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Document -
Iran: Further information on fear for safety/ Fear of torture and
ill-treatment/ Medical concern
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/055/2008
18 April 2008
Further Information on UA 113/07
(MDE 13/054/2007, 15 May 2007) and follow-ups (MDE 13/077/2007, 22 June 2007;
MDE 13/098/2007, 1 August 2007 and MDE 13/114/2007, 26 September 2007) - Fear
for safety/ Fear of torture and ill-treatment/ Medical concern
IRAN
Ahmad Qasaban
(m) ]
Majid Tavakkoli (m) ] Students at Amir Kabir
University, Tehran
Ehsan Mansouri (m) ]
On 15 April, the three Amir Kabir University students were sentenced to prison terms of
between 22 and 30 months, by Branch 44 of the Appeal Court in Tehran. They
remain at risk of torture and ill-treatment.
The Judiciary spokesman, Ali Reza
Jamshidi, announced that Ehsan
Mansouri had been sentenced to 22 months’
imprisonment, Ahmad Qasaban to 26 months and Majid Tavakkoli to 30 months; and
that their sentences would be counted from their arrest in May 2007.
Their trial had begun on 22
September 2007, before Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. They were charged with
"insulting Islam" and "acting against national security".
The session was held behind closed doors and their lawyer was reportedly not
allowed to represent them. On 16 October Ehsan Mansouri was sentenced to two years in prison, Majid Tavakkoli to three years
and Ahmad Qasaban to two-and-a-half years. On 19
December they were acquitted of "insulting Islam", but Tehran’s Public Court
imposed four-month sentences for slandering the Basij
force (volunteer paramilitary units attached to the Revolutionary Guards
Corps).
The families of the students
wrote several letters to the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, expressing concern that their children were
being physically and psychologically tortured to make them confess to crimes
they had not committed, and asking him to take action to halt this.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Student newsletters were
published at Amir
Kabir University on 30 April 2007, carrying
articles which university officials deemed insulting to Islam.
These newsletters, bearing the
names and logos of four student publications, were distributed throughout the
campus. They contained three controversial articles and two caricatures which
could have been perceived as critical of the Iranian government and insulting
to Islam. Distribution of the publications took place one week before the
annual elections to a student union, the Islamic Students’ Association.
One article questioned the
infallibility of the Prophet Mohammad and the first Shi’a Imam, Ali, and the
place of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Another criticised the government's crackdown on
women’s clothing, and a third ridiculed Islamic women’s attire.
RECOMMENDED
ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian,
Arabic, English or your own language:
- expressing concern that Ehsan Mansouri, Ahmad Qasaban and Majid Tavakkolimay be prisoners of conscience, imprisoned solely
for their legitimate exercise of human rights;
- calling on the authorities to
order an urgent, independent investigation into allegations that they were
tortured to make them confess, and bring those responsible to justice;
- urging the authorities to
protect the students from further torture andother
ill-treatment
- calling on the authorities to
ensure that they receive family visits, legal representation of their own
choosing and any medical attention they may require;
- reminding the authorities that
confessions extracted under torture are prohibited by Article 38 of the
constitution of Iran.
APPEALS
TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Salutation: Your
Excellency
Minister
of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence, Second Negarestan Street,
Pasdaran
Avenue, Tehran,
Islamic Republic
of Iran
Salutation:
Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud
Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building,
Panzdah-Khordad
Square, Tehran,
Islamic Republic
of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986 (please
keep trying)
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir
(In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your
Excellency
COPIES
TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine
Avenue, Azerbaijan
Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website:
www.president.ir/email
Speaker of
Parliament
His
Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +
98 21 6 646 1746
Email: hadadadel@majlis.ir (Ask for your message to
be passed to the Article 90
Commission)
and
to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending
appeals after 30 May 2008.
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