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Table 1
Communication on Mr. Ilqar Merendli This Communication has been
compiled on the basis of reports by ASMEK ( http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=36598249&postID=4065528567272895952)
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The
Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights defenders
Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
United
Nations
1211
Geneva
10,
Switzerland
FAX:
(41 22) 917 90 06
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1.
Information regarding the alleged victim
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1.1
Full name
Ilqar Merendli (formally,
his full name is Yaqub Saliki-niya and if transcribed by the Farsi
pronunciation, the full name could be transcribed as Yagoob Saleki niya)
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1.2
Age
34
years old
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1.3
Sex
Male
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1.4
Profession
or occupation
Journalist,
blogger, publisher and
advertiser
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1.5
Place
of residence (or origin, if relevant to the violation suffered)
His place of normal residence is
Tehran
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1.6
The
victims affiliation, if any, with an organization, association or group
engaged in human rights work:
He is a co-founder of ASMEK and an NGO Azerbaijan
Youth Centre (Azerbaycan Gencler Evi),
which is active in
Tehran
with branches in Southern Azerbaijani cities
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1.6.1
Name of the organization,
association or group
He
is a co-founder of an NGO called Azerbaijan Youth Centre (Azerbaycan Gencler Evi), which is active in
Tehran
with branches in other Southern Azerbaijani cities
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1.6.2
Name of the person
heading the organization, association or group
ASMEK
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1.6.3
Nature of human rights
work the individual performs
Background
on how Southern Azerbaijanis are victimised in
Iran
: The Iranian authorities
have a gigantic covert organisations, agents and resources at their
disposal and this together with collusions among a whole range of
authorities (the judicial authorities, the police, Ministry of Interior
and Ministry of Information the notorious Ettelaat they are able
to act brutally. As far as the nation of
Southern Azerbaijan
is concerned, the brute Iranian repressive machinery
is able to treat Southern Azerbaijanis arbitrarily, brutally and in
the silence of disinformation. Also, Iranian media is often silent
about Southern Azerbaijani activists. Normally, when Southern Azerbaijanis
publicise the individual cases and it becomes a public knowledge, only
then Iranian media may give a brief exposure to Southern Azerbaijani
victims. It is therefore a challenge, to say the least, to obtain any
information on the Southern Azerbaijani victims.
Background
on Southern Azerbaijanis responses to Iranian racism: In this background in May
2006, more than two million Southern Azerbaijanis orchestrated mass
protests against the racist policies of the Islamic
republic
of
Iran
, which was a culmination
of years of infra-structure works of building the culture for the
reinstatement of human and national rights of the nation of
Southern Azerbaijan
. Since then we have
compiled documents showing that arbitrary detentions have been in
thousands, injuries suffered by ordinary citizens of Southern Azerbaijanis
have been in hundreds and even some thirty individuals have suffered
extra-judicial executions. It is the human nature to cry out against such
breakdown of human rights and fortunately there are countless Southern
Azerbaijani activities to protest and many who defend the victims. One
such defender is the victim, Mr. Ilqar Merendli, who is the co-founder of
one such organisation known as ASMEK.
Background
on ASMEK and the victim: ASMEK
(the Defence for Southern Azerbaijani Prisoners of Conscience) is a top NGO human right
organisation within
Southern Azerbaijan
, renowned for the accuracy of their report. In order
to familiarise you more with ASMEK, we attach the translation of an
article which was published in 2005. Naturally, the members of ASMEK and
all the other human right organisations in Southern Azerbaijan undergo a
very high risk to themselves in order to do data mining on the
Southern Azerbaijani victims in the background of the ongoing silent
repression. The founding members of ASMEK have been under relentless
attack by the Iranian authorities, to the extent that Mr. Elirza Qulunci
Javanbekht is now a political refugee; Mr. Rza Abbasi was arbitrarily
detained nearly for year and now Mr. Ilqar Merendli is arbitrarily
detained. These individuals and other members have also been detained in
the past.
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1.7
If the alleged violation is against an organization:
Although, the violation is against the individual,
but the organisation co-founded by the victim is also under relentless
attack.
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1.7.1
Name of the organization
As described above, the organisation is called ASMEK.
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1.7.2
Nature of the human rights work/activities it is engaged in
The
victim is a peaceful individual and committed to peace and human right
defence. He has been contributing to obtaining very basic data on Southern
Azerbaijani victims of Iranian repression.
Another important theme in victims activities is the defence of
mother language and promoting the Turkic identity of Southern Azerbaijanis
against monolithic Farsi identity spearheaded by racist policies of the
government of
Iran
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1.7.3
Territorial scope of its work (national, regional, international)
The
victims activities cover the whole of
Southern Azerbaijan
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1.7.4
Affiliations with other human rights organizations, if any
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1.7.5
Name of person(s) heading the organization
Not Applicable
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1.7.6 Additional information on the history of the work
the individual or organization has performed, if submitted, may be helpful
in assessing the complaint/allegation.
Please refer to Tables 2 and 3.
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2.
Nature of the alleged violation
All relevant information regarding the violation allegedly
committed against the human rights defender, or organization, association
or group, including:
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2.1
Date
Tuesday 31 October 2007, at the evening
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2.2
Place
In
Tehran
, the exact place is not known.
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2.3
Description
of the events/incident
We
understand that after arresting the victim, the covert agent had raided
his house in the presence of his wife, Mrs. Baharek Salik-niya. We
understand that the victim was also taken to his house by the covert
agents while they searched his house for some two hours and found no
illegal document in their house. All his books were published officially
but they were confiscated anyway. In spite of this, he was then taken to a
detention centre in
Tehran
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2.4
Nature of violation suffered or
threatened (The information must indicate the connection of the alleged
violation to human rights activities performed.)
The
victim is an outspoken human right defender and apparently but there is no
information on the incident of arrest. This is one of the points that we
make persistently that the Iranian authorities fail their obligations to
release official communiqué and in this way they inflict extra anxiety on
the victims families.
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2.5
If the
violation involves or includes the arrest and/or imprisonment of an
individual or group of human rights defenders, information is required on:
The
detention of the victim is a fact but our available facts are only so
much.
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2.6
Identity of the authority involved
(individual and/or ministry and/or department)
It is invariably the Ministry of Intelligence
involved with these types of illegal acts. Our reports specify that the
agents of the Ministry of Information (Ettelaat) arrested the victim but
as usual the names of the individual agents/police committing the act of
arrest are not known. They are beyond reach.
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2.7
Date
and place of arrest
31 October 2007
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2.8
Any
circumstances under which the arrest was made that are relevant to the
violation
We
presented some background above in Section 1.6.3. However, a further
background is that the Iranian authorities are desperate for a propaganda
coup by forcing the Southern Azerbaijani activists and human right
defenders for a false confession. To this end, they most industrious but
in vain and naturally, they regard Southern Azerbaijani activists as a big
prize and hence the ordeal that this victim is suffering. The reports
smuggled out of prison, show that Southern Azerbaijani activists and human
right defenders are also tortured to agree for false confessions but no
one has given in. International campaign is therefore of the paramount
importance, else the victim stands a real chance of torture.
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2.9
Nature
of charges, if any, and the legal statute invoked
There is no imputed charge, as the Iranian
authorities religiously cover their track to hide the heinous face of
their racist acts.
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2.10
Potential
penalties the individual or group faces
The
charges against Southern Azerbaijani activists when emerge from the
underworld of Iranian disinformation, are normally nonsensical and Amnesty
International has made this very point in many occasions. Despite the
arbitrariness of the charges, penalties are nearly always severe and
sometimes even reach as much of several years of punitive imprisonment
together with hefty fines and the infamous act of flogging.
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2.11
Place of
detention, if known
It
is gathered to be Wing 209 of Evin prison,
Tehran
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2.12
Term of detention
No information has emerged from the underworld of Iranian
disinformation system.
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2.13
Information on the
provision of access to legal counsel and family members
As
far as we know, Mr. Merendli has no access to a lawyer and this is
typical.
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2.14
Steps taken to seek administrative or judicial
remedy, nature of the remedy sought, legal entity before which proceedings
have been taken, and stage or result of such proceedings
The
campaign for safeguarding the victims human rights is strong by
Southern Azerbaijanis both within
Southern
Azerbaijan
and
internationally. We are hoping that international organisations will soon
realise the situation and campaign for this victim.
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2.15
If the defender is being prosecuted in the courts
for any activity in defence of human rights or related activity, or as a
consequence of such activity:
No information has been released by the officials and therefore we
do not know of the intentions of the officials.
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2.15.1
The date and location of the trial
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2.15.2
The court hearing the case
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2.15.3
The relevant appeal procedures
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2.15.4
The penalties the group or individual faces
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3.
Perpetrator(s) of the alleged violation
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3.1
Name(s),
if known
We consistently maintain that the authorities are
extremely careful to cover their track on matters related to the politics
of or national and human rights of Southern Azerbaijanis. So all the
perpetrators are harboured dearly by the Iranian authorities.
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3.2
If
they are members of the security forces, their rank, functions, the unit
or service, etc., to which they belong
Please refer to 3.1, above.
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3.3
If they are members of a civil
defence group, paramilitary or other forces or an armed group, details on
whether or how these groups relate to the State (e.g. cooperation with the
State security forces, including information on chains of command, if
available, State collusion with or acquiescence in their operations)
Please
refer to 3.1, above.
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4.
Steps taken by or on behalf of the victim or organization to seek a
remedy at the national level
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4.1
All
relevant information regarding whether a complaint was filed
There
is no opportunity to complain in
Iran
;
else more harassment will be inflicted.
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4.2
If so,
when, where, by whom and before which authority
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5.
Steps taken by the concerned authorities
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5.1
Whether
or not an investigation or inquiry into the alleged violation has been
initiated and/or concluded
This is
not really relevant in
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