Public statement by Amnesty International
Students at Amir Kabir
University, Tehran
Ahmad
Qasaban (m)
Majid
Tavakkoli (m)
Ehsan
Mansouri (m)
Ahmad Qasaban, Majid Tavakkoli and Ehsan
Mansouri reportedly appeared before Branch 6 of the Revolutionary Court
in Tehran on 22
September on charges of "insulting Islam" and
"acting against national security". The session was reportedly held behind closed doors
and their lawyer was reportedly not given the opportunity to defend them. The
next hearing is scheduled for 29 September.
The
families of the three students were asked to attend the office of Tehran’s Chief Prosecutor,
Sa’id Mortazavi, on 19 August. Said Mortazavi reportedly reiterated his warning
that the families should not have given interviews or divulged information about
Section 209 of Evin Prison and that as a result the students were being held in
solitary confinement and forbidden from receiving family visits or phoning them.
He reportedly said that the three
Amir
Kabir University students should write a letter of repentance
in order to secure their release. He further denied that the students had been
tortured.
Later that day, during a news conference
on freedom of speech held by Shirin Ebadi, Ehsan Mansouri’s mother, Azam Tajik,
publicly accused the authorities of torturing the three students in order to
obtain confessions. She reportedly said "Our
children were forced to confess in prison under torture" … "When they left
solitary confinement they rejected the statements they had given." Azam Tajik
further added that the authorities have accused the family of lying and told
them to stop giving interviews.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION
The crisis at Amir Kabir
University started on 30
April 2007 with the publication of student newsletters 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
(ISA).
One article questioned the infallibility of the
Prophet Mohammad, 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:
- asking for the details of the charges against Ahmad
Qasaban, Majid Tavakkoli and
Ehsan Mansouri, including the evidence against them and the outcome of
any trial proceedings against them, to be made public;
- expressing concern at
reports that the three men’s lawyer was not given the opportunity to defend them
during the hearing and as such their trial did not meet international standards
for fair trial, as laid down by Article 14(d) of the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a State Party;
- expressing concern that the three men have been
prevented from receiving family visits and calling on the authorities to ensure
that they are given immediate and unconditional access to their lawyers, their
families and any medical treatment they may require.
- reminding the authorities that confessions
extracted under duress are prohibited by Article 38 of the
constitution of Iran, which says that “All forms of torture for the purpose of
extracting confession or acquiring information are forbidden,” and that Iran is a state party to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Article 7 states that
“No one shall be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment.”;
- expressing concern that Ahmad Qasaban, Majid
Tavakoli and Ehsan Mansouri are alleged
to have been tortured and seeking assurances that
they will not be subjected to further torture or
ill-treatment;
- calling on the
authorities to order an immediate investigation of these allegations and to make
the findings public;
- calling on the authorities to release them
immediately unless they are to be tried
promptly and fairly, in accordance with international fair trial standards, on
recognisably criminal charges.
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
Head of the
Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi
Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of
Justice
Building, Panzdah-Khordad
Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
info@dadgostary-tehran.ir
(In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
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
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 3355 6408
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
6 November 2007.
