Release the Imprisoned Human Rights Activists

HRANA News Agency – Five Iranian Human Rights Organizations have released a statement demanding the freedom for imprisoned Human Rights Activists in Iran.

The full text of this statement is as follows:

Despite the on-going announcements of the authorities of Islamic Republic of Iran and their representatives in the United Nations Human Rights Council who claim to provide freedom of expression for different ideas and women and to have an inclusive government, many of Iranians are imprisoned only because of expressing their ideas.

Despite what the authorities say, there is a wide range of repression against the civilians having different ideas.

The systematic and increasing repression against the Human Rights Activists in Iran is a part of this behavior. Since 2009 and along with the demonstrations against the presidential elections’ results a wide wave of repression against the Human Rights Activists began and on March 2, 2010 the organized and systematic repression against these activists reached to its highest point. 5 years ago on this day, at least 48 Human Rights Activists were arrested all over Iran. The detainees were put on unfair and closed trials, charged with cliché allegations. The outcome of these trials was tens of years of imprisonment for Human Rights Defenders many of whom including Mr. Seyed Mehdi Khodai, Mr. Nasur Naghipour, Mr. Navid Khanjani, Mr. Iqan Shahidi and Mr. Mohammad Hassan Yousefpour Seyfi are still imprisoned.

The organizations which publish this statement would like to remind the repression on their colleagues inside Iran and especially the arrests of March 2, 2010 which is a symbol of the suffering of these activists and believe that not only these activities has no worth for the Iranian authorities but also by violating the “Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms” and precisely article 12-2 of it which states 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.” are threatening and repressing the Human Rights Activists in a systematic way. Iran could be considered as one of the unsafe and dangerous areas for the Human Rights Defenders who try to bring about the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” which would be the guaranty of freedom and equal rights for everybody.

We demand the immediate freedom of all detainees who were arrested on March 2, 2010 as well as imprisoned lawyers such as Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani, Mr. Mohammad Seyfzadeh, Mr. Hamid Moradi, Mr. Farshid Yadollahi, Mr. Amir Eslami, Mr. Omid Behrouzi, Mr. Afshin Karampour, Mr. Reza Entesari, Mr. Mostafa Daneshju and Mr. Mohammad Sadigh Kaboudvand, head of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization.

We express our deepest concern about the repression on Human Rights Defenders in Iran and draw the attention of the International Community, International Organizations and Mr. Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran to this issue and call on the United Nations Human Rights Council to address the difficulties that Human Rights Activists face in Iran, specifically harassment and arbitrary arrests as a priority and urge the Iranian authorities by all means to end this behavior and release the imprisoned Human Rights Defenders and extend the mandate of United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran.

Human Rights Activists in Iran

The Baluch Activists Campaign

The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation

Human Rights in Iran

Arseh Sevom

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