A Petition in Support of Freedom of Opinion and Justice for All Iranians

Dear Mrs. Robinson,

Since the Iranian Justice department is publicly dennouncing the Rights of the Iranian citizens to follow the well being of the Iranian Reform Movement activists serving time in Iran's Political Prisons, we have no choice but to resort to International Organizations, such as the UN High Commission for Human Rights, to strogly dennounce Iran's actions vis a-vis the accepted and signed terms of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We, the undersigned, demand an unconditional release of all Prisoners of Conscious in the Islamic Republic of Iran, mainly, Akbar Ganji, Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari, Massoud Behnoud, Dr Reza Reiss-Tousi,
& Mohammad Bastehnegar. Also, Approx 10-20 supporters of the Iran Freedom and Milli Mazhabi (Religious Nationalist) Movements, including (new names): Morteza Kazemian; Saeed Madani; Mohammad Maleki aged 68; Mohammad Mohammadi Ardahali; Mahmoud Emrani; Masoud Pedram; Habibollah Peyman; Hossein Rafiee; TaqiRahmani; Alireza Rajai are still in confinement without a fair trial and their faith is unknown to us.

Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari's son wrote to the Special Court for
the Clergy (SCC) on 20 June, to ask that a medical team approved by the
Court examine his father, who is severely diabetic. The SCC reportedly
rejected the request the next day.

Around 10-20 supporters of the and Milli Mazhabi (Religious Nationalist)
movement are still detained in "temporary" solitary confinement, more than
three months after they were arrested on charges of plotting to overthrow
the government. Reportedly none of them have been told under which
articles of the Criminal Code they are detained.

Around 70 relatives of the detainees named above, and other families
involved in the Milli Mazhabi movement, demonstrated outside the UN
offices in Tehran on 20 June.

The group passed on a letter for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Mary Robinson, protesting against the continued incommunicado
detention of their relatives in an unknown location; the denial of their
right to legal counsel; the use of psychological pressure to extract
"confessions"; threats and pressure brought on political prisoners'
families to remain silent and not publicly protest against the unlawful
acts of state security agents.

The letter reads: "How much longer are our loved ones to suffer in a state
of near total sensory deprivation in cruel and degrading conditions,
without access to legal counsel and deprived of even the most basic Human
Rights?" It adds that "The secretary of the Islamic Human Rights
Commission has told us that he could do nothing as the judiciary has
stopped responding to his letters."

We DEMAND THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS TO PROMPTLY CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:

- urging the authorities to release Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari
and all supporters of the Milli Mazhabi movement immediately and
unconditionally, as they are prisoners of conscience;

- urging the authorities to tell the families of those arrested exactly
where they are detained, and to let them see their families and lawyers;

- asking the authorities to guarantee that Hojjatoleslam Hasan Yousefi
Eshkevari and all those detained since 11 March will be treated humanely
in prison and that they will be granted the right to lawyers and medical
treatment where necessary;

- asking what internationally-recognised criminal offences they are
alleged to have committed or have been charged with;

- asking for details of Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari's appeal hearing, which
reportedly resulted in his death sentence being overturned.

We, the undersigned, consider ourselves citizens of the world and wish the best for our countrymen. Our action is not based on political motivations, rather concerns for the Rights of our fellow countrymen is in mind.

May GOD be with you.