Incommunicado detention of Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, three of his colleagues and his daughter

July 9, 2009

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources of the arrest and incommunicado detention of Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a lawyer and founding member of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC), as well as of three of his colleagues and his daughter.

According to the information received, on July 8, 2009, Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah was arrested together with three of his colleagues, Ms. Sara Sabaghian, Ms. Bahareh Davallou, Mr. Amir Raîsian, as well as his daughter Ms. Maliheh Dadkhah, while they were at his law firm by three persons dressed in civilian clothes without showing any arrest warrant.

The law firm was subsequently closed, and doors were sealed with lead, recalling the methods used at the moment of the closure of the DHRC in December[1].

As of issuing this urgent appeal, no information could be obtained as to their place of detention nor on the authorities which ordered the arrest.

Mr. Dadkhah is the third member of the DHRC who is presently detained, following Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani and Mr. Mohammad Reza Tajik[2].

Mr. Dadha's arrest might be related to the public intervention he did on July 7, 2009 on the occasion of an interview with the Praha-based Farda radio station, where he opposed the use of death penalty and criticised the hangings of about 20 persons between 35 and 48 years old that occurred on July 3, 2009, allegedly for drug trafficking. In the course of this interview, Mr. Dadkha asserted firmly that death penalty was not a solution against the rise in criminality in the country, and that on the contrary, it was spreading violence among society.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern about the incommunicado detention of Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Ms. Sara Sabaghian, Ms. Bahareh Davallou, Mr. Amir Raîsian and Ms. Maliheh Dadkhah, all the more as it takes place in the context of the current general crackdown on the Iranian civil society. The Observatory therefore calls upon the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release them as well as all human rights defenders presently detained in Iran, and more generally to put an end to all forms of harassment against them.

Actions requested:

Please write to the Iranian authorities and ask them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Ms. Sara Sabaghian, Ms. Bahareh Davallou, Mr. Amir Raîsian, as well as Ms. Maliheh Dadkhah and all human rights defenders in Iran;
2. Disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Ms. Sara Sabaghian, Ms. Bahareh Davallou, Mr. Amir Raîsian and Ms. Maliheh Dadkhah, and release them immediately and unconditionally since their detention is arbitrary as it seems to merely aim at sanctioning their human rights activities;
3. Put an end to acts of harassment against all human rights defenders in Iran;
4. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, and its article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;
5. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Iran.

Addresses:

• Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader, Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649 5880 / 21 774 2228, Email: info@leader.ir / istiftaa@wilayah.org / webmaster@wilayah.org
• President Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 649 5880. Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
• Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671 / +98 21 3 311 6567, Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Manouchehr Mottaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 390 1999, Email: matbuat@mfa.gov
• Permanent Mission of the 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 Franklin Roosevelt, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: iran-embassy@yahoo.com

Please also write to diplomatic representations of the Islamic Republic of Iran in your respective countries.

Geneva-Paris, July 9, 2009

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

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

The Observatory was the winner of the 1998 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
Email: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax OMCT: + 41 22 809 49 39 / 41 22 809 49 29
Tel and fax FIDH: +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 01 43 55 18 80

[1] See Observatory Press Release, December 23, 2008 and Annual Report 2009.

[2] See Observatory Urgent Appeal IRN 002 / 0609 / OBS 084, Press Release, June 22, 2009, and Urgent Appeal IRN 003 / 0709 / OBS 102.