Azeri Turkish lawyer Saleh Kamrani is feared to have been abducted by the security forces on 14 June, and to be in unacknowledged detention where he would be at risk of torture. He reportedly needs medication for a heart condition. He may be held solely for his work as a lawyer and human rights defender, in which case Amnesty International would consider him a prisoner of conscience.

Saleh Kamrani is reportedly held without charge in Evin Prison in Tehran. In an interview on 19 June 2006 on Araz Radio, broadcasting from Sweden, Saleh Kamrani’s wife, Mina Esgeri, said that she had been allowed to meet with her husband in detention on 18 June. He reportedly needs medication for a heart condition. He may be held solely for his work as a lawyer and human rights defender, in which case Amnesty International would

consider him a prisoner of conscience.

He reportedly called his wife at their house in Tehran at around 3pm on 14 June to say that he was on his way home. He should have arrived by 4.30 or 5pm, and when he did not she tried to call him, but found his mobile phone switched off, which was unusual for him. She called all the hospitals and police stations in Tehran but did not find any trace of him. In the evening, she called Ministry of Intelligence officials who have reportedly refused to confirm whether they are holding her husband.

Saleh Kamrani has practised as a lawyer since 1999 and has defended a number of Iranian Azeri Turks (who sometimes refer to themselves as Iranian Azerbaijanis) who have been detained in connection with their political or cultural activities. One of his clients, activist Saleh Malla Abbasi was arrested on 17 April .

Saleh Kamrani has also defended members of other ethnic groups. He has reportedly suffered harassment at the hands of the Iranian security forces, including phone calls threatening him with arrest and in 2005 was detained for three days with his brother in the town of Oromieh. He has also reportedly written articles on human rights and has helped to organise training in human rights for lawyers and students. Saleh Kamrani's brother, Maharam Kamrani, was arrested on 30 March, and reportedly tortured during his 19 days in detention.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In May 2006, massive demonstrations took place in towns and cities in north-western Iran, where the majority of the population is Azeri Turkish, in protest at a cartoon published on 12 May by the state-owned daily newspaper Iran which many Azeri Turks found offensive. Hundreds were arrested during or following the demonstrations . Some of those detained have allegedly been tortured, with some requiring hospital treatment. Publication of the newspaper was suspended on 23 May and the editor-in-chief and the cartoonist were arrested. Azeri sources have claimed that dozens were killed and hundreds injured by the security forces. The security forces have generally denied that anyone was killed, although on 29 May a police official acknowledged that four people had been killed and 43 injured in the town of Naqada.

Iranian security forces frequently hold people, for days or weeks, sometimes in secret detention centres, before acknowledging that they are in custody or allowing them to contact their families. Student activist Abed Tavancheh was thought to have "disappeared" when he did not contact his family for over a week: on 5 June he was able to call them from Tehran's Evin prison to say that he had been arrested on 26 May

ACTION REQUESTED:

Please write to the authorities of Iran urging them to:

i. guarantee under all circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Saleh Kamrani, and in particular ensure that he will not be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment during his detention;

ii. take prompt action in order to locate Mr. Saleh Kamrani, make public his whereabouts, and ensure his immediate release;

iii. conduct a fair, impartial and independent inquiry into these events in order to identify the authors, bring them to justice and pronounce sentences proportional to the gravity of their crimes;

iv. put an end to all acts of harassment against human rights defenders in Iran;

v. conform with the provisions of the Declaration on Humans Rights Defenders, in particular article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realisation of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”, article 9c, which states that everyone has the right “to offer and provide professionally qualified legal assistance or other relevant advice and assistance in defending human rights and fundamental freedoms”, and article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually or in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”;

vi. more generally, ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in Iran in accordance with international human rights standards.

ADDRESSES:

Leader of the Islamic Republic, His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, the Presidency, Palestine

Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649 5880 / 21 774 2228

(ask fax to be forwarded to Ayatollah Khamenei), Email: webmaster@wilayah.org (on the subject line write: For the attention of the office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei, Qom)

President Mr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 649 5880

Head of the Judiciary, His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahrudi, Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: +98 21 879 6671, Email: Irjpr@iranjudiciary.com

Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Manouchehr Mottaki, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Av, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 390 1999 (number may be unreliable; please mark “care of the Human Rights Department, Foreign Ministry”), Email: matbuat@mfa.gov

Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Chemin du Petit-Saconnex 28, 1209 Geneva, Switzerland, Fax: +41 22 7330203, Email: mission.iran@ties.itu.int

Ambassador Mr. Ahani, Embassy of Iran to Brussels, 415 avenue de Tervueren, 1150 Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, Fax: + 32 2 762 39 15. Email: iran-embassy@yahoo.com

Please also write to diplomatic representations of the Islamic Republic of Iran in your respective countries.

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/067/2006

16 June 2006