Urgent Action Appeal: Iran Translator and poet arrested

PEN International’s Writers in Prison Committee is seriously concerned about the arrest of literary translator and poet Mohammad Soleimani Nia, who has been held without charge since 10 January 2012. The reason for his detention is not known. PEN is seeking further information about his well-being and any charges against him as a matter of urgency, and it calls for his immediate and unconditional release if held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.

According to PEN’s information, Mohammad Soleimani Nia, aged 39, was detained on 10 January 2012 after responding to a summons to report to the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. After arriving at court, he was accompanied by security guards to his home in Karaj, outside Tehran, which he shares with his parents. The guards searched the house and seized computer equipment and documents before taking him away.
According to a source close to his family, Soleimani Nia has been under pressure since late November 2011, when he was questioned by security and intelligence officers and banned from leaving Iran. According to Iranian American writer Firoozeh Dumas, who worked closely with Soleimani Nia on the translation of her book Funny in Farsi, he had been developing a website similar to ‘LinkedIn’ designed to help Iranians find work. No information about his whereabouts or any charges against  him have been made known, although his family fear that he is being held in solitary confinement in Tehran’s Evin prison, notorious for its harsh conditions. There are mounting concerns for his well -being.

The arrest of Mohammad Soleimani Nia comes during a renewed crackdown on independent and dissenting voices ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for March 2012. At least ten journalists have been arrested in January 2012, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

Please send appeals:

• Protesting the detention of literary translator and poet Mohammad Soleimani Nia;
• Calling for his immediate and unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory;
• Seeking assurances of his well-being in detention.

Appeals to:
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei,
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street,
Qom,
Islamic Republic of Iran.

Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadeqh Larijani
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.

COPIES TO:
President:
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency,
Palestine Avenue,
Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax:              Via Foreign Ministry: +98 21 6 674 790
(mark: “Please forward to H.E. President Ahmadinejad”)

If possible please send a copy of your appeal to the diplomatic representative for Iran in your country.

For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@pen-international.org

Groups Want Iran Human Rights Abuse Added to Nuclear Talks Agenda

In a statement issued 3 Feb 2012, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), which includes the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights, urge the international community to take a much firmer stance on respect for human rights in Iran by raising this essential issue in the talks currently under way with the country’s authorities.

The involvement of RSF usually has the effect of focusing on journalists or bloggers who have been sentenced to death, and the statement does urge the EU and the international community to publicly condemn the unacceptable treatment that imprisoned journalists and netizens receive, but also expresses support for the appeal that 39 political prisoners, journalists and intellectuals issued on 25 January, calling for the release of all prisoners of conscience including the leaders of the protests against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election.

The One Million Voices for Iran Campaign welcomes any and all calls for action to release those unjustly imprisoned in Iran, regardless of their sentence or their occupation. To date, discussions about human rights abuses and violations against prisoners of conscience in Iran have taken place on the sidelines of meetings to discuss economic or nuclear development issues. 

America and Europe Planning More Human Rights Sanctions on Iran

European Union (Photo credit: erjkprunczyk)

European Union governments could ban the sales of some telecommunications equipment to Iran in the coming months under plans for new sanctions discussed by EU experts in Brussels.

EU diplomats said on Friday the bloc’s 27 governments have reached an agreement in principle to target equipment that could be used by the Iranian authorities for monitoring of anti-government dissent.

The new round of sanctions could also raise the number of officials affected by asset freezes and visa bans under the EU’s program to target human rights abuses in the country.

Diplomats stressed that the measures were separate from EU efforts to ratchet up pressure against Tehran over its disputed nuclear program with sanctions against its oil industry and financial sector.

“There is a political deal to include in the next round of sanctions a mechanism to ban the purchase and sale of telecommunications equipments which could be used to carry out interceptions or to spy,” one EU diplomat said.

Discussions on the measures at an expert level will continue in the coming weeks, diplomats said, and there was no target date yet for reaching a final agreement or for implementation.

One diplomat said the EU could try to introduce the new package in April, when an initial round of sanctions related to human rights abuses comes up for renewal.

But others said there were still disagreements among some EU members states over which officials could be included.

The EU already has imposed sanctions against 61 Iranian officials under its human rights sanctions program. Some capitals are cautious about extending the list given concerns as to whether there is sufficient evidence to name individuals.

Iran has come under increased criticism from the United Nations in recent months over human rights violations.

The U.N. General Assembly’s rights committee passed a resolution in November expressing concerns about incidents of torture, excessive use of the death penalty, discrimination against women, and persecution of journalists and religious minorities.

U.S. lawmakers also are considering a bid to force President Barack Obama’s administration to blacklist Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as human rights abusers and ban companies from supplying Iran with equipment – including telecommunications equipment – used to commit human rights abuses. Neither man is targeted by the EU.

via America and Europe Planning More Human Rights Sanctions on Iran.

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• US slaps sanctions on top Iran military officials (seattletimes.nwsource.com)