Iran: Further information on Prisoner of conscience/ flogging: Delaram Ali (f)
AI Index: MDE 13/134/2007
Further Information on UA 298/07 (MDE 13/131/2007, 8 November 2007) Prisoner of conscience/ flogging
IRAN Delaram Ali (f), aged 24, social worker and women's rights activist
According to Delaram Ali's lawyer, the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, has ordered that implementation of the prison sentence handed down to Delaram Ali be halted pending re-investigation of her case.
Delaram Ali was arrested on 12 June 2006 during a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Tehran, which called for an end to discriminatory legislation against women. In June 2007, she was found guilty of "participation in an illegal gathering", "propaganda against the system" and "disrupting public order and peace". She was sentenced to 34 months' imprisonment and 10 lashes, a verdict which she appealed against to the Appeal Court.
She was told by judiciary officials in a telephone call on 4 November that her appeal had resulted in the annulment of the flogging sentence and a reduction of the prison term to 30 months. She was also ordered to report to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences by 10 November to begin serving her prison sentence, or otherwise face arrest. However, she has not yet received a written copy of the Appeal Court’s verdict confirming this information. Under Iranian legislation, it is illegal for a person to serve a sentence prior to it being delivered in writing to the person concerned. Following the telephone call informing her of the appeal verdict against her, she wrote to the Head of the Judiciary, requesting that her sentence be overturned, or, at the very least, for its implementation to be delayed, particularly as she had not received a written copy of it.
Delaram Aliremains at risk of imprisonment if it is decided that her sentence should be implemented. She has written to Amnesty International and other organizations working on her behalf, thanking them for their support.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- welcoming the temporary suspension of Delaram Ali’s prison sentence and reported re-investigation of the case against her;
- calling on the authorities to overturn her conviction and sentence;
- stating that if she is imprisoned for her peaceful participation in a demonstration on 12 June 2006, Amnesty International will consider her to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for the peaceful exercise of her right to freedom of expression and association for her activities on behalf of women’s rights in Iran;
- urging the authorities to abolish flogging as a punishment, as it constitutes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment amounting to torture.
APPEALS TO:
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Panzdah Khordad (Ark) Square,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected] (In the subject line: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986 (If the call is not answered first time, please keep trying. When it is answered, say "fax please".)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected]
Salutation: Your Excellency
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 6 649 5880
Email: [email protected]
E-mail: via website:http://www.president.ir/email/
Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami, Baharestan Square
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3355 6408
Email: [email protected]
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 25 December 2007.