URGENT ACTION APPEAL UPDATE
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23 December 2004
Further Information on UA 336/04 issued 16 December 2004
Fear of imminent execution and new concern: Flogging
IRAN:
Hajieh Esmailvand (f)
Ruhollah G (m), aged 17 when accused (name previously unknown)
Hajieh Esmailvand has been granted a stay of execution. She was
reportedly due to be stoned to death on 21 December, for having an
adulterous relationship with a 17-year-old boy, now named as Ruhollah
G. He has been sentenced to death by hanging, and there is no further
information about him.
Hajieh Esmailvand was initially sentenced to five years' imprisonment
and 100 lashes, to be followed by execution by hanging. In November
2004 the Supreme Court reportedly upheld her death sentence, but
changed it from death by hanging to death by stoning. The Supreme
Court reportedly ordered that the remainder of her five-year prison
sentence, which began in January 2000, be annulled so that the
execution by stoning could take place before 21 December.
According to a report in the Iranian daily newspaper Tose'h
(Development), cited by the news agency AFP, Hajieh Esmailvand and
Ruhollah G were also ''accused of murdering her husband in 2000''.
The newspaper gave no further details of this ''accusation''.
On 18 December, a judiciary official confirmed to the Reuters news
agency that ''Her [death) sentence is approved by the Supreme Court,
but there are no orders to carry out the sentence. We do not yet know if
it is by stoning or hanging''.
Following widespread international media coverage of the case, and
campaigning action by Iranian and international activists, including the
UA network, a judiciary official was quoted in a 23 December AFP
report saying that ''the stoning has been stayed pending a decision by
the Amnesty and Clemency Commission.''
The Amnesty and Clemency Commission (Komisyon-e 'Afv va
Bakhshoudegi), which is part of the judiciary, is empowered to
recommend a pardon or reduction of a sentence for a range of crimes,
including those carrying the death penalty. If accepted by the Head of
the Judiciary, the pardon or reduction of a sentence takes effect on one
of 11 days of national significance in Iran, such as the anniversary of
the revolution, or Islamic holy days.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Amnesty International opposes laws that criminalise adult consensual
sexual relations in private. Treating adultery and fornication as
criminal offences is not consistent with international human rights
standards. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated explicitly that
''it is undisputed that adult consensual sexual activity in private is
covered by the concept of ''privacy''.
Amnesty International has recorded 10 executions of child offenders in
Iran since 1990, three of them in 2004. As a party to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Iran is bound not to
execute child offenders. Both treaties provide that capital punishment
shall not be imposed for offences committed by persons under 18 years
of age at the time of the offence.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as
quickly as possible:
- welcoming the decision to grant Hajieh Esmailvand a stay of
execution;
- stating that Amnesty International opposes the death penalty as the
ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, in violation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
- asking to be told the full charges against Hajieh Esmailvand and
Ruhollah G;
-expressing concern that Hajieh Esmailvand has reportedly been
sentenced to death on a charge of adultery, which is not a recognizably
criminal offence;
- asking whether Hajieh Esmailvand's sentence of 100 lashes has been
carried out, and stating that Amnesty International considers the
punishment of flogging to constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment amounting to torture, in contravention of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party;
- urging that the death sentence passed on Ruhollah G, for an offence
committed when he was under 18, be commuted immediately;
- expressing concern that Amnesty International has recorded 10
executions of child offenders in Iran since 1990, three of them in 2004,
and calling on the Iranian authorities to immediately halt further
executions of child offenders and to pass legislation removing the
provision for the execution of child offenders, thereby bringing Iran
into line with its obligations under international law.
APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
IRAN
Fax: 011 98 21 649 5880 (please mark 'For the attention of the
Office of His Excellency, Ayatollah al Udhma
Khamenei, Qom)
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
IRAN
Email: [email protected] (mark 'Please forward to HE
Ayatollah Shahroudi')
Salutation: Your Excellency
The Clemency and Amnesty Commission of the Judiciary
The Secretariat of Clemency and Amnesty Commission
Clemency and General Amnesty Department of the Judiciary
General Department of Criminal Records
Ground Floor, Justice Administration Building
Opposite Park-e Shahr,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
IRAN
COPIES TO:
Centre for Women's Participation
Dr Zahra Shojaei
Head of the Centre of Women's Participation and Advisor to the
President
128 Shaheed Labbafi Nejad Street
Tehran 13156, Islamic Republic of Iran
IRAN
Fax: 011 98 21 640 3038
Email: [email protected] (please mark ''for the attention of Dr
Zahra Shojaei'')
Iran does not presently have an embassy in this country. Instead, please
send copies to:
Iranian Interests Section
2209 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC 20007
Phone: 202 965 4990
Fax: 202 965 1073
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the Colorado office
between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain Time, weekdays only, if
sending appeals after February 6, 2005.
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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22 December 2004
UA 342/04 Imminent execution
INDONESIA Jurit bin Abdullah (m), aged 38
Jurit bin Abdullah is facing imminent execution. On 15
December the head of the Prosecutor's Office in Sekayu,
South Sumatra, announced that Jurit would be executed "at
the end of this month." The police have reportedly formed a
14-member firing squad, who have been training for a month
for Jurit's execution.
Jurit bin Abdullah was sentenced to death for murder in April
1998. He had earlier been sentenced to life imprisonment by
another court for a different murder.
Jurit bin Abdullah was one of the subjects of the follow-up to
EXTRA 07/03, ASA 21/002/2003, 7 February 2003.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Indonesia has carried out three executions this year. Indian
national Ayodhya Prasad Chaubey (m) was executed in
August, and Thai nationals Namsong Sirilak (f) and Saelow
Prasert (m) were executed in October, having been sentenced
to death for drug trafficking. Before these executions, there
had not been an execution in Indonesia since 2001, and
before that there had been no executions in the country for
six years.
At least 56 people are believed to be on death row in
Indonesia. Eight people had their appeals for presidential
clemency rejected in June and July, and are thought to be at
imminent risk of execution. The Indonesian Commission on
Human Rights (Komnas HAM) noted in 2001 that, "Aside
from being internationally recognized as a human rights
violation in itself... the death penalty administered by a
corrupt judiciary is extremely dangerous." Following his visit
to Indonesia in July 2002, the UN Special Rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers expressed concern
regarding corruption within the judiciary.
Amnesty International opposes the death penalty
unreservedly in all cases. Every death sentence is an affront to
human dignity, every execution a symptom of a culture of
violence, rather than a solution to it. Today, 118 countries are
abolitionist in law or practice.
The risk of error in applying the death penalty is inescapable,
yet it is irrevocable. Amnesty International recognizes the
need to address serious crime all over the world, including
murder and the trade in illicit drugs. However, the
organization is convinced that the death penalty will not
provide a solution. There is no clear evidence that the death
penalty acts as a more effective deterrent against crime than
other forms of punishment.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to
arrive as quickly as possible:
- calling for the death sentence passed on Jurit bin Abdullah
to be commuted;
- expressing deep concern about the renewal of executions in
Indonesia;
- urging that all death sentences in Indonesia be commuted,
as they constitute the violation of one of the most
fundamental of human rights - the right to life.
APPEALS TO:
President:
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
President RI
Istana Merdeka
Jakarta 10110
Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 345 2685 / 526 8726 / 345 7782
Salutation: Dear President
Attorney General :
Abdul Rahman Saleh
Jaksa Agung
Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 1
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selantan 12130
Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 725 0213
Salutation: Dear Attorney General
COPIES TO:
Chairman, Komnas HAM:
Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara
Komisi Nasional Hak Asasi Manusia
Jl Latuharhary No. 4B
Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
Indonesia
Fax: 011 62 21 392 5227
Salutation: Dear Chairman
Ambassador Soemadi Djoko M. Brotodiningrat
Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia
2020 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington DC 20036
Fax: 1 202 775 5365
Please send appeals immediately. Check with the
Colorado office between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm, Mountain
Time, weekdays only, if sending appeals after 20 January
2005
Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement that
promotes and defends human rights.
This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable). Thank
you for your help with this appeal.
Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
PO Box 1270
Nederland CO 80466-1270
Email: [email protected]
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 303 258 1170
Fax: 303 258 7881
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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