Iran
28.07.05
Urgent Interventions
Iran: Warrant of arrest against Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani and search of his house
URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY
Arrest warrant / House search
Iran
July 28, 2005
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Iran.
According to the information received, on July 27, 2005, Mr. Saïd Mortazavi, Tehran Prosecutor, requested the Revolution’s Court of Tehran to issue a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Soltani along with a search warrant for his home. As he was absent, the warrants were delivered to his wife and his house was searched.
These events took place while Ms. Zahra Kazemi’s case, an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in July 2003 from torture and ill-treatment during her detention in Iranian custody, was brought before Tehran Court of Appeal to establish the circumstances of her death and the responsible parties. On July 25, 2005, during a hearing in camera of the Court of Appeal, Mr. Soltani, lawyer of Ms. Zahra Kazemi’s family, put into question the independence and fairness of the trial, pointing out that the main officials allegedly involved in the case had not been indicted by the court, including Mr. Saïd Mortazavi.
Moreover, the Observatory recalls that in July 2002, Mr. Soltani had already been convicted for having underlined in his defence pleadings the fact that his clients had been subjected to ill-treatment during their interrogation. He was sentenced to four months in jail by the Court of Tehran and released in June 2003 (See Observatory Annual Report 2003).
The Observatory is deeply concerned about this warrant for the arrest of Mr. Soltani, issued by one of the main persons who is allegedly involved in Ms. Zahra Kazemi’s death and whose only objective is to prevent Mr. Soltani’s from carrying out his activities as a lawyer and human right defender.
The Observatory considers that these events blatantly violate the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular article 9.3(a), which provides that everyone has the right “to complain about the policies and actions of individual officials and governmental bodies with regard to violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, by petition or other appropriate means, to competent domestic judicial, administrative or legislative authorities or any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, which should render their decision on the complaint without undue delay”, and article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.
i. immediately cancel the warrant for the arrest of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani;
ii. guarantee under all circumstances the physical integrity of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani as well as of all human rights defenders in Iran;
iii. conduct a fair, impartial and independent trial about Zahra Kazemi’s death, in order to identify the perpetrators, bring them to justice and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of their crimes;
iv. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and the above-mentioned articles 9.3(a) and 12.2;
v. ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Iran.
***
Paris – Geneva, July 28, 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a 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.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Email: observatoire@iprolink.ch
Tel and fax FIDH: 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 01 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: + 4122 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29
IRN 002 / 0705 / OBS 055
Arrest warrant / House search
Iran
July 28, 2005
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Iran.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (Ligue iranienne de défense des droits de l’Homme - LDDHI) that a warrant was issued for the arrest of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, lawyer at the Bar of Tehran.According to the information received, on July 27, 2005, Mr. Saïd Mortazavi, Tehran Prosecutor, requested the Revolution’s Court of Tehran to issue a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Soltani along with a search warrant for his home. As he was absent, the warrants were delivered to his wife and his house was searched.
These events took place while Ms. Zahra Kazemi’s case, an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in July 2003 from torture and ill-treatment during her detention in Iranian custody, was brought before Tehran Court of Appeal to establish the circumstances of her death and the responsible parties. On July 25, 2005, during a hearing in camera of the Court of Appeal, Mr. Soltani, lawyer of Ms. Zahra Kazemi’s family, put into question the independence and fairness of the trial, pointing out that the main officials allegedly involved in the case had not been indicted by the court, including Mr. Saïd Mortazavi.
Moreover, the Observatory recalls that in July 2002, Mr. Soltani had already been convicted for having underlined in his defence pleadings the fact that his clients had been subjected to ill-treatment during their interrogation. He was sentenced to four months in jail by the Court of Tehran and released in June 2003 (See Observatory Annual Report 2003).
The Observatory is deeply concerned about this warrant for the arrest of Mr. Soltani, issued by one of the main persons who is allegedly involved in Ms. Zahra Kazemi’s death and whose only objective is to prevent Mr. Soltani’s from carrying out his activities as a lawyer and human right defender.
The Observatory considers that these events blatantly violate the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, in particular article 9.3(a), which provides that everyone has the right “to complain about the policies and actions of individual officials and governmental bodies with regard to violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, by petition or other appropriate means, to competent domestic judicial, administrative or legislative authorities or any other competent authority provided for by the legal system of the State, which should render their decision on the complaint without undue delay”, and article 12.2, which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.
Actions requested:
Please write to the Iranian authorities and ask them to:i. immediately cancel the warrant for the arrest of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani;
ii. guarantee under all circumstances the physical integrity of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani as well as of all human rights defenders in Iran;
iii. conduct a fair, impartial and independent trial about Zahra Kazemi’s death, in order to identify the perpetrators, bring them to justice and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of their crimes;
iv. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and the above-mentioned articles 9.3(a) and 12.2;
v. ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Iran.
Addresses:
- Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649 5880 / 21 774 2228 (ask fax to be forwarded to Ayatollah Khamenei), Email: webmaster@wilayah.org (on the subject line write: For the attention of the office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei, Qom)
- President Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 649 588
- Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671, Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
- 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 (number may be unreliable; please mark “care of the Human Rights Department, Foreign Ministry”), Email: matbuat@mfa.gov
- Ambassador Mohammad Reza Alborzi, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, E-mail: mission.iran@ties.itu.int
***
Paris – Geneva, July 28, 2005
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, a 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.
The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Email: observatoire@iprolink.ch
Tel and fax FIDH: 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 01 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT: + 4122 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29