Report on the Status of Women Human Rights Defenders — April 2009

As the Islamic Republic of Iran celebrates its thirtieth anniversary, human rights abuses are on the rise. Women’s rights activists advocating for legal reforms and the protection of women’s rights have been increasingly targeted. Since our last report, the most prominent human rights defender, Shirin Ebadi, has come under fire; a prison sentence of a woman’s rights activist has been implemented for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran; and other women’s rights activists have been targeted, harassed, arrested, summoned, tried and barred from travel. The following report covers the pressures on women human rights defenders since June 2008.

Students Beaten and Prevented from Entering Noushirvan University in Babol

(14 April 2009) Twenty students at Noushirvan University in Babol were prevented from entering the campus, insulted, and beaten by the University Guards and plainclothes security officers who met them in front of the campus on 13 April 2009, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said.

Students at Noushirvan University started an unlimited sit in on 11 April 2009, after they were threatened by university authorities in response to their legitimate requests.

International Organizations Call on Iran to End Persecution and Prosecution of Women’s Rights Activists

In a letter to President Ahmadinejad the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, together with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, called on Iran to release Alieh Eghdamdoust and stop its increasing persecution and prosecution of women human rights defenders.

We, the undersigned members of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition, submit this statement to express our deepest concerns…

Arbitrary Detention of Trade Unionists Continues

(9 April 2009) The month-long detention and solitary confinement of Ali Nejati, President of the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Union, is without legal justification, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. Nejati’s whereabouts were finally revealed after his wife visited him at the Intelligence Detention Center in Ahwaz on 6 April 2009. She was allowed to see him for only a few minutes.

Ali Nejati was arrested by Intelligence officials at his home on 8 March 2009. His lawyer, Mohammad Olyaeifard, informed the Campaign that he only learned of his client’s case and whereabouts on 6 April.

UPDATE: Khadijeh Moghadam Released after Fourteen Days of Detention

(8 April 2009) Prominent women’s rights activist Khadijeh Moghadam, who has been in detention since 26 March 2009, was released from Tehran’s Evin Prison on bail at 8:15 pm, local time.

Moghadam and eleven other members of Mothers for Peace and the One Million Signatures Campaign were detained on 26 March 2009 as they sat in their cars at a street corner in Tehran. They were planning to make New Year visits to families of prisoners of conscience. Ten activists were released on bail on 29 March, but Moghadam and Mahboubeh Karami were kept in prison without any explanation.

Women’s Rights Activists Remain in Prison without Justification

(6 April 2009) Two women’s rights activists, imprisoned since 26 March 2009 after being arrested on the street as they embarked on making New Year visits, are being held without any legal justification and despite promises by judicial officials that they will be released.

Khadijeh Moghadam and Mahboubeh Karami are held in Tehran’s Evin Prison without having been arraigned. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called on the Judiciary head, Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, to order their immediate release and put an end to illegal actions by his subordinates.

Students Held in Incommunicado Detention Are At Risk of Torture

(4 April 2009) The Iranian government should immediately and unconditionally release all detained students the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. The students are being held in incommunicado detention in Tehran, Rejaee Shahr and Isfahan. The Campaign is seriously concerned for their safety and high risk of torture.

On 23 February 2009, the Amir Kabir University campus was violently attacked by government forces. Students were protesting the burial of “unknown martyrs” on their campus. The next day, 24 February, security agents attacked the homes of four students, Ahmad Ghasaban, Nariman Mostafavi, Mehdi Mashayekhi and Abbas Hakimzadeh.

Release Members of Al-Yasin Society

(1 April 2009) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called on the Iranian Judiciary to immediately release five members of the Al-Yasin Society who have been detained without explanation or justification during the past few months.

The detainees are Peyman Fatahi, Nazi Hesami, Morteza Rasoolian, Mitra Haji Najafi, and Aliyar Nik-Farman. They are reportedly held in section 209 of Evin prison, which is under the control of the Intelligence Ministry.

According to the Society’s spokeswoman abroad, Yalda Noorshahi, the organization is active in promoting the spiritual and cultural teachings of Peyman Fatahi. The Campaign believes the detainees are imprisoned solely based on their opinions and beliefs.