Drop "Propaganda" Charges Against Iranian-Kurdish Human Rights Lawyer Masoud Shamsnejad
- Target:
- UN, Ban ki-Moon, Navi Pillay, OHCHR, Ahmed Shaheed, EU, European Parliament, State Department, HRW
- Region:
- Iran
- Website:
- persianbanoo.wordpress.com
On April 12, 2014 it was announced that Iranian-Kurdish human rights lawyer Masoud Shamsenjad had been indicted on "propaganda" charges.
Masoud Shamsnejad is an attorney and on the faculty of Payam Nour and Azad universities in Orumieh. He has defended several Iranian Kurdish political prisoners, including death row inmate Habibollah Golparipour who was executed in October 2013.
With these "propaganda" charges, and the prison sentence they threaten, Mr. Shamsnejad becomes the latest human rights lawyer to be targeted for persecution. In his March 2014 report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran Dr. Ahmed Shaheed estimates that there are at least 42 lawyers either in prison or facing imprisonment in Iran today.
WHEREAS: The imprisonment of human rights lawyers is a flagrant violation of all international human rights and jurisprudential treaties and covenants (Iran being a signatory to most), and the obvioiusly political "propaganda" charges filed against Masoud Shamsnejad are therefore illegal;
THEREFORE: We, the undersigned demand that the internationl community at ALL levels bring ALL possible pressure to bear upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to drop these illegal charges against Mr. Shamsnejad and to release all imprisoned human rights lawyers and all other prisoners of conscience as well.
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The Drop "Propaganda" Charges Against Iranian-Kurdish Human Rights Lawyer Masoud Shamsnejad petition to UN, Ban ki-Moon, Navi Pillay, OHCHR, Ahmed Shaheed, EU, European Parliament, State Department, HRW was written by John S. Burke and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.