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Urgent Action EX 77/02 on Imminent Execution in Iran
URGENT ACTION APPEAL 2 October 2002 EXTRA 77/02
Fear of imminent execution/Fear of torture and ill-treatment
IRAN Said Masouri (m), aged 36
Amnesty International
is concerned that Said Masouri faces imminent
execution, after his
death sentence was reportedly upheld by the
Supreme Court approximately
three weeks ago. He has reportedly
been ill-treated in detention.
Said Masouri, allegedly
an activist and supporter of the People's
Mojahedin Organization
of Iran (PMOI), an armed political group
opposed to the current
Iranian government, has lived in Norway since
1988. He was allegedly
sent to Iran in early 2001 in order to carry out
a 'military mission'
for the PMOI. Before he was able to undertake his
mission, however, he
was arrested, either in the city of Dezful or the
nearby city of Andimeshk,
in western Iran.
Said Masouri was reportedly
ill-treated and possibly tortured while in
detention, and was allegedly
threatened with summary execution if he
refused to make a televised
confession. Amnesty International has
received information
stating that Said Masouri 'had been under
torture for a long time
and has lost a lot of weight [and that] his family
did not recognize him'.
He is currently being held in Wing 209 of Evin
Prison in Tehran.
In June 2002, Branch 6
of the Revolutionary Court, located in Evin
prison in Tehran, sentenced
him to death on various charges,
including 'acting against
state security', 'membership of a proscribed
organization' and other
security provisions. He was not allowed to
choose his own lawyer
and was allocated one by the court.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International
acknowledges the right and responsibility of all
governments to bring
to justice those guilty of recognizably criminal
offences. However, the
organization is fundamentally opposed to the
death penalty in all
cases as the ultimate violation of the right to life,
as enshrined in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
According to Article 6(2)
of the International Covenant of Civil and
Political and Civil Rights
(ICCPR) to which Iran is a state party, 'In
countries which have
not abolished the death penalty, sentence of
death may be imposed
only for the most serious crimes...' It is
intended to be a quite
exceptional measure, according to the UN's
Human Rights Committee.
Iran's Penal Code contains
a number of vaguely worded articles
relating to 'national
security' which prohibit a range of activities,
including those connected
with membership to political organizations,
which do not amount to
recognizably criminal offences.
The People's Mojahedin
Organization of Iran (PMOI) has been
proscribed by the governments
of the European Union and The
United States of America
as a 'terrorist' organization.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please
send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- urging that the death
sentence imposed on Said Masouri be
commuted immediately,
possibly by means of commutation of the
sentence by the Supreme
Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in line with
Article 4 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), to which Iran
is a state party;
- recognizing the rights
and responsibilities of governments to bring to
justice those suspected
of criminal offences, but stating your
unconditional opposition
to the death penalty irrespective of the crime
for which it is imposed,
as the ultimate violation of the right to life;
- reminding the Iranian
authorities of their commitment to the
Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, in particular Article 3:
'Everyone has the right
to life, liberty and security of person';
- seeking details of
the trial procedures, expressing concern that Said
Masouri may have been
ill treated in detention and denied the right to
legal counsel of his
choosing, in violation of Article 35 of Iran's
constitution, which states
that '...parties to a lawsuit have the right in
all courts of law to
select an attorney';
- urging the authorities
to arrange a retrial of Said Masouri which
conforms to international
standards for fair trial.
APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic
Republic:
His Excellency Ayatollah
Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
OF IRAN
Telegram:
Ayatollah Khamenei, Tehran, Iran
Fax:
011 98 21 649 5880/ 011 98 251 774 2228 (ask for faxes to
be forwarded to Ayatollah
Khamenei)
Salutation: Your Excellency
President of Iran:
His Excellency Hojjatoleslam
val Moslemin Sayed Mohammad
Khatami
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
OF IRAN
Telegram:
President Khatami, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax:
011 98 21 649 5880
Email:
khatami@president.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary:
His Excellency Ayatollah
Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
OF IRAN
Telegram:
Head of Judiciary, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax:
011 98 21 537 8827 (number may be unreliable)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Minister of Foreign Affairs:
His Excellency Kamal
Kharrazi
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Avenue
Tehran, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
OF IRAN
Telegram:
Foreign Affairs Minister, Tehran, Iran
Fax:
011 98 21 390 1999 (number may be unreliable; please mark
'care of the Human Rights
Department, Foreign Ministry)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Embassy of Pakistan
Iran Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Amnesty International
is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends
human rights.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International
USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: uan@aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax:
303 258 7881
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