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21 August 2005 Amnesty International Request for a delegation to investigate the
crimes Dear Sir/Madam: Following the demonstrations throughout the cities in Iranian Kurdistan since July 9th in protest at the brutal murder of Mr Shwaneh Ghaderi by the security forces in Mahabad, the Iranian regime has embarked on a brutal round of repression and violence. So far, at least 20 people have been killed, around 300 wounded and over 1300 arrested. The detainees - many of them children and young people under 18 – have been subjected to severe tortures. The death in custody of at least one person, namely, Mr Shaho Amjadi, who was being held in Sanandaj Prison, has been confirmed. His body was buried on Monday August 14th amid tight security and heavy police presence. Faced with daily protests by the people, the Iranian regime has had to release a number of those detained. However, hundreds arrested in the cities of Mahabad, Oshnaviyeh, Piranshahr, Sardasht, Rabat, Saghez, Boukan, Baneh, Divandareh, Sanandaj, Marivan, Kamyaran, Gherveh, Paveh, Ravansar and Javanrood are still in prison. Those who have been released have either been released on bail (set at anything between $23,000 and $57,000) or handed heavy fines ($3,400 to $5,700). What’s most disturbing is the horrific physical and psychological abuse and torture of the prisoners, the raping of girls and boys with batons, the fracture of arms and legs, the burning of parts of the body and the general abuse and maltreatment of prisoners. A 16-year old boy released in Sanandaj recently had been left with a badly inflamed and bruised back with blue marks. Recently released prisoners have spoken of the critical state of some of those inside. A number of prisoners are now on hunger strike in protest. Police raids into the homes of people are still continuing in several cities. A number of known activists and figures, such as Mr Borhan Divargar, a labour activist from Saghez, and Ms Roya Tolouiee, a women’s rights activist from Sanandaj, are still in prison. A number of political activists are also in jail. These atrocities, along with the installation of Ahmadi Nejad as president, who is known to have been in charge at one time of firing the final shot into the heads of executed political prisoners, along with the members of his cabinet, most with long track records of murder and terror, have caused much apprehension throughout Iran, especially among the families of political prisoners and the recent detainees. People are demanding: 1- the immediate release, without any bail or
fine, of all political prisoners and all those arrested in the recent
protests; all fines and bail conditions to be withdrawn; People of Iran expect the support of international human rights organisations. We call on you, in response to all those in Iran anxious about the fate of their loved ones, to urgently send a delegation to the cities of Iranian Kurdistan to investigate the human rights abuses by the regime; to inspect the prisons and meet with the prisoners, their families and the people of the cities, and in this way gain closer insight into the savageries of the Islamic Republic. Regards, 1- International Committee Against Executions
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