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 Urge Iranian Authorities to Release Women Human Rights Defenders (02/02/09)   In English) ( In Farsi) (11/04/08) For more information, please contact Elizabeth Jordan, Tel: 212 845 5298 |
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UPDATE: The remaining two women’s rights activists arrested during the peaceful protests in Tehran on March 4, were released on March 19 on high bail. On Sunday, March 4, Iranian police arrested and jailed 33 women gathered in front of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran. The women were peacefully supporting five women scheduled to be tried for organizing a demonstration last year. Eight of the women detained outside the court were released on Tuesday, March 6, but 25 women remain in Tehran’s Evin Prison. We are concerned that more arrests could take place on March 8, International Women’s Day. Authorities violently broke up a peaceful gathering in support of women’s equality before Iranian law in June 2006, arresting dozens. Five of those arrested are being prosecuted for exercising their basic rights to freedom of expression and assembly. With your help, we can add to mounting international pressure on the Iranian government to release the 25 activists immediately and to stop arresting peaceful human rights defenders. Please take action to show your support for women’s human rights advocates in Iran. Background On June 12, 2006, a coalition of hundreds of women and men gathered peacefully in a downtown square to protest the discriminatory laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Repeating the violence that has been used to quell dissent in previous years, about 100 police officers attacked the demonstrators, using pepper spray and batons, seriously injuring one woman. Witnesses claimed that women were dragged along the ground by their hair and savagely beaten. According to the Minister of Justice, 42 men and 28 women were arrested for having organized an “illegal” gathering. Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini, head of the Alumni Association of Iran, a former student leader and Member of Parliament who has been a leading critic of the government’s human rights practices for several years, was held for more than four months. In addition, five women activists were charged with endangering national security, issuing propaganda against the state, and taking part in an illegal gathering: Eight of the women were released on March 6. Among the 25 who remain in detention are Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, Shadi Sadr, Nooshin Ahmadi Khorasani, Parvain Ardalan, Nahid Keshavarz, Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh, Maryam Mirza, Mariam Hossein Khah, Nahid Jafari, Minoo Mortezayee Langroodi, Fatemeh Govarayee, Shahla Entesari, Soosan Tahmasabi, Azadeh Forghani, Jila Bani Yaghoub, Saghar Laghaee, Elnaz Ansari, Jelveh Javaheri, Zara Amjadian, Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, Nasrin Afzali, Asieh Amini, Mahnaaz Mohammadi, Somayeh Farid, Farideh Entesari, Sarah Loghmani, and Rezan Moghaddam. Those arrested were transferred to Evin Prison’s 209 Block. According to the recently released women, Shahla Entesari is being held in solitary confinement. Iranian advocates for women’s equality are pressing for reform of laws that discriminate against women in the areas of marriage, divorce, child custody, and inheritance, among others. In August 2006 they launched the “One Million Signatures Campaign Demanding an End to Discrimination against Women.” Their peaceful efforts to call attention to the campaign and to gather support in Iran have been met with mounting repression. Iranian women also face brazen discrimination in other areas of the law; criminal harm suffered by a woman is less severely punished than that suffered by a man, for example, and the evidentiary value of women’s testimony in court cases is half of that of a man. The rights enshrined in the 1998 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which applies to all U.N. member states, include freedom of assembly and expression. Iran is also bound by Article 21 of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, which protects the right to peaceful assembly, and Article 19, which protects the freedom of expression. Therefore, the recent arrests of women’s rights activists are violations of Iran’s obligations under international law.
Sample Letter Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei,
Your Excellency: I am writing to express my deep concern about the arrest of 33 women activists on March 4, 2007. I understand that as of March 6, 25 women remain in detention. I understand that police arrested women who were gathered peacefully in protest against the government’s curtailment of the freedom of assembly in Iran. Recent examples of this are the arrest of dozens of protestors in June 2006 and the ensuing prosecutions of activists on spurious charges. Women human rights defenders in Iran should be allowed to assemble peacefully and to advocate for their basic rights. These activists seek reform of the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which deny women equality in marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance, and the workplace. These rights are enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms the equal rights of men and women. The rights enshrined in the 1998 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which applies to all U.N. member states, as well as in the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, which is binding upon the government of Iran, include freedom of assembly and expression. Therefore, the recent arrests of women’s rights activists are violations of Iran’s obligations under international law. I ask the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to release the 25 women who are detained in Evin Prison. Iran should also uphold its obligation to protect citizens exercising their fundamental right to freedom of assembly and expression, and I extend my support to those in Iran who seek reform of laws that discriminate against women. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. cc. His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
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Help Free Iranian Women’s Rights Leaders: Campaigning for Equality is Not a Crime