Arbitrary arrest of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani

New information

IRN 005 / 0711 / OBS 098.1

Arbitrary arrest / Judicial harassment / Illegal search

Iran

September 12, 2011

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights(FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received newinformation and requests your urgent intervention in the following situation inIran.

Newinformation:

The Observatory has been informed by the Iranian League forthe Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI)of the arbitrary arrest of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, a lawyer and founding member of the Defenders of HumanRights Centre (DHRC).

According to the information received, on September 10, 2011,Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani was arrested outside the Islamic Revolution Court bypolice officers who were holding an arrest warrant. In the afternoon, his houseand offices were also searched by four agents without warrant and who took CDs, papers,documents and his children's laptop.

At the time of publication of this Urgent Appeal, Mr.Abdolfattah Soltani was still being held in solitary confinement at the Ministry ofIntelligence’s Section 209 inside Evin prison, but his lawyer had not beeninformed of the charges against him.

The Observatory stronglycondemns the arrest of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani and denounces this new act ofharassment and intimidation against founding members of DHRC, which seem to merely aim at sanctioning theirpeaceful and legitimate human rights activities.

Backgroundinformation:

In 2008, the DHRC, established by five lawyers includingthe 2003 Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi was closed down. Moreover, on August 1, 2009, theVice-Prosecutor of Tehran publicly accused Ms. Shirin Ebadi and DHRC of havingestablished relations with foreign forces to organise a “velvet revolution” inIran. To date, the DHRC offices remain closed. Since then, a wave of arrestsand harassment has been launched against human rights lawyers and in particularagainst the founders of the DHRC.

On June 16, 2009, Mr. AbdolfattahSoltani was arrested by four plain-clothes officers. His whereabouts remainedunknown until July 7, 2009, when he was located in section 209 of Evin prison.On August 26, 2009, he was released on payment of a USD 100,000 bail, following70 days of arbitrary detention, including 17 days in solitary confinement.However, since then, he remained accused of “having acted against nationalsecurity” and has not yet faced trial. Furthermore, on October 2, 2009, hispassport was seized by the authorities in order to prevent him from leavingIran for Germany to receive the Nuremberg International Human Rights Award.

Furthermore, on July 5, 2011, Ms.Massumeh Dehghan, Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani's wife, was summoned and detained bythe Islamic Revolution Court branch in Evin prison. Mr. Soltani, who is alsoher lawyer, was not allowed to accompany her before the court. No otherinformation was provided about the existence of charges or the reason of thedetention. On July 10, 2011, Ms. Massumeh Dehghan was released on bail.

On July 8, 2009, Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, alsoa lawyer and founding member of theDHRC. was arrested together with three of hiscolleagues as well as his daughter, by three plain-clothes persons, without anywarrant. His law firm was subsequently closed and doors were sealed with lead.Mr. Dadkhah, who was accused of “keeping weapons, opium as well as documents”evidencing links with foreign “enemies”, was released on a bail of around 700,000US dollars on September 13, 2009. On July 3, 2011, he was informed that he hadbeen sentenced to nine years in prison and a 10-year ban on practising law orteaching at university, on charges of alleged “actions and propaganda againstthe Islamic regime”, pursuant to Article 698 of the Islamic Criminal Code, inrelation to the foundation of DHRC and being its spokesperson; as well as hisrepresentation in a case against Isfahan’s Metro for endangering nationalheritage monuments. The trial was held on May 21, 2011 and related to acriminal case initiated in 2009. Mr. Dadkhah has 20 days to lodge an appealagainst the sentence. As of issuing this Urgent Appeal he remained free onbail.

In addition, Mr. Mohammad Seifzadeh,also a founder of DHRC, was sentenced on October 29, 2010 to nine yearsimprisonment and to a ten years ban to practice as lawyer by Branch 15 of theRevolutionary Court, on charges of “acting against national security” throughfounding the DHRC, and “propaganda against the regime” through interviews withforeign media. He is detained since April 11, 2011 and has appealed hissentence. In June 2011, Mr. Seifzadeh’s family was told that the appeal courthad reduced his prison sentence to two years.

Actionsrequested:

Please write to the Iranian authorities and ask them to:

i. Guarantee in allcircumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani as well as other DHRC members, including Messrs. MohammadAli Dadkhah and MohammadSeifzadeh and Ms. Shirin Ebadi and their families, as well as all human rightsdefenders and their families in Iran;

ii. Put an end to anykind of harassment – including at the judicial level – against Mr. AbdolfattahSoltani and their families, and more generally against all human rights defendersin Iran.

iii. Conform in anycircumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders,adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, inparticular:

- its article 1,which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association withothers, to promote the protection and realization of human rights andfundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;

- its article 5.b,which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, atthe national and international levels, (…) to form, join and participate innon-governmental organizations, associations or groups”;

- its article 12.2which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure theprotection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and inassociation with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adversediscrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of hisor her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the presentDeclaration”;

iv. Ensure in allcircumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordancewith international human rights standards and international instrumentsratified by Iran.

Addresses:

· Leader of the Islamic Republic, His ExcellencyAyatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader, ShahidKeshvardoost St., Jomhuri Eslami Ave., Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran,E-Mail: info_leader@leader.ir, Faxes: + 98 21 649, + 98 21 649 / 21 774 2228, info_leader@leader.ir

· President Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency,Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran,Fax: + 98 21 649 5880.

· Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah SadeqLarijani, Ministry of Justice, c/o Public relations Office, Number 4, 2 AziziStreet, Vali Asr Ave., above Pasteur Street intersection, Tehran, IslamicRepublic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671 / +98 21 3 311 6567, Email: bia.judi@yahoo.com / info@dadgostary-tehran.ir

· Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of ForeignAffairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran,Fax: +98-21-66743149

· Permanent Mission ofthe Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva,Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, Email: mission.iran@ties.itu.int

· Embassy of Iran in Brussels, 15 a avenue FranklinRoosevelt, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: iran-embassy@yahoo.com

Please also write to the diplomatic representations of Iranin your respective countries.

***

Geneva-Paris, September 12, 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the codeof this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, an FIDH and OMCTventure, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims tooffer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call theemergency line:

• E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org

· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 2518 / +33 1 43 55 18 80

• Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29