- Target:
- Ahmed Shaheed, Navi Pillay, Ban Ki-Moon, UNHCHR, EU, State Department, European Parliament
- Region:
- GLOBAL
- Website:
- en.irangreenvoice.com
Mohammad Tavassoli, imprisoned head the political bureau of the outlawed Freedom Movement of Iran is said to be in dire physical conditions. On May 15 he will celebrate his 75th birthday in Tehran's notorious Evin Prison
Mohammad Tavassoli, Tehran’s first post-revolution mayor, was arrested on 3 November after he and 140 other activists wrote a letter to former President Mohammad Khatami, warning him that there was little hope the authorities would submit to free and fair elections. In that letter, he - among 143 fellow activists who signed - warned that “There will not be the smallest glimmer of hope for protecting the people’s vote and for holding free and fair elections”.
The 74-year-old is currently being held in section 209 of the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran. According to sources, he is not being allowed fresh air and that he has developed shivering as a result of prison duress. He was transferred to the prison infirmary a number of times after his health deteriorated. Instead of receiving medical attention, Tavassoli reportedly received death threats from an official working there.
This past week (May 7-12) Mr. Tavassoli’s family were able to meet with their frail loved one, whose hands were shaking from weakness due to loss of weight and mistreatment.
Tavassoli has spent many years, both before and after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, behind bars where he was also subjected to torture. In early 2001, he was imprisoned along with other FMI members and spent eleven months in solitary confinement before being released on bail.
He was arrested again following Iran’s disputed June 2009 presidential election. He was released after spending 43 days in solitary confinement.
Tavassoli’s daughter (Leila) and son-in-law (Mohammad Navid Taheri), both detained following opposition protests in late December 2009, are also in prison serving lengthy jail terms.
Since his arrest in November, Tavassoli has only been given a 36-hour leave to attend his daughter’s wedding. He spent the New Iranian Year in prison, despite his family’s letters to the Head of the Judiciary and Intelligence Minister requesting his release during the festivities.
Please see also: http://nedayeazadi.org/english.php?id=91
WHEREAS Mohammad Tavassoli is clearly a prisoner of conscience who has been imprisoned solely for his peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression;
and WHEREAS: He is an elderly man in poor health who has been subjected once more to mistreatment at the hands of the repressive organs of the Islamic Republic of Iran;
And WHEREAS: His continued arrest, sentencing, and continued imprisonment are therefore ILLEGAL under 1) Article 56 of the UN Charter; 2) Article 18, Section 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 3) Article 19, Sections 1 and 2, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 4) Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; and 5) Article 24 of the Iranian Consitution
THEREFORE: We the undersigned demand that the international community at all levels IMMEDIATELY bring all possible pressure to bear upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately and unconditionally release ailing activist Mohammad Tavassoli.
We further demand that the international community insist that he receive all needed medical care as a result of his mistreatment, and that the illegal charges brought against him and the illegal sentence imposed upon him be rescinded unconditionally.
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The Free Ailing Iranian Activist Mohammad Tavassoli petition to Ahmed Shaheed, Navi Pillay, Ban Ki-Moon, UNHCHR, EU, State Department, European Parliament was written by John S. Burke and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.