Iran
29.08.02
Urgent Interventions
Iran: an increase in reports of serious human rights violations, including mass arbitrary arrests, amputations and public floggings and executions
Case IRN 290802 / IRN 290802.CC
URGENT APPEAL / CHILD CONCERN
Arbitrary Arrests / Floggings / Amputations / Executions
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Iran.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source of the worsening human rights situation in Iran, which is currently characterised by an increase in reports of actual or upcoming serious human rights violations, including mass arbitrary arrests, amputations and public floggings and executions.
According to the information received, the state-run media in Iran has announced a number of arrests and harsh sentences, including:
August 15th 2002: Iran Daily reports that a religious judge (Mullah) in Shiraz sentenced four people to amputations of their right arms and left legs. Four young men having been sentenced to 74 to 99 lashes in public in Bouhehen, near Tehran.
August 17th 2002: Iran Daily reports that a young man, identified only as Hossein, has been sentenced to execution in Tehran. Syassate Rouz reports that a young girl has been sentenced to 50 lashes in public.
August 18th 2002: Etemad reports that a 17-year old boy called Milad was sentenced to death by a juvenile court in Iran. A man named Hassan was also reportedly sentenced to death. A young girl and her cousin were each sentenced to 130 lashes.
August 19th 2002: Mardom Salsri announced that a prisoner named Rassoul was hanged in Najaf-Abad’s main square.
August 22nd 2002: Jam-e Jam, reported that four prisoners were hanged in Qasr Prison near Tehran. Sedaye Edalat, reported that a man called Hessamodin received 100 lashes in public in Hosseinieh Junction in Ravar, Souther Iran, for having stolen pistachio nuts from a confectionary shop. In the northwestern city of Ardebil eight people were sentenced to prison terms, internal exile and flogging in public. They were identified as 34-year old Abolfazl, 57-year old Dadash, 20-year old Alireza, 44-year old Ya’aqoub and another 20-year old unidentified man, two women 31-year old Zari, and 27-year old Fariba.
August 25th 2002: Jomhouri Islami reported that Gholam Hossein was sentenced to execution in the southern city of Shiraz. The religious judge Mullah Hayat Moqaddam, sentenced Abbas, Ibrahim, Darioush, Hassan and Mohammed-Hossein, to amputation of their right arms and left legs, imprisonment and internal exile. It is believed that these young men, all of whom are from the towns of Lamerd and Lar, have been arrested following incidents in which members of the Revolutionary Guards have been killed during several anti-government uprisings in recent months. In the northern city of Rasht 17 persons, including two women, were arrested, while the State Security Forces in Qom have arrested 83 young men in the city over the past week in an exercise aimed at purging street troublemakers.
August 26th 2002: Mardom-Salsri has reported that two young men have been hanged in Rajau-Shahr prison compound in Karaj (40km west of Tehran) after each having received 70 lashes. Entekhad also reported that a prisoner, identified as Hassan, was sentenced to execution in Tehran. A court in Tehran sentenced 34 persons to 160 lashes, imprisonment, cash fines and dismissal from government employment, for forgery of official documents.
The number of executions that have been carried out in Iran since January 2002 has reportedly risen to 250, which represents a significant increase when compared with the same period last year. It is thought that the clerical regime is intentionally increasing the use of such methods of punishment in order to increase its repression of the people of Iran, at a time when anti-governmental demonstrations are taking place. The figures given above are those released by official sources, although our sources claim that there are also a significant number of undocumented executions that have taken place during this period.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the Iranian authorities use of arbitrary arrests and methods of punishment such as amputations and floggings, which at the very least constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and in most cases constitute torture. OMCT is deeply concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the persons whose sentences are pending.
OMCT recalls that it is strongly opposed to the death penalty, as an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. OMCT wishes to express its particular concern for the children who have been sentenced to harsh punishments, notably the death sentence, given the long-standing worldwide ban on executions of persons under the age of 18, under Article 6, paragraph 5 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Iran is party. More generally, OMCT is gravely concerned by the apparent worsening of the situation in Iran and calls upon the authorities to do halt the use of such repressive measures, which are blatant violations of internationally accepted human rights laws and standards.
Action requested:
· take all necessary measures to ensure that any of the afore-mentioned sentences that are pending are not carried out;
· immediately order the release all of the afore-mentioned persons, in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
· immediately abolish the death penalty and use of amputation and floggings in Iran;
· guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with and international human rights standards, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses:
Note: You may encounter difficulties with the fax numbers in Iran, in which case please address you appeals to the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
· Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed `Ali Khamenei, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Email: webmaster@wilayah.org;
· President, His Excellency Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, E-mail: khatami@president.ir
· Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 879 6671;
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Kamal Kharrazi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 390 1999;
· Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari, Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior, Dr Fatemi Avenue, Tehran, Iran, Fax: + 98 21 896 0203;
· H.E. Ambassador Ali Khorram, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28 Chemin du Petit-Saconnex, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, fax: 004122 7330203; e-mail: mission.iran@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Iran in your respective country.
Geneva, August 29th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
URGENT APPEAL / CHILD CONCERN
Arbitrary Arrests / Floggings / Amputations / Executions
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Iran.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source of the worsening human rights situation in Iran, which is currently characterised by an increase in reports of actual or upcoming serious human rights violations, including mass arbitrary arrests, amputations and public floggings and executions.
According to the information received, the state-run media in Iran has announced a number of arrests and harsh sentences, including:
August 15th 2002: Iran Daily reports that a religious judge (Mullah) in Shiraz sentenced four people to amputations of their right arms and left legs. Four young men having been sentenced to 74 to 99 lashes in public in Bouhehen, near Tehran.
August 17th 2002: Iran Daily reports that a young man, identified only as Hossein, has been sentenced to execution in Tehran. Syassate Rouz reports that a young girl has been sentenced to 50 lashes in public.
August 18th 2002: Etemad reports that a 17-year old boy called Milad was sentenced to death by a juvenile court in Iran. A man named Hassan was also reportedly sentenced to death. A young girl and her cousin were each sentenced to 130 lashes.
August 19th 2002: Mardom Salsri announced that a prisoner named Rassoul was hanged in Najaf-Abad’s main square.
August 22nd 2002: Jam-e Jam, reported that four prisoners were hanged in Qasr Prison near Tehran. Sedaye Edalat, reported that a man called Hessamodin received 100 lashes in public in Hosseinieh Junction in Ravar, Souther Iran, for having stolen pistachio nuts from a confectionary shop. In the northwestern city of Ardebil eight people were sentenced to prison terms, internal exile and flogging in public. They were identified as 34-year old Abolfazl, 57-year old Dadash, 20-year old Alireza, 44-year old Ya’aqoub and another 20-year old unidentified man, two women 31-year old Zari, and 27-year old Fariba.
August 25th 2002: Jomhouri Islami reported that Gholam Hossein was sentenced to execution in the southern city of Shiraz. The religious judge Mullah Hayat Moqaddam, sentenced Abbas, Ibrahim, Darioush, Hassan and Mohammed-Hossein, to amputation of their right arms and left legs, imprisonment and internal exile. It is believed that these young men, all of whom are from the towns of Lamerd and Lar, have been arrested following incidents in which members of the Revolutionary Guards have been killed during several anti-government uprisings in recent months. In the northern city of Rasht 17 persons, including two women, were arrested, while the State Security Forces in Qom have arrested 83 young men in the city over the past week in an exercise aimed at purging street troublemakers.
August 26th 2002: Mardom-Salsri has reported that two young men have been hanged in Rajau-Shahr prison compound in Karaj (40km west of Tehran) after each having received 70 lashes. Entekhad also reported that a prisoner, identified as Hassan, was sentenced to execution in Tehran. A court in Tehran sentenced 34 persons to 160 lashes, imprisonment, cash fines and dismissal from government employment, for forgery of official documents.
The number of executions that have been carried out in Iran since January 2002 has reportedly risen to 250, which represents a significant increase when compared with the same period last year. It is thought that the clerical regime is intentionally increasing the use of such methods of punishment in order to increase its repression of the people of Iran, at a time when anti-governmental demonstrations are taking place. The figures given above are those released by official sources, although our sources claim that there are also a significant number of undocumented executions that have taken place during this period.
The International Secretariat of OMCT condemns the Iranian authorities use of arbitrary arrests and methods of punishment such as amputations and floggings, which at the very least constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and in most cases constitute torture. OMCT is deeply concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of the persons whose sentences are pending.
OMCT recalls that it is strongly opposed to the death penalty, as an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments. OMCT wishes to express its particular concern for the children who have been sentenced to harsh punishments, notably the death sentence, given the long-standing worldwide ban on executions of persons under the age of 18, under Article 6, paragraph 5 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to which Iran is party. More generally, OMCT is gravely concerned by the apparent worsening of the situation in Iran and calls upon the authorities to do halt the use of such repressive measures, which are blatant violations of internationally accepted human rights laws and standards.
Action requested:
· take all necessary measures to ensure that any of the afore-mentioned sentences that are pending are not carried out;
· immediately order the release all of the afore-mentioned persons, in the absence of valid legal charges or, if such charges exist, bring them before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee their procedural rights at all times;
· immediately abolish the death penalty and use of amputation and floggings in Iran;
· guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with and international human rights standards, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Addresses:
Note: You may encounter difficulties with the fax numbers in Iran, in which case please address you appeals to the Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva.
· Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed `Ali Khamenei, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Email: webmaster@wilayah.org;
· President, His Excellency Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, E-mail: khatami@president.ir
· Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 879 6671;
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Kamal Kharrazi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 390 1999;
· Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari, Minister of the Interior, Ministry of the Interior, Dr Fatemi Avenue, Tehran, Iran, Fax: + 98 21 896 0203;
· H.E. Ambassador Ali Khorram, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28 Chemin du Petit-Saconnex, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, fax: 004122 7330203; e-mail: mission.iran@ties.itu.int
Please also write to the embassies of Iran in your respective country.
Geneva, August 29th, 2002
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.