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July 27,
2005-07-26
To:
International Association
of Democratic Lawyers
International
Headquarters
Rue Brialmont 21
1210 Brussels,
Belgium
Office of the Secretary
General
Beinusz Szmukler,
Argentina
Office of the
President
Jitendra Sharma, India
Office of
the United Nation Representative in New
York
116 W 111 St New York,
NY
10026
U.S.A.
International Bar
Association (IBA)
10th Floor
1 Stephen
St
London, W1T 1AT
United Kingdom
The
Human Rights Lawyers Association:
2nd
Floor,
289-293 High Holborn,
London WC1V
7HZ, DX 240 LDE
Dear Madams /
Sirs,
The world has a huge legal problem at
hand: A group, with a proven track-record of
extreme atrocities, seized the political apparatus
of a modern “nation-state” 26 years ago – a nation
with a three-thousand-years-old history that had
begun with pronounced concerns for human rights, a
nation that was a founding member of the United
Nations, a country known an “Iran.”
Apart
from the fact that the whole world has experienced
hardship due to this take-over, those who have
been deeply suffering are the people of Iran. The
majority of them have been struggling to get rid
of this unexpected nightmare and, for a quarter of
century, have been exposed to non-stop workings of
this horrendous machine of torture and
execution.
Recently, an “internal” report
on the conditions of prisons in Iran, surprisingly
prepared by an officer of the regime’s justice
department, has painted such a bleak picture that
no honorable member of the human race can move
his/her head away and ignore the plight of this
suffering nation.
Apart from the atrocities
of the regime’s agents towards non-political
prisoners, there are many documented reports that
show the worsening condition of prisoners of
conscious in Iran. These prisoners, who are the
best and most knowledgeable men and women of their
society whose numbers are constantly on the rise,
have committed no crime. They have just spoken up
and/or have written about the injustices,
atrocities and corruption of this regime. Recent
reports show that the exercise of torture and
putting physical and psychological pressures on
them has been on rise. Your honorable colleague,
Dr. Shirin Ebadi, the Noble Prize Laureate of
2003, who is the defense attorney of some of these
prisoners, has constantly been barred from
performing her legal duties in this respect. She,
together with a huge number of human rights
activists, have reported these problems to world
organizations in many occasions.
Through
this futile experience we, the undersigned, have
come to realize that no individual government and
no United Nations organization has the ability or
stamina to challenge this inhumane situation.
Nevertheless, we cannot possibly give up hope. We
are sure that there are other organizations and
conscientious legal professionals in the world who
are poised to have a deeper look at the situation
in Iran and get acquainted with the atrocities of
its legal system. We know that by taking up such a
case as an international legal issue they will
create a new precedence that could help other
nations who are or will be caught in the web of a
ferocious and blood-thirsty political
machine.
It is upon these assumptions that
we, some advocates of human rights in all its
dimensions and capacities, see no other resort but
to address the conscious of your members, begging
them to study this case and, based on their
knowledge and experience, come up with a legal
solution that could end the miseries inflicted by
a group of ruthless thugs on an
innocent.
We impatiently look forward to
hear from you and, in the meanwhile, will keep
this petition open on the Internet, via the
following address, so that anyone interested could
join our desperate clamor for help. We will keep
you posted on the new signatures as they are added
every day.
http://www.petitiononline.com/Lawyers/petition.html
http://www.barabari.ch/per.htm
Contact:
Fax:
509-352-9630
E-mail:
lawyersforiran@gmail.com
The
first patch of signatures, in order of
receipt:
Shokooh Mirzadegi – Writer and
Activist for Women’s Rights – USA
Dr. Esmail
Nooriala – Writer, Critic and Analyst –
USA
Reza Allamehzadeh – Writer and Film
Director – Netherlands
Abbas Maroufi – Writer
and Journalist – Germany
Massoud Assadollahi –
Film and Theatre Artist and Director -
USA
Mirza Agha Asgasri – Member of Union of
German Writers - Germany
Shima Kalbasi - Writer
and Activist for Women’s Rights – USA
Niloofar
Beizaei – Writer and Theatre Director –
Germany
Alireza Maybody – Writer and Radio-TV
Journalist – USA
Dr. Ardavan Bayani – Lawyer -
USA
Farhang Farrahi - Writer and Radio-TV
Journalist – USA
Kambiz Ghaemmagham – Writer
and Political Activist - USA
Dr. Mohsen
Ghaemmagham – Physician, Writer and Political
Activist - USA
Abbas Pahlavan - Writer and
Journalist – USA
Parviz Ghazi-Said - Writer and
Journalist – USA
Omid Habibinia – Journalist
and Researcher
Behrouz Souresrafil - Writer and
Journalist – USA
Effat Mahbaz - Writer and
Activist for Women’s Rights – Germany
Dr.
Hossein Bagherzadeh - Writer and Political
Activist – UK
Dr. Reza Joshani – Physician -
Germany
Gholamreza Baghaei – Writer
Hamid
Nemati – Artist and Webmaster: Barabari.ch -
Swiss
Dr. Saideh Ghazi – Lawyer –
Canada
Alma Ghovanlou – TV host - USA
Dr.
Siamak Akhavan – Professor of Sociology -
Australia
Vida Farhoudi – Poet – France
Azar
Mahlujian – Writer – Sweden
Hadi Ebrahimi –
Writer and Journalist – Canada
Mahrad Ommidmehr
– Master Media Designer
Dr. Mahzad Omidmehr –
Physician
Ashrafossadat Omidmehr –
Teacher
Dr. Ali Akbat Omidmehr –
Ex-diplomat
Amir Hossein Afrasiabi –
Poet
Nushin Shahrokhi – Writer –
Germany
Nasser Karami – Architect and Political
Activist
Sasan Ghahreman – Poet and Writer –
Canada
Ahmad Zahedi Langarudi – Writer, poet
and Filmmaker |