PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/105/2006
19 September 2006
Further
Information on UA 163/06 (MDE 13/063/2006, 08 June 2006) Incommunicado
detention/ Fear of torture/ Medical concern
new concern:
Prisoner of Conscience
IRAN Abbas Lisani (or Leysani), (m) aged 38, activist
His family
Prisoner
of conscience Abbas Lisani is detained in Ardebil Prison in the north-west of
Iran. He has received a one-year prison sentence for “spreading
anti-government propaganda”, and faces other trials apparently related to his
peaceful political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani
minority community. He is reportedly in poor health.
Abbas
Lisani was arrested on 3 June 2006, shortly after participating in a
demonstration in Ardebil on 27 May. He was held detained for about two days in a
detention facility run by the Ministry of Intelligence in Ardebil, before being
transferred to Ardebil prison. His family did not know his whereabouts until 7
June, when, in a phone call lasting only a couple of minutes, he told them that
he was detained in solitary confinement in Ardebil prison, and was on hunger
strike.
Abbas
Lisani has had limited access to his family. He was permitted his first family
visit on 29 June, some 26 days after his arrest. His lawyer has only been
allowed to see him once, though he has made several other requests for visits
which have been denied.
Abbas
Lisani’s hunger strike reportedly lasted for 58 days, for some of which he
also refused liquids. Throughout his hunger strike, he was detained in solitary
confinement. He finally ended his hunger strike on 30 July, after being granted
his first family visit, during which he was reportedly very weak and could
barely speak. By the end of his hunger strike he had lost about 30 kilograms in
weight.
Amnesty
International remains concerned for the safety of Abbas Lisani. He is currently
detained in a prison cell with non-political prisoners, some of whom are drug
addicts. In Iran, although many prisons have sections for political prisoners,
at times political detainees are detained with criminal prisoners, which they
believe is a means of increasing pressure on them. It is believed that Abbas
Lisani has been harassed and threatened by his cell-mates. He is said to suffer
from stomach and kidney problems, and pain in his ribs, which is allegedly the
legacy of torture during previous periods of detention. It is not known whether
he has access to adequate medical care.
Several
cases have been brought against Abbas Lisani. These include charges related to
attending a commemorative gathering for Constitution Day at the mausoleum of
Baghir Khan in August 2005; attending the annual cultural gathering at Babek
castle in 2005; and his participation in the widespread demonstrations that took
place in north-western Iran in May 2006.
On
6 September 2006, the Revolutionary Court in Kaleybar sentenced Abbas Lisani to
one year’s imprisonment, for “spreading anti-government propaganda”
according to Article 500 of the Penal Code. According to the court verdict, the
basis for the charge includes his participation in the annual Babek Castle
demonstration in 2005; encouraging others to participate in this gathering;
reciting Azerbaijani poems and other material at the gathering; publishing and
distributing a “Turkish-language” calendar; sending messages abroad via the
internet; making calls to his supporters abroad; and intending to promote
Azerbaijani Turkic nationalism and independence.
Amnesty
International believes that the charge of “spreading anti-government
propaganda”, of which Abbas Lisani has been convicted, does not constitute a
recognizably criminal offence. Moreover, according to the court verdict, the
basis for the charge appears to relate solely to his peaceful political and
cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority. As such,
Amnesty International believes that Abbas Lisani is a prisoner of conscience,
and calls for his immediate and unconditional release.
According
to recent reports, Abbas Lisani will soon face a further trial before the
Revolutionary Court in Tabriz on charges related to his participation in the
Constitution Day commemoration in August 2005.
Members
of Abbas Lisani’s family have also been subject to harassment. His wife has
allegedly been threatened with arrest if she publicises her husband’s
condition. The family’s butcher’s shop- their sole source of income- has
been closed, and its licence to operate revoked.
-
expressing concern that Abbas Lisani has been sentenced to one year imprisonment
for ‘spreading anti-government propaganda’ in connection with his peaceful
political and cultural activities on behalf of the Iranian Azerbaijani minority
community, including his participation in the 2005 Babek Castle gathering;
-
stating that, as such, Amnesty International believes that Abbas Lisani is a
prisoner of conscience, and should be released immediately and unconditionally;
-
calling on the authorities to grant Abbas Lisani immediate and unconditional
access to his lawyer, and continued and regular access to his family, and access
to any medical treatment that he requires;
-
expressing concern about Abbas Lisani’s safety and calling on the Iranian
authorities to offer him protection from prisoner-on-prisoner violence;
-
expressing concern for the safety of Abbas Lisani’s family, who have
reportedly been harassed and intimidated by the authorities, and calling for
them to be given all necessary protection to ensure their safety
Leader
of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei, The Office of the
Supreme Leader
Shoahada
Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
info@leader.ir
Fax:
+98 251 774 2228 (mark “FAO the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al
Udhma Khamenei”)
Salutation: Your
Excellency
Head
of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry
of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
Please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian site of the
website:
http://www.iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html
(The
text of the feedback form translates as:
1st
line: name, 2nd line: email address, 3rd line: subject heading, then enter your
email into the text box)
Salutation:
Your Excellency
PLEASE
SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the
International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 31
October 2006.