Urge G8 Leaders to Call for Release of All Detained Activists in Iran

Alert Issued: July 25, 2009

UPDATE: Human Rights First learned that on July 28, 2009, Shadi Sadr was released from Iran’s Evin Prison on bail.  Until her release, Sadr had been detained without charges, having been violently forced into a car by plain clothes security personnel on July 17.  According to reports, Sadr is one of the 140 prisoners that was released from Evin Prison on July 28.  The massive release of prisoners follows a statement delivered the day before by Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi-Shahroudi, which announced the release of detainees with no major charges on bail within one week.  Despite this success, however, at least 150 prisoners remain detained in the Evin Prison.  At this time, the international community must continue to pressure the Iranian government to release all of those detained in Iran since the disputed June 12th election, who merely exercised their basic freedoms.

Iran continues to detain human rights defenders in the wave of repression that has followed the disputed June 12 presidential election.  On Friday, July 17, Shadi Sadr, a prominent lawyer and women's rights activist, was headed toward Tehran University for Friday prayers when plain clothes security personnel violently forced her into a car.  Although she initially evaded her captors, she eventually lost her struggle, having reportedly been beaten with police batons.

Police later searched her home and her husband reportedly received a telephone call from her saying that she was being held in ward 209 of Tehran's Evin prison.

Sadr joins several other leading human rights activists among the hundreds of detainees held without charge or trial, some of whom have now been in prison for weeks.

Please join Human Rights First in calling for the immediate release of Shadi Sadr and all of those detained for exercising their basic rights and freedoms in Iran since June 12.

Background

IRead HRF Fact Sheet on Detained Human Rights Defenders in Iran

In the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential election, there has been severe repression of the Iranian people's basic rights and freedoms.  Riot police and paramilitary security forces, called the Basij militia, are using violence, including lethal violence, to disperse and disrupt peaceful political protests and to intimidate would-be protestors in Tehran and other Iranian cities. The government has placed stringent controls on the media forcing international journalists to leave the country and censoring or closing down independent newspapers and websites.  The government has also restricted access to information from satellite television, the internet and cell phone text messaging.

The government has made a concerted effort to detain known leaders of President Ahmadinejad's political opposition, as well as independent journalists, bloggers and human rights activists, thereby decapitating the protest movement and sapping its ability to gain momentum.

Given the lack of accessible information regarding Iran's human rights violations, it is impossible to say how many people have been detained.  There were mass arrests at street demonstrations and during raids on university dormitories, as well as detentions of individuals from their homes in the days following the election.

Prominent detained political activists include:

• Ali Abtahi, the author of an influential political blog and a senior advisor to former President Khatami.
• Saeed Hajjarian, a journalist and a senior political advisor to former President Khatami who was paralyzed in a 2000 assassination attempt.
• Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, a leading reformist political figure and a former governor of Kordestan province under President Khatami.
• Mostafa Tajzadeh, a leading reformist political figure and a deputy minister under former President Khatami.

Other detainees include the prominent human rights lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani, a co-founding member of the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, a Tehran-based human rights organization; Mohammad Ali Dadkhah and Kambiz Nourouzi, both lawyers, and Zhila Bani Yaghoub, a women's rights activist, blogger and leader of the One Million Signatures Campaign for women's rights in Iran. 

These imprisoned Iranians are victims of arbitrary detention. The government of Iran, as a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is obliged to release all of those detained merely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

Sample Letter

Your Excellency:

I write to express my grave concern about the abduction and detention of Shadi Sadr, a prominent Iranian lawyer and women's rights activist. Ms. Sadr's detention has occurred in the midst of continuing widespread violations of human rights in Iran.

In the aftermath of Iran's disputed presidential election, hundreds of people have been arbitrarily detained. The detainees include leaders of President Ahmadinejad's political opposition, as well as independent journalists, bloggers and human rights activists, thereby decapitating the protest movement and sapping its ability to gain momentum.

On July 17, Ms. Sadr was headed toward Tehran University for Friday prayers when plain clothes security personnel violently forced her into a car. Although she initially evaded her captors, she eventually lost her struggle, having reportedly been beaten repeatedly by police batons. Witnesses reported that that her captors did not give a reason for her arrest.

I understand that police searched her home later that day and that her husband received a telephone call from Ms. Sadr in which she stated that she was being held in ward 209 of Tehran's Evin prison.

Ms. Sadr now joins several other leading human rights activists and hundreds of other detainees who are being held without charge or trial. Some of these detainees have been imprisoned for weeks.

I consider these imprisoned Iranians to be victims of arbitrary detention. The government of Iran, as a State Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is obliged to release all of those detained merely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association.

I urge you to order the immediate and unconditional release of Ms. Sadr and all of those detained in Iran since June 12, who merely exercised their basic freedoms.

Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I will continue to closely follow the situation of Ms. Sadr and all other detainees in Iran.