[WCUSP] UPDATE ON THE CONDITION OF IMPRISONED MEMBERS OF THE CAMPAIGN

[yvonne simmons]

--- lieve snellings <lieve.snellings at pandora.be>
wrote:

> From: "lieve snellings" <lieve.snellings at pandora.be>
> To: <womeninblack at listas.nodo50.org>
> Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 18:03:56 +0200
> Subject: [womeninblack] UPDATE ON THE CONDITION OF
> IMPRISONED MEMBERS OF THE
> 	CAMPAIGN
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: Elahe Amani 
> 
> 
> Dear friends, colleagues and human rights defenders,
> 
> The following article is the most recent update on
> the condition of the imprisoned members of the
> campaign of
> collecting one million signature to change
> discriminatory laws against women and girls.  In our
> world and even in Iran when crimes against humanity
> goes unchecked without any accountability, the
> peaceful efforts of young women in Iran to educate
> women about their legal rights and building
> awareness
> one signature at a time, are being punished as
> unlawful acts.
> 
> Be Active, Be Strong,
> Elahe
> 
> http://weforchange.net/english/spip.php?article61
> 
>  
> Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz, Women¢s
> Rights Defenders, Remain in Prison:Families and
> Lawyer
> denied Information and Opportunity to Post Bail
> Friday 13 April 2007.
> 
> On Tuesday April 10, 2007, Mr. Jamshidi, Spokesman
> for the Judiciary, explained to reporters that
> Mahboubeh
> Hossein Zadeh and Nahid Keshavarz have been issued
> bail, and should be freed once a third party
> guarantor
> agrees to post bail. According to Jamshidi, these
> women are still being held in prison because bail
> has
> not yet been posted. The proclamations of the
> spokesperson came at time when the family members of
> both Nahid Keshavarz and Mahboubeh Hossein Zadeh
> have repeatedly gone to the Revolutionary Courts for
> the
> purpose of posting bail and inquiring about the
> status of the two women. The families of Hossein
> Zadeh and
> Keshavaraz, along with their lawyer, Nasrin
> Sotoodeh, have been denied access to the
> Revolutionary Courts or
> to the files of these two women¢s rights activists
> over the past 2 weeks. In fact, they have been told
> by
> Court officials that the cases of these two women
> are still in the preliminary investigation stages
> and
> until the preliminary investigations are complete
> the court is not obliged to respond to any inquiries
> or to
> release the two women on bail.
> 
> Following Jamshidi¢s explanation, Nasrin Sotoodeh,
> who is representing the two women, along with their
> family
> members went to the Revolutionary Courts, for the
> purpose of posting bail. Once again, they were
> turned
> away, with no response from Court officials. Nasrin
> Sotoodeh explained to reporters that "not only did
> the
> courts deny me the right to represent these two
> women, but they informed me that they are still
> conducting
> preliminary investigation of the charges against
> these two women and while these investigations are
> still
> incomplete no information about the cases and
> charges against these two women can be provided."
> 
> Sadigheh Keshavarz, Nahid¢s sister, explained that
> "I went to the court in an effort to post bail for
> my
> sister. But court officials instead asked me why I
> had come. They said that the case against my sister
> was no
> concern of mine." Nader HajMohsen, Nahid¢s husband,
> told reporters that "I explained to court officials
> that I have been coming to court for the purpose of
> posting bail and following up on the case of my wife
> for over a week now. But Judge told me that he was
> busy with another case and didn¢t have time to
> attend
> to the charges and case against Nahid."
> 
> Zahra Hossein Zadeh, Mahboubeh¢s sister, also went
> to the Revolutionary Court on Wednesday with the
> intent
> to post bail for her sister. She was not allowed
> entry into the court and was turned away without any
> response. According to reports, Zahra Hossein Zadeh,
> spoke to court officials by phone. "I explained to
> the
> officials that I want to post bail for my sister¢s
> release. I explained that according to Mr.
> Jamshidi¢s
> explanations, I should be able to post bail and free
> my sister. But the Court official responded by
> saying
> that: ¢we don¢t take orders from Mr. Jamshidi."
> 
> On Thursday, according to phone conversations they
> had with their family members, Mahboubeh and Nahid
> reported that they had their first interrogation
> since being sent to Evin Prison on April 3. They
> were
> interrogated with blindfolds, and were not able to
> see their interrogators, both actions in violation
> of the
> law and citizen¢s rights. The interrogations were
> largely focused on Nahid and Mahboubeh¢s efforts on
> behalf of women¢s rights.
> 
> Keshavarz and Hossein Zadeh were arrested on April 2
> while collecting signatures in support of the "One
> Million Signatures Campaign" which aims to change
> discriminatory laws against Iranian women. These two
> women¢s rights defenders were transferred to Evin
> prison on April 3 and have remained in detention.
> Thus
> far, their lawyers and family members have been
> denied information about their cases, and official
> charges
> against them have yet to be announced formally.
> 
> > _______________________________________________
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>
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