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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
Public Statement
AI Index: MDE 13/043/2005 (Public)
News Service No: 215
5 August 2005
Iran: Amnesty International calls for an urgent
investigation into the killing of demonstrators
Amnesty International today expressed alarm at the cycle of violence
in the Iranian province of Kordestan and neighbouring Kurdish areas,
which has reportedly left up to 20 people dead, hundreds wounded.
Hundreds of others are believed to have been arrested, including
prominent Kurdish human rights defenders and activists.
Amnesty International is urging the Iranian government to promptly
initiate an urgent, impartial and independent investigation into these
reports. The methods are findings of such an investigation must be
made public. Officials suspected of responsibility for human rights
violations such as unlawful killings/extrajudicial executions should
be brought to justice in accordance with fair trial procedures.
Among those arrested during the disturbance are prominent Kurdish
human rights defenders and activists. Dr Roya Toloui, a womens' rights
activist, was arrested at her home in Sanandaj on 2 August. According
to her husband, who has not been allowed access to her, she is
detained on charges of "disturbing the peace" and "acting against
national security". Azad Zamani, a member of the Association for the
Defence of Children's Rights (ADCR, or Kanoun-e Defa' az Hoqouq-e
Koudekan), was also arrested in Sinne. Jalal Qavami, a journalist
and a member of the editorial board of the journal Payam-e Mardom, was
arrested at his workplace after agents of Iran's security forces
initially raided his residence. Mahmoud Salehi, the spokesman for the
Organisational Committee to Establish Trade Unions, was arrested in
the early hours of 4 August, and the security forces have also closed
down two Kurdish newspapers.
Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to
urgently provide the names of all those detained, their current
whereabouts, the reasons for their arrest, and details of any charges
against them. All detainees must be treated humanely and given prompt
access to their lawyer, family and any medical treatment necessary.
Anyone who is not to be charged with a recognisably criminal offence
must be released immediately and unconditionally.
Following reports that the Iranian government has today deployed large
numbers of troops, backed up by helicopter gunships, into the region,
Amnesty International calls on the |ranian authorities to ensure that
their security forces abide by international standards of conduct of
law enforcement. In particular, they must respect and protect the
right to life, to freedom from torture and ill-treatment and to
freedom from arbitrary arrest.
Background
The unrest began in the town of Mahabad, in early July, following the
shooting of Shivan Qaderi, a Kurdish opposition activist, also known
as Sayed Kamal Astam, or Astom, and two other Kurdish men, by Iranian
forces in the town of Mahabad on 9 July, in circumstances where they
may not have posed an immediate threat. The security forces then
reportedly tied Shivan Qaderi's body to a Toyata jeep and dragged him
in the streets. The local Iranian authorities are reported to have
confirmed that a person of this name, "who was on the run and wanted
by the judiciary", was indeed shot and killed by security forces at
this time, allegedly while trying to evade arrest.
During the days following Shivan Qaderi's death, several thousand
Mahabad residents, mainly youths, took to the streets to protest the
killings. Since then, demonstrations have erupted in the mainly
Kurdish neighbouring towns of Sanandaj, Mahabad, Sardasht, Piranshahr,
Oshnavieh, Baneh, Sinne, Bokan and Saqiz. The Iranian state-owned
media has reported and confirmed the unrest of the past 3 weeks, but
have described the situation as due to "hooligan and criminal
elements".
In a letter dated 22 July 2005 the organization wrote to Iran's
Interior Minister, Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari, seeking clarification of
the circumstances surrounding the killing of Sayed Kamal Astam, or
Astom, also known as Shivan Qaderi , and the arrest of scores of
people in Mahabad and the surrounding areas in the days following his
death. The organization expressed concern that the killing may have
been deliberate and that those detained may not have access to
independent lawyers of their choice or their families and that they
may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.
The Kurds are
one of Irans many ethnic minority groups, and number around 10% of the
population. They mainly live in the province of Kordistan and
neighbouring provinces bordering Turkey and Iraq. A UN report released
last week said authorities were denying basic amenities to Iran's
ethnic and religious minorities and in some cases seizing land.
Amnesty International USA
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