Ongoing deterioration of the health, while in detention, of Mr. Mahmoud Salehi

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and the =International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), has received new
information on the following situation in Iran and requests your urgent intervention:

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) about the serious deterioration of the health, while in detention, of Mr. Mahmoud Salehi, spokesperson for the Organisation Committee to Establish Trade Unions and former president of the Saqez Bakery Workers' Union, in Iran's Kurdistan Province, and whose medical condition is now considered life-threatening.

According to the information received, on December 11, 2007, Mr. Mahmoud Salehi was admitted to Tohid Hospital in the city of Sanandaj, unconscious, after having collapsed repeatedly in prison between December 4 and 10, 2007. Since, and despite his critical health condition, Mr. Salehi was brought back to jail. The Observatory recalls that Mr. Salehi, who has been detained since =April 9, 2007, is seriously ill, as he suffers from a kidney stone in his one remaining kidney and needs dialysis treatment, treatment not available to him in prison. In addition, he has recently developed heart and intestinal problems and his condition has become life-threatening. =Most recently, it was reported that he has grave intestinal oedema or swelling that may be connected with his renal disease. Following his admission to hospital he received a brain scan, which revealed that blood vessels in his brain have been damaged.

Since his arrest, Mr. Salehi's family and lawyer have been trying to either secure his temporary release on medical grounds or to transfer him to Saqez prison so that his specialist physician would be able to see him, in accordance with Rule 22(2) of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which stipulates that sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialised institutions or to civil hospitals. The specialist physician's opinion, that Mr. Salehi cannot be treated in prison, was already hand-delivered to the Sanandaj prison authorities on May 31, 2007. Nevertheless, Mr. Salehi is still denied the assistance that he needs: on June 17, 2007, after being examined, under heavy security, in the Tohid Hospital in Sanandaj, he was sent back to prison. More appalling is the denial of Mr. Salehi's right to see his lawyer and his right to family visits : his wife and relatives can only contact him by telephone.

The Observatory expresses its deep concern about the fact that Mr. Mahmoud Salehi remains being kept in harsh prison conditions despite his very poor health and fears that his life might be at severe risk.

Background information:

Mr. Mahmoud Salehi has already spent more than five years in prison since the mid 1980's due to his union activities. He has been previously detained in 1986, 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2001.

Following the sentencing of Mr. Mahmoud Salehi, in 2005, along with Mr. Jalal Hosseini, a member of the Saqez Bakery Workers' Union, Mr. Mohsen Hakimi, a member of the Iranian Writers' Association, and Mr. Borhan Divangar and Mr. Mohammad Abdipoor, all members of the Saqez Bakery Workers' Union, authorities began lengthy and unfair judicial proceedings against them in 2006. After the Appeal Court of the Kurdistan province annulled the judgements, the Saqez Revolutionary Court sentenced them again for "meeting and conspiring against national security" following their involvement in the organisation of the May 1,
2004 celebration in Saqez. Only Mr. Mohammad Abdipoor was acquitted.

On March 11, 2007, Messrs. Mahmoud Salehi, Jalal Hosseini and Mohsen Hakimi faced their final appeal trial before Division 7 of the Kurdistan Province Court of Appeals. After some delay, their lawyer was =told that the Presiding Judge of Division 7 was on leave. One hour later, they were informed that the hearing was going to take place after all. The hearing took place at 10:45 a.m., with Judge Sadeghi in the
chair. At the time of the initial arrest of the Saqez Seven, in May 2004, Mr. Sadeghi was the prosecutor of the City of Saqez and had therefore personally signed the arrest warrants against the trade union leaders. In the second trial, held in the Saqez Revolutionary Court in October 2006, he was the Chief of the Justice Department in the city of Saqez.

While no official verdict was given at the time of the final trial on March 11, 2007 (neither the lawyer nor the defendants were notified of the trial's outcome), Mr. Salehi was visited on April 9, 2007 by a commanding officer in the Saqez security force at the Bakery Workers Association's solidarity office. The official required that Mr. Salehi appear at the office of the Prosecutor to discuss issues related to this year's May Day celebration with the Governor and Prosecutor of the City of Saqez.

Once in the Prosecutor's Office, however, Mr. Salehi was informed that the Kurdistan Court of Appeals had reached a final verdict in his case and had sentenced him to one year imprisonment and a further suspended sentence of three years. He was arrested on the spot and denied the right to inform his lawyer or relatives. Mr. Salehi then protested his sentence and arrest and refused to sign the verdict. After the authorities were warned by Mr. Salehi's colleagues and relatives that the citizens of Saqez would be called to protest, he was allowed to talk on the phone with his family. He was then transferred to the Central Prison of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan Province, and 400 kilometres from Saqez where his family resides.

Furthermore, on April 16, 2007, security forces violently disbanded a rally in support of Mr. Salehi's release held by dozens of workers and labour activists in front of Mr. Mahmoud Salehi's workplace, namely the Saqez Workers Consumer Cooperative of Saqez. Uniformed and plainclothes security officers reportedly attacked the workers with batons and gas sprays; several workers were reportedly injured. Besides, Messrs. Jalal Hosseini and Mohammad Abdipour were summoned to the Prosecutor's office to prevent them from attending the gathering. Mr. Abdipour was kept in detention at the Prosecutor's office until the end of the event while Mr. Hosseini was warned that he could not attend the rally under any circumstances owing to his sentence. It was also reported that Mr. Mahmoud Salehi's 17 years old son was arrested during the rally. The Cooperative's offices were closed down by the security forces.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities in Iran urging them to:

1. Guarantee in all circumstances the physical and =psychological integrity of Mr. Mahmoud Salehi, and in particular ensure that he be granted all necessary medical treatment, if necessary in =specialist medical facilities outside the prison where he is held;
2. Guarantee his right to receive visits and communicate with his lawyers and relatives;
3. Release Mr. Mahmoud Salehi immediately and unconditionally as his detention is arbitrary;
4. Put an end to all acts of harassment against all Iranian human rights defenders;
5. Conform with the provisions of the UN Declaration =on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on December 9, 1998, especially its Article 1, which states that "everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels", and 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";
6. More generally, ensure in all circumstances the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with international and regional human rights 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, His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98.21.649.5880, E-mail: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir;
• Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Mr. 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 Mr. Manuchehr Motaki, 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;=20 f.. Ambassador Mr. Ahani, Embassy of Iran in Brussels, avenue Franklin Roosevelt, 15 A. 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: =iran-embassy@yahoo.com.

Please also write to the diplomatic mission or embassy of Iran in your

respective country.

***

Geneva - Paris, December 21, 2007

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:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 20 11 / +33 1 43 55 18 80=20
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29

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