Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) wishes to forward an appeal from the Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network about the violent abduction and illegal detention of their ailing colleague, human rights lawyer Shadi Sadr. Please join them in calling for her release and for her access to immediate medical treatment.
For more information please visit: www.wluml.org
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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Iran: Women human rights defender, Shadi Sadr, beaten and arrested
The Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) international solidarity network is deeply concerned by the violent abduction and detention without charge of human rights lawyer, Ms. Shadi Sadr, by state agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We call on the Iranian authorities to release Shadi Sadr immediately and unconditionally, as she is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her human rights activities and the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression. We also urge the authorities to ensure that Shadi Sadr and all other detainees are protected from all forms of torture or other ill-treatment.
On Friday 17 July 2009, at around 11:30 a.m., our colleague Shadi Sadr was abducted by a group of officers in civilian clothes while she was walking on Keshavarz Boulevard, Tehran, to a mosque for Friday prayers. According to an eye-witness account, her friends tried to pull her away from her abductors but were unable to do so; Ms. Sadr was ‘hit badly and dragged so badly that her scarf and manteau (overcoat) was removed from her’. She was then forced into a car and taken away. Her abductors did not show any identity cards, warrants, or a reason for her apprehension. This abduction was a targeted act, unlike other arrests of peaceful women human rights defenders in Iran such as at demonstrations.
Ms. Sadr is a human rights lawyer who especially defends the rights of women in Iran. She is also a Council member of WLUML, as well as part of the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign and Meydaan (http://meydaan.com/english).
Ms. Sadrs spouse Mr. Hossein Niachian sent word that an hour before her detention, officers had presented themselves at their house, introduced themselves as security forces, then searched their home, taking away some papers, documents, and two computer cases that had belonged to him and their ten-year-old daughter. The inspection took several hours, as they ransacked the house in the presence of the child.
Niachian said that Shadi suffers from a serious glandular and bone illness which leaves her in intense and debilitating pain and for which she requires specific medication. She was booked in for surgery for the condition this week. We are especially concerned for her health and well-being, and that she is receiving access to her prescribed medications.
Security Guards called Ms. Sadrs family on Sunday 19 July asking them to provide bail. Niachian asked the guards what would be acceptable for bail and they told him to bring ID card and salary documents. However, after waiting outside Evin Prison for five hours, the family returned home without her.
As Iran has committed itself to upholding human rights, evidenced by its candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006, a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and claims to be dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, we ask that the Iranian authorities fulfill their obligation and immediately release Ms. Sadr who has been detained without any charge, presumably for her non-violent advocacy for the human rights of women. We respectfully ask that her serious health condition be taken into consideration and that she be given access to medical treatment as a matter of urgency.
An eyewitness account of the abduction is available here: http://meydaan.org/english/showarticle.aspx?arid=848
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
We call upon the women’s rights community and all human rights activists and organizations to speak out in defense of Shadi Sadr and all those who are being unjustly persecuted in Iran for their non-violent dissent. You can write in Persian, English, or your own language.
Please write to local and international media, mobilize your networks, and urge your policy makers and embassies as well as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to take action to protect the basic human rights of all those who are being abused and arrested in Iran.
Your letter can:
* call on the authorities to release Shadi Sadr immediately and unconditionally, as she is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her human rights activities and the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom of expression;
* stress that Ms. Sadr’s arrest was of a targeted and violent nature, and that no warrant, reason for arrest, or officer identification were provided at the time;
* urge them to disclose her whereabouts immediately, and ensure that she is allowed immediate access to her family, lawyer of her choice and any medical treatment she may require, especially as she has a reported pre-existing medical condition;
* urge the authorities to ensure that Shadi Sadr and all other detainees are protected from all forms of torture or other ill-treatment;
* call on the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Iran.
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General
760 United Nations Plaza
United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Web contact: www.un.org/en/contactus/contactform.asp
Ms. Navanethem Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email: infodesk@ohchr.org
Tel: +41-22-917-90-00
Fax: +41-22-917-9008 or +1-212-963-4097
Ms. Margaret Sekaggya
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org.
(The text of the e-mail should refer to the human rights defenders mandate.)
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Telephone: +41 22 917 1234.
(This is the number for the United Nations telephone operator in Geneva, Switzerland. Callers should ask to speak with staff at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights dealing with the special procedures of the Human Rights, and specifically with staff supporting the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders. Please see here for further details about filing complaints to the Special Rapporteur: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/complaints.htm)
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
c/o. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland
Fax: +41-22-917-90-06
See model questionnaire here: http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs26.htm#A5
The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
Fax: + 41 22 917 9006
E-mail: urgent-action@ohchr.org
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street,
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via website: http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter (English), http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: shahroudi@dadgostary-tehran.ir (This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it: In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Iranian Bar Association
No. 3, Zagros St.,
Argentina Sq.,
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 8771340 or +98 21 888 6425/ 26
Email: tamas@iranbar.org (This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or mail@iranbar.org)
And the Iranian embassy in your country (NB: recommend telephoning and faxing before letter-writing)
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia
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