URGENT ACTION
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE
13/109/2006
26 September 2006
Further Information on UA 181/06 (MDE 13/075/2006, 30 June 2006) Arbitrary
arrest/prisoner of conscience/ fear of torture and ill-treatment
IRAN: Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho’ini
(m), human rights defender
Sayed Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho’ini,
a former student leader, former member of the
Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Majles (Iran’s
parliament) and current Head
of the Alumni Association of Iran (Sazman-e Danesh Amukhtegan-e Iran-e Eslami
[Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat]), has reportedly been ill-treated in detention. He
is
held in Section 209 of Evin Prison, which is run by
the Ministry of
Intelligence. Amnesty International believes him to be a prisoner of
conscience, held solely on account of the peaceful exercise of his
internationally recognized right to freedom of expression and association.
According to reports, on 21 September Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho’ini
was allowed to
attend a memorial ceremony for his father, who had died 40 days before. Ali
Akbar Mousavi-Kho’ini reportedly arrived an hour late
for the ceremony at Imam
Hassan Mojtaba Mosque in the suburbs of
agents.
At the memorial ceremony it was reported that he showed visible bruising and a
wound on his head. Afterwards, he also complained of his treatment in
detention, saying, "Tell everybody that I am under pressure and they
interrogate me about five times a day." He described how he was subjected
to
various types of mental and physical torture, continuing: "I sleep with
handcuffs and shackles on my feet every night and they have deprived me of
every facility". He said that he was under pressure to write a letter of
repentance to state officials expressing regret for his past actions.
According to a report carried by ISNA (Iranian Students’ News Agency) on 22
September, Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini told his
brother, "They have made me into
mental patient …I am under pressure … four interrogators question me every
day." His wife apparently said that she had not been allowed to visit her
husband for a month and had only been permitted to speak to him by telephone
once during this period. His lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani, has not yet been
granted access to him, nor has he been able to see his file. It is not known
whether any charges have yet been brought against Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho'ini.
Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho’ini was arrested on 12 June
during a peaceful
demonstration in the capital,
discrimination against women in
but all except Ali Akbar Mousavi-Kho’ini have since
been released. He was
reportedly beaten severely during his arrest and afterwards in Evin Prison.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On 12 June the Iranian security forces forcibly broke up a peaceful
demonstration by women and men advocating an end to legal discrimination
against women in
Square in Tehran to call, among other things, for changes in the law to give a
woman's testimony in court equal value to that of a man; and for married women
to be allowed to choose their employment and to travel freely without obtaining
the prior permission of their husband.
Police officers, including a large unit of policewomen, reportedly moved in as
soon as the demonstration began and forced the protesters to disperse,
including by beating some with batons. Scores of protesters were detained; on
13 June, Minister of Justice and Spokesman for the Judiciary Jamal Karimi-Rad
stated that 42 women and 28 men had been arrested for participating in what he
alleged was an illegal demonstration. When questioned about the reports of
beatings by police, he said, "If there was any beating, it will be
reviewed".