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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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The One Million Signatures Campaign is a grassroots movement aimed at gathering signatures from one million Iranian nationals and calling for an end to the legalized discrimination against women that currently exists in Iranian law. Activists, many of whom are young women, gather signatures in the street and promote equal rights in meetings and rallies. The authorities have repeatedly broken up such events, and closed down publications and websites that have publicized and supported its goals. Activists have been detained and even prosecuted on charges of "endangering state security" for collecting signatures. Despite sustained repression, support for the campaign continues to spread throughout the diverse geographic regions of Iran and across all social classes. Timeline of events: June 12, 2006 Demonstrators gathered at the Haft Tir Square in Tehran to raise awareness about gender discrimination in Iran. The peaceful demonstration was violently disrupted by the authorities; 42 women and 28 men were arrested and charged with "participation in an illegal assembly."
June 19, 2006 Of the 70 protesters arrested during the June 12 demonstration, only Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini, a former member of the parliament, remained in custody. He was detained for over four months and tortured. June 2006 Delaram Ali and other injured demonstrators filed a complaint against the police for brutally beating demonstrators during the June 12, 2006 demonstration. In October of 2007, a court dismissed all charges against the police officers present at the demonstration. Aug. 2006 Campaign to collect 1 million signatures is commenced calling for an end to discrimination of women in Iran. Aug. 27, 2006 The official launch of the One Million Signature Campaign is blocked by the authorities; however, activists continued to collect signatures. January 5, 2007 Jila Baniyaghoob was charged for "acting against national security by participating in an illegal gathering," due to her presence at the June 12, 2006 demonstration. The presiding judge subsequently dropped charges. January 2007 Nasim Sarabandi and Fatemeh Dehdashti were arrested while collecting signatures on the metro in Tehran. They were sentenced on August 12, 2007 to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years. Feb. 2007 30,000 women have signed the petition since the official Campaign kickoff in August of 2006. March 4, 2007 26 prominent women's rights activists were arrested during a gathering marking the International Women's Day. Two days later, the women started a hunger strike while Shahla Entesari was being held in solitary confinement. March 4, 2007 33 women were arrested during a silent protest in front of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Tehran where four women were prosecuted for their involvement with the June 12, 2006 demonstration. Following international pressure, all of the women were released, the last two on March 19, 2007. March 6, 2007 Eight youngest detainees arrested on March 4, 2007 were released without being charged. April 11, 2007 Azadeh Forghani was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for "acting against national security by participating in an illegal gathering." April 15, 2007 Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, two women's rights activists, were released out of prison following a two week incarceration. However, additional 11 activists were summoned by the Revolutionary Court and charged with "violating national security," "publicity against the Islamic Republic," and "participating in an unauthorized demonstration." April 18, 2007 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 three years of Davoodi Mohajer's sentence, leaving her to serve one year in prison. Sussan Tahmassebi's sentence has been shortened from two years to six months. Presently, both women are free on bail pending court appeals. April 23, 2007 Two more women's activists were sentenced to prison, reportedly charged with "gathering and colluding to disturb national security," "disturbing public order" and "disobeying the orders of officials." April 24, 2007 Noushin Ahmadi Khorasani, Shahla Entesari, and Parvin Ardalan were sentenced 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. May 14, 2007 Activists protested the arrest of Zeinab Peyghambarzadeh, a women's rights activist, journalist and student leader, who was arrested on May 7, 2007. June 2007 Delaram Ali was sentenced to 34 months imprisonment and 10 lashes on charges of "participating in an illegal garthering," "propaganda against the system," and "disrupting public order and peace." Due to domestic and international outcry, her sentence was temporarily stayed by the Head of Judiciary on November 10, 2007. July 11, 2007 Amir Yaghoub-Ali, a 20-year old student, was arrested and held for a month for collecting signatures as part of the One Million Signature Campaign. August 27, 2007 The One Million Signature Campaign celebrated its first anniversary. September 2007 Due to his presence at the June 12, 2006 demonstration, Bahman Ahmadi Amou'I, a journalist, was sentenced to six months' prison term, suspended for two years. September 15, 2007 Reza Dowlatshah and 24 other people were arrested during a raid on his home where he was hosting an educational workshop for the One Million Signature Campaign. He was beaten, held for three days, and finally released. November 18, 2007 Maryam Hosseinkhah was arrested for her involvement with the Campaign's website. She was released on January 2, 2008 along with Jelveh Javaheri, who had been arrested on December 1, 2007. Both women were released on bail in the form of a bank check guarantee in the amount of approximately $5,500. January 2008 Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi were arrested in October and November of 2007. As of February 2008, they continue to be imprisoned without charges or trial. As of January 2008, the One Million Signature Campaign's website had been blocked by the authorities at least seven times. Official permission to hold public meetings has frequently been denied. February 2008 Zanan, Iran's premier women's magazine, was shut down by Iranian authorities. President Ahmadinejad said that Zanan showed Iranian women in a "black light" and was a threat to the psychological well being of Iranian society. February 14, 2008 Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi were arrested and charged with "propaganda against the state" for collecting signatures at Daneshjoo Park, following a street play about polygamy, which was performed as part of the International Fajr film festival. They were initially detained at Vozara Detention Center, with bail set at $22,222, which they were not able to pay. They were then transferred to Evin prison’s public ward, and after 13 days in captivity, the bail was reduced to $11,000 and they were released on February 26, 2008 on a third party guaranty. February 20, 2008 Ehteram Shadfar, a member of the Mothers Committee of the One Million Signatures Campaign, is sentenced to 6 months suspended prison term for collecting signatures. February 24, 2008 The One Million Signature Campaign was launched a year and a half ago. Since the launch, the cost of pushing this social movement forward has been the issuance of temporary detention warrants for 43 Campaign activists (ranging from one day to five months), and the issuance of suspended prison sentences (a total of 18 months). Acts of harassment and persecution happen during signature collection in public, following educational workshops, after small or large gatherings in Tehran and the provinces, and sometimes due to dissemination of news about the Campaign through its website. March 3, 2008 Journalist and campaign organizer Parvin Ardalan is removed from a flight at Tehran International Airport, just as she is about to travel to Stockholm, Sweden to be awarded the 2007 Olaf Palme Prize for her work on gender equality. The authorities seized her passport and served her with a summons to appear in court. April 19, 2008 The Sixteenth branch of the Revolutionary Courts issued a suspended sentence of two years in the case of Zeinab Payghambarzadeh, who was among the March 4, 2007 arrestees. Payghambarzadeh was found guilty of illegal gathering and collusion intended to disrupt national security. April 23, 2008 The Thirteenth Branch of the Revolutionary Courts issued a suspended sentence of 6 months and 10 lashings in the case of Nahid Jafari, women’s rights activist and member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, also among the 33 women arrested on March 4, 2007. Jafari was found guilty of illegal gathering and collusion intended to disrupt national security. During her arrest, Jafari was beaten, and lodged a complaint against arresting officers, for excessive use of force. Jafari, along with her lawyer, Zohreh Arzani, intends to appeal her sentence. April 30, 2008
May 13, 2008 Maryam Hosseinkhah, woman’s rights activist and a founding member the Campaign was summoned to the Revolutionary Courts. Hosseinkhah, who had also participated in the March 4, 2007 protest, was initially to appear before the courts in November of 2007. At the time, however, she could not appear in court, as she was being held on security charges related to her activities with the Campaign’s website, Change for Equality, as well as the site Zanestan (the webzine of the Women’s Cultural Center). May 17, 2008 Jelveh Javaheri, women’s rights activist and member of the Campaign, who had previously been arrested on December 1, 2007 and spent a month in prison before her release on bail, was summoned by the 13th branch of the Revolutionary Courts. Her trial is scheduled for August 2, 2008. May 25, 2008 The Tehran Revolutionary Court sentences Amir Yaghoub-Ali, a student and a member of the One Million Signatures Petition Campaign, to one year of imprisonment for “endangering national security”. Mr. Amir Yaghoub-Ali had been arrested on July 11, 2007 as he was collecting signatures for the Campaign in a park. On July 15, he had been transferred to the Section 209 of Evin Prison, in Tehran. He remained in custody for 29 days and was then freed on bail on August 8, 2007. Eleven charges were pending against him, though no information has been obtained on the other charges. Mr. Yaghoub-Ali intends to appeal this decision. May 26, 2008 Activist Mahboubeh Hosseinzadeh was summoned to court for trial on May 26, 2008. Hosseinzadeh was arrested on March 4, 2007 along with 32 other women’s rights activists, during a protest held before the Revolutionary Courts. Both Hosseinzadeh and her lawyer, Abdulfateh Soltani appeared in court on May 26 for the scheduled trial, but the trial was rescheduled due to the fact that the prosecutor was unable to appear in court. A court date in relation to this case has been scheduled for Hosseinzadeh for Tuesday July 1, 2008. June 12, 2008 Women’s rights activists plan to commemorate the second anniversary of the June 12 2006 demonstration. The gathering is threatened by security forces and 9 women who had arrived at the event anyway were arrested. The women, Nafiseh Azad, Jila Baniyaghoob, Alieh Eghdamdoost, Farideh Ghaeb, Jelveh Javaheri, Sarah Loghmani, Nahid Mirhaj, Aida Saadat, and Nasrin Sotoudeh, were taken to the Vozara Detention Center, and released 8 hours later, after third parties signed for their release. June 13, 2008 Mahboubeh Karami, a member of the Campaign was arrested in Tehran, near Mellat Park. June 18, 2008 Judge Tayari in Branch 2 of the Revolutionary Court in Sanandaj sentences Hana Abdi, a 21 year-old student and women’s rights activist to a prison term of five years in exile in West Azerbaijan province, on charges of “gathering and colluding to threaten national security” under article 610 of the Islamic Penal Code. According to Abdi’s lawyer, Mohammad Sharif, Abdi who had been in prison since around November 4, 2007, was interrogated by Intelligence Ministry officials during her incarceration. Abdi spent two months of her imprisonment in solitary confinement. Sharif was refused access to his client during the interrogation process, which formed the basis of her conviction. Abdi’s attorney plans to appeal the decision. June 25, 2008 Mahboubeh Karami informs her family, via telephone, that she has been transferred to the women’s ward of Evin Prison. June 28, 2008 Campaign members Raheleh Asgarizadeh and Nasim Khosravi, have been summoned to the Revolutionary Courts. According to the summons they have to appear in the 13th branch of the Revolutionary Courts on the 20th of July, 2008. The two were arrested while collecting signatures on February 14, 2008, and have been released on bail since February 26, 2008. The July court date is in relation to charges pending against them since that arrest. July 9, 2008 Zeinab Bayzeydi, a women’s rights activist and member of the Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan and active with the One Million Signatures Campaign in the city of Mahabad in Kurdistan Province is arrested. According to Bayzeydi’s family, Zeinab was first interrogated on Saturday July 5th for several hours, and was released. She was summoned again on July 9, and when she appeared, she was transferred to a detention center in Mahabad. July 12, 2008 Two prominent human rights defenders, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mansoureh Shojaee, receive summons to appear within 3 days. Sotoodeh is an attorney who has represented many of the activists involved with the Signatures Campaign and has also been active on the issue of juvenile executions. Shojaee, a member of the Signatures Campaign, is also a member of a women’s cultural center and sits on the editorial board of the website “Feminist School.” Reportedly, the summons they have received does not provide any information on the charges against them. Human rights defender and Nobel peace prize recipient Shirin Ebadi will be representing the two women. July 12, 2008 The attorney representing Mahboubeh Karami, Houshang Poorbaaba’i reports that he referred to Branch 2 of security courts and discovered that his client’s bail has been set at 100 million tomans (in excess of $100,000) – an amount her family is unable to pay. Karami, was arrested on June 13th and while detained in the women’s ward at Evin prison, participated in a hunger strike with 9 other detainees to protest their detention and detention conditions. July 13, 2008 Bahareh Hedayat and Mohammad Hashemi, two members of a reformist student organization (the “Office to Foster Unity”) are arrested and taken to Evin prison. The two reportedly stand accused of having relationships with “illegal and anti-revolutionary groups outside the country.” In addition to being involved in the student movement, Hedayat had been among the activists put on trial for her participation in the June 12 2006 demonstration. In that case, she had been charged with “acting against national security, “disturbing public order,” and “propaganda against the state.” For her participation in the protest, Hedayat was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence in effect for five years. July 14, 2008 Nasrin Sotoudeh and Mansoureh Shojaee appear before the Revolutionary Court with their attorney, Shirin Ebadi. The two are charged with taking actions against Iran’s “national security” by having unauthorized relations with “Iranians outside the country.” |
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Human Rights Defenders in Iran 