Amnesty International URGENT ACTION: FAKHRAVAR

Legal concern/fear for safety/medical concern IRAN

Amir Abbas Fakhravar (also known as Syavash), (m), aged 26

Medical student, writer and journalist

Amir Abbas Fakhravar was beaten in front of Bench 26 of the Revolutionary Court, in the north of the capital Tehran. He is currently in Qasr prison, amongst common law prisoners, where he has been denied medical treatment for severe injuries sustained in court and an existing foot injury.

He had been granted leave from Evin prison in Tehran, when he received a telephone call from Bench 26 of the Revolutionary Court in North Tehran ordering him to hear an appeal against his eight year sentence for writing a book which was critical of the Iranian state.

He was ordered to appear in court on 18 March and his family were threatened in order to make him appear. When Amir Abbas Fakhravar appeared in court, he was denied representation by the two lawyers who had represented him on previous occasions.

After an argument with the judge, he was beaten in front of judges, court officials and both his parents, before being transferred to prison.

It is thought that Amir Abbas Fakhravar may have been targeted after jointly writing an open letter to the authorities together with imprisoned student Ahmad Batebi. In the letter, written on 4 February 2003, the two men criticized the Iranian government, called for a boycott of all elections and demanded a fair referendum on the future government of Iran.