THE OBSERVATORY FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS (FIDH-OMCT)

PRESS RELEASE

IRAN

Geneva - Paris, May 21, 2007*. The Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT) and the International Federation for Human Rights
(FIDH), would like to highlight the May 16, 2007 release on bail of Ms.
Zeynab Peyqambarzadeh, an Iranian women’s rights activist who was
detained and imprisoned for nine days by the Iranian authorities.

“Ms. Peyqambarzadeh’s case is indicative of a set of increasingly
alarming judicial practices in response to the continuation of the
campaign for women’s legal equality - called One Million
Signatures [1] that began in August
2006”, stated Mr. Karim Lahidji, the Vice-president of FIDH and
President of the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights
(LDDHI).

Ms. Peyqambarzadeh’s arrest came after she was summoned on May 5, 2007
to appear before the Revolutionary Court within three business days in
relation to a previous arrest following the March 4, 2007 non-violent
demonstrations before International Women’s Day [2]. Neither she nor her lawyer were able to
see a written summons and, in addition, the Court detained her without
presenting any charges.

When Ms. Peyqambarzadeh appeared before the court on May 7, 2007, a high
bail of 20 million tomans (roughly 16,000€) was promptly set for her,
and, unable to pay it, she was sent to Evin prison in Tehran. When, on
May 9, her father first attempted to pay the bail, he was rebuffed by
the court and denied permission to see his daughter. The arbitrary
handling of this case by the Revolutionary Court’s own standards, as in
the case of setting a bail and then not accepting it, is an issue of
grave concern.

With help from the families of other members of the campaign, Ms.
Peyqambarzadeh’s bail was met and finally accepted by the Revolutionary
Court following an additional week in prison after her father’s first
attempt to pay the bail. /“Upon being released, she confirmed that she
was not interrogated or presented with any reasons for her detention”/,
said Mr. Lahidji.

The Observatory welcomes Ms. Peyqambarzadeh’s release on bail, but
recalls that this particular arrest and imprisonment illustrates a trend
within the Islamic Republic in which the courts imprison activists
without trial, without publicly-revealed basic evidence and sometimes
even without charges.

In recent weeks, activists Ms. Noushin Ahmadi-Khorasani, Ms. Parvin
Ardalan, Ms. Fariba Davoudi-Mohajer, Ms. Sousan Tahmasebi, Ms.
Azadeh Forghani and* Ms. Shahla Entesari have been charged with and
sentenced for “gathering and colluding to disturb national security”,
“disturbing public order” and “disobeying the orders of officials” [3]. Two more organizers of the campaign, Ms.
Maryam Hosseinkhah and Ms. Fatemeh Govaraie, were also summoned to
court and in the pattern of recent convictions, they might be charged
with violating national security.

“The use of national security laws to curb freedom of expression is an
ominous trend not only for the future of this particular campaign for
gender equality but for the very future of free speech in Iran”,
concluded Mr. Eric Sottas, Executive Director of the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT).

In light of Ms. Peyqambarzadeh’s release, the Observatory calls upon the
Islamic Republic to cease the practice of imposing arbitrary detentions
on women’s rights activists and to put an end to the judicial harassment
against Ms. Peyqambarzadeh and her colleagues.

Furthermore, the Observatory urges the Iranian authorities to guarantee
in all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of all
above-mentioned activists and put an end to all acts of harassment
against human rights defenders in Iran.

Finally, the Observatory calls upon the Iranian authorities to conform
with the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights
Defenders, adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on
December 9, 1998, and to ensure in all circumstances respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human
rights standards and international instruments ratified by Iran.

For more information, please contact :

OMCT: 00 41 22 809 49 39

FIDH: 00 33 1 43 55 25 18

[1] “mhtml:mid://00000090/#_ftnref1” The “One Million Signatures
Campaign” started its activities in July 2006, and seeks to provide
education on legal rights of women at the grassroots level with a view
toward changing discriminatory laws against women. Along these lines,
the/ “Campaign” collects signatures in support of its aims, which it
plans to submit to the Parliament.

[2] mhtml:mid://00000090/#_ftnref2 See Observatory Urgent Appeals IRN
002/0307/OBS 023, 023.1, 023.2, and 023.3, respectively issued on March
5, 8, 20, April 5, 2007.

[3] mhtml:mid://00000090/#_ftnref3 See Observatory Urgent Appeal IRN
002/0307/OBS 023.4 issued on April 30, 2007.

Isabelle Brachet

Desk Officer for Asia

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

17, passage de la Main d’Or

75011 Paris – France

tel : + 33 1 43 55 25 18 / fax : + 33 1 43 55 18 80
www.fidh.org