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Ettehade Jomhourikhahan-e Iran (EJI) P R O P O S E S A P L A T F O R M for A DEMOCRATIC AND SECULAR REPUBLIC IN IRAN |
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In solidarity
with the hunger strike by Iranian political prisoners, the political council of
EJI appeals to all international human rights organizations to defend the civil
and human rights of all prisoners of conscience in Iran.
His Excellency Kofi Annan Secretary General of the United Nations; As Dr. Shirin Ebadi (2003 Peace Nobel Laureate), a human
rights attorney in Iran, reports; a group of political prisoners detained in
Evin prison have been on hunger strike for more than 17 days.
This hunger strike began to protest the imposing of new pressures on the
families of the prisoners, including recent raids on the homes of two prisoners
and the eviction of the families from their residence by security forces.
In one of these raids the family of Mr. Peyman Peeran, one of the student
movement activists who has been in prison, was forced to leave their house,
their belongings were thrown out, they were forbidden to go back home, and his
father was detained also. Dr. Nasser Zarafshan, an attorney himself, is one of the
political prisoners on hunger strike. He
is the attorney for the families of the victims of the chain-murder of 1998, and
was detained for protesting the cover-up of the investigations and destroying of
evidence related to those murder cases. On July 19th, during a visit with his attorney,
Dr. Ebadi, he has stated that this hunger strike is in support of Mr. Peeran’s
family and a demand for freedom for all prisoners of conscience. Mr. Secretary; We would like to call your attention to the fact that
police and other security and intelligence forces have prevented the news of the
hunger strike from being released by the media on the pretext of concern for
national security. Now that it is being broadcasted, they attempt to deny it.
Moreover the judiciary and public prosecutor’s office who are expected
to defend justice and citizen’s rights, are themselves the organizers and
instigators of these raids. In
recent weeks they also have been executing more restrictive policies towards
limiting freedom of press such as closing down newspapers and prosecuting more
journalists. In addition law enforcement has deployed a massive number of
units on street corners and public places, with the claimed purpose of traffic
and moral control; hence they have militarized urban areas and are terrorizing
the public. All this took place
despite the Islamic Republic of Iran’s frequent commitments to improve their
human rights records to the European Union and other international bodies. Your Excellency; The condition of political prisoners detained at Evin
Prison is deteriorating and their health is in jeopardy.
We hereby demand that you use all your resources, including those of the
Office of the High Commissionaire of Human Rights, to end these latest waves of
violations of citizens’ rights in Iran. We
request that in this moment you put pressure on the government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran to assure the life, safety, and freedom of all political
prisoners and the return of their residence and belongings to their families. Political Council of the EJI – Unity for a Democratic
and Secular Republic in Iran July 22nd 2004 CC: United Nations High Commissionaire for Human Rights President of the Amnesty International President of the European Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission – European Union Human Rights Watch Reporters Without Borders All Iranian Human Rights Organizations All Iranian democratic organizations and political
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Contact us at:Jomhouri- DC (EJI)P. O. Box 813 Herndon, VA 20172 USAFax: (1) 703- 991- 3059Or in Europe:P.O. Box. 94638, 1090 GP Amsterdam, HollandFax: (31)-20-774 66 03
Send mail to international@jomhouri.com with
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