Mr Abdolfattah Soltani

Human rights defenders in Iran continue to face ongoing detention, judicial prosecution and intimidation following the post-election protests of June 2009.

Further Information

On 2 September 2009, human rights defender and blogger, Ms Shiva Ahari, was granted a disproportionately high bail of five hundred million Toomans (USD 500,000) for her temporary release. She had been arrested in her Tehran home on 14 June 2009. Front Line has been informed that when Shahrzad Kariman, Shiva Ahari's mother, told the court investigator that she could not afford this heavy bail he replied, "So let her stay in prison."

On 26 August 2009, Mr Abdolfattah Soltani, a founding member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Tehran (DHRC), was released on bail of over USD 100,000, in the form of property deeds. He had been arrested in Tehran on 16 June 2009 by security officials posing as clients who had immediately confiscated his computer and other documents, and then arrested him without a warrant. He had since been held in Evin Prison, notorious for ill-treatment of prisoners, and had spent 17 days in solitary confinement. Abdolfattah Soltani has been accused of “instilling doubts in elections”, “propaganda against the regime” and “formation of groups to undermine national security”. Abdolfattah Soltani has stated that these charges are both untrue and legally baseless.

Human rights lawyer and prominent women's rights defender, Ms Shadi Sadr, who was released from prison on bail on 28 July 2009, has been subjected to ongoing threats of re-interrogation by the security forces in the form of daily calls to her home, her office and her husband’s office summoning her for renewed questioning at the revolutionary court. When Ms. Shadi Sadr’s lawyer asked the office of the revolutionary court to return her belongings from Evin Prison, the case investigator replied that Shadi Sadr must first attend the court for questioning. Since her release from prison, Shadi Sadr has written articles criticising the rape of political prisoners in Iran.

Human rights defenders, Mr Kayvan Samimi, Mr Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee and Mr Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, whose cases were raised by Front Line on 18 and 23 June, 21 July and 5 August 2009, remain in detention.

Front Line is deeply concerned by the ongoing targeting of human rights defenders in Iran and believes that the arrests and judicial prosecution of the aforementioned human rights defenders are directly related to their peaceful and legitimate activities in defence of human rights.

Front Line urges the Iranian authorities to:

1. Immediately and unconditionally release Shiva Ahari, Kayvan Samimi, Bahaman Ahamadi Amoee and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, as Front Line believes that they are being held solely as a result of their legitimate and peaceful work in the defence of human rights;

2. Drop all charges against Abdolfattah Soltani, Shadi Sadr, and all detained human rights defenders and carry out an immediate, thorough and impartial investigation into their arrest and detention;

3. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological security and integrity of aforementioned human rights defenders, and put an end to the judicial harassment against them;

4. Ensure that the treatment of all detained human rights defenders, while in detention, adheres to all those conditions set out in the ‘Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment', adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988;

5. Guarantee in all circumstances that human rights defenders in Iran are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals, and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment.