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Iran: Women human rights defender, Shadi Sadr, beaten and arrested
19/07/2009: WLUML is deeply concerned to learn that our colleague and
friend, Ms. Shadi Sadr, was beaten and arrested by plainclothes officers
in Tehran, Iran on the morning of Friday 17 July 2009.
Online sources, including Iran Emrooz and Twitter, confirm reports that
around 11:30 on the morning of Friday 17 July 2009, our colleague and
friend, Shadi Sadr, was abducted by a group of unknown men in civilian
clothes (possibly security forces) while she was walking to the Friday
Prayer sermon. Apparently her friends tried to pull her away from her
abductors but they were unable to do so. She was forced into a car and
taken away.
Ms. Sadr is a human rights lawyer who especially defends the rights of
women in Iran. She is also a Council member of WLUML, as well as part of
the Stop Stoning Forever Campaign and Meydaan.
Friends in Iran report "...the regime has become very brutal over the past
weeks, and the numbers of activists, journalists and intellectuals who are
under arrest and in jail has increased exponentially. More trouble is
expected today at the Friday prayer sermon, which Moussavi will also be
attending."
Eye-witnesses report that Ms. Sadr was also "hit badly and dragged so
badly that her scarf and manteau was removed from her".
Her abductors did not show any identity cards or warrants. Her friends and
colleagues who witnessed the kidnapping say they tried to intervene but
were met with violent force and Sadr was dragged away. They also report of
another car (reported as a Mercedes) acting as back up for the Peugeot. As
of yet, it is not clear where she has been taken or who has arrested her.
17 July 2009
Source: WLUML Networkers
An eyewitness account of the abduction is available here:
http://meydaan.org/english/showarticle.aspx?arid=848
UPDATE: The security Police have investigated Shadi Sadr's office and home
On the heel of the July 17, 2009 illegal arrest of Shadi Sadr, apprehended
on Keshavarz Boulevard by plainclothes government officers en route to the
site of Friday Prayers, her spouse Hossein Niachian, sent word that
several officers had introduced themselves to him as security forces. An
hour beforehand, they had searched throughout their home and office,
taking away some papers, documents, and two computer cases that had
belonged to their little daughter and him. The inspection took several
hours, as they ransacked the house and their ten-year-old daughter was
present.
Then the officials demanded from Niachian that he leave for them the key
to Sadr's office, and after he expressed he didn't know of the
key's whereabouts, they announced that they would go themselves to
her law office and would search it.
Before sending news that this had happened, Niachian said Sadr had
contacted him after her arrest. She called from the mobile that had
originally belonged to her husband and asked for the pin code of the SIM
card. Her husband asked her questions. She said that she couldn't
say where she was, but in order to follow up with her file, he had to go
to the same place where she was arrested previously. Niachian said that
Shadi had meant the Revolutionary Court; he was guessing they had
transferred her to Evin Prison. Shadi knew her daughter was growing
impatient so she spoke with her for a few moments and said to trust her
that she was doing okay and would be freed soon.
Niachian said that Shadi suffers from a serious glandular and bone illness
which leaves her in intense pain and for such reasons has to take certain
pills. She was in the process of having it remedied and had expected to
have surgery for this condition next week. Her husband also said that
tomorrow he intended to head to the Revolutionary Court to follow up on
her case.
17 July 2009
Source: http://meydaan.org/english/showarticle.aspx?arid=850
WHAT YOU CAN DO
We call upon the women's rights community and all human rights activists
and organizations to speak out in defense of Shadi Sadr and all those who
are being unjustly persecuted in Iran for their non-violent dissent. You
can write in Persian, English, or your own language.
Please write to local and international media, mobilize your networks, and
urge your policy makers and embassies as well as UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navanethem Pillay to take
action to protect the basic human rights of all those who are being abused
and arrested in Iran.
Your letter can:
* call on the authorities to release Shadi Sadr immediately and
unconditionally, as she is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her
human rights activities and the peaceful exercise of her rights to freedom
of expression;
* stress that Ms. Sadr's arrest was of a targeted and violent nature, and
that no warrant, reason for arrest, or officer identification were
provided at the time;
* urge them to disclose her whereabouts immediately, and ensure that she
is allowed immediate access to her family, lawyer of her choice and any
medical treatment she may require, especially as she has a reported
pre-existing medical condition;
* urge the authorities to ensure that Shadi Sadr and all other detainees
are protected from all forms of torture or other ill-treatment;
* call on the authorities to remove unlawful restrictions on freedoms of
expression, association and assembly in Iran.
The Honorable Ban Ki-Moon
Secretary General
760 United Nations Plaza
United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Web contact:
www.un.org/en/contactus/contactform.asp
Ms. Navanethem Pillay
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
Palais des Nations
CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Email:
infodesk@ohchr.org
Tel: +41-22-917-90-00
Fax: +41-22-917-9008 or +1-212-963-4097
Ms. Margaret Sekaggya
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders
E-mail:
urgent-action@ohchr.org. The text of the e-mail should refer to
the human rights defenders mandate.
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (Geneva, Switzerland)
Telephone: +41 22 917 1234. This is the number for the United Nations
telephone operator in Geneva, Switzerland . Callers should ask to speak
with staff at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights dealing with the special procedures of the Human Rights, and
specifically with staff supporting the mandate of the Special Rapporteur
on human rights defenders. Please see here for further details about
filing complaints to the Special Rapporteur:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/defenders/complaints.htm
Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
c/o. Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
United Nations Office at Geneva
CH-1211, Geneva 10
Switzerland
fax: +41-22-917-90-06
See model questionnaire here:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs26.htm#A5
The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10,
Switzerland
Fax: 00 41 22 917 9006
E-mail:
urgent-action@ohchr.org
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid Keshvar Doust Street,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via website:
http://www.leader.ir/langs/en/index.php?p=letter
(English),
http://www.leader.ir/langs/fa/index.php?p=letter (Persian)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh (Office of the Head of the Judiciary)
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Email:
shahroudi@dadgostary-tehran.ir This e-mail address is being
protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it (In the
subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Iranian Bar Association
No. 3, Zagros St.,
Argentina Sq.,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 8771340
or +98 21 888 6425/ 26
Email:
tamas@iranbar.org This e-mail address is being protected from
spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or
mail@iranbar.org
And the Iranian embassy in your country (NB: recommend telephoning and
faxing before letter-writing) S
