The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Iran.
According to the information received, on February 6, 2010, Mrs. Omolbanin Ebrahimi was arrested at her home at around 3 a.m. Likewise, in the night of February 8, Mrs. Elham Ahsani, Mrs. Gila Karamzadeh-Makvandi, Mrs. Leyla Seyfollahi and Mrs. Fatemeh Rastegari were reportedly arrested at their places of residence. Mrs. Farzneh Zeynali was further arrested on January 9, 2010 in Laleh Park.
Mrs. Omolbanin Ebrahimi, Mrs. Elham Ahsani, Mrs. Gila Karamzadeh, Mrs. Leyla Seyfollahi, Mrs. Fatemeh Rastegari and Mrs. Farzneh Zeynali are reportedly detained at Evin Prison, Tehran. However, as of issuing that urgent appeal, no information either on their exact place of detention neither on the charges held against them had been disclosed to the families of the detainees, in spite of their gatherings before the Evin prison.
The Observatory expresses its deep concern about the arbitrary detention of the above-mentioned members of the “Mourning Mothers”, which seem to merely aim at silencing the movement amid the current general crackdown on the Iranian civil society, and calls upon the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them, as well as all human rights defenders presently detained in the country.
Actions requested:
Please write to the Iranian authorities and ask them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mrs. Omolbanin Ebrahimi, Mrs. Elham Ahsani, Mrs. Gila Karamzadeh, Mrs. Leyla Seyfollahi, Mrs. Fatemeh Rastegari and Mrs. Farzneh Zeynali as well as all human rights defenders in Iran;
ii. Disclose their whereabouts and release them immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary as it only aims at sanctioning their human rights activities;
iii. Ensure in the meantime that they be granted access to a lawyer of their choice and to their relatives;
iv. Put an end to all kinds of harassment - including at the judicial level - against them 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, 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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Paris-Geneva, February 25, 2010