Source: Amnesty International
Sh'ia cleric
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi was arrested at his home in
Tehran on 8
October, along with an unknown number, possibly around 300, of his followers.
The arrests took place during violent clashes with security forces. It is
believed that those arrested are detained in Evin Prison in Tehran.
At least 41
followers of Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi were reportedly
arrested in the courtyard of his house in Tehran during the morning of 28 September. They
are thought to have been taken to Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by
the Ministry of Intelligence. The following day, up to 35 others were reportedly
arrested, and by 2 October, at least 118 of his followers were said to have been
detained. Their names are known to Amnesty International.
On the night of
4 and 5 October, security forces reportedly attacked the Ayatollah's house, but
were forced back by his followers. A further attack was launched on 7 October,
during which the Ayatollah's supporters are reported to have fought the security
forces with swords, sticks and other implements. The Ayatollah's followers are
said to have captured several members of the security forces but released them
later, after photographing their identity cards.
Following the
arrests, the Deputy Governor-General of Tehran for Political and Social
Affairs told the Iranian Labour News Agency, "For some time, a number of
sectarian elements had engaged in a series of operation s in Tehran… disturbing
citizens and causing traffic problems for the people … On Wednesday night, a
number of people who were crossing the road were seized by this group, only to
be freed after being beaten up… Since Saturday, a number of thugs from Tehran and other towns,
recruited by the group, had embarked on blocking the streets leading to the
district. They then initiated an attack on the Law-Enforcement Force
[LEF, Iran's police], throwing Molotov
cocktails and using over a thousand cold weapons, knives, daggers and swords. At
first, the LEF avoided violence, but the group embarked on taking LEF forces
hostage and sought to wreak havoc by setting tyres ablaze and throwing acid at
some people… The LEF was left with no option but to act, and in very little time
arrested the armed men, seized their weapons and handed them over to the
judicial authorities. They also discovered hundreds of cold weapons and several
firearms and grenades". The Deputy Governor-General said there were no
precise figures on the number of those arrested, and said "I should like to
point out that the gentleman is not an ayatollah. Mr Boroujerdi, who had
unfortunately caused the incident owing to his wilful actions, has also been
arrested."
On 10 October, an unattributed article entitled "On
the plot of Kazemeyni-Boroujerdi; Propagating Islam with the assistance of the
BBC and CIA" appeared in the Iranian
newspaper Keyhan. The article described the incident as part
of a plot by Western intelligence services such as those of the USA, Israel and
the UK to use ethnic and religious minorities to damage Iran, and referred to
the fact that the Ayatollah had made telephone calls to foreign radio stations
such as the Persian-language service of Radio Free Europe (Radio Farda) and the
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) before his arrest.
On 11 October, another report in Keyhan quoted LEF
Brigadier-General Esma'il Ahmadi Moghaddam as stating that nine people had been
taken hostage, two officers were shot, and more than 300 people, including "this
person" were arrested and taken to Evin Prison.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi
reportedly advocates the separation of religion from the political basis of the
state. Since 1994 he says he has been summoned repeatedly before the Special Court for
the Clergy and has been detained in Towhid and Evin Prisons. He has reportedly
developed heart and kidney problems as a result of torture. His father was a
prominent cleric who refused to accept the principle of velayat-e faqih (rule of the [Islamic] jurisconsult,
or of those who know Islamic law), on which the Islamic
Republic of Iran is
based. He died in 2002 and his grave in the Masjed-e Nour mosque in Tehran has reportedly been
desecrated and the mosque taken over by the state.
The Special Court for
the Clergy, which operates outside the framework of the judiciary, was
established in 1987 by Ayatollah Khomeini to try members of the Shi'a religious
establishment in Iran. Its procedures fall short of
international standards for fair trial: among other things, defendants can only
be represented by clergymen nominated by the court, who are not required to be
legally qualified. In some cases the defendant has been unable to find any
nominated cleric willing to undertake the defence and has been tried without any
legal representation. The court can hand down sentences including flogging and
the death penalty.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible,
in Persian, Arabic, English or French or your own language:
- noting that
Ayatollah Sayed Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi and more than 418 of his followers
have been arrested, at least some following violent clashes with the security
forces;
- seeking
assurances that all those detained are protected from torture or
ill-treatment;
- seeking
information about the reasons for the arrest of all those detained, including
any charges and trial proceedings;
- urging that
all those detained be allowed immediate and regular access to family visits and
to lawyers of their choice;
- calling for
the release of all those detained unless they are to be charged with a
recognizably criminal offence and tried promptly and fairly;
- reminding the
authorities that Amnesty International would consider anyone detained solely on
account of their religious beliefs or their support for Ayatollah Sayed Hossein
Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, who has not used or advocated violence, to be a prisoner
of conscience; and would call for their immediate and unconditional
release.
APPEALS
TO:
Leader
of the Islamic Republic
His
Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme
Leader
Shoahada
Street,
Qom,
Islamic Republic
of Iran
Email:
info@leader.ir
OR istiftaa@wilayah.org
Fax:
+98 251 774 2228 (mark "FAO the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al
Udhma
Khamenei")
Salutation:
Your
Excellency
Minister
of Intelligence
Gholam
Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry
of Intelligence, Second Negarestan
Street, Pasdaran Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
iranprobe@iranprobe.com
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, Imam Khomeini
Avenue, Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
hadadadel@majlis.ir
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 24 November
2006.
