Iran: Fear of torture or ill-treatment/Medical concern: Hasan Hikmet Demir, or Hassan Hekmat Damir (m)
AI Index: MDE 13/051/2007
UA 104/07 Fear of torture or ill-treatment/Medical concern
IRAN Hasan Hikmet Demir, or Hassan Hekmat Damir (m), also known as Agit, Turkish national
Kurdish opposition party member Hasan Hikmet Demir, also known as Agit, reportedly escaped in April from the prison where he had been detained for over a year. He was recaptured and is now reportedly in solitary confinement in a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Orumieh, in the north-western province of Western Azerbaijan, where he is at risk of torture and ill-treatment.
It was cold and snowing when he was captured, in the mountainous region on the Iranian border with Turkey. He was suffering frostbite in his feet, and the doctors who treated him reportedly suggested he should have both his feet amputated, which he refused. Amnesty International is concerned that Hasan Hikmet Demir may not be afforded adequate medical treatment.
After he was caught he was first taken back to Orumieh prison, where he had been detained, and then reportedly moved to a Ministry of Intelligence detention facility in Orumieh, under the pretext of taking him to hospital for treatment. He is reportedly being interrogated and subjected to severe mental and physical pressure.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Kurds are believed to make up between seven and 10 percent of the population of Iran. They live mainly in the north-western provinces neighbouring Iraq and Turkey. For many years, Kurdish organizations such as the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran and Komala engaged in armed resistance to the government, but more recently they have abandoned armed struggle for independence in favour of the peaceful pursuit of regional autonomy within a federal system of government. The more recently formed PJAK, the Iranian wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) armed opposition group, is now fighting the Iranian authorities in border areas close to Iraq.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Kurdish, English or your own language:
- asking for details of the specific charges against Hasan Hikmet Demir and any trial proceedings;
- seeking assurances that he is not being tortured or ill-treated;
- calling for him to be given immediate access to lawyers either able to speak a language he understands or accompanied by competent translators, and also to any medical treatment he may require.
APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei, The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected]
Fax: +98 251 7774 2228 (mark FAO Office of His Excellency Ayatollah al Udhma Khamenei)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Justice Building, Panzdah-Khordad Square, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 3390 4986 (please keep trying)
Email: [email protected] (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected]
via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency
Governor of West Azarbaijan Province
Doctor Rahim Ghorbani
Email: please go to: http://www.ostan-ag.gov.ir/contactus.asp , placing your name in the top line, your email address in the second line and the message in the larger box. Once complete, please press the right hand button to send the message.
Salutation: Dear Sir
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 14 June 2007.