3 Jul 2010 | Uncategorized
This week an Iranian military court convicted a number of officers accused of torturing and killing three men detained during the protests that followed last year’s controversial presidential election. The officers were accused of murdering Amir Javadifar, Mohsen Roohol-amini, and Mohammad Kamrani. Ramin Aghazadeh also died as a result of injuries he sustained in the detention centre, located south of Tehran. However, the Iranian authorities denied they were responsible for his death.
The prison was closed on the order of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after details of torture, rapes and murders leaked into the public domain. At the time officials denied allegations of abuse and the only reason given for closing Kahrizak was “non-standard” conditions.
Now one year on, a military court in Tehran has issued verdicts on 12 officers who were accused of beating prisoners to death. Two of them were sentenced to death and nine other officials were sentenced to jail. Those found guilty will be lashed and forced to pay blood money fines. One man was acquitted. The verdicts are designated “not final” and can be reconsidered in the court of appeal.
So do the sentences satisfy the victim’s family and the opposition movement? Certainly not. They have a number of questions about the trial.
First, why were the trials held in secret? Was it to ensure the victim’s family and reporters could not take part? Second, why were the soldiers’ names and ranks not mentioned in the verdicts? Third, what about the commanders who gave the orders?
A special committee of parliament has already declared that former Tehran prosecution attorney Saeed Mortazavi was in charge of moving these prisoners to Kahrizak. However, nothing was mentioned about him or the chief of police during the trial. As details of the charges against the officers are not known, it is still not clear what happened there, and why.
Opposition websites call it a “dummy trial” with “unreal convicted officers”; they regard it as an attempt to placate the anger of society. Other activists and journalists say: ignore the crimes the officers committed, if we oppose the death penalty we must oppose their execution. They are tagging their blogs and Facebook pages: “Say no to the execution of Kahrizak criminals!”
Those who oppose execution refer to Parvin Fahim. Her 19-year-old son, Sohrab Arabi, was killed in last year’s demonstrations; yet she says she does not want her son’s murderers to hang. She doesn’t want scapegoats. She wants justice and for the senior officers responsible for her son’s death to be exposed.
Not all the other families agree. Ali Kamrani, father of Mohammad Kamrani, wants to see the execution of his son’s killers. He does not want blood money as he says it cannot bring his son back..
So this trial has opened up a much wider debate than expected. Fighting to stop executions in Iran is one of the big challenges for the opposition now. Maybe it’s time to stand firm against the death penalty even if this time the rope is around our enemy’s neck!
Maral Mehryari is a freelance journalist living in Iran, writing under pseudonym
3 Jul 2010 | News and features
Shaheda Yesmin, the wife of Shamsher M. Chowdhury appeals for help from the United Nations. Chowdhury, a UN commissioner and the country’s former Foreign Secretary has been arrested on arson charges that his family say are politically motivated
Kingston Rhodes
Chairman
United Nations, International Civil Service Commission
New York
Dear Chairman
On the morning of 27th June 2010 my husband Shamsher M. Chowdhury, who has been a commissioner of the ICSC since 2005, was suddenly arrested by the government of Bangladesh on false and concocted charges. He was taken to prison and after appearing in court on 30th June, was released on bail. As he was preparing to return home, another totally false and concocted case has been lodged against him today, 1st July 2010, and he has been detained in prison again.
Mr. Rhodes, the whole episode is part of a campaign of political persecution against my husband. For the last one year, the government of Bangladesh has been trying to get Shamsher M. Chowdhury’s membership of ICSC cancelled on one pretext or another. Since he was elected by the General Assembly and by name, technically the government can’t do anything about it.
Hence, it has started to politically persuade him and try to bar him from attending the 71st session of the ICSC which will be held in New York on 26th July. He is expected to arrive New York on 21st July, for which the UN has already issued him his air ticket. He has also booked his accommodation in a hotel in New York for this purpose.
It is also very likely that the government of Bangladesh will try to discredit him and force the UN to discontinue his membership of the ICSC. Mr. Chairman, the matter is indeed very serious. Not only is my husband being physically and mentally tortured, all attempts are being made to disgrace and discredit him for no fault of his own.
Mr. Chairman, Shamsher M. Chowdhury has the rank and status of an Under Secretary General of the United Nations being a commissioner of the UN ICSC. I therefore appeal to you that the Secretary General of the United Nations should immediately, I repeat, immediately intervene with the government at the highest level (Prime Minister) and ask for the release of Mr. Shamsher M. Chowdhury. Such an intervention is fully justified as Mr. Chowdhury is currently working for the United Nations in an elected capacity. In his appeal to the government of Bangladesh, Secretary General should also strongly mention that Mr. Shamsher M. Chowdhury has a major physical handicap and his continued incarceration under extreme hard and inhuman conditions which tamp amount to physical torture and causing hardship to a handicapped individual.
Mr. Chairman, given the seriousness of the matter, I seek your immediate necessary action so that the secretary general can intervene to not only end this persecution of an UN official but also put an end to this torture of a physically handicapped person immediately.
I am eagerly looking forward to hearing from you on this.
Yours Sincerely
Shaheda Yesmin
Wife of Shamsher M. Chowdhury
Commisioner UN ICSC
25 Jun 2010 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Lawyer and human rights activist Muhannad al-Hassani was sentenced to three years in prison by the Damascus Criminal Court on Wednesday 23 June. Having publicly called for the immediate release of political prisoners and condemned their unfair trials, al-Hassani was convicted of “weakening national sentiment” and “conveying within Syria false news that could debilitate the morale of the nation”. In May 2010, al-Hassani was the winner of the prestigious Martin Ennals Award in recognition of his human rights work. An appeal is being considered.
16 Jun 2010 | Events
The Idea of Human Rights and Foreign Policy
15 June
6.00pm
Free (registration required)
Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre, University College London
UCL Institute for Human Rights and King’s College London present a selection of leading legal and political academics to discuss the nature and function of human rights. The panel will discuss their own attitudes towards human rights before taking questions from the audience.
Speakers Include:
Dr Katrin Flikschuh (LSE);
Professor Henry Shue (Oxford University);
Professor Charles Beitz (Princeton University)
Professor Joseph Raz (Oxford University & Columbia University)
Professor David Held (LSE)
Professor John Tasioulas (Oxford University)
More details at http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/humanRights/events/ideaOfHumanRights.htm
