Ten Arab activists face execution in Iran

This is an urgent appeal from Outrage, some on the left are unwilling to criticise Iran at present, perhaps understandably given the US pressure for war, however human rights abuses should be opposed, while recognising that the US and Isreal together with Blair have been cheerleaders for regressive Islam via their own atavistic actions....



Iran - 10 Arabs face execution

Tehran is a racist state, as well as a homophobic one

Ethnic cleansing of Ahwazi Arabs in south-west Iran

London – 3 August 2006

“The Iranian regime is planning the imminent execution of 10 Arab
human rights activists from Khuzestan province in the south-west of
Iran. They were sentenced to death after secret trials in June. The
Iranian supreme court upheld their death sentences on 25 July,” warns
human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.

“Iran’s Arab minority, who call themselves Ahwazis, are subjected to
systematic prejudice and persecution by the Persian chauvinist Tehran
regime (see more info below).

“It is believed that both the gay teenagers executed in the city of
Mashhad on 19 July 2005 were Ahwazis. The ethnic background of Mahmoud
Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni may have been a contributing factor that led
to their execution.

“It is important that the gay community shows solidarity with all the
victims of the murderous Iranian regime - and that other victims show
solidarity with gay Iranians. United together, the Iranian people can
triumph over the clerical dictatorship.

“A further 22 Arab activists are expected to be handed death sentences
at the end of their trials, which are being held in secret with no
independent observers allowed to attend the court. They are victims of
trumped up charges, for which there is no evidence.

“The Tehran regime is now holding Ahwazi children as young as 2 and 4
years old as hostages in prison, in a bid to force their political and
human rights activist parents (who are on the run and in hiding) to
surrender to the police. If the parents hand in themselves to the
authorities, their children will be released, but they will face
execution.

“In the last year, 25,000 Ahwazis have been arrested, 131 executed and
150 have disappeared (presumed killed and buried in unmarked graves),
according to the Ahwazi Human Rights Organization (see more background
below).

“The Ahwazis are one of Iran's several persecuted national minorities
who are subjected to racist victimisation by the Tehran regime. Other
maltreated minorities include the Balochis, Turkmen and Azeris.

“Iran is a racist state, with a covert agenda for the ethnic cleansing
of the Ahwazi Arab people.

“Tehran’s land seizures, forced population relocations, massacres,
arrests, jailings, tortures and executions of Ahwazi Arabs are crimes
against humanity under international law.

“Despite living in the region of Iran richest in oil, the Ahwazi Arab
people are victims of a cruel, deliberate impoverishment by the
Iranian regime, with half the population living in gross poverty and
80 percent of children suffering from malnutrition.

“We support the efforts of the Iranian people to end the racist,
homophobic and misogynist tyranny in Tehran and to establish a
democratic, secular state that ensures human rights for all the
ethnic, sexual, religious and cultural minorities of Iran.

“Foreign military intervention in Iran would be morally wrong and
counter-productive. Reform must come from within, by and for the
Iranian people themselves,” said Mr Tatchell.

Further information: Brett Lock, OutRage! London 0770 843 5917.

Copy of the Ahwazi Human Rights Organization letter to the UN:

To: The Honorable Mr. Kofi Annan, United Nations General Secretary;
From: The Ahwazi Human Rights Organization
(001) 703 806 9234 - Virginia, USA
asc@ahwazstudies.org
www.ahwaz.org.uk

Dear Mr. General Secretary:

We are writing to inform you of the imminent execution of 10 ethnic
Arab-Iranians (Ahwazi-Arabs) in Ahwaz, provincial capital of Khuzestan
in southwestern Iran.[1]

On June 7 and 8 the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Ahwaz, in secret
trials, sentenced these human rights activists to death. The final
execution order was issued by the Iranian Supreme Court in Tehran on
7/25/2006, according to Iranian official news agency ILNA. Their names
are as follows:[2]

1.Yahia Nasseri
2. Nazem Boraihi
3. Abdolemam Zaeri
4.Abdolzahar olichi
5.Hamza Sawaeri
6. Jafar Sawari
7. Reisan Sawari
8. Abdolreza Nawaseri
9. Ali Helfi
10. Zamel Bawi

After the public hanging of Ali Afrawi (17) and Mehdi Nawaseri (20) in
Ahwaz and seven other political prisoners inside prisons in March and
April of this year, the Iranian regime is once again embarking on a
new wave of executions of Ahwazi Arabs.[3]

Last month, Ahwaz Prosecutor-General Iraj Amirkhani, in an interview
with Iranian official news agency ISNA, announced that 22 Ahwazi Arab
political activists had been arrested and expected to be sentenced to
death. These men, like the 10 named above, are also being tried in
secret without the presence of independent observers. They are accused
of being “Mohareb” or enemies of god which carries death sentence.
Other charges are “Destablizing the Country”, “Attempt to Overthrow
the Government”, “Possession of Home Made Bombs” and “Sabotage of Oil
Installations”. However, no evidence has been presented. The
government accused them of working as agents for the US, the UK and
Israel, and claimed they have received training in Iraq. Again, the
regime has failed to produce any evidence.

These are the 22 Ahwazis who face the risk of execution:

1Ali Motirijejad (m)
2- Abdullh Solymani (m)
3-Mlik banitamimt (m)
4- Abolamir Farjaolh Chaabi (m)
5- Mohammad Chaabpour
6- Khalaf Khozairi (m)
7- Alireza Asakereh (m)
8- Majed Albog hbaish (m)
9-Ghasem Salamat (m)
10- Abdolreza Sanawati (m)
11- Said Hamydan (m)
12- Fahimeh Esmaili Badawi (f) *
13- Toameh Chaab (m)
14- Nasser Farajolah Kia (m)
15- Majid Mazaal (m)
16- Jalil Moghadam (m)
17- Mehdi Saad Nasab (m)
18- Hoda Hedayati Rezaie (Hawashemi) f)
19-Sharif Asei nawaseri (m)
20- Jalil Boraihi (m)
21- Mohammad Sawari (m)
22- Abdolreza Salman Delfi (m)

Ali Matourzadeh and his wife Fahima Ismaili Badawi have been detained
since February 28; Fahima gave birth to their daughter, Salma, in
Sepidar Prison in Ahwaz in March. Matourzadeh is founder of the
reformist Hizb-i Vifaq (Unity Party). His whereabouts are unknown,
while his wife and daughter are being held at Sepidar Prison in
Khuzestan Province. Amnesty International has suggested Fahima and
Salma are being held in order to force Ali Matourzadeh to cooperate
and the group demanded their unconditional release.

Furthermore, there has been an upsurge of arrest and detention of
wives and children of political activists who, for fear of their
lives, had to flee the country or are in hiding. This appears to be a
hostage taking attempt to pressure their return. Some of the recently
arrested Ahwazi women and children are:

1. Ma’soumeh Ka’abi (f) and her sons Imad (m), aged 4, she is the
wife of political activist, Habib Nabgan. (Released and re-arrested
several times).

2. Sograh Khudayrawi (f) and her son Zeidan (m) aged 4. Her
husband’s name is Khalaf Khudayrawi, who is currently being held at
Sepidar Prison.

3. Sakina Naisi (f), mother of five and wife of Ahwazi opposition
activist Ahman Naisi.

4. Hoda Hawashem (f) and her son Osameh (m), aged 2. and her
other son Ahmad (m), aged 4. She is the wife of opposition activist,
Habib Faraj-allah[4].

Iran and its ally Syria are also violating the Geneva Conventions on
refugees by returning or threatening to return Ahwazi refugees
registered with the UNHCR back to Iran, where they face arrest and
likely torture and execution. Iranian Arab refugee Saeed Awda al-Saki
was arrested on 11 May in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the request
of the Iranian authorities. He was forcibly returned to Iran three
days later and now is held incommunicado at an undisclosed place.
Saeed Awda al-Saki, is registered and recognized as a political
refugee by the UNHCR. According to Amnesty International he is also
facing torture and ill-treatment, and possibly death sentence.[5]

Under pressure from Iran, on May 11, 2006, eight Ahwazi men were
detained by the Syrian authorities. These are all mandate holder
political refugees, registered and recognized by UNHCR in Syria:

1. Mousa Sawari
2. Issa Alyassin
3. Gamal Obaidy
4. Ahmad Abiat
5. Taher Ali Mazraeh
6. Rasool Mezrea’
7. Faleh ‘Abdullah al-Mnsuri
8. Jamal ‘Abdawi

Three of the above have been released and four remain in detention in
Syria.

Since the Ahwazi Intifada (uprising) began on April 15, 20065, more
than 25,000 Ahwazis have been detained, at least 131 have been
executed and over 150 have disappeared (believed to have been tortured
and killed by Iranian security forces). Confiscation of Ahwazi Arab
farmland, forced displacement and other measures of ethnic cleansing
and ethnic restructuring are other examples of repression and
persecution of Arab ethnic minority in Iran. Iranian authorities level
accusations against the US, UK and Israel as the cause of Ahwazi
demands for democracy, social and economic justice.

We urge you and the United Nation to take immediate action to prevent
the execution of these political prisoners.

Karim Abdian, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Ahwazi Human Rights Organization
US (001) 703 806 9234
asc@ahwazstudies.org
www.ahwaz.org.uk

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1].
http://www.ahwazstudies.org/main/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=774&Itemid=47&lang=EN

[2] http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/06/26/iran13609.htm

[3] http://web.amnesty.org/report2006/irn-summary-eng

[4] http://www.ahwazstudies.org/main/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=465&Itemid=47&lang=EN

[5] http://www.ahwazstudies.org/main/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=571&Itemid=47&lang=EN


ENDS