Paris-Geneva, September 28, 2018
RE: Stop the persecution of human rights defenders
Mr. President,
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), is writing to you to express its deepest concern
over the ongoing wave of arbitrary arrests, prosecutions, persecution and judicial harassment
of human rights defenders in Iran, including women’s rights defenders.
The Observatory is particularly concerned over the arrest of Mr. Reza Khandan, human rights
activist and husband of lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh; Ms. Rezvaneh Mohammadi, Ms. Hoda Amid,
Ms. Najmeh Vahedi and Ms. Maryam Azad, four women’s rights defenders involved in various
campaigns for the defence of women’s rights, including against the imposition of the hijab; and
of Mr. Farhad Mayssami, also involved in the promotion of human rights and opposition to the
imposition of the hijab.
Mr. Reza Khandan
Mr. Reza Khandan was arrested on September 4, 2018, at his home in Tehran by agents of the
Ministry of Intelligence and subsequently taken to Branch 7 of the Prosecutor’s Office in the
capital’s Evin prison. He was detained on charges of “gathering and colluding against national
security” (Article 610 of the Penal Code), “spreading propaganda against the system” (Article
500 of the Penal Code), and propagating and promoting disregard for hijab in the society. The
Prosecutor’s Office ordered him to deposit bail to the amount of 7,000 million Iranian rial
(approximately 55,000 Euros). To date, Mr. Reza Khandan has refused to pay the bail, arguing
that he did not commit any offence, and remains detained in Evin prison.
Mr. Reza Khandan has been consistently raising human rights concerns, including the
imprisonment of human rights defenders and the prosecution of women who have campaigned
against the imposition of the hijab. He had previously been arrested several times, including
on June 13, 2018 for a few hours, while protesting the arbitrary detention of his wife, human
rights lawyer Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh, in front of Evin prison.
Ms. Rezvaneh Mohammadi
Ms. Rezvaneh Mohammadi was arrested on September 3, 2018, at her home in Tehran by the
security forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) and taken to the IRGC-run
Section 2A, within Evin prison. Her phone and other electronic devices were confiscated and
her family was not informed of her whereabouts for two days. The authorities did not provide
a reason for her arrest and she has since been denied family visits.
Ms. Rezvaneh Mohammadi is a gender studies student who has been promoting gender
equality online and participating in gender equality workshops. This is not the first time she
suffers judicial harassment. A few months ago, Ms. Rezvaneh Mohammadi was also arrested
by the Gorgan city morality police force for not wearing “Islamic clothing”. She was held for one
night in a police detention centre and released on bail. She was then acquitted by the Gorgan
city court.
Ms. Hoda Amid and Ms. Najmeh Vahedi
Human rights lawyer and women’s rights defender Ms. Hoda Amid, was arrested on September
1, 2018, at her home in Tehran. Ms. Najmeh Vahedi, another women’s rights defender, was
also arrested a few hours later on the same day. The authorities did not provide reasons for
their arrests. The two women’s rights defenders are known for jointly organising educational
workshops on topics related to marriage, women’s rights and the legal status of women in
Iran. They have been involved in various campaigns for the defence of women’s rights. They
are being held incommunicado in the IRGC-run Section 2A of Evin prison. Ms. Vahedi spent the
first 10 days of her detention in solitary confinement. The authorities have not disclosed the
charges against the two women, who have also been denied access to lawyers. While Ms.
Vahedi has been allowed once to meet her mother, Ms. Amid has been denied family visits to
this date.
Ms. Maryam Azad
A women human rights defender very active in the promotion of gender equality from the city
of Shiraz, Ms. Maryam Azad was arrested on September 25, 2018, after she boarded a flight at
Tehran airport bound for Turkey. The authorities did not provide any reasons for her arrest or
disclose charges against her. She is believed to be under incommunicado detention with no
access to lawyer in Ward 2A within Evin prison.
Mr. Farhad Mayssami
Mr. Farhad Mayssami was arrested on July 31, 2018, at his office in Tehran, following an order
of the Prosecutor’s Office Branch 2 and taken to the Ministry of Intelligence-run Ward 209
within Evin prison. On August 1, Mr. Mayssami started a hunger strike to protest against his
detention. He was kept in solitary confinement for 20 days before being transferred to a
dormitory ward. A friend of Ms. Nasrin Sotoudeh, Mr. Farhad Mayssami was arrested for being
in possession of copies of two books – “Small Acts of Resistance” by Steve Crawshaw and John
Jackson, and a book on human rights translated by Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh, a translator
and writer assassinated by Ministry of Intelligence agents in 1998 – and a number of badges
reading “I am opposed to forced hijab.” He has been charged with “gathering and colluding
against national security” (Article 610 of the Penal Code), “spreading propaganda against the
system” (Article 500 of the Penal Code), and insulting the hijab as one of the essential
sanctities of Islam. Mr. Mayssami was not given access to a lawyer and the authorities refused
to allow Mr. Arash Kaykhosravi to act as his lawyer, before the latter was arrested in front of
the Parliament on August 18, 2018. [1] The authorities have also refused to allow another
lawyer of his choosing, Mr. Mohammad Moqimi, to have access to him. Mr. Mayssami is
reportedly still on a hunger strike and his health is deteriorating. On September 26, 2018, he
was forcibly transferred by force to Evin prison’s clinic and is being kept incommunicado.
The Observatory calls on you to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of the
aforementioned human rights defenders. In the meantime, Iranian authorities should
guarantee their physical and psychological integrity. The Observatory also calls on you to
instruct the relevant authorities to cease the repression and prosecution of all human rights
defenders in Iran.
Lastly, the Observatory urges you to ensure that authorities conform to the provisions of the
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on
December 9, 1998, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to all other international
human rights instruments to which the country is a state party.
We thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Dimitris Christopoulos Gerald Staberock
FIDH President OMCT Secretary General
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in
1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). The objective of this programme
is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT
are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders
Mechanism implemented by international civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH +33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT +41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / +41 22 809 49 29
[1] See the Observatory Urgent Appeal n° IRN 003 / 0818 / OBS 10
