fissile material but insists on retaining the existing stockpile as a potential threat?
By stating a conclusion in such categorical terms -- considered excessive even by the International Atomic Energy Agency -- the Key Judgments blur the line between estimates and conjecture. For example, the document says: "We judge with high confidence that the halt . . . was directed primarily in response to increasing international scrutiny and pressure resulting from exposure of Iran's previously undeclared nuclear work." It extrapolates from that judgment that Iran "is less determined to develop nuclear weapons than we have been judging since 2005" and that it "may be more vulnerable to influence on the issue than we judged previously."
It is to be hoped that the full estimate provides more comprehensive evidence for these conclusions. A more plausible alternative explanation would assign greater significance to the regional context and American actions. When Iran halted its weapons program and suspended efforts at enriching uranium in February 2003, America had already occupied Afghanistan and was on the verge of invading Iraq, both of which border Iran. The United States justified its Iraq policy by the need to remove weapons of mass destruction from the region. By the fall of 2003, when Iran voluntarily joined the Additional Protocol for Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Saddam Hussein had just been overthrown. Is it unreasonable to assume that the ayatollahs concluded that restraint had become imperative? By the fall of 2005, the American effort in Iraq showed signs of bogging down; the prospects for extending the enterprise into Iran were diminishing. Iranian leaders could have felt free to return to their policy of building up a military nuclear capability -- perhaps reinforced by the desire to create a deterrent to American regional aspirations. They might also have concluded, because the secret effort had leaked, that it would be too dangerous to undertake another covert program. Hence the emphasis on renewing the enrichment program in the guise of a civilian energy program. In short, if my analysis is correct, we could be witnessing not a halt of the Iranian weapons program -- as the NIE asserts -- but a subtle, ultimately more dangerous, version of it that will phase in the warhead when fissile material production has matured.
The NIE does not so much reject this theory; it does not even examine it. It concludes that "Tehran's decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon." But a cost-benefit analysis does not exclude a rush to weapons on a systematic basis. It depends on the criteria by which costs and benefits are determined. Similarly, in pursuing the cost-benefit rationale, the estimate concludes that a combination of international scrutiny along with security guarantees might "prompt Tehran to extend the current halt to its nuclear weapons program." That is a policy, not an intelligence, judgment.
A coherent strategy toward Iran is not a partisan issue, for it will have to be implemented well after the present administration has left office. I have long argued that America owes it to itself to explore fully the possibility of normalizing relations with Iran. We do not need to tranquilize ourselves to the danger in order to pursue a more peaceful world. What is required is a specific vision linking assurances for Iran's security and respect for its identity with an Iranian foreign policy compatible with the existing order in the Middle East. But it must also generate an analysis of the strategy to be pursued should Iran, in the end, choose ideology over reconciliation.
The intelligence community has a major role in helping to design such a vision. But it must recognize that the more it ventures into policy conjecture, the less authoritative its judgments become. There was some merit in the way President Richard Nixon conducted National Security Council discussions at the beginning of his first term. He invited the CIA director to brief on the capabilities and intentions of the countries under discussion but required him to leave the room during policy deliberations. Because so many decisions require an intelligence input, this procedure proved unworkable.
I have often defended the dedicated members of the intelligence community. This is why I am extremely concerned about the tendency of the intelligence community to turn itself into a kind of check on, instead of a part of, the executive branch. When intelligence personnel expect their work to become the subject of public debate, they are tempted into the roles of surrogate policymakers and advocates. Thus the deputy director for intelligence estimates explained the release of the NIE as follows: Publication was chosen because the estimate conflicted with public statements by top U.S. officials about Iran, and "we felt it was important to release this information to ensure that an accurate presentation is available." That may explain releasing the facts but not the sources and methods that have been flooding the media. The paradoxical result of the trend toward public advocacy is to draw intelligence personnel more deeply than ever into the public maelstrom.
The executive branch and the intelligence community have gone through a rough period. The White House has been accused of politicizing intelligence; the intelligence community has been charged with promoting institutional policy biases. The Key Judgments document accelerates that controversy, dismaying friends and confusing adversaries.
Intelligence personnel need to return to their traditional anonymity. Policymakers and Congress should once again assume responsibility for their judgments without involving intelligence in their public justifications. To define the proper balance between the user and producer of intelligence is a task that cannot be accomplished at the end of an administration. It is, however, one of the most urgent challenges a newly elected president will face.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/12/AR2007121202331.html
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URGENT ACTION Amnesty International
UA 113/07 - AI Index: MDE 13/054/2007 - 15 May 2007
UA 113/07 IRAN
Fear for safety / Fear of torture and ill-treatment
students at Amir Kabir Polytechnic in Tehran:
Bejaz Ahmad Qasabian (m)
Moqdad Khalilpour (m)
Pooya Mahmoudian (m)
Majid Tavakkoli (m)
Majid Sheikhpour (m)
Babak Zamanian (m)
At least six students, four of whom are connected with student publications, from Amir Kabir Polytechnic in the capital, Tehran, have been arrested and are believed to be held in the city's Evin Prison. Amnesty International fears that they may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
Ahmad Qasabian, Moqdad Khalilpour, Pooya Mahmoudian, Majid Tavakkoli and Majid Sheikhpour are editors-in-chief of student publications. All men were reportedly detained apparently in connection with articles deemed by university officials to “insult Islamic sanctities”, a criminal offence. These reportedly appeared on 30 April in several student publications.
According to reports, Ahmad Qasabian, the managing editor of “Sahar” was arrested on 3 May, and Moqdad Khalilpour, the editor of “Atiyeh” was arrested on 7 May. Three other students, Pooya Mahmoudian, editor-in-chief of “Rivar”; Majid Tavakkoli, editor-in-chief of “Khat-e Sefer” and Majid Sheikhpour, editor-in-chief of “Sar-e Khat”, other student publications, were reportedly summoned to a Revolutionary Court on 8 May and were detained by judicial officials that afternoon.
Ahmad Qasabian is reportedly held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, run by the Ministry of Intelligence and outside the control of Iran’s prison service.
Another student, Babak Zamanian, the spokesperson for Amir Kabir’s Islamic Students’ Association, was re-portedly arrested on 25 April, and appeared in court on the same day, charged with “acting against state secu-rity”. This may be in connection with interviews he reportedly gave to radio stations broadcasting outside Iran. He had already spent several days in detention following these interviews. He is reportedly now being held in section 209 of Evin Prison.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Following the publication of articles considered by some students to be controversial, clashes broke out be-tween students and members of the paramilitary Basij, who see themselves as acting on the authority of the Supreme Leader, on the campus of the Amir Kabir Polytechnic, during which several students were reportedly beaten severely. Some students claimed that the controversial articles were forged, and had been produced in order to provide an excuse to crack down on student journalists and activists.
The arrests took place in the course of elections on 7 May to the board of the university’s student union, the Islamic Student Association and some observers have suggested that these arrested may be an attempt by the authorities to disrupt the students’ election process.
On 2 May the Justice Ministry spokesman, Ali Reza Jamshidi, reportedly said that an inquiry into the incident had been opened.
During a speech at Amir Kabir Polytechnic on 11 December 2006, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was inter-rupted by heckling and jeers as one student burned his picture and another hurled a shoe towards the stage.
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 the six students (please name them);
- asking to be informed of the reasons for their arrest, including any charges against them, which should be made public and communicated to the students and their lawyers without delay;
- calling for their immediate release if they are not to be charged with a recognizably criminal offence;
- calling for them to be granted immediate and unconditional access to their lawyers, family members, and any medical treatment they may require;
- seeking assurances that they 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,
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;
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
Ambassade de la République Islamique d'Iran;
Thunstrasse 68;
Case postale;
3000 Berne 6.
Fax: 031 351 56 52
E-mail: secretariat@iranembassy.ch
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check if sending appeals after 26 June 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amnesty International | Schweiz/Suisse | www.amnesty-ua.ch | ua@amnesty.ch | Tel/Tél 031 307 22 22 | Fax 031 307 22 33
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tURGENT ACTION Amnesty International
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
UA 115/07 - AI Index: MDE 13/055/2007 - 16 May 2007
UA 115/07 IRAN
Incommunicado detention / fear of torture or ill-treatment /
prisoners of conscience
trade unionists;
Heis Amani (m)
Sedigh Karimi (m)
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 be-liefs, 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, mark-ing 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 Interna-tional 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 Coun-cil 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 demon-strations 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 Asso-ciation'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 demonstra-tors and activists continue, at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130452007?open&ofENG-IRN and Iran: Beating and arrest of workers is no way to commemorate May Day, at http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130492007?open&ofENG-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 work-ers’ rights;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that while Heis Amani and Sedigh Karimi are in custody they have uncon-ditional 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.
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
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
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
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?TabID59
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?tabId150&cv4@0_1
Salutation: Dear Governor
Ambassade de la République Islamique d'Iran;
Thunstrasse 68;
Case postale;
3000 Berne 6.
Fax: 031 351 56 52
E-mail: secretariat@iranembassy.ch
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check if sending appeals after 27 June 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amnesty International | Schweiz/Suisse | www.amnesty-ua.ch | ua@amnesty.ch | Tel/Tél 031 307 22 22 | Fax 031 307 22 33
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IRAN Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi (m), Shi'a cleric,
At least four others (note revised number)
New name: Sayed Mahdi Kazemeyni Boroujerdi (m), son of above
Shi'a cleric Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi reportedly appeared before the Special Court for the Clergy (SCC) between 18 and 20 March. According to an eyewitness, he appeared to be bleeding from his mouth, and possibly occasionally coughing up blood. He was reportedly unable to walk upright.
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi's health has deteriorated partially as a result of a hunger strike which he started on 19 February in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, and was detained in a cold cell without a heater during the winter months. It is not known whether he is continuing with his hunger strike. In addition, he allegedly suffered torture and ill-treatment during interrogation. During his detention at Evin Prison he has been denied permission to seek treatment at the prison’s medical facility.
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi began his hunger strike in protest at the conditions of his detention, and at the authorities’ refusal to grant him temporary leave from prison to visit his dying mother prior to her death on 14 February 2007 and to attend her funeral.
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi’s 80-year-old mother was amongst hundreds of followers and supporters of the cleric arrested in late September and early October 2006 and detained in Evin Prison. Amnesty International has now learnt that she was ill-treated in detention. To Amnesty International's knowledge, most or all of the detainees were later released. Four other followers of Ayatollah Kazemeyni Boroujerdi were reportedly also arrested around 18 February 2007. Their names are not known to Amnesty International and no further details are available to Amnesty International in connection with these reports.
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi reportedly appeared at a hearing before the SCC on or around 14 February. According to reports, he may have been charged with "acting against state security." He had no access to legal representation and he has reportedly complained that he does not know "what they want from him". His bail was allegedly set at five billion Iranian Rials (about $US 564,000). He is reportedly unable to pay this sum.
On 18 February, the cleric's eldest son, Sayed Mahdi Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, was arrested and was detained in Section 209 of Evin Prison, although Amnesty International is not aware of the reasons for his reported detention. Prior to this, since January 2007, both he and another son, Sayed Mohammad, had been summoned several times to appear before the SCC for questioning, allegedly in connection with the activities of their father. On 20 February, Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi's wife – whose name is not known to Amnesty International, was also summoned to appear before the SCC.
On 13 March, an ‘interview’ with Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi was reportedly shown on local television in Iran. Apparently filmed in Evin Prison, where there is a specially equipped room for such programmes, and entitled ‘Lying Claims’, he was wearing a prison uniform. Amnesty International was told that in the programme Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi referred to his ‘lies’ and how his poor followers believed these and how most of his followers were women. Amnesty International was also told that his behaviour and manner of speaking made it clear that he was under great stress.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi reportedly advocates the separation of religion from the political basis of the Iranian state.
The Special Court for the Clergy, which operates outside the framework of the judiciary and is under the direct control of the Supreme Leader, was established in 1987 by Ayatollah Khomeini to try members of the Shi’a religious establishment in Iran, or others whose cases are connected to those of clergymen. Its procedures fall short of international standards for fair trial. 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:
- expressing concern that Ayatollah Kazemeyni Boroujerdi may have been tortured, and calling for a prompt and impartial investigation into these allegations, with its methods and findings made public;
- asking to be informed of the medical condition of the Ayatollah Kazemeyni Boroujerdi and his followers, and urging that they be granted access to all necessary medical treatment;
- asking for the reasons of the arrests on or around 18 February of four further followers of Ayatollah Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, and calling on the authorities to give you details of their names, any charges against the four, and any legal proceedings involving them;
- seeking assurances that all those detained are protected from torture or ill-treatment, and that they are permitted immediate and regular access to their families and to lawyers of their choice;
- calling on the authorities to 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.
APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei,
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Shahid Keshvar Doust St., Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228 (mark "For the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah Khamenei")
Email: Via website, in English: http://www.leader.ir/langs/EN/index.php?p=sendletter
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:
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir OR 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
e-mail: 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 11 May 2007.********
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/040/2007
30 March 2007
Further Information on UA 262/06 (MDE 13/114/2006, 29 September 2006) and follow-ups (MDE 13/120/2006, 13 October 2006; MDE 13/134/2006, 11 December 2006) - Arbitrary arrest / fear for safety/ possible prisoners of conscience/ medical concern New concern: Torture and ill-treatment
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/040/2007
30 March 2007
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