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IDHAE INFORMATION
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Abdolfattah
Soltani, a lawyer at the Bar of Tehran and a founding member of the Defenders
of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) has been
acquitted on appeal of espionage-related charges after spending seven months
in jail. But the Iranian authorities have since then not
yet returned his identity documents (i.e. passport and family record book),
thus preventing him from exercising his freedom of movement, in violation of
Article 12.2 of the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. In this regard, the Observatory
deplores the fact that Mr. Soltani, who had been officially invited by FIDH
to come to France from October 25 to 31, 2007, in order to take part in a
conference on “Freedom of expression in Iran” that was held at Sorbonne
university on October 27, 2007, has been unable to travel. The Observatory expresses its
deep concern with what it considers as one more form of harassment of the
Iranian authorities against a long-standing human rights defender, and wishes
to insist on the fact that Iran had committed to “uphold the highest
standards in the promotion and protection of human rights”1 by presenting its
candidacy to the Human Rights Council 2006 election and had insisted in this
regard on the fact that the country had “continuously put great efforts into
safeguarding the status and inherent dignity of the human person as well as
the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms”2. In
order to ensure the continuation of these efforts, the Observatory urges the
Islamic Republic of Iran to conform with international human rights
standards. Background information: See below : An
IDHAE Portrait of Abdolfattah Soltani . ACTIONS REQUESTED: Please write to the Iranian
authorities and ask them to: i.Guarantee in all circumstances
the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Abdolfattah Soltani and all
human rights defenders in Iran; ii.Put an immediate end to any
kind of hindrance on Mr. Soltani’s freedom of movement, by returning him all
his personal documents, including travel documents; iii.Put an end to acts of
harassment against all human rights defenders in Iran; iv.Conform in any circumstances
with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on
December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its
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”,
its article 5(c), which reads that “everyone has the right, individually and
in association with others, at the national and international levels, [...]
to communicate with non-governmental or intergovernmental organizations”, and
its article 12.2 which provides that “the State shall take all necessary
measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone,
individually and 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”; v.Ensure in all circumstances
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with
international human rights standards and international instruments ratified
by Iran. ADDRESSES: Leader of the Islamic Republic,
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme
Leader, Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran, Faxes: + 98 21 649
5880 / 21 774 2228, Email: info@leader.ir / istiftaa@wilayah.org /
webmaster@wilayah.org President Mr. Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, Fax: + 98 21 649 5880. Email:
dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir 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 / +98 21 3 311
6567, 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, Fax: + 98 21 390 1999,
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 PLEASE TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY ! An IDHAE
Portrait of Abdolfattah Soltani Abdolfattah
Soltani,
lawyer at the Bar of Tehran, is a well-known Iranian human rights lawyer. He the lawyer for the family of
slain Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, who was murdered in Evin
Prison in July 2003. Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize, and
Soltani were representing the family of Zahra Kazemi, , an Iranian-Canadian
photographer who died in July 2003 from torture and ill-treatment during her
detention in Iranian custody. They have both also been representing jailed
journalist Akbar Ganji who is currently on day 52 of a hunger strike in
protest to his detention. On July 27, 2005, Mr. Saïd
Mortazavi, Tehran Prosecutor, requested the Revolution’s Court of Tehran to
issue a warrant for the arrest of Mr. Soltani along with a search warrant for
his home. As he was absent, the warrants were delivered to his wife and his
house was searched. All his documents, files, video-tapes, books, pictures
etc. were seized and transferred to the Revolutionary Public Prosecutor’s
Office. He was arrested on July 30, 2005
while he was taking part in a sit-in at the Bar of Tehran in order to protest
against his warrant of arrest, which Mr. Soltani considered as “illegal with
respect to the Iranian Penal Code”, as well as against the search and seizure
of his personal and professional belongings on order of Mr. Saïd Mortazavi. Abdolfattah Soltani has been
accused of “espionage”, without any other precisions. On July 31, 2005, a
spokesman for the Ministry of Justice announced that Abdolfattah Soltani had been arrested for having illegally
divulged information from one of his clients who was charged with revealing
Iran’s nuclear secrets. Morehower, the arrest of Mr. Soltani is thought to be
linked with his declaration issued on July 25, 2005, during a hearing in the
Court of Appeal of Tehran about the case of Ms. Kazemi. Mr. Soltani, lawyer
of Ms. Zahra Kazamis family, questioned the independence and fairness of the
trial, pointing out that the main officials allegedly involved in the case
had not been indicted by the court, including Tehran Prosecutor. Abdolfattah Soltani was held in
solitary confinement until 15 September 2005, when he was moved into a cell
with another prisoner. He was detained
at the prison of Evin, in Tehran. His wife and mother were permitted to meet
him for the first time only 10 days before this, on 5 September 2005, and then
only in the presence of a prison guard. He looked physically weakened, and
said that he had not been informed about the authorities' intentions in his
case. His wife and mother have been permitted visits since, usually in the
presence of prison guards but his children have not seen him since his
arrest. He is reportedly barred from making phone calls and reading
newspapers.
During his detention was elected as
a board member by the Bar Association of Tehran, but he received a letter
from the Judiciary rejecting his election as a board member, explaining that
as he was in prison during the election, his candidacy was not valid.
On July 16, 2006, he was informed that the
Revolutionary Court of Tehran had sentenced him to a five-year prison term
and to the loss of his civic rights, for failing to respect the
confidentiality of the preliminary inquiry into the case of Ms. Zahra Kazemi,
an Iranian-Canadian photographer who died in 2003 from acts of torture and
ill-treatments to which she was subjected during her detention. Mr. Soltani
had questioned the independence and fairness of the trial, stressing that the
main officials allegedly involved in the case had not been prosecuted by the
court, including Mr. Saïd Mortazavi. Mr. Soltani appealed against this
judgment. On May
28th, the prominent Iranian human rights lawyer said
he has been acquitted on appeal of espionage-related charges.
He had
spent seven months in jail. Copyright IDHAE
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