According to the information received, on May 7, 2009, Ms. Harotonian lodged an appeal to the Supreme Court challenging the legality of her detention. As of issuing this urgent appeal, a decision had yet to be issued by the Supreme Court, and Ms. Harotonian remained under detention in Evin prison, in Tehran.
Ms. Silva Harotonian was arrested on June 26, 2008 by the Iranian authorities, during a work trip to Iran in the framework of a project to organise a visit of Iranian experts to the United States. She was subsequently accused of plotting a soft revolution against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
On December 31, 2008, the first hearing took place in Chamber 15 of the Tehran Islamic Revolutionary Court, which sentenced her on January 19, 2009 to three years’ imprisonment in Evin Prison, for “acting against the security of the country”. The sentencing is based on Articles 500 and 508 of the Islamic Penal Code[2].
Ms. Harotonian lodged an appeal against the decision. On March 18, 2009, she was informed of the decision of the Chamber 52 of the Tehran Province Court of Appeals rejecting her appeal and denying her release. Her attorneys filed a second appeal before the Supreme Court on May 7, 2009. The appeal is founded on a series of violations of the right to fair trial accompanied with procedural and judicial errors and based on false confessions. In addition, agents of the Ministry of Information attended the hearing in December 2008 and were even granted permission to submit materials in violation of Article 193 of the Penal Procedural Code. The Observatory further notes that the accusation upheld against Ms. Harotonian at the lower Court was the “cooperation with an enemy State”, despite the fact that the Iranian authorities were informed well in advance of the project and the activities planned of IREX.
The Observatory denounces Ms. Silva Harotonian’s arbitrary sentencing, which seems to merely sanction her professional activities to promote health rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Observatory further wishes to remind that Iran made a commitment to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”[3] by presenting its candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006 election, and had insisted in this regard that the country has “continuously put great efforts into safeguarding the status and inherent dignity of the human person as well as the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms”[4]. However the conviction of Ms. Silva Harotonian is unfair and prejudicial as she has never acted with harmful intentions towards Iran. Besides the processes leading to the conviction, such as her eleven month detentions, contradict such a commitment and undo such efforts.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities in Iran urging them to:
i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Silva Harotonian;
ii. Release Ms. Harotonian immediately and unconditionally as her detention is arbitrary since it only aims at sanctioning her human rights activities;
iii. Put an end to all acts of harassment - including at the judicial level - against Ms. Silva Harotonian as well as against all human rights defenders in Iran;
iv. Comply with all the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in particular with Article 1, which provides 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 the national and international levels”, as well as with 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”;
v. Ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights instruments ratified by the Islamic Republic of 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, His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98.21.649.5880, E-mail: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir;
· Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Mr. Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, 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 Mr. Manuchehr Motaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98.21.390.1999, Email: matbuat@mfa.gov;
· 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;
· Ambassador Mr. Aboutalebi, Embassy of Iran in Brussels, avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 15 A. 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: iran-embassy@yahoo.com.
Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Iran in your respective country.
***
Geneva-Paris, June 12, 2009
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:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
[1] MCHEEP is an exchange programme for healthcare professionals from the United States and Iran.
[2] Article 508 states that: “Any person or group who cooperates with an enemy Government against the Islamic Republic of Iran, if not charged as a mohareb (waging an armed battle against the State) will be sentenced to one to ten years in prison”.
[3] In accordance with GA resolution A/RES/60/251 establishing the Human Rights Council.