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 June 23, 2010, at around 5.30 p.m., three agents from the Ministry of Intelligence approached Ms. Zoya Samadi at Tarasht metro station, in Tehran, as she was coming back home from work. The Intelligence Ministry agents, in plain sight of all those present, pulled off Ms. Samadi’s headscarf from her head and proceeded to beat her and drag her by the hair. Ms. Samadi was then blindfolded, handcuffed and taken to an undisclosed location for four hours, where the agents continued to beat her, mainly on the face and the head. While being ill-treated, the agents told her: “You must guarantee that if Osanloo is released from prison, he and his family will leave Iran and that he will cease all activities”. The agents also warned her not to tell anyone about what happened, nor to file any form of complaint, before leaving her injured under Seyed Khandan bridge at around 9.45 pm.
Ms. Zoya Samadi, who sustained bruises all over her body, was subsequently brought to the hospital, where she received treatments all night long. Following those events, Ms. Zoya Samadi, who was two months pregnant, suffered a miscarriage.
The Observatory expresses its indignation about the above-mentioned acts of intimidation and ill-treatments against Ms. Zoya Samadi, all the more as they seem to merely aim at sanctioning the human rights activities of her father-in-law, Mr. Mansour Osanloo, amid generalised repression of all dissenting voices in the country. The Observatory urges the Iranian authorities to order a prompt, effective, thorough, independent, and impartial investigation into those events, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions as provided by the law.
The Observatory recalls that Mr. Mansour Osanloo was arrested on July 10, 2007 by security services and subsequently sentenced to five years’ imprisonment on grounds of “propaganda” and “activities against the State”. Mr. Osanloo is currently detained in the Raja’i Shahr prison, west of Tehran. In addition, his health has continuously been deteriorating due to previously existing medical problems as well as new ones caused through the way he has been handled in prison. Despite the prison doctor’s referral, Mr. Osanloo was denied a temporary leave to get necessary medical care. Mr. Osanloo also lost his job when the Tehran Revolutionary Court confirmed his dismissal on October 21, 2009.
Moreover, in early June 2010, the International Labour Organisation’s Committee on Freedom of Association stated in its 357th Annual Report that it had received Iran’s assurance about Mr. Osanloo’s release[2]. However, neither Mr. Osanloo nor his relatives were informed directly that he had been granted pardon by the Head of the Judiciary.
Actions requested:
Please write to the Iranian authorities and ask them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Zoya Samadi, Mr. Mansour Osanloo and all his relatives, as well as all human rights defenders in Iran;
ii. Release Mr. Mansour Osanloo immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning his human rights activities;
iii. Order a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned events, the result of which must be made public, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply to them the penal sanctions as provided by the law;
iv. Put an end to all kinds of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Ms. Zoya Samadi, Mr. Mansour Osanloo and all his relatives as well as against all human rights defenders in Iran;
v. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, its article 5(c), which reads that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels, [...] to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations”, and its article 12.2 which provides 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”;
vi. 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 Office of the Supreme Leader, Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649 5880 / 21 774 2228, Email: info@leader.ir / istiftaa@wilayah.org / webmaster@wilayah.org
· President Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 649 5880. Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
· Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, Howzeh Riyasat-e Qovveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary), Pasteur Street, Vali Asr Avenue, south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran, 1316814737 Islamic Republic of Iran; or through the Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671 / +98 21 3 311 6567, Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
· Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Manouchehr Mottaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 390 1999
· Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, Email: mission.iran@ties.itu.int
· Embassy of Iran in Brussels, 415 avenue de Tervuren, PO Box 34, 1150 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: embassy.iran.bxl@skynet.be
Please also write to diplomatic representations of the Islamic Republic of Iran in your respective countries.
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