Ten persons, whose names have not been made public, have been condemned for bomb attacks in the Arabic region of Khuzistan (South West of Iran) by the Revolutionary tribunal of Ahvaz. On 9 November 2006, the Iranian Supreme Court confirmed those sentences, in spite of the fact that the persons concerned have not benefited from a fair trial.
FIDH and LDDHI call upon the Iranian authorities not to execute them and to ensure that they be tried again, in full respect of the fair trial guarantees.
Protests asking for increased autonomy (right to publish in Arabic, etc) had taken place in the region of Khuzistan in April 2005. Violent clashes had opposed protesters to the police, resulting in a number of injured. Since then, bombings occurred in Ahwaz and other cities in the regions, and tens of persons belonging to the Arab minority have been arrested and condemned in camera, several of them to the death penalty.
In addition, six lawyers who have been defending those persons were arrested and subsequently freed on bail. They are Khalil SAÁDI, Ata SHENEH, Abolhassan HEYDARI, Javad TARIRI, Feysal SAÁDI and TAHERINASAB (whose first name has not been disclosed).
This is a blatant violation of the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers which state that "Lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions" (Article 18) and add that "Governments shall ensure that lawyers (...) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognised professional duties, standards and ethics" (Article 16).
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression, after his visit in Iran in November 2003, had already expressed concern regarding the fact that "lawyers do not benefit from immunity from prosecution with regard to what they say in court in defence of their clients or for statements they make on a case".
In Iranian Kurdistan, on 13 November 2006, a Revolutionary tribunal condemned Mahmoud Salehi and Jalal Hosseini to heavy prison sentences (respectively 4 and 2 years imprisonment) for having organised a sit-in on the occasion of the 1st May 2006 celebrations. They appealed their sentence and are currently free on bail. Those two trade unionists had already been condemned to respectively five and three years imprisonment in November last year on the charge of association with the banned political association Komala (Kurdish nationalist organisation).
Last but not least, in the Evin prison, the pressure against political prisoners is on the rise. Since the beginning of this week, dangerous prisoners condemned for ordinary crimes have been transferred to the Evin prison in order to provoke and beat political prisoners. Among the victims, Nasser Zarafchan, lawyer and human rights defender, has been beaten on November 13, 2006.
That recent attack witnesses once again the deeply concerning pattern of abuse prevailing in the Iranian prisons. In that regard, FIDH and LDDHI recall the recent death of two political prisoners who were detained in the Evin prison, 28-year old Valiollah Feyze-Mahdavi (last September) and Akbar Mohammadi (in July 2006). Mr. Feyze-Mahdavi was detained on charges related to his support for a Mujahedin organisation, while Mr. Mohammadi had been involved in the 1999 peaceful student demonstrations.
FIDH and LDDHI reiterate their call for an urgent independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding these deaths as well as the recent attacks against political prisoners in the Evin prison.