http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGMDE130632006?open&of=ENG-IRN

LIBRARY MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA MIDDLE EAST IRAN

URGENT ACTION

Iran: Incommunicado detention/Fear of torture/Medical concern, Abbas Lisani (or Leysanli) (m), aged 38

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/063/2006

08 June 2006

UA 163/06 Incommunicado detention/Fear of torture/Medical
concern
IRAN Abbas Lisani (or Leysanli) (m), aged 38, activist

Abbas Lisani, a prominent activist for the rights of Iranian Azeri Turks, was
arrested on 3 June and is held at an unknown location, where he is at risk of
torture. He may require medical attention for injuries he suffered during a
demonstration before he was arrested.

He was arrested at his home in the north-western town of Ardebil. His wife
reportedly said that more than 30 plainclothes security officials shot the lock
off their door and entered the house without showing any warrant, which is
required by law. She said they beat Abbas Lisani in front of her and their two
young sons, and insulted her when she asked them not to beat him. Saying they
had orders allowing them to shoot him, they handcuffed him and took him away.
They also took two mobile phones, CDs, books and a computer.

There has been unrest, sometimes violent, in the Iranian Azeri Turkish
community since 12 May, when the state-owned daily newspaper Iran published a
cartoon which many of them found offensive. The community (who sometimes call
themselves Iranian Azerbaijanis) live mainly in the north-west of the country.
In cities in the region there were demonstrations, sometimes violent, which
have reportedly led to hundreds of people being arrested (see UA 151/06, MDE
13/055/2006). Some of those detained have allegedly been tortured.
Publication of the newspaper was suspended on 23 May and the editor-in-chief
and the cartoonist were arrested, but despite this there was a demonstration in
Ardebil on 27 May. Abbas Lisani was reportedly injured during this
demonstration, but managed to escape and went into hiding for about a week. He
was arrested after he returned home. Before he was arrested, he told his family
and friends he would go on hunger strike if detained.

Azeri sources have claimed that dozens have been killed and hundreds injured by
the security forces. On 29 May a police official acknowledged that four people
had been killed and 43 injured in the town of Naqada. Amnesty International
recognizes that criminal damage occurred during at least some of the
demonstrations, and that governments have a right and a responsibility to bring
to justice those responsible for recognizably criminal offences. However, the
Iranian authorities are also obliged to act in accordance with international
human rights law and human rights standards, including those relating to the
policing of demonstrations, the prohibition of torture and fair trial
standards.

Abbas Lisani has been arrested several times since 1997 in connection with his
political activity. He has been subjected to psychological and physical torture
in custody, and harassed when he is at liberty. He told Amnesty International
in May that the most severe torture he experienced was in June 2004, when he
took part in a sit-in protest by Azeri Turks at the Sarcheshme Mosque in
Ardebil. After the security forces took control of the mosque, they beat him
severely and suffocated him until he passed out. He spent a month in custody,
20 days of which were in solitary confinement. He had severe injuries,
including broken ribs and a broken nose, for which he was denied medical
treatment. He went on hunger strike twice to demand medical care, but without
success. After two days in custody he was taken before Branch 7 of the
Revolutionary Court in Ardebil, where the judge refused to order medical
treatment for him and told him that the Intelligence service "should have done
worse". On release he was fined 800,000 Rials (approx US$87,000) and given a
suspended sentence of 15 lashes. He is still suffering health problems caused
by the torture.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Iranian Azeri Turks, at around 25-30% of the population, are the largest
minority in Iran and live mainly in the north-west. Mainly Shi’a Muslims, like
the majority of the population, they are not subject to the same kinds of
discrimination as minorities of other religions, and are well-integrated into
the economy, but in recent years there has been a growing demand for greater
cultural and linguistic rights, such as the right to be taught in Turkish. A
small minority advocate the secession of Iranian Azerbaijani provinces and
union with the Republic of Azerbaijan. Activists who promote Azeri Turkish
cultural identity are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities, who
often charge them with vaguely worded offences such as "promoting pan-Turkism".

The Iranian authorities have accused outside forces, particularly the USA, of
stirring up the unrest in Iranian Azeri provinces. The USA has denied this.