PUBLIC                                                                                                         AI Index:  MDE 13/073/2006        

                                                                                                                                           29 June 2006

Further Information on 57/06 (MDE 13/023/2006, 10 March 2006) Death penalty/ Fear of imminent execution

IRAN                   Dr Awdeh Afrawi (m), aged 52                     

                           Nazem Bureihi (m)

                           Aliredha Salman Delfi (m)

                           Ali Helfi (m)

                           Ali Manbouhi (m)

                           Jaafar Sawari (m)

                           Risan Sawari (m), teacher

                           Mohammad Ali Sawari (m), teacher

                           Moslem al-Ha’i (m)

New name:         Abdulredha Nawaseri (m), aged 31

Jaafar Sawari, Risan Sawari and Abdulredha Nawaseri had their death sentences confirmed by Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court in Ahvaz on 10 June 2006. They stand accused of planting bombs and acting against the country's security.

Risan Sawari was reportedly arrested in April 2005, released and arrested again in September. Jaafar Sawari and Aliredha Salman Delfi were reportedly arrested in September 2005. Abdulredha Nawaseri, brother of Mehdi Nawaseri who was executed on 2 March, was reportedly arrested in 2000, but was nevertheless charged in connection with the October 2005 bombings in Ahvaz. According to reports, about three months ago Dr Awdeh Afrawi was sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment with a subsequent exile in Ardabil, northwestern Iran. He is reportedly suffering from a slipped disc and is unable to move. It is not known if he is receiving medical care. Ali Manbouhi was reportedly released at the beginning of June.  Amnesty International has no new information related to the other men mentioned above.

Although seven men were said to have been convicted of involvement in the October bombings, nine men were shown "confessing" on Khuzestan Provincial TV on 1 March. Among them were Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Awdeh Afrawi, who were hanged in public the following morning, Dr Awdeh Afrawi (father of executed Ali Awdeh Afrawi); Aliredha Salman Delfi; Ali Manbouhi; Jaafar Sawari; Ali Helfi, Nazem Burehi, and Risan Sawari.

Given the secretive nature of the trials, the current stage of the legal proceedings is unclear to Amnesty International.  Some or all of the cases may have been sent to the Supreme Court for review.

At the beginning of June, seven lawyers who appeared before Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court representing the prisoners reportedly wrote a letter of complaint to the president of the court. In the letter, the lawyers described irregularities in the trial: they were notified of their clients' trial date one to two days in advance, instead of the minimum of five days stated in Article 64 of the Civil Procedure Code, and could not study their clients' files fully; they were not allowed to meet in private with their clients despite their requests and despite the fact that the Head of the Judiciary reportedly stated on 20 May 2006 that: “Nobody has the right to issue an order in contravention of the law and to deprive the accused of the right of visit by their family and lawyer. They must know quite clearly that they may request private meeting with their lawyer.”  The letter also stated that the trial sessions have been held independently, without the other defendants and their lawyers being present.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Much of Iran's Arab community lives in the province of Khuzestan which borders Iraq. It is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran’s oil reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population. Historically, the Arab community has been marginalised and discriminated against. Tension has mounted among the Arab population since April 2005, after it was alleged that the government planned to disperse the country's Arab population or to force them to relinquish their Arab identity. Hundreds have been arrested and there have been reports of torture.

Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz City in June and October 2005, which killed at least 14 people, and explosions at oil installations in September and October, the cycle of violence has intensified, with hundreds of people reportedly arrested. Further bombings on 24 January 2006, in which at least six people were killed, were followed by further mass arrests. Two men, Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Awdeh Afrawi, were executed in public on 2 March after they were convicted of involvement in the October bombings. Their executions followed unfair trials before a Revolutionary Court during which they are believed to have been denied access to lawyers, and their confessions, along with those of seven other men, were broadcast on television.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Arabic, Persian or your own language:

- stating that Amnesty International recognizes the rights and responsibilities of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences, but strongly opposes the death penalty as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life;

- urging that the death sentence imposed on the three men (please name them) and any other death sentences passed be commuted immediately;

- seeking full details of their trials, including details of the charges and evidence against them and any appeals they may have made;

- expressing concern at reports that the nine men (please name them) were not granted access to a lawyer during their trial and as such their trial did not meet international standards for fair trial, as laid down by Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Iran is a State Party.

- calling for the nine men to be given immediate access to lawyers, their families, interpreters and medical treatment if necessary;

- seeking assurances that they are not being tortured or ill-treated in detention.

APPEALS TO:

Leader of the Islamic Republic

His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader

Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Salutation:   Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary

His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi

Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Email: Please send emails via the feedback form on the Persian site of the website: http://www.iranjudiciary.org/contactus-feedback-fa.html

The text of the feedback form translates as:

1st line: name, 2nd line: email address, 3rd line: subject heading, then enter your email into the text box.

Salutation:         Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

President

His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to H.E Ahmadinejad

Email:          This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

via website: www.president.ir/email

Salutation:   Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament

His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel

Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami

Imam Khomeini Avenue,

Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746