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Islamic Republic of Iran
818. By letter dated 11 June 2004, sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received information on the formation of "the Headquarters to Pre-empt and Combat Special Offenses". It is reported that different agencies, such as "the paramilitary Bassij force of the Revolutionary Guards, the State Security Forces, the Headquarters to Enjoin Virtue and Prohibit Vice and other agencies who act as Judiciary enforcers" are to join this new institution. It is reported that new measures against women would be introduced for "combating vice and improper veiling", and special agencies to crack down on women who are transgressing social norms have expanded. The Organization of State-Sanctioned Punishments, which is said to be officially responsible for public floggings and similar punishments, announced that it had established the first branch of "state punishments for women" in Iranian Kurdistan to issue verdicts for "offenses reported in connection with women" (Jomhouri Islami Daily, 1 June 2004).
819. By letter dated 29 June 2004, the Government informed that the communication does not contain any instances of violation of human rights. Establishing an organizational structure does not substantiate human rights violation allegations. The State-Sanctioned Punishment is principally established for goods and commodities prices containment and preventing irrational rises in prices. This entity has nothing to do with social matters, i.e. dealing with improper veiling of women. According to the Johouri Islami Daily of 1 June 2004, the first branch of the State-Sanctioned Punishment organization has been dedicated to cases of price-related issues, of which at least one side is female to prevent any discrimination against women in business activities, which are mostly male-dominated. This should be regarded as a step to maintain women’s rights.
820. By letter dated 21 July 2004, sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning Mohsen Mofidi, aged 35. He had been convicted on charges including possession of a medicine containing alcohol, consumption of alcohol in the early 1980s, possession of a television satellite dish, and aiding and abetting his sister’s “corruption” in having boyfriends. He was sentenced to 80 lashes, to be carried out at the completion of a four-month prison sentence. On 11 February 2004, on the 25th anniversary of the revolution, the rest of his prison sentence was suspended, and the flogging was scheduled to take place on the day of his release. While he was in Qasr prison, he suffered from a lung and sinus infection as he was kept in extremely poor conditions. He spent a week in a medical facility, where he experienced periods of semi-consciousness from which he did not fully recover from at the time of his flogging. On 18 February 2004, he was released after the flogging was carried out and was in poor health when he arrived at the home of a relative in Tehran. His condition quickly deteriorated. He died four days afterwards in hospital. Although a doctor certified that his death was due to a heart attack, Mr. Mofidi never suffered from any heart complications before.
821. By letter dated 26 July 2004, sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning Mohammad Reza Aghdam Ahmadi. According to the allegations received, on 24 July 2004, he was acquitted after a two-day trial for the charge of the "semiintentional" murder of Zahra Kazemi, a journalist who died in a Tehran jail in July 2003, after she was beaten and subjected to other forms of ill-treatment in custody. The trial did not meet international standards of fair trial as lawyers involved in the case have claimed that key evidence has either been ignored or covered up, including documents and testimony by witnesses that may disclose incriminating evidence against judicial officials, the prosecutor’s office and the intelligence ministry. The chief lawyer acting on behalf of Ms. Kazemi alleged that if the court had summoned certain witness to testify, as requested by their legal team, they could have provided evidence on who was really responsible for the death of Ms. Kazemi. Lawyers acting for Ms. Kazemi have 20 days to appeal the decision. The Tehran prosecutor pressured some journalists not to report on parts of the trial of Mr. Ahmadi, saying to a journalist, "It’s in your interest to consider the murder trial over and avoid publishing things that you should not." Journalists and other trial observers, including foreign diplomats who were initially approved to attend the entire trial, were barred access to the courtroom.
822. By letter dated 15 December 2004, the Government informed that Zahra Kazemi’s legal case was assigned to the Tehran Public Court, Branch 1158 for consideration by the Tehran Office of the Public Prosecutor. The first hearing was convened in public and in the presence of the accused, his legal counsel, a representative of the public prosecutor, media, the Ambassador of Canada, and a number of diplomats from other countries. This hearing was suspended at the request of the accused’s counsel, for further preparatory measures. The next session of the hearing was convened in the presence of four lawyers of Ms. Kazemi’s family, the accused and his counsel, the Ambassador of Canada, two diplomats from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and domestic and internationa l media. The two sides presented their cases in a hearing lasting 15 hours and the court issued the initial verdict. It was appealed by the victim’s counsel and the case is still open for further consideration. 823. By letter dated 19 August 2004, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning Hajikhan Amiri, a businessman in his seventies, residing in the south Teheran suburb of Islamshahr. According to the allegations received, in July 2001, he was arrested in Tehran together with his wife and one of their children. During his detention, he was subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment. The family was released but Hajikhan Amiri was later re-arrested. He was initially held in Evin Prison but was subsequently transferred to Gohardasht Prison, Karaj, where he was kept in solitary confinement. He was subjected to torture while being interrogated, as a result of which his physical condition deteriorated. He was refused medical attention and died on 25 August 2003. Shortly before his death, he was dragged away from his cell, unconscious and with his feet shackled, to an unknown location. Once his relatives were allowed to collect his body, they were told to bury it quickly and without any forensic examination. His burial was attended by a large number of Islamshahr residents and his family was subsequently arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence agents.
824. By letter dated 21 October 2004, the Government informed that according to the forensic examination report carried out approximately 23 hours after his death, there was no physical evidence of any maltreatment or torture on his body. Based on this report, the cause of death was cardiac arrest.
825. By letter dated 17 September 2004, sent jointly with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, the Special Rapporteur notified the Government that he had received allegations concerning A. R., a 16-year-old girl. On 15 August 2004, she was publicly hanged on a street in the city centre of Neka, Mazandaran. She was sentenced to death, approximately three months before, by a lower court in Neka, for "acts incompatible with chastity”. She was mentally ill both at the time of the crime and during her trial proceedings. She was not represented by a lawyer at any stage of her trial and she consequently defended herself. Although her national identity card stated that she was 16 years old, the Mazandaran Judiciary announced at her execution that she was 22. Her co-defendant was sentenced to 100 lashes and released after the sentence was carried out.
826. By letter dated 21 October 2004, the Government informed that she was arrested for the fourth time on 2 May 2004 and charged with “acts incompatible with chastity”. Based upon her confessions, she was sentenced to death according to articles 63 to 70 and 90 of the Penal Code. The sentence has since been upheld by the Supreme Court and was carried out on 15 August 2004. She had legal counsel throughout the proceedings and indicated that she was 22 years of age. No evidence of physical or mental incompetence was mentioned during the proceeding.
Urgent appeals
827. On 29 January 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders regarding Arzhang Davoodi, a 47-year-old engineer and poet. According to the allegations received, in July or August 2003, he was arrested in Tehran by members of the security forces after he gave an interview to the BBC about allegations of political corruption in Iran. The authorities have, however, denied his arrest and detention. Since December 2003, Mr. Davoodi is detained in solitary confinement in Evin Prison, Tehran, where he has been subjected to ill-treatment and torture. As a result, he has lost his vision in the left eye and is in very poor health.
828. On 16 February 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression regarding Amir Abbas Fakhravar (cited in a previously transmitted communication, E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 815). According to the allegations received, Amir Abbas Fakhravar, who has been in prison for over a year, was taken in January 2004 from Qasr prison to a detention centre called 125 to be interrogated about his suspected links with a political organization called Jonbesh-e Azadi-ye Iraniyan. The centre is under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, and his cell in the 125 detention centre has no windows and is completely painted white. His clothes were also white. At meal times, he was given white rice on white disposable paper plates. If he needed to use the toilet, he had to put a white slip of paper under the door of the cell to alert guards, who wore footwear designed to muffle any sound. He was forbidden to speak to anyone. This technique of sensory deprivation is referred to as "white torture" (shekanjeh-e sefid). On or around 8 February 2004, Amir Abbas Fakhravar was allowed to leave the detention centre, but two days later he was taken into custody again. His current whereabouts are unknown.
829. On 25 March 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders regarding Arzhang Davoodi, cited in a previously transmitted communication, and in another on 10 March 2004 sent by the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders and the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. According to the allegations received, Mr. Davoodi remains in prison despite the payment of a 50-million Tomans bail, as requested by the judicial authorities. The authorities have refused to release him on the grounds that his file is "not complete". Arzhang Davoodi was tortured and kept in solitary confinement for 100 days while he was held in Section 325, a detention facility run by the Revolutionary Guard in Evin Prison. During the winter, for several days he was kept in a room with the air conditioning turned on all night, making the room even colder. The torture has left him with a broken shoulder blade, bleeding in his left eye, deafness, a broken jaw and broken teeth. A doctor indicated that he required treatment for his eyes, ears and teeth, and physiotherapy for his shoulder. On 17 March, Arzhang Davoodi was transferred from Salon 1 of Evin Prison, where he was detained since his transfer from Section 325 in early March, to Salon 8 of Evin Prison, which is used for people detained for financial offences, and has no medical facilities. Prison officials have denied him the necessary medical treatment to date. Since his arrest in July or August 2003, Arzhang Davoodi has been allowed to make phone calls to his lawyer, and to meet with him on one occasion. However, his lawyer has not been able to have a copy of his file, and it has not been established whether Mr. Davoodi has been formally charged with an offence. 830. By letter dated 10 June 2004, the Government informed that Arzhang Davoodi has been under medical examination by the prison doctors as required. He has been examined by an ophtalmologist, since he was dizzy and had headaches while reading, and has been provided with eye-glasses. As a result of an examination by an ear, nose and throat doctor, his left ear has been diagnosed as being slightly impaired, which could be a sign of previous damage. There is no urgent treatment required for that ear and it will improve gradually. 831. On 13 April 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to health, regarding Siamak Pourzand, aged 74, and head of Majmue-ye Farhangiye Honari-ye Tehran, Tehran Artistic and Cultural Centre (cited in previously transmitted communications, E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.1, paras. 689 and 691). According to the allegatio ns received, Siamak Pourzand is serving an 11-year sentence handed down in 2002. He is held in solitary confinement in poor conditions of detention. Siamak Pourzand is suffering from spinal stenosis that, according to doctors, requires immediate surgery. To date he has not received medical treatment for this condition. Around 31 March 2004, he fell into a coma and was not treated until another prisoner went to the prison medical facility and insisted that someone examine him. He regained consciousness 36 hours later. On 5 April 2004, Tehran’s Chief Prosecutor visited him and told him that he would not be released in the near future because he would “make too much noise”. After the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression met with Mr. Pourzand during his visit to Iran in November 2003, the authorities committed to granting him a complete amnesty (E/CN.4/2004/62/Add.2, para. 108).
832. On 23 April 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on the right to health concerning Siamak Pourzand, (cited in a previously transmitted communication, see above). According to the allegations received, on 18 April 2004, Mr. Pourzand who is unable to walk and is supported by two prison guards, was taken to the prison’s visiting room to see his sister. A few hours later, he was transferred to the intensive care unit of Modares Hospital. In the hospital, Mr. Pourzand has been chained to his bed by his feet. He is in need of an urgent operation for his back problems, and adequate medical treatment is not being granted to him.
833. On 4 May 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression regarding Farzad Samadli, Ali Reza Farshi, Mehdi Gharadaghi, Hasan Rahimi Bayat, Sayyad Mohammadian, Rasul Samadpur, Parisa Babai (Mahni Zenganli), Gholam Reza Amani, Arkin Musavi, Fazel Musavi, Mahmud Fazli, Ebrahim Jaafarzadeh, Seid`Mughanli, Ilqar Marandli, Atila Kishizade, Eyvaz Qoshachay, Hafiz Qoshachay, Said Naimi and Reza Abbasi. According to the allegations received, they have been arrested in Tehran and held without charge. Said Naimi might be held at Rajashahr Prison, Karaj, and Farzad Samadli, Ali Reza Farshi, Mehdi Gharadaghi and Masud Yusefi might be held at Evin Prison, Tehran. The whereabouts of the 14 others are unknown. They were either called to the offices of the Intelligence Ministry, Vezarat-e Ettalaat Va Amniyat-e Keshvar, or arrested at their homes or in the streets.
834. On 9 July 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the right to health and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders regarding Akbar Mohammadi (cited in a previously transmitted communication, E/CN.4/2001/66, para. 625). According to the new allegations received, he was subjected to several mock executions during his first year of imprisonment. During this year he was also subjected to severe ill-treatment. He was handcuffed, suspended by his arms, and whipped on the soles of his feet with electric cables. His beatings resulted in the loss of 40 per cent of his hearing in his left ear. On one occasion, he was kicked down a flight of stairs and broke his pelvis. He was denied medical treatment and he has been unable to walk comfortably since. At the end of November 2003, Akbar Mohammadi was hospitalized for stomach and kidney problems, including internal bleeding, and possibly a lung infection. Although a hospital doctor recommended a hospital stay of one month, he was transferred back to Evin Prison after six days. His health is said to have deteriorated since then, as the operation he underwent at that time was unsuccessful. A medical report prepared by medical officials in Evin Prison states that he requires further medical intervention outside the confines of the hospital and a period of rehabilitation in a suitable environment.
835. Allegations were also received concerning Akbar Mohammadi’s brother, Manuchehr Mohammadi (cited in previously transmitted communications, E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.1, para. 694, and E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 819). According to the new allegations received, on 5 September 2003, when his mother visited him in Evin Prison, his face was badly bruised, he could hardly walk and he told her that he had been tortured. His sentence was extended by two years at the end of November 2003. He is currently suffering from gingivitis and chronic, severe bleeding from the gums, which is said to cause him pain when he speaks or eats. Doctors in Evin Prison are said to have recommended that he be treated outside the prison.
836. Allegations have also been received according to which their relatives have been subjected to intimidation and harassment for their efforts to seek guarantees for the rights of the two detainees. On 8 July 2003, their father, Mr. Muhammad Muhammadi, and their sister, Simin, were arrested and taken to Evin Prison. Simin was beaten in front of her father and dragged away. She was held in solitary confinement for 14 days. She was interrogated for several hours every night and asked about the activities of her sister Nasrin, who lives in Europe, and her brother Manuchehr. She was threatened with further beatings and death. While in custody, she spent five days in the prison hospital due to breathing problems. She was released on bail on 22 July 2003. When Simin was in custody, her father was told that she and he would be severely beaten if he kept asking about her whereabouts. He suffered a heart attack while kept in solitary confinement. He was then released on bail. On 28 June 2004, the family of Akbar and Manuchehr Mohammadi was threatened again with unspecified reprisals if they publicly discussed the plight of the two brothers.
837. By letter dated 12 August 2004, the Government informed that Akbar Mohammadi and Manoochechr Mohammadi are serving their prison terms, enjoying required medical care and other facilities and they go on leave on regular intervals. Concerning the relatives, there is no record of their detention.
838. On 3 August 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers regarding Mr. Mostafa Piran, a 47-year-old retired teacher, father of Mr. Peyman Piran, a member of the National Union of Iranian Students and Graduates (Anjoman-e Daneshjuyan va Daneshmukhtegan), who is in jail on charges connected with student activism. According to the allegations received, on 4 July 2004, Peyman Piran and 11 other prisoners began a hunger strike to mark the fifth anniversary of the July 1999 student-led demonstrations, known as 18 Tir. As a response, the prison guards warned Peyman Piran that his family would "pay the price" for his actions. At the same time, his family was pressured to publicly beg forgiveness for Peyman Piran and to urge him to publicly admit his "mistakes" and seek forgiveness. As they refused, they were threatened with eviction from their apartment. On 6 July 2004, Mostafa Piran and his family were forcibly evicted by a large group of security forces from their rented apartment owned by the Education Ministry. The security forces threw the family’s belonging into the street and confiscated them. They sealed off the apartment and the streets surrounding the building. During the eviction, Mostafa Piram was severely beaten in front of his family. He was first taken to an unofficial detention centre under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence and later to Evin Prison, where he is currently held. He was ill-treated during prolonged interrogation sessions. A relative who was allowed to visit him reported that he was badly bruised. He has not been allowed to see a lawyer and that he has not been informed of any charges against him.
839. On 23 August 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders, concerning Mr. Arzhang Davoodi (cited in previously transmitted communications, see above). According to recent allegations received, he has been in solitary confinement for the last two weeks. While in solitary confinement, he has not been allowed phone calls or visits from his family, and he has only been able to meet his lawyer on one occasion, on 15 August. The visit lasted five minutes. Since March 2004 he has been subjected to ill-treatment. On one occasion, he and 22 other detainees were kept in a room 24 m2 large, without air-conditioning or water. He is also believed to have been repeatedly subjected to beatings, including more than 500 blows to his left ear. Although a prison doctor made a formal request to the prison authorities that his left ear be operated on as soon as possible, the judge responsible for his case refused on grounds that in hospital, the detainee would spread the story that he was being treated for injuries caused by torture in detention. Mr. Arzhang Davoodi was due to be released in March 2004 after his family paid bail. However, he was told by the judge that the court will not hear his case and that he will not be released until he signs the confession he has been asked to sign. He has not been formally charged yet.
840. By letter dated 6 October 2004, the Government informed that he was charged with activities against the internal security of the State. He has been sentenced to imprisonment and is currently serving his prison term. He has been temporarily transferred to Rajaee-shahr Prison, but has never been in solitary confinement. He recently met with his family.
841. On 1 September 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding A. K. C., aged 17. According to the allegations received, he is at risk of imminent execution. On 27 April 2002, he was arrested and charged with murder, and sentenced to death on 19 January 2003. On 29 May 2004, his sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court. His sentence was mainly based on a confession obtained under physical and mental pressure while in police custody.
842. By letter dated 28 October 2004, the Government informed that he was charged with murder, and based on his confessions and evidence presented was sentenced to death. The verdict has been upheld by the court of appeal, however, it has been put onhold by the Head of the Judiciary pending further investigations.
843. On 8 September 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Esmail Mohammadi, aged 38, of Kurdish origin. According to the allegations received, he is at risk of imminent execution. In October 2002, he was arrested and held incommunicado for eight months in Oroumiye Prison. During this period he was subjected to various forms of torture and ill-treatment. In July 2003, he was charged with "armed struggle against the Islamic regime" and "membership of a proscribed organization" and sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Oroumiye Revolutionary Court. The confession, which was extracted under torture, was used in the court hearing. On or around 11 August 2004, Branch 32 of the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence. His family has recently been informed that he will be soon transferred from Oroumiye Prison to Perhanshar Prison.
844. On 24 September 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding Mr. Hojjat Zamani, aged 28, from the Elam region in south western Iran. According to the allegations received, he is at risk of imminent execution. Hojjat Zamani was arrested in Tehran in 2000 for terrorist-related offences. He was severely tortured while in detention and his case did not go to trial at that time. He escaped from detention around August 2003 and fled to Turkey, where he was arrested on 3 August 2003 and kept at an undisclosed location for several months. An urgent appeal was sent to the Government of Turkey ( E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 1760). Since then he was forcibly returned to Iran in November 2003.On 17 July 2004, Hojjat Zamani was tried at Branch six of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and four death sentences. He was sentenced to death following a trial that may have fallen short of international fair trial standards. Reports indicate that he is currently held in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison.
845. On 20 October 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, regarding J. I., age 13. According to the allegations received, she is at risk of imminent execution. She was raped by her 15-year-old brother and became pregnant. She was sentenced to death by lapidation in Marivan for adultery. She gave birth to her baby about two weeks ago. J. I. will not have the possibility to appeal the sentence that is said to be carried out in the coming days. Her brother was sentenced to 100 lashes. He is currently in prison in Tehran awaiting his punishment.
846. By letter dated 28 October 2004, the Government informed that they have been acquitted of adultery charges because they are minors, and the sentence of death by lapidation is categorically denied.
847. On 15 November 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders, concerning Omid Memariyan, a 30- year-old Internet journalist and civil-society activist working on the training and capacity building of Iran’s developing NGO sector. According to the allegations received, on 10 October 2004, he was arrested at his office in Tehran. He is being detained without charge at an undisclosed location, although he is believed to be held in solitary confinement, under the jurisdiction of Branch 9 of the Revolutionary Court, in the vicinity of Tehran Airport. His family has seen him just once, in a meeting of four minutes duration, which took place at Branch 9 of the Revolutionary Court. Omid Memariyan appeared extremely distressed. He has reportedly refused to exercise his right to appoint a lawyer.
848. By letter dated 20 December 2004, the Government responded that he was detained for participating in the establishment of an association against the internal security of the State, activities against the State and the dissemination of false accusations. He has been released on bail.
849. On 16 November 2004, the Special Rapporteur sent a joint urgent appeal with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights defenders, regarding Ms. Mahboobeh Abbasgholizadeh, an activist for women’s rights, editor of Farzaneh (a journal for women’s studies), and director of the NGO Training Centre. She was also the subject of a letter dated 10 November 2004 sent by the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women. According to the allegations received, on 1 November 2004, she was arrested at her home and is detained incommunicado. To date, no formal charges have been brought against her. She is being interrogated about her presentations at international meetings, including her address to the Asia Pacific Women’s Watch Beijing+10 NGO Forum in July 2004, and her contacts with international women’s rights activists.
850. By letter dated 20 December 2004, the Government informed that she was detained for her activities against the State and inspiring immoral acts in society. She has been released on bail.
Follow-up to previously transmitted communications
851. By letter dated 7 May 2004, the Government provided information concerning Ehsan Mohammadi, Ali Sayyadi, Hessam Biabani, Mohammad Khezri, Sassan Rahmani, Zahra Nazari, Mohsen Zari, Roya Kaghazi, Ali Movahhed, Sara Eghbali, Nasrin Barghi, Ali Akbari, Majid Zohouri, Nazanin Hejazi, Saba Monjeh, Asghar Rahimi, Shohreh Sanai, Saeed Akrami, Nasrin Najmi, Hassan Zeidan, Arash Keikhosravi, Behnam Amini, Medhi Pour-Rahim, Soroush Azizi, Medhi Allahyari, Kiafar Jahan, Medhi Nakhl-Ahmadi, Morteza Zavvarzadegan, Peiman Aref, Farid Salavati, Azam Bahrami, Ali Farrokhi, Tirgarnejad, Mohammad-Ali Hajari, Amin Sorous, Abolfazl Hosseinzad, Roya Hassanizad, Massoud Eidizad, Siamak Bakhshi, Reza Naderi, Moslem Faveilzadeh, Massoud Shafii, Alireza Ruygar, Soussan Khodaparast, Quassem Moghaddam, Ali Pourhamdeh, Diba Naderi, Hassan Langeh, Sirous Ashkani, Morteza Talabzad and Youness Akriali (E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 807). The Government informed that following a review of the case by the judiciary, there were no files relating to the arrest and detention of the above-named persons.
852. By letter dated 11 June 2004, the Government provided information concerning seven women (E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 834). The Government informed that four men and two women were accused of repugnant behaviour to the public. Action was taken by the Provincial Court and the accused were sentenced to lashes. As yet the sentence has not been carried out.
Observations
853. The Special Rapporteur draws attention to the statement issued on 27 July 2004
jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression and the
Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, concerning the acquittal in the
case of the alleged killing of the journalist Zahra Kazemi (E/CN.4/2004/56/Add.1, para. 806;
see also above). She was reportedly beaten and subjected to other forms of ill-treatment in
detention in Evin Prison, Tehran, and died on 20 July 2003. Many reports indicate that the
proceedings did not meet international standards of a fair trial.
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This report has been published by Equipo Nizkor and Derechos Human Rights on July 27, 2005.