Amnesty international: Iran: Fear of Torture and Ill-Treatment

Firouz Abou Farhan (m), also known as Nasr Daraji, aged 23, poet, Eshaghi (m), Abdulali Douraghi (m), Karim Douraghi (m), his brother. The four men named above, all members of Iran's Arab minority, were reportedly arrested on 6 November, and are now believed to be held incommunicado at an unknown location. They are at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

They were apparently arrested after demonstrations to mark the ‘Id al-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Firouz Abou Farhan, a poet and supporter of greater rights for the Arab minority, had apparently helped to organise the demonstrations in Ahvaz City, the capital of Khuzestan province, and was filmed during the demonstration by the Iranian authorities. Friends later warned him to flee his family home as he was on a "wanted" list. He went into hiding, but returned to his home late in the night of 6 November, to visit his aging parents and get some clean clothing. The house was immediately raided by police and he was arrested at about 3am. Police reportedly beat his mother, who is aged about 65 and suffering from diabetes, when she asked why her son was being arrested and where he was taken.

Amnesty International has no further information about the arrest of the other three men, one of whom is known only by his surname, Eshaghi.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Iran's Arab community live mainly in the Khuzestan region, which borders Iraq. It is strategically important because it is the site of much of Iran’s oil reserves. The Arab population do not feel they have benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population; historically they have been marginalised and discriminated against, for instance being denied the right to an education in their own language.

Tension has mounted among the Arab population since April, after it was alleged that the government planned to disperse the country's Arab population or to force them to relinquish their Arab identity.

Following bomb explosions in Ahvaz City in October which killed six people, and explosions at economically important oil installations in September and October, the cycle of violence in the Khuzestan Province intensified, leading to reports of scores of arrests and at least two deaths while demonstrations were being broken up.

A group of at least 81 people were reportedly arrested during the week preceding ‘Id al-Fitr, possibly on 3 November, while attending an Arab cultural gathering.

On 4 November, possibly partly in protest at earlier arrests, several hundred Arab Iranian demonstrators began marching towards the centre of Ahvaz City, where they met Iranian security forces, and scuffles appear to have broken out. Tear gas grenades were reportedly fired at the crowd, and two Arab youths affected by the tear gas are said to have drowned after falling into the Karoon river. Scores, if not hundreds, of demonstrators were arrested. At least 10 of them are reportedly still in custody.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, English, Arabic or your own language:

- expressing concern for the safety of Firouz Abou Farhan, Abdul Ali Douraghi, Karim Douraghi and a man only known by his surname, Eshaghi, who were reportedly arrested on 6 November and are held incommunicado, which puts them at risk of torture or ill-treatment;

- calling on the authorities to reveal where they are detained, and release them immediately, unless they are to be promptly charged with a recognizably criminal offence;

- calling for them to be given immediate access to lawyers of their own choosing, their families, interpreters and any medical treatment they may require;

- seeking assurances that they are not being tortured or ill-treated;

- reminding the authorities that confessions extracted under duress are prohibited by Article 38 of the Constitution of Iran, which says that "All forms of torture for the purpose of extracting confession or acquiring information are forbidden," and that Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, of which Article 7 states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment."

APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 649 5880 (mark "FAO the Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei")
Email: info@wilayah.org

info@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: irjpr@iranjudiciary.org (mark "Please forward to His Excellency Ayatollah Shahroudi")
Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:
Minister of the Interior
Hojjatoleslam Mustafa Purmohammadi
Ministry of the Interior
Dr Fatemi Avenue
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: ravabetomomi@moi.gov.ir
Fax: +98 21 8 896 203

+98 21 8 899 547
+98 21 6 650 203

Speaker of Parliament
Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Imam Khomeini Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746

and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 18 January 2006.