Paris-Geneva, February 26, 2008 - The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) express their deepest concern over the sentencing to death of Mr. Yaghoub Mehrnehad, a Zahedan[1]-based journalist for the Mardomsalari (Democracy) newspaper, and president of the Sedaye edalat (The voice of Justice) association.
On February 19, 2008, the Iranian judicial spokesperson announced in a press conference that Mr. Yaghoub Mehrnehad had been sentenced to death for belonging to the « Jondollah » terrorist group. Mr. Yaghoub Mehrnehad had received no information about the date or the circumstances of his trial, and was tried in absence of a lawyer and without his family being informed of the hearing.
Mr. Mehrnehad had been arrested on May 6, 2007, along with other members of his association. The others were later released, while Mr. Mehrnehad was incarcerated and subsequently sentenced to death. According to the Iranian judicial spokesperson, the case is now pending before the Court of Appeal, but no further precision was given.
FIDH and OMCT strongly condemn this sentencing, which is the result of a blatantly unfair trial. Our organisations urge the Iranian authorities to guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Yaghoub Mehrnehad, and to grant him an open and fair trial when appealing his sentence – with unhindered access to legal representation – in line with international human rights standards and instruments ratified by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
FIDH and OMCT also wish to recall that they are strongly opposed to the death penalty as an extreme form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and a violation of the right to life, as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments.
Our organisations further denounce the fact that the Iranian authorities increasingly tend to repress opponents and human rights defenders working in minority areas by resorting to accusations of terrorism[2].
Our organisations point out that Iran had committed to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights” by presenting its candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006 election and insisted in this regard on the fact that the country had “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”. In order to ensure the continuation of these efforts, our organisations strongly urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to conform with international human rights standards.
Contact:
FIDH: Gaël Grilhot/Karine Appy : + 33 1 43 55 25 18
OMCT: Alexandra Kossin: +41 22 809 49 39
[1] Zahedan is the capital of the Iranian Baluchistan province.
[2] See urgent appeals of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (a joint programme OMCT-FIDH) IRN 007 / 0807 / OBS 092 and 092.1 on Messrs Adnan Hassanpour and Abdulwahid Boutimar.
it is easy to predict that the success of student activists in imposing their will and demands on government officials at academic institutions, such as the Teachers Training college and Zanjan University (where the students boldly took the initiative into their own hands), would result in a backlash by extreme right-wing officials who would plan an “instructive” counter-attack against the student movement.Hopefully such a reaction will not come. But from an analytic perspective, one must not negate it altogether. We hope that by being alert and preventive measures, the student movement will be able to pass the next few weeks and months with minimum turbulence and costs.
This is the reason that the moment imprisoned students step out of prison, it becomes clear to every one why they were put behind bars: for simply criticizing the president. It becomes instantly clear why they were subjected to interrogations and what questions were asked of them. These are the events that portray the image of this country. Students, social activists and journalists are certainly not on the list of those that dent this image. The publication of the arrest of students because of their criticism of the president brings forth a caricature image of Mahmud Ahmadinejad which does not match the claims that he made at Columbia University or the image that the regime strives to present about its standing.
There are at least 70 young people on death row who at the time of their arrest were under the age of 16. In the past 12 months, Iranian organisations claim that 80 feminists have been arrested and 20 of them have been sentenced from three to five years in jail. A total of 54 journalists have ended up in prison, several were released without trial after serving jail time, while others remain behind bars. In the past 12 months, 34 newspapers and magazines, among them the feminist magazine Zanan, have been shut down.
The families of Majid Tavakoli, Ahmad Ghasaban, and Ehsan Mansouri are releasing a Disclosing Statement of suffering to Ayatollah Hashemi Shadroudi, in an attempt to reveal what has happed to these three students while in prison. This letter states that 80 days after the trial of these three individuals, they are enduring mental and physical injuries as a result of being imprisoned and it has been requested of the judiciary to report on their condition.
Western diplomats and rights groups see the detention of women activists as part of a wider crackdown on dissent, which they say may be in response to Western pressure over Iran’s nuclear work. Iranian authorities have also clamped down on "immoral behaviour", including women flouting the strict Islamic dress code, since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the presidency in 2005 with his pledge to revive revolutionary values. The women's rights activists say their campaign is not focused on what they wear, even if outsiders see conservative dress codes as a symbolic and visible barrier to equality.
