PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/045/2006
03 May 2006
UA
115/06 Arbitrary arrest/
incommunicado detention/ fear for torture and ill-treatment/ possible prisoner
of conscience
IRAN
Saleh Malla Abbasi (m) aged 53, agricultural engineer
Saleh Malla Abbasi is being held in incommunicado detention, where he is at risk of torture and ill-treatment. He is a possible prisoner of conscience, who may be detained solely on account of his peaceful activism for the rights of the Azeri Turk minority in Iran.
Saleh
Malla Abbasi, an activist for the rights of the Azeri Turk minority community in
Iran, who is married with two daughters, was
arrested on 17 April at his home in the city of Ahar in Azerbaijan province.
Police from the Ministry of Intelligence reportedly entered the family house
from the front and the back door simultaneously. Saleh Malla Abbasi’s wife and
two daughters were ordered not to move while the house was thoroughly searched.
The family’s computer, satellite dish, and Turkish language books and CDs were
confiscated. The police also took their personal telephone and address book, and
a Turkish calendar that was hanging on the wall. The police reportedly remarked
that the calendar proved that the family are “pan-Turks”. They searched
through the family photo albums, and took some of the photos with them. They
then arrested Saleh Malla Abbasi.
Following
his arrest, Saleh Malla Abbasi's whereabouts were unknown. After two days, he
was able to call his wife, and informed her that he was being transferred to the
Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in the city of Tabriz. His family
have had no contact from him since, and he has not had access to a lawyer. Saleh
Malla Abbasi had reportedly requested that no-one should try to look for him, or
they too risked arrest. It is feared that he is being subject to torture and
ill-treatment in detention.
Iranian
Azeri Turks, who are mainly Shi’a Muslims, are the largest minority in Iran,
believed to constitute between 25-30 per cent of the population. They are
located mainly in the north and north-west of Iran. As Shi’a, they are not
subject to the same kinds of discrimination as minorities of other religions,
and are well-integrated into the economy, but there is a growing demand for
greater cultural and linguistic rights, including implementation of their
constitutional right to education through the medium of Turkish. A small
minority advocate secession of Iranian Azerbaijan from the Islamic Republic of
Iran and union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Those who seek to promote Azeri
Turkish cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities,
who often accuse them of vague charges such as "promoting pan-Turkism".
At
the end of June 2005, scores of Iranian Azeri Turks participating in an annual
cultural gathering at Babek Castle in Kalayber were arrested.
At least 21 were later sentenced to prison terms of between three months
and one year, some of which were suspended, reportedly after conviction of
charges such as "spreading propaganda against the system" and "establishing
organizations against the system". Some were also banned from entering
Kalayber for a period of 10 years. On 30 March 2006, Azeri activists Ebrahim
Rashidi and Maharam Kamrani, who is the brother of Human Rights Defender Saleh
Kamrani, were arrested. They were released on bail on 18 April, and are due to
be tried on the charge of “acting against national security”. (See UA 86/06,
MDE 13/043/2006, 2 May 2006 and follow up)
-
expressing concern for the safety of Saleh Malla Abbasi who is reportedly held
in incommunicado detention at detention facility run by the Ministry of
Intelligence in city of Tabriz;
-
calling for him to be given immediate access to a lawyer of his choice and his
family;
-
seeking assurances that he are not being tortured or ill-treated in detention;
-
expressing concern that Saleh Malla Abbasi appears to have been detained solely
in connection with his peaceful activities for the rights of the Azeri Turk
minority community;
-
calling on the authorities to release him immediately and unconditionally unless
he is to be promptly charged with a recognizably criminal offence.
Minister
of Intelligence
Gholam
Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry
of Information
Second
Negarestan Street
Pasdaran
Avenue
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
iranprobe@iranprobe.com
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:
via Judiciary website at Iranjudiciary.org/feedback_en.html
Salutation: Your Excellency
Supreme
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His
Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The
Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada
Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax:
+98 251 774 2228 (mark "FAO the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah
al Udhma Khamenei")
Email:
info@leader.ir or istiftaa@wilayah.org
and
diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE
SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the
International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 15
June 2006.