Amnesty International Statement on Khavaran

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - PUBLIC STATEMENT

20 January 2009
Iran: Preserve the Khavaran grave site for investigation into mass killings

Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately
stop the destruction of hundreds of individual and mass, unmarked graves
in Khavaran, south Tehran, to ensure that the site is preserved and to
initiate a forensic investigation at the site as part of a long-overdue
thorough, independent and impartial investigation into mass executions
which began in 1988, often referred to in Iran as the “prison
massacres”. The organization fears that these actions of the Iranian
authorities are aimed at destroying evidence of human rights violations
and depriving the families of the victims of the 1988 killings of their
right to truth, justice and reparation.

Reports indicate that between 9-16 January 2009, the numerous ad hoc
grave markings made by the families of some of those executed in
previous years were destroyed by bulldozer. The site was at least
partially covered by soil and trees were planted.

Amnesty International additionally calls on the Iranian government to
act on its standing invitation to UN mechanisms and to facilitate the
visit to the country of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial,
summary or arbitrary executions. In his visit he should be allowed to
have an unhindered access to the Khavaran site with a view to indicating
how best to conduct an investigation into the events of 1988, including
in relation to the unmarked graves at Khavaran.

The Iranian authorities have the obligation to conduct an impartial
investigation into the events and bring to justice those responsible for
the “prison massacres” in fair proceedings and without recourse to the
death penalty. Destruction of the site would impede any such future
investigation and would violate the right of victims, including the
families, to an effective remedy.

The Iranian authorities also have a responsibility to ensure that the
body of anyone secretly buried who was not the victim of a crime is
returned to his or her relatives. Destruction of the grave site would
prevent this from happening and inflict further suffering on the
families of the victims of the “prison massacres” who have been yearly
commemorating the killing of their loved ones by gathering in Khavaran.
Background

Between August 1988 and February 1989, the Iranian authorities carried
out a massive wave of executions of political prisoners – the largest
since those carried out in the first and second year after the Iranian
revolution in 1979. In all, between 4,500 and 10,000 prisoners are
believed to have been killed.

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for those responsible for
the “prison massacre” to be brought to justice in a fair trial without
the death penalty.

For further information, see Iran: The 20th anniversary of 1988 "Prison
Massacre", AI Index: MDE 13/118/2008, 19 August 2008,
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/118/2008/en , and Amnesty
International’s report, Iran: Violations of human rights 1987-1990 (AI
Index MDE 13/21/90).

Public Document
****************************************
For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in
London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566 or email: press@amnesty.org
International Secretariat, Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London
WC1X 0DW, UK www.amnesty.org

Working to protect human rights worldwide

Demirbas blames Turkey for everything

• By Vladimir van Wilgenburg
• 20/01/2009

In October 2008 I interviewed former mayor Abdullah Demirbas of the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in Brussels. At that time there wasn't a Kurdish TRT TV-station and the new reform drive of the AKP-government. Demirbas was fired for offering municipality services in Kurdish. The real reason behind is still unclear. Now an AKP governor rules his former municipality.

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Amnesty International USA; Demand Justice for Prominent HIV/AIDS Researchers Sentenced to Prison

Dear Friends:

Yesterday, the Iranian government announced that the brothers Arash and Kamiar Alaei, prominent physicians who are internationally recognized for their research and advocacy efforts on behalf of improved treatment of HIV/AIDS, had been convicted of vaguely worded charges of conspiring to overthrow the Iranian government and were sentenced to prison. I ask you to join the international outcry over the prosecution and conviction of the two brothers. Attached please find an action with background
information on the case. Please feel free to circulate this widely to your contacts. It is very important that the Iranian government receive a large number of messages about this case. Thank you all again for your efforts on behalf of human rights in Iran.

Best wishes,
Elise Auerbach
Amnesty International USA Iran country specialist

Protest against the Death Sentence of Zeinab Jalalian

Press Release Local sources in the province of Kurdistan have revealed that Ms. Zeinab Jalalian, a member of a Kurdish party, has received the death sentence based on allegations of acting against national interests. Ms. Jalalian is a political activist from Maku who has been held by the Ministry of Intelligence in Kermanshah for the past eight months. In her legal file, there is no mention of engaging in violent opposition. Her death sentence is based solely on allegations that include membership in, promotion of, and recruitment for an opposition party

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Iran: End Repression in Kurdish Areas

Iran: End Repression in Kurdish Areas
hrw.jpgPeaceful Dissidents Jailed, Books and Publications Banned
January 9, 2009

"Iranian authorities show little tolerance of political dissent anywhere in the country, but they are particularly hostile to dissent in minority areas where there has been any history of separatist activities."
Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Division

Related Materials:
Iran: Freedom of Expression and Association in the Kurdish Regions

(New York, January 9, 2009) - The government of Iran should amend or abolish broadly worded national security laws used to stifle peaceful dissent in the country's Kurdish areas and end arbitrary arrests of Kurdish critics and dissidents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 42-page report, "Iran: Freedom of Expression and Association in the Kurdish Regions," documents how Iranian authorities use security laws, press laws, and other legislation to arrest and prosecute Iranian Kurds solely for trying to exercise their right to freedom of expression and association. The use of these laws to suppress basic rights, while not new, has greatly intensified since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power in August 2005.

"Iranian authorities show little tolerance of political dissent anywhere in the country, but they are particularly hostile to dissent in minority areas where there has been any history of separatist activities," said Joe Stork, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Division.

Kurds account for 4.5 million of the 69 million people in Iran, and live mainly in the country's northwest regions. Political movements there have frequently campaigned for greater regional autonomy. The main Iranian Kurdish parties with a long history of activism deny that they engage in armed activity and the government has not accused these groups of any such activity since the early 1990s.

"No one would contest a government's right to suppress violence," Stork said. "But this is not the case here. What is going on in the Kurdish areas of Iran is the routine suppression of legitimate peaceful opposition."

The new report documents how the government has closed Persian- and Kurdish-language newspapers and journals, banned books, and punished publishers, journalists, and writers for opposing and criticizing government policies. Authorities also suppress legitimate activities of nongovernmental organizations by denying registration permits or charging individuals working with such organizations with spurious security offenses.

One victim of the government's repression is Farazad Kamangar, a superintendent of high schools in the city of Kamayaran and an activist with the Organization for the Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan. He has been in detention since his arrest in July 2006. The new report reproduces a letter Kamangar smuggled out of prison describing how officials subjected him to torture during interrogation.

On February 25, 2008, Branch 30 of Iran's Revolutionary Court sentenced him to death on charges of "endangering national security." Prosecutors charged that he was a member of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but provided no evidence to support the allegation. In July, the Supreme Court upheld the sentence. Kamangar's lawyer has appealed to the head of the judiciary to intervene, the only remaining option for challenging the sentence.

Source: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/08/iran-end-repression-kurdish-areas

Ending Violence Against Women, A Dream No Longer Can Be Deferred / Elahe Amani

Ending Violence Against Women, A Dream No Longer Can Be Deferred / Elahe Amani

( 16 Day of Global Activism Against Gender Violence- Nov 25th- Dec. 10th )
Thursday 27 November 2008

While sexual assault and rape in Iraq war remains largely ignored and disregarded, while the incidence of acid attacks and rape of Afghan Women in recent weeks by Taliban forces remains unresolved, while women in Iran still enduring violence, arrest, detention and harassment perpetuated by government in physical space and cyberspace and on November 25th, the website of advocates for changing the discriminatory laws against women in Iran was filtered for the 17th time and while the endless atrocities against women in Congo, Sudan and Rwanda, forced prostitution and trafficking , honor killings, and many other forms of violence against women and girls are widespread, the global civil societies, human rights defenders, peace activists, women’s right activist and feminists embarked on the 16 Day of Global Activism Against Gender Violence on November 25th. As in the words of Pat Humphries that more than 30,000 women and more than a thousand man sang in the NGO Forum at the Beijing Conference “Gonna keep on moving forward, Never turning back!”

November 25th, 2008 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the first day of the 16 Days of Global Activism Against Gender Violence. The campaign will end on Dec 10th which is the International Human Rights day. It is also know as“ White Ribbon Day” in South Africa, UK and Canada. The White Ribbon is a symbol of hope for a world where women and girls can live with dignity and without fear of violence.

The theme of this year 16 days of Global Activism Against Gender Violence is “Human Rights for Women -Human Rights for All”. The 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights ( 1948-2008 ) is a historic time to recognize the collective work of human rights defenders around the world, secure the international conventions and treaties that make up the human rights framework and reclaim the principles of the 1948 declaration which have taken a great setback by the rise of religious extremism, globalization and militarization. Today, feminist, peace activists and human rights defenders around the world calling on governments as well as global civil societies and demanding to put an end to violence against women. The dream of living in a world with peace, security and respect to human rights can no longer be “ deferred”.
History of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence is an annual international campaign originating from the first Women’s Global Leadership Institute sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 1991. The annual campaign starts from November 25th International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, International Human Rights Day — in order to symbolically link violence against women and human rights, and to emphasize that such violence is a violation of human rights. This 16-day period also highlights other significant dates, including December 1st , World AIDS Day, and December 6th , which marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

The history of November 25th goes back to 25th November 1960, when three sisters Patria, Maria Teresa and Minerva Mirabel, political activists in the Dominican Republic were assassinated in a car accident. They were killed for their involvement in efforts to overthrow the government of Rafael Trujillo. The state violence perpetuated on the Mirabel sisters quickly became symbols of resistance, dignity and inspiration for eliminating violence against women at home and in society. Their lives raised the spirits of all those they encountered and later, after their death, not only those in the Dominican Republic but others around the world.

On July 1981, women from across Latin America came together in Columbia. Appalled by the extent and diversity of violence against women, they agreed to hold an annual day of protest, and they decided to adopt 25th November as the date for this International Day Against Violence Against Women in memory of the Mirabel sisters. In 1991, The first White Ribbon Campaign was launched by a group of men in Canada after the brutal mass shooting of 14 female students at the University of Montreal. In 1996, a year after the 4th UN Women Conference in Beijing, China, the South African National Network on Violence Against Women launched their own White Ribbon Campaign and many South African women’s groups quickly adopted the White Ribbon symbol.

In 1998 the White Ribbon Day was launched in the UK and in December 1999, at the 54 General Assembly session of UN, a resolution adopted and UN officially recognized 25th November as International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

Violence against women is a global problem that affects women of all ages, ethnicities, races, nationalities and socio-economic backgrounds. Women experience gender-based violence at home, in community and at societal level. Women disproportionately experience domestic violence, sexual assault, sexual harassment, trafficking in person, rape, and even cyber harassment and stalking.

Women experience violence and injustice perpetuated by state and non state actors. The economic, political, social and religious injustice and impunity is a major barrier to women’s human rights and challenge the dignity that women deserve to enjoy. Women also experience violence that may not clearly fall within the framework of the above referenced paradigms but harm women health, safety and security and is a clear violation of women’s ability to enjoy basic human right. These violations are inclusive but not limited of the early childhood marriage for girl child, female genital mutilation, honor killing, dowry-related violence including bride burning, rape as a weapon of war, female infanticide, enforced sterilization, Acid attacks etc. It is also inclusive of harsh measures by government to disproportional restrictions and censorship on women’s presence in cyber world by filtering women blogs and websites as in the case of Iran.

While globally one in every three women experience violence in their life cycle from childhood to the old, in many societies where peace, democracy and human rights are being threaten by the forces of religious extremism/fundamentalism, militarization, aggression and war, women rights and even women’s body are the battle ground of gaining cultural identity or claiming victory by the forces of aggression and occupation.

The global framework for women’s rights have been manifested in the conventions such as Conventions on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against WomenVienna Human Rights Declaration and Program of Action , the Cairo Program of Action, the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Development Goals . Since 1975, the first UN Women Conference in Mexico City, women globally have demanded meaningful change and inserted their desire in the global framework for women’s rights, to live in a world with dignity and respect, peace and prosperity, equality rights and opportunities. However, despite the fact that governments from United State to Congo, from Iran to Afghanistan, South Africa to Guatemala signed these documents ( some bracketed version of the document ) women are not significantly in a better position due to the lack of new and additional resources, the rise of religious extremism, globalization and militarization. These patterns have created an environment of fear and threat for the gains women at global and local level struggled so hard to manifest in these processes. (CEDAW), and in documents from other UN conferences such as the

One of the most comprehensive and inclusive definitions of “violence against women” was formulated at the Beijing Women Conference in 1995. In the Platform for Action the term has been defined as “ any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.”
The generations that shaped the global women’s movement since 1975, the first UN Women Conference and brought issues such as women’s human rights, violence against women, gender equality, women’s role in peace building and other critical issues from margin to the center of global agenda, are now joining the circles of elders. The new and emerging young women are taking the leadership to further the plight of women for gender equality, peace and development. The recent global AWID Forum on Women’s Rights and Development Cape Town, South Africa, the Gender Equality Coalition efforts to address gender equality at the upcoming World Social Forum in Amazon, Brazil, the strong voice of younger people engaged in US election, the young brave women who are writing the history of women’s movement for equality and dignity in Iran and the Afghan and Palestinian young men and women who never gave up the struggle for living a life in peace, security and respect to human rights are beacons of hopes and sources of inspiration for a world that the dream of human rights, dignity, peace and prosperity can no longer be deferred

URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY

New information

IRN 012 / 1008 / OBS 187

Sentencing / Arbitrary detention

Iran

November 12, 2008

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new information and requests your urgent intervention in Iran.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about the sentencing of Mr. Yasser Goli, a Kurdish rights activist and Secretary General of the Kurdish Students’ Union of Iranian Universities, detained since October 9, 2007[1], to 15 years in prison

According to the information received, on November 6, 2008, Mr. Yasser Goli was sentenced by the second branch of the Revolutionary Court of Sanandaj, Iranian Kurdistan, to 15 years in prison and to his banishment to Kerman, in the east of the country, for having contacts with “illegal Kurdish organisations” (Article 168 of the Islamic Penal Code). His lawyer will appeal this sentence. As of issuing this urgent appeal, he remains detained in a prison in Kurdistan. No further information could be obtained as to his exact place of detention.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern about Mr. Goli’s severe sentencing, which is once again evidence of the ongoing harsh repression of the Iranian authorities against human rights defenders.

Furthermore, the Observatory wishes to insist on the fact that Iran had committed to “uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”[2] by presenting its candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006 election and had 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”[3]. In order to ensure the continuation of these efforts, the Observatory urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to conform with international human rights standards.

Background information:

After being in prison for three months, Mr. Goli was transferred to the Central Prison of Sanandaj on January 16, 2008. Until then, he was not allowed to meet with his family. Mr. Goli suffers from a heart ailment and has been admitted to the hospital numerous times for treatment.

Hi whole family has fought on his behalf to shed light on his condition and plight. His father, Mr. Saleh Goli, was arrested on October 31, 2007 in connection with his son’s case. His bail was set at 10 million tomans but he was subsequently released.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Iran urging them to:

i. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Yasser Goli;

ii. Release Mr. Yasser Goli immediately and unconditionally since his detention is arbitrary as it merely aims at sanctioning his activities in favour of human rights;

iv. Put an end to all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Yasser Goli as well as against all Iranian human rights defenders;

v. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, Article 6.b, which provides that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others [...] freely to publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms”, and Article 12.2, which provides 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”;

vi. More generally, 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 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 / +98 21 3 390 4986, Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com / info@dadgostary-tehran.ir;

· 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;

· Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran, His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani, C/o Office of the Deputy for International Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad (Ark) Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 5 537 8827

· 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. Ahani, 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, November 12, 2008

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