Close

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

logo


Press Archive - 28th October 2009

Release Iranian-Canadian Blogger after One Year of Arbitrary Detention

Print

Dozens Remain in Jail without Trial or Due Process

Hossein Derakhshan(28 October 2009) The Iranian Judiciary should release Hossein Derakhshan, a blogger who has been in detention without trial for the past year, as well as dozens of other political detainees held without trial, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“Derakhshan’s case is typical of the lack of justice and due process in Iran’s Judiciary. How can the authorities justify holding him for a year without even charging him or putting him on trial? He is another victim of the intelligence apparatus’ manipulation of the judicial process,” said Hadi Ghaemi, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

In addition to Derakhshan, dozens of Iranian journalists, intellectuals, and activists are also held without charge and with no respect for due process principles and judicial transparency.  They include, inter alia, Keyvan Samimi, Bahman Ahmadi Amoie, Abdollah Momeni, Mohammad Maleki, Ahmad Zaidabadi, Hangameh Shahid, Mohammad Ghoochani, Saeed Leylaz, Azar Mansouri, Shapour Kazemi, Issa Saharkhiz, Mohammad Reza Moghiseh, Fariba Pezhuh, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Behzad Nabavi, Mohsen Mirdamadi, Feyzollah Arabsorkhi, and Mohsen Aminzadeh.

According to information received by the Campaign, Derakhshan, detained at his home on 1 November 2008, spent nearly ten months in solitary confinement during which he was subjected to beatings to coerce him to make false confessions of having ties to the CIA and Israeli intelligence services. A relative of Derakhshan told the Campaign that he recanted his coerced confession in the presence of a judge and his lawyer, but the authorities continue to detain him without providing any information to his family regarding the judicial case against him. Derakhshan is currently being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.

The judge in his case has been changed twice, but currently it is not clear what branch of the Revolutionary Courts is in charge. Furthermore, the authorities have not provided his family with any information about the charges against him. His family has been able to visit him only twice during the past year.

The Campaign expressed its serious concern for the health and safety of Derakhshan and all other detainees who remain in jail without access to their families and lawyers. The Campaign urged the Judiciary not to allow its duties to be subjugated to the demands of intelligence agencies, which are manipulating the Judiciary and holding detainees without proper judicial proceedings.



Make a Comment

Comment

Recently Added Content

Women's Rights

No Information About Detained Women’s Rights Activist

The Iranian women’s rights movement is the most vibrant social movement in Iran today. Having built an extensive grassroots base, Iranian women are campaigning to fight legal gender discrimination. The government routinely persecutes and prosecutes women’s rights activists.

Report on the Status of Women Human Rights Defenders — April 2009
The Systematic Repression of Women — May 2008

_____________________________________

More on Women's Rights


Academic Freedom

Student Facing Execution for Throwing Rocks

During the past few years, Iranian universities have been experiencing a new phase of government intervention in academic affairs, which is considered a second Cultural Revolution. The present government policy is demonstrated on several fronts and is resulting in severe infringements on academic freedoms.
 
Report on the Situation of Academic Freedom on University Campuses — December 2008
_____________________________________

More on Academic Freedom


Workers' Rights

Iranian workers and teachers are denied many protections of basic workers rights, as defined and articulated under longstanding international labor standards. Iranian workers are deprived of such fundamental rights both under Iranian labor law and in practice.
   
  
Background Information on the Rights of Workers in Iran — March 2008  
_____________________________________

More on Workers' Rights