Concerns: Recent arrests of human rights defenders
Brussels, 21st January 2010
Your Excellency,
I am writing you to express my deep concern over recently arrested human rights defenders. Shiva Nazarahari, Kouhiar Goodarzi, Saeid Kalaanaki, Saeid Jalaalifar, Saeid Haeri, Parisa kaakaa'ee and Mehrdad Rahimi all belong to the Committee of Human Rights Defenders, and are currently imprisoned. I consider the Committee of Human Rights Defenders to be an organisation bringing genuine human rights-related concerns to light, and their activities must not be impeached by Iranian authorities
Another point of concern is the execution of 17 members of Iran's Kurdish minority who are on death row after their conviction for political offences. It was reported that the trials have been unfair and that some have been tortured in detention and have been denied access to a lawyer. I urge you to halt the executions of Kurdish and other political prisoners.
Your Excellency, I would like to reiterate my grave concern with regards to these arrests and their physi-cal and psychological integrity and would like to underline that these arrests are contrary to Iran's inter-national obligations to protect human rights defenders. In all cases, such trials should always be con-ducted in a transparent and public manner and the judicial process should be fair in line with interna-tionally recognised principles.
I respectfully urge Your Excellency to do all you can to see that matters will be expedited in this situa-tion and that human rights defenders in Iran are free to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals.
Furthermore I would like to raise the case of Ayatollah Kazemini Boroujerdi who was arrested on 8 Oc-tober 2006, prosecuted by the Special Court for Clergy, and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Since 27 January 2009 Boroujerdi was moved to solitary confinement in Yazd Prison despite the fact that he suf-fers from serious health problems. I consider Ayatollah Boroujerdi as a prisoner of conscience as his de-tention is based solely on his beliefs about the freedom of religion and expression.
Therefore I call on the judicial authorities in Iran to abolish the prosecution of clergies in a Special Court and order a review based on national and international fair trial standards of all cases in which clergy have been sentenced by these courts
I hope to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Barbara Lochbihler