Iran
21.01.03
Urgent Interventions
Iran: arrest of lawyers Mr. Mohammed-Ali Dadkhah and Mr. Soltani
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
IRN 001 / 0102 / OBS 007.02
IRN 002 / 0702 / OBS 041.01
Arrests
Iran
21 January 2003
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program of FIDH and OMCT, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Iran.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed that on 20 January 2003, Messrs. Mohammed-Ali Dadkhah and Soltani, lawyers of the Bar of Tehran, who are both engaged in the defence of Iranian political prisoners, were arrested at their homes and imprisoned. According to notification that they had received, they were in fact supposed to go to Evin prison on 21 January.
On 20 May 2002, Mr. Dadkhah was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment and banned from practising law for ten years. The trial took place behind closed doors, giving rise to fears that Mr. Dadkhah did not receive a fair trial. In December, the sentence was upheld by a court of appeals.
Mr. Dadkhah had previously been brought before the court of Tehran on 28 January 2002. The President of the Revolution’s Court had filed a complaint against him for libel and false testimony. The complaint was based on a speech which Mr. Dadkhah had made in court in November 2001, in defence of various political prisoners and journalists who were arrested during two round-ups in March and April 2001. Mr. Dadkhah had been expelled by the President of the Revolution’s Court in the course of his defence speech and was therefore unable to carry out the defence of his clients for the rest of the trial.
On 9 July 2002, Mr. Soltani was sentenced to four months in jail by the court of Tehran and will be unable to practise law for five years. Mr. Soltani represented a dozen political prisoners in March 2002. The main charge against him is that he claimed in his defence speeches that his clients had suffered from ill treatment while being interrogated. His own lawyer, Mr. Seyfzadeh, was sentenced to four months in jail and will be unable to practise law for three years. Both lawyers have appealed the rulings. The appeals are still pending.
The Observatory is extremely concerned by these imprisonments based on arbitrary sentences, whose only objective was to prevent freedom of expression and freedom to practise as a lawyer. The Observatory requests that Messrs. Dadkhah and Soltani be freed immediately.
On 16 January 2003, the Observatory has been informed of the acquittals of Ms. Chirin Ebadi, a lawyer and chairperson of a children’s rights NGO, and another lawyer, Mr. Mohsen Rohami. They had both been given a suspended sentence of fifteen months’ imprisonment and deprived of their civil rights on the charge of libelling the authorities. This sentence referred to the fact that they defended the students who were attacked by police forces on the campus of the University of Tehran in July 1999 (cf. Annual Report 2001).
Action requested:
Please write to the Iranian authorities urging them to:
i. immediately release Messrs. Dadkhah and Soltani.
ii. guarantee, under all circumstances, the physical integrity of Messrs. Dadkhah and Soltani as well as that of all human rights defenders in Iran.
iii. abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9 December 1998, by the U.N. General Assembly, particularly, Article 1 which stipulates that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at national and international levels,” and Article 9.3.c according to which “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
iv. more generally abide by the Universal declaration on Human Rights and Covenants and international Conventions.
Addresses:
President Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammed Khatami, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, E-mail: khatami@president.ir
Ministere of Justice, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: 98 21 879 6671
Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Kamal Kharrazi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax : 98 21 390 1999
The Iranian Embassy in your country.
**************
Geneva - Paris, 22nd January 2003
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line: Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39 E-mail observatoire@iprolink.ch
IRN 001 / 0102 / OBS 007.02
IRN 002 / 0702 / OBS 041.01
Arrests
Iran
21 January 2003
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint program of FIDH and OMCT, requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Iran.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed that on 20 January 2003, Messrs. Mohammed-Ali Dadkhah and Soltani, lawyers of the Bar of Tehran, who are both engaged in the defence of Iranian political prisoners, were arrested at their homes and imprisoned. According to notification that they had received, they were in fact supposed to go to Evin prison on 21 January.
On 20 May 2002, Mr. Dadkhah was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment and banned from practising law for ten years. The trial took place behind closed doors, giving rise to fears that Mr. Dadkhah did not receive a fair trial. In December, the sentence was upheld by a court of appeals.
Mr. Dadkhah had previously been brought before the court of Tehran on 28 January 2002. The President of the Revolution’s Court had filed a complaint against him for libel and false testimony. The complaint was based on a speech which Mr. Dadkhah had made in court in November 2001, in defence of various political prisoners and journalists who were arrested during two round-ups in March and April 2001. Mr. Dadkhah had been expelled by the President of the Revolution’s Court in the course of his defence speech and was therefore unable to carry out the defence of his clients for the rest of the trial.
On 9 July 2002, Mr. Soltani was sentenced to four months in jail by the court of Tehran and will be unable to practise law for five years. Mr. Soltani represented a dozen political prisoners in March 2002. The main charge against him is that he claimed in his defence speeches that his clients had suffered from ill treatment while being interrogated. His own lawyer, Mr. Seyfzadeh, was sentenced to four months in jail and will be unable to practise law for three years. Both lawyers have appealed the rulings. The appeals are still pending.
The Observatory is extremely concerned by these imprisonments based on arbitrary sentences, whose only objective was to prevent freedom of expression and freedom to practise as a lawyer. The Observatory requests that Messrs. Dadkhah and Soltani be freed immediately.
On 16 January 2003, the Observatory has been informed of the acquittals of Ms. Chirin Ebadi, a lawyer and chairperson of a children’s rights NGO, and another lawyer, Mr. Mohsen Rohami. They had both been given a suspended sentence of fifteen months’ imprisonment and deprived of their civil rights on the charge of libelling the authorities. This sentence referred to the fact that they defended the students who were attacked by police forces on the campus of the University of Tehran in July 1999 (cf. Annual Report 2001).
Action requested:
Please write to the Iranian authorities urging them to:
i. immediately release Messrs. Dadkhah and Soltani.
ii. guarantee, under all circumstances, the physical integrity of Messrs. Dadkhah and Soltani as well as that of all human rights defenders in Iran.
iii. abide by the provisions of the Declaration on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders adopted on the 9 December 1998, by the U.N. General Assembly, particularly, Article 1 which stipulates that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at national and international levels,” and Article 9.3.c according to which “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
iv. more generally abide by the Universal declaration on Human Rights and Covenants and international Conventions.
Addresses:
President Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammed Khatami, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, E-mail: khatami@president.ir
Ministere of Justice, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: 98 21 879 6671
Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. Kamal Kharrazi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax : 98 21 390 1999
The Iranian Embassy in your country.
**************
Geneva - Paris, 22nd January 2003
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken, quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a joint FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.
To contact the Observatory, call the Emergency Line: Fax : 33 (0) 1 55 80 83 92
Tel. : FIDH 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39 E-mail observatoire@iprolink.ch