URGENT ACTION
PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/117/2006
10 October 2006
Further Information on UA 263/06 (MDE 13/115/2006, 2 October 2006)
Incommunicado detention/ Possible prisoners of conscience
IRAN Fereshteh Dibaj (f)
aged 28 ] Husband and wife
Reza Montazemi (m) aged 35 ]
Fereshteh Dibaj and her
husband Reza Montazemi, who are both Christians, were
released on bail on 5 October. They had been held since 26 September at the
office of the Ministry of Intelligence in the city of
According to reports, Reza Montazemi was allowed to
telephone his mother for
two minutes on 29 September, and his wife, Fereshteh,
was able to call her
relatives on 3 October. At 8am on 5 October, Reza Montazemi’s
elderly parents
were summoned to the
240 million Iranian Rials (US $25,000) bail on behalf
of their son and his
wife. In order to raise this money, Reza Montazemi's
parents had to hand over
to the court the title deed for a property. Within hours of the payment,
Fereshteh Dibaj and Reza Montazemi were released by police officials and
allowed to return home. However, the charges against them have not been made
public and they could be rearrested at any time.
Two days prior to Fereshteh Dibaj
and Reza Montazemi’s release, as Reza
Montazemi’s mother is the owner of the couple’s home,
Reza Montazemi’s parents
were reportedly ordered to sign a document, promising that no more Christian
meetings for worship, prayer or Bible study would be held there. It is not
known whether Fereshteh Dibaj
and Reza Montazemi were required to sign such a
document as a condition for their release.
According to Fereshteh Dibaj’s
brother, who spoke to the couple by telephone
following their release, the couple were not ill-treated while in custody.
Fereshteh Dibaj is the
daughter of Reverend Mehdi Dibaj, a Christian priest
in
been arrested in 1984, and December 1993 he was sentenced to death for apostasy
on account of his conversion to Christianity some 45 years previously.
Although he was released after international pressure, including from Amnesty
International, the charges against him were reportedly not dropped. He
disappeared on 24 June 1994, and was found dead on 5 July.
Reza Montazemi reportedly converted to Christianity
when he was in his
twenties. He and his wife reportedly lead an independent house church in
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Although Christianity is a recognized religion in
some of whom have converted from Islam, often face harassment by the
authorities. Converts from Islam can risk arrest, attack or the death penalty.
Conversion from Islam (apostasy) is forbidden under Islamic Law, which requires
apostates to be put to death if they refuse to reconvert to Islam. There is no
specific provision in the Iranian Penal Code for apostasy, but judges are
required to use their knowledge of Islamic Law to rule on cases where no
specific legislation exists in the Penal Code.
Article 23 of the Iranian Constitution states: "The investigation of
individuals' beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task
simply for holding a certain belief." Article 18 (1) of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which
states: "Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience
and
religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or
belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with
others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship,
observance, practice and teaching."
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10 October 2006 |