Iran
06.10.04
Urgent Interventions
Iran: Restrictions on Freedom of Movement
URGENT APPEAL - THE OBSERVATORY
IRN 001/1004/OBS 075
Restrictions on Freedom of Movement
Iran
October 6, 2004
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), has received information concerning the following situation in Iran and requests your urgent intervention.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by Penal Reform International and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) that Mr. Emadeddin Baghi, a well-known human rights defender, has been prevented to leave Tehran on October 4, 2004. In addition, his passport has been confiscated, which makes it impossible for him to leave the country.
Mr. Emadeddin Baghi was supposed to leave Tehran by flight in order to participate in the Second World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised by Penal Reform International and Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (Together Against the Death Penalty) in Montreal, Canada, from 6 to 9 October, 2004.
Mr. Emadeddin Baghi is the President of the Society for defending Prisoners' Rights, an NGO created in 2003 in order to defend the rights of detainees in Iran. Mr. Baghi was also the editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper, Jomhouriyat (Republic), closed in September 2004, in which he regularly published articles on human rights issues. Mr. Baghi already spent three years in prison - from 2000 to 2003 - in reason of his articles on human rights and against the death penalty.
The Observatory recalls that the restriction on Mr Baghi's freedom of movement is a violation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN general Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular of its article 5, which states that “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at national and international levels : (a) to meet or assemble peacefully (...) and (c) to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organisations”.
It also violates article 6 of the UN Declaration, regarding the right “to know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms” (...), “to freely publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms” and “to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Iran urging them to:
i. allow Mr. Baghi's participation in the World Congress against the death penalty and give him back his passport immediately;
ii. end all forms of harassment and restrictions on human rights defenders in Iran, and guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders and organisations are able to carry out their work, including through participation in international human rights events;
iii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN general Assembly on December 9, 1998 in particular article 1, which provides that "every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international level", and articles 5 and 6
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Iran.
Addresses :
Paris - Geneva, October 6, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an 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:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax: OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch
IRN 001/1004/OBS 075
Restrictions on Freedom of Movement
Iran
October 6, 2004
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), has received information concerning the following situation in Iran and requests your urgent intervention.
Description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by Penal Reform International and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) that Mr. Emadeddin Baghi, a well-known human rights defender, has been prevented to leave Tehran on October 4, 2004. In addition, his passport has been confiscated, which makes it impossible for him to leave the country.
Mr. Emadeddin Baghi was supposed to leave Tehran by flight in order to participate in the Second World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organised by Penal Reform International and Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (Together Against the Death Penalty) in Montreal, Canada, from 6 to 9 October, 2004.
Mr. Emadeddin Baghi is the President of the Society for defending Prisoners' Rights, an NGO created in 2003 in order to defend the rights of detainees in Iran. Mr. Baghi was also the editor-in-chief of a daily newspaper, Jomhouriyat (Republic), closed in September 2004, in which he regularly published articles on human rights issues. Mr. Baghi already spent three years in prison - from 2000 to 2003 - in reason of his articles on human rights and against the death penalty.
The Observatory recalls that the restriction on Mr Baghi's freedom of movement is a violation of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN general Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular of its article 5, which states that “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at national and international levels : (a) to meet or assemble peacefully (...) and (c) to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organisations”.
It also violates article 6 of the UN Declaration, regarding the right “to know, seek, obtain, receive and hold information about all human rights and fundamental freedoms” (...), “to freely publish, impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms” and “to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Iran urging them to:
i. allow Mr. Baghi's participation in the World Congress against the death penalty and give him back his passport immediately;
ii. end all forms of harassment and restrictions on human rights defenders in Iran, and guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders and organisations are able to carry out their work, including through participation in international human rights events;
iii. ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the UN general Assembly on December 9, 1998 in particular article 1, which provides that "every person has the right, individually or collectively, to promote the protection and fulfilment of human rights and fundamental liberties at the national and international level", and articles 5 and 6
iv. guarantee the respect of human rights in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and other international human rights instruments ratified by Iran.
Addresses :
- Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649 5880 / 21 774 2228 (ask fax to be forwarded to Ayatollah Khamenei), Email: webmaster@wilayah.org; (on the subject line write: For the attention of the office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei, Qom
- President, His Excellency Hojjatoleslam val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad Khatami, The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 649 588, E-mail: khatami@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, Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Kamal Kharrazi, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 390 1999 (number may be unreliable; please mark "care of the Human Rights Department, Foreign Ministry), Email: matbuat@mfa.gov
- Ambassador Mohammad Reza Alborzi, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, E-mail: mission.iran@ties.itu.int
Paris - Geneva, October 6, 2004
Kindly inform the Observatory of any action undertaken quoting the code number of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory, an 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:
Tel and fax: FIDH : +33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax: OMCT : + 41 22 809 49 39 / 809 49 29
E-mail : observatoire@iprolink.ch