Iranian Women’s Rights Activist Imprisoned

Alert Issued: May 16, 2007

UPDATE: Zeinab Peyghambar-Zadeh was released from prison on the morning of May 17. A leader of the women’s rights campaign in Iran wrote to HRF afterward to say: “Thanks again to you and your colleagues for your support of the activists in the Campaign. I hope you don't get tired, as I assume there will be many more of us you will have to support--but hopefully I will be proven wrong.”

We wrote to you in March about the arrest and subsequent release of 33 women activists who had gathered in support of women’s equality before Iranian law. 

One of these women, student activist Zeinab Peyghambar-Zadeh has been imprisoned since May 7.  Authorities are preventing her from receiving visits from her family and appear to be targeting her because of her youth.  

During the last few weeks, six women have been convicted and sentenced to prison terms for endangering national security.  They are being silenced because they are effectively gaining support for women’s rights in Iran.  They too could be imprisoned like Ms. Peyghambar-Zadeh.

Please help us keep up the pressure on Iranian authorities to stop persecution of women activists.

Background

On June 12, 2006, a coalition of hundreds of women and men gathered peacefully in a downtown square in Tehran 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 beaten.

In addition, five women activists were charged with endangering national security, issuing propaganda against the state, and taking part in an illegal gathering.  On Sunday, March 4, 2007, they were scheduled to appear in court for a hearing in the case.  To protest the prosecution, dozens of women gathered outside the Islamic Revolutionary Court, carrying banners demanding their rights to assemble peacefully and showing solidarity with the five defendants in the criminal trial.  Police once again broke up the gathering and arrested 33 women, including well-known advocates for women’s rights in Iran. 

Though they were all released a few days later, of that group:

• Azadeh Forghani was sentenced on April 11 to two years’ imprisonment for “acting against national security by participating in an illegal gathering.”
• Fariba Davoodi Mohajer and Sussan Tahmassebi were sentenced on April 18 to four years’ imprisonment for “collusion and assembly to endanger the national security” and “acting against national security,” respectively. The courts have suspended Ms. Davoodi Mohajer’s three years of the sentence, leaving her to serve one year in prison. Ms. Tahmassebi’s sentence has been shortened from two years to six months. Presently, both women are free on bail pending court appeals.
• Nusheen Ahmadi Khorasani, Shahla Entesari and Parvin Ardalan were sentenced on April 24 to three years’ imprisonment for “collusion and assembly to endanger the national security.” The courts have suspended two-and-a-half years of each sentence, leaving all three to serve six months in prison.

None of these six women are currently imprisoned.   In contrast, Zeinab Peyghambar-Zadeh appeared at the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran on May 7 responding to a written summons.  Upon arrival, she was arrested and taken into custody in the Evin Prison.  The court told her that she was being punished for not responding to a telephone summons, which has no legal weight in Iran, and later claimed it had reactivated charges against her from 2006 for distributing pamphlets on the metro.  Since her imprisonment, she has been denied medication for a heart complaint, upon which she depends, as well as visits from her father.  Her father’s repeated attempts to secure bail and pay it have been blocked by the court.  Click here for more information.

The rights enshrined in the 1998 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which was endorsed by 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 right to freedom of expression.  Therefore, the recent arrests, prosecutions and imprisonment of women engaged in a peaceful campaign for women’s rights are violations of Iran’s obligations under international law.

Letter from DAN Members

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei,
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: webmaster@wilayah.org 

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

His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
E-mail: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir


Your Excellency: 

I am writing to express my deep concern about the imprisonment of Zeinab Peyghambar-Zadeh, a young activist.  I understand that she was taken into custody after appearing before the court as required by a written summons.  Since May 7, when she was jailed in Evin Prison, she has reportedly not received heart medication upon which she depends, nor has she been allowed to see her father.  In addition, her father’s attempts to secure bail and pay it have been stymied by the court.  Given this mistreatment, I hope that you will ensure that she is released from prison immediately, especially as her father is prepared to post bail.

Ms. Peyghambar-Zadeh is one of several women activists who is currently being persecuted by judicial authorities in Iran.  Six women have so far been convicted of “endangering national security” and could be imprisoned as well.  In addition, many women have been detained for their participation in peaceful rallies that call for women’s equality before the law.

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 in 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 upheld in the 1998 Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which was endorsed by 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 and convictions 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 Ms. Peyghambar-Zadeh from Evin Prison.  Iran should also comply with  its obligations to protect citizens exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and expression.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.