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Iran: Call for immediate release of Alieh Eghdamdoust

Update on: 
Iran: Campaign to Free Women's Rights Defenders
Dozens of women’s and human rights groups condemn the recent arrest and imprisonment of Iranian women’s rights activist Alieh Eghdamdoust. She will serve a sentence of three years imprisonment for participating in a lawful and peaceful demonstration in June 2006/1385 in Haft-e Tir Square in Tehran.
On Thursday, January 29th, Judicial officials from the Revolutionary Court of Tehran arrested Alieh Eghdamdoust, a 57-year old teacher, in her home in Fouman, a small city in northern Iran. The police then summoned her to Evin prison to begin her sentence.

The news of Alieh’s arrest is of critical importance to the future of the Iranian women’s rights movement. In the last two and half years since the peaceful gathering at Haft-e Tir, more than 70 women’s rights defenders have been arrested in Iran for participating in lawful and non-violent civil action. Up until now, the standard procedure for these cases has involved temporary detention, due process, and suspended sentences. But last week, Alieh became the first women’s rights defender in Iran to be taken to prison to have her sentence implemented. (Although Delaram Ali, another women’s rights activist, was ordered to serve her prison sentence several months ago, she was released shortly thereafter thanks to pressure by international women’s rights groups.) Alieh is now en route to spending three years in jail for the sole ‘crime’ of participating in a peaceful demonstration.

According to 27th Amendment of the Iranian Constitution, peaceful gatherings are deemed lawful. For the last three years, Iranian women’s rights defenders have worked relentlessly within a lawful and peaceful framework for the advancement of women’s human and civil rights, but have been met with constant harassment by the police and law enforcement. Not only are the Iranian authorities unwilling to protect these peaceful activists, they have been adding to the pressure by unlawfully interrogating and arresting activists.

As we approach International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Iranian authorities have threatened unprecedented repression of the Iranian women’s movement with the arrest and imprisonment of Alieh Eghdamdoust. There is an imminent threat that Alieh’s treatment will be carried over to the other nearly 60 women’s rights activists whose cases are currently pending in court, imprisoning these individuals and thereby effectively shutting down the Iranian women’s movement.

We urge the appropriate officials within the United Nations and the European Union as well as global civil society to add pressure to the Iranian government to honor their human rights commitments and protect the civil rights of women’s rights defenders.

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Source: 
WLUML Networkers
Action needed: 
In order to protect Alieh and other women’s rights defenders, we urge you to register your protest with the Iranian authorities and the Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders.

SAMPLE LETTER

[Salutation]

I/we write to express my/our deep concern at the recent arrest of Ms. Alieh Eghdamdoust by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The sentencing of Ms. Eghdamdoust to three years imprisonment, based solely upon her legal and peaceful participation in a demonstration, suggests the State’s disregard for equitable civil rights and raises questions on the broader situation of human rights in Iran.

On 31 January 2009, Alieh Eghdamdoust was transferred by judiciary officers of the Revolutionary Court from Fouman City in the north of Iran, to Evin prison in Tehran to begin serving a three year prison sentence. According to information received, she is the first women's rights advocate since 2006 to be serving an extended prison sentence, rather than being issued a suspended sentence. We are aware that her situation sets a dangerous precedent. Ms. Eghdamdoust was originally arrested on 12 June 2006, in a peaceful demonstration in Haft-e Tir Square. She was convicted of participating in a peaceful protest and sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment and 20 lashings. Following an appeal her sentence was reduced to three years.

The unprecedented actions taken against Ms. Eghdamdoust, and the continued harassment of women’s rights advocates, by the government of Iran are entirely unacceptable. While a number of advocates have been sentenced for participating in protests and collecting signatures, to date none have been forced to serve an extended prison sentence. The sentence passed down to Ms. Eghdamdoust’s indicates a grave escalation in state repression of human rights defenders in Iran. The imprisonment of Ms. Eghdamdoust is unjustifiable, as peaceful assembly is protected under Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution. Iran has committed itself to upholding human rights, evidenced by its candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006, and is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as claiming to be dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights. Therefore, we ask that the Iranian authorities fulfil their obligations and correct this breach of national and international law. The women’s movement in Iran has always acted within legal and peaceful frameworks and we demand that the Iranian authorities abide by these same laws. We respectfully maintain that Ms. Eghdamdoust should be freed from prison and all charges against her dropped.

Yours Sincerely,
[Your name]

Addresses: 
The Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Khamenei
Tel: +98 21 64412020
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir/ istiftaa@wilayah.org/ webmaster@wilayah.org
Salutation: Your Excellency

The Head of Judiciary: Ayatollah Shahroudi
Tel: +98-21 22741002
+98-21 22741003
+98-21 22741004
+98-21 22741005
Fax: + 98 21 3390 4986
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
irjpr@iranjudiciary.com and info@dadgostary-tehran.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

The President: Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Tel: +98 21 88825071
+98 21 88825072
+98 21 88825073
+98 21 88825074
+98 21 88825075
Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to His Excellency Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
Salutation: His Excellency

Head of the Committee of Human Rights in the Judiciary:
His Excellency Mohammad Javad Larijani
c/o Office of the Deputy for International Affairs
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building,
Panzdah-Khordad (Ark) Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax : + 98 21 5 537 8827

Ms. Margaret Sekaggya
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
fax: +41(0) 22.917.90.06
urgent-action@ohchr.org

Please note that you may have difficulty contacting the officials inside Iran. Please also contact the Iranian officials in your country of residence, for whom some telephone and fax numbers are listed below:

United States:
Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington, D.C. Tel: +(202) 965-4990;
(202) 965-4991; (202) 965-4992; (202) 965-4993; (202) 965-4994; (202) 965-4999
Fax: (202) 965-1073; (202) 965-4990

Canada:
Embassy of Iran in Ottawa
Tel: (613) 232-5712

United Kingdom:
Embassy of Iran in London
Tel: 0207-225-3000
Fax: 0207-589-4440

Switzerland:
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations in Switzerland, Geneva
Tel: (41-22)332 21 00-21
Fax: (41-22)733 02 03

United Arab Emirates:
Embassy of Iran in Abu Dhabi
Tel: +9712-4447618
Fax: +9712-4448714

Denmark:
Embassy of Iran in Copenhagen
Tel: 3916-0003
Fax: 3916-0075

Norway:
Embassy of Iran in Oslo
Tel: 47) 23 27 29 60
Fax: (+47) 22 55 49 19

Russia:
Embassy of Iran in Moscow
Tel: 9178655; 9179679; 9175219; 9177282; 9170039; 9172442; 9178959
Fax: 2302897; 9179683

Finland:
Embassy of Iran
Tel: +358-9-6869 240
Fax: +358-9-6869 2410

South Africa:
Embassy of Iran
Tel: +27 (012) 342 58 80/ 1
Fax: +27 (012) 342 18 78

Germany:
Embassy of Iran in Frankfurt
Tel: +49 (0) 69 56 000 739 - 740
Fax: +49 (0) 69 56 000 728
Email: iran.botschaft@t-online.de, info@irangk.de, info@igk-hamburg.de

India:
Embassy of Iran in New Delhi
Tel: +91-11-23329600/ 01 / 02
Fax: +91-11-23325493

Belgium:
Embassy of Iran in Brussels
15a avenue Franklin Roosevelt
1050 Brussels, Belgium
Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15
Email: iran-embassy@yahoo.com and secretariat@iranembassy.be

Submitted on 02/05/2009
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