- Target:
- UN, Ban ki-Moon, OHCHR, Navi Pillay, Ahmed Shaheed, State Department, EU, European Parliament
- Region:
- Iran
- Website:
- hra-news.org
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Department has arrested a number of Women’s rights activists on Monday January 19 2015, in Tehran, and has also summoned a number of the activists or has threatened them. It has been said that these are all in order to prevent the protest plans by these activists in connection with the recent acid attacks against women in Iran.
According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Iranian Revolutionary Guards Intelligence arrested a number of women’s rights activists. Zahra Khandan, journalist and former student activist from Amir Kabir University (Tehran Polytechnic) and Soha Mortazaei are two of these detainees who were arrested in Tehran at their homes.
Zahra Khandan, who has a record of working for Iran Labor News Agency (ILNA) and Etemad Newspaper, was arrested at her home by Intelligence officers and there is no news about her location. Intelligence officers in contact with this journalist’s father, informed him about his daughter’s detention.
Also, on Monday 19th January, Intelligence officers arrested Ms Soha Mortazaei, student activist at her home. Soha Mortazaei, is a student of Amir Kabir University of Technology who had been suspended for one semester in the university, as well. She was released, but then arrested yet again for the "crime" of attempting to attend a public sporting event.
It is said, additional arrests of women’s rights activists were carried out that same day.
Women’s rights activists believe that, considering the summoning of and phone call threats to several other activists on that same day, the arrests are likely to be related to attempts to prevent women’s rights activists from holding possible rallies to protest regarding recent acid attacks against women.
SOURCE: HRANA Human Rights News Agency
WHEREAS: Zahra Khandan and Soha Mortazaei were arrested solely for peaceful social activism and are therefore prisoners of conscience;
AND WHEREAS: Their arrests and continued detention are therefore ILLEGAL under Articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights--to which Iran is a signatory--as well as Article 25 of the Iranian Constitution;
THEREFORE: We, the undersigned, demand that the international community bring all possible pressure to bear upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to IMMEDIATELY and UNCONDITIONALLY release Zahra Khandan and Soha Mortazaei, and drop any charges prepared against them.
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The Free Iranian Student Activists Zahra Khandan and Soha Mortazaei petition to UN, Ban ki-Moon, OHCHR, Navi Pillay, Ahmed Shaheed, State Department, EU, European Parliament was written by John S. Burke and is in the category Human Rights at GoPetition.