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.
Posted 28/08/2007
On 18 August 2007, Saleh Kamrani was arrested by four plain clothed individuals at a family wedding in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. His computer, personal documents, family photographs and his wife’s camera, as well as documents and photographs belonging to the owner of the house in which he was staying, were confiscated by the arresting officers. His whereabouts were not disclosed until the 21 August 2007, when he was permitted to make a brief phone call to his family. According to reports, he was not allowed to speak in his native tongue Azerbaijani Turkic, thus preventing him from speaking to his mother who does not understand Persian. He confirmed that he was being held at Section 209 of Evin prison, but that he had not been informed as to the reason for his arrest.
Saleh Kamrani was targeted in the past. On 14 June 2006, Saleh Kamrani was arrested by the authorities on his way home from work. He was detained for a period of 3 months in Section 209 of Evin Prison, 97 days of which were spent in solitary confinement. He was reportedly interrogated at length about his work and threatened. He was also subjected to psychological torture, including threats that his wife would also be arrested. On 18 September 2006, he was sentenced to one-year imprisonment and suspended for five years for “spreading propaganda against the system”.
Human rights journalist Sa'id Metinpour was arrested on 25 May 2007 in the north-western city of Zenjan. He is currently being detained in Section 209 of Evin prison and has not been allowed to meet his family or lawyer. According to reports, he has been subjected to torture and ill-treatment and is suffering from poor health as a result. He has also spent much of his time in detention in solitary confinement in an attempt to force him into making a videotaped confession. Prior his arrest, Sa’id Metinpour had been detained in February 2007 and held for 10 days in connection with his participation in peaceful demonstrations marking International Mother Language Day, an annual event initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on 21 February.
Front Line is extremely concerned that the arrest and ongoing detention of Saleh Kamrani and Sa'id Metinpour form part of an ongoing campaign against minority rights human rights defenders in Iran, particularly those working to defend the rights of Iranian Azerbaijani community in the country. Front Line is further concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Sa'id Metinpour and Saleh Kamrani in light of reports that Sa'id Metinpour has been subjected to torture.
Action Finished:
This Urgent Appeal has now ended. No further action is requested at this point. Thank you for taking action on this case.
Front Line issues Urgent Appeals on behalf of human rights defenders at risk on a daily basis. These Appeals normally remain active on our web site for a period of up to six weeks, depending on the situation. After this time they will be archived. Front Line maintains a watching brief on all these cases but no further action is requested after the six weeks, unless there is a significant development in the case.
