Iran

Human rights defender Ms Shiva Nazarahari and six other members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), Mr Kouhyar Goudarzi, Mr Saeed Kalanaki, Mr Mehrdad Rahimi, Ms Parisa Kakaie, Mr Saeed Haeri and Mr Saeed Jalalifar are being pressurized to falsely confess that the CHRR is affiliated with the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). Affiliation with the MKO is considered a very serious crime in Iran which carries a possible sentence of execution. Front Line previously sent an appeal in relation to Shiva Nazarahari on 23 June 2009 and in relation to Parisa Kakaie on 5 November 2009. 

At least eleven Iranian women's rights defenders, including Ms Khadijeh Moghaddam, Mr Kaveh Mozaffari, Mrs Jelveh Javaheri, Mr Parsa Kakai and Ms Mayram Malek, have been summoned to the Revolutionary Courts for questioning by the Judiciary and security officials. The defenders are members of the One Million Signatures Campaign, also known as Change for Equality, a campaign led by women in Iran to collect one million signatures in support of changing Iranian discriminatory laws against women. 

Front Line welcomes the release of human rights defender, Mr. Abdoreza (Alireza) Tajik, who has been released on bail from Evin prison. Front Line remains deeply concerned about human rights defenders, Mr Abdolfattah Soltani, Mr Kayvan Samimi, Ms Jila Baniyaghoob and Mr Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee who remain in detention and have not been officially charged. 

Front Line has received new reports of further arrests in a clamp down on human rights defenders, in the aftermath of the controversial presidential election. Among the detained are Ms Jila Baniyaghoob, her husband Mr Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee and Ms Shiva Nazar Ahara. 

Front Line is concerned following the arrest and detention of Ms Khadijeh Moghadam, Ms Mahboubeh Karami, Ms Delaram Ali, Ms Leila Nazari, Ms Farkhondeh Ehtesabian, Ms Bahara Behravan, Mr Ali Abdi, Mr Amir Rashidi, Mr Mohammad Shoorab, Mr Arash Nasiri Eghbali, Ms Soraya Yousefi and Ms Shahla Forouzanfar, all human rights defenders from the One Million Signatures Campaign and Mothers for Peace, on 26 March 2009. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports that human rights defender Mr Faleh Abdullah Al-Mansouri has been sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. Faleh Abdullah Al-Mansouri is head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Ahwaz and is also a human rights defender. He is originally from Iran but fled to the Netherlands as a refugee in 1998 and has since become a Dutch national. In the Netherlands he was an active member of human rights organisation Amnesty International. 

Lawyer Saleh Kamrani and journalist Sa’id Metinpour are currently being detained in Section 209 of Evin Prison, Tehran. Saleh Kamrani is a lawyer who has represented members of Iran’s discriminated Azerbaijani minority. Both he and Sa’id Metinpour are active in promoting the rights of the Azerbaijani minority in Iran. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the sentencing of Yusef Azizi Bani Turfi to five years in prison. Yusef Azizi Bani Turfi is a journalist and writer who has written in defence of the rights of ethnic minorities, particularly the Ahwazi Arab ethnic group to which he belongs. He is also a founder member of the Iranian PEN association, which works to promote and protect the right to freedom of expression. 

Front Line is concerned following reports that human rights defenders Hemid Valai, Sejjad Radmehr and Vedud Esedi have been arbitrarily detained and subjected to ill-treatment and torture. Hemid Valai is a human rights lawyer. Hemid Valai, Sejjad Radmehr and Vedud Esedi are all activists working to promote the rights of ethnic Azerbaijanis in Iran. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of death threats against human rights defender Shirin Ebadi received on 5 April 2008. Shirin Ebadi is a human rights lawyer and founder of the Centre of Defenders of Human Rights. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for her work to protect the rights of women and children in Iran. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following the travel ban that has been imposed on human rights defender Parvin Ardalan. Parvin Ardalan is a women's rights defender and one of the founding members of the One Million Signatures Campaign. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrest of Azerbaijani journalist and human rights defender Yaghoub Saleki Niya (also known as Ilqar Merendli) at his home in Tehran on 31 October 2007. Yaghoub Saleki Niya is one of the founders of the Committee for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners (ASMEK). He also writes for a number of banned blogs. 

Front Line is deeply concerned that the Court of Appeals has reportedly sentenced woman human rights defender, Delaram Ali (20 years old) to thirty months in prison and ten lashes. Delaram Ali was convicted after an unfair trial as a result of her peaceful activities in defence of human rights. The prison sentence handed down by the Appeal Court is grossly disproportionate and the sentence of ten lashes constitutes cruel and inhuman punishment. Front Line urges the Iranian authorities to show clemency in the case of this young woman. 

Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the arrest and detention of the woman human rights defender Ronak Safazadeh at her home in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province, on 9 October 2007. Ronak Safazadeh is a member of the non-governmental organisation Azar Mehr in Kurdistan and of the 'One Million Signature' Campaign, which seeks legislative reform of laws that discriminate against women. Her arrest follows the arrest and detention of 25 human rights defenders, 14 women and 11 men, who were attending an educational workshop on women's rights on 14 September 2007. 

Front Line is deeply concerned of the ongoing detention of the human rights defenders Saleh Kamrani and Sa'id Metinpour who are currently being detained at Section 209 of Evin Prison, Tehran. Saleh Kamrani is a lawyer who represents Iranian Azerbaijanis. Both he and journalist Sa'id Metinpour are active in promoting the rights of the Iranian Azerbaijani community in Iran.