[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

May 17



IRAN:

 DEATH SENTENCES - APPEAL CASE
11 Iranian Arab men facing death sentences

17 May 2006 AI INDEX: MDE 13/051/2006


At least 11 men, all members of Irans Arab minority, are reportedly under
sentence of death and at risk of execution. They are believed to have been
accused of involvement in bomb explosions in the city of Ahvaz, in
Khuzestan province, southwest Iran; distributing material against the
state; having contact with dissident organizations operating abroad; and
endangering state security. Amnesty International recognizes the rights
and responsibilities of governments to bring to justice those suspected of
criminal offences, but is unconditionally opposed to the death penalty as
the ultimate violation of the right to life.

Brothers Zamel Bawi, 29, and Imad Bawi, 31, were reportedly arrested by
security forces on 11 August 2005 along with their three other brothers
and a cousin. Their father and uncle, Hajj Salem Bawi, a tribal leader and
a businessman who runs a number of computer stores in Khuzestan province,
was arrested by security forces after enquiring about where his sons and
nephew were being detained. He was released on 28 August 2005 and had
apparently met three of his sons while he was held in Amaniya Prison, in
the city of Ahvaz. He could see that they had been ill-treated.

Imad Bawi was studying law at the Lebanese University of Beirut. He was
visiting his family in Ahvaz during the summer holiday when the Iranian
authorities banned him from returning to Lebanon. Amnesty International
has no further information on the reasons for the ban.

At the end of October 2005, Amnesty International received reports that
both Zamel and Imad had been sentenced to death. Further reports indicated
that the brothers appeared before a Tehran court on 21 February 2006
accused of distributing material against the state, having contact with
dissident organizations operating abroad, and endangering state security,
possibly in connection with bomb explosions in Ahvaz city. These reports
also suggested that they had not been allowed legal representation and
that the court sessions took place behind closed doors. On 19 March 2006
the death sentence was reportedly confirmed for Zamel Bawi. No details of
the hearing or the outcome were divulged. Amnesty International has no
further information about Imad Bawi.

The nine remaining men, Dr Awdeh Afrawi, Nazem Bureihi, Aliredha Salman
Delfi, Ali Helfi, Ali Manbouhi, Jaafar Sawari, Risan Sawari, Mohammad Ali
Sawari, Moslem al-Hai, may also have been sentenced to death for their
alleged involvement in bomb explosions in the city of Ahvaz, which took
place in October 2005. Seven of them have been shown "confessing" on local
television, with one other mentioned as a participant in the bombings.
Another has reportedly been convicted of the same offence. Two other men
have already been executed.

There has been confusion over the convictions as the trials have been held
behind closed doors. Government officials have also given conflicting
statements on whether the nine men have been sentenced to death in
relation to the bombings.

According to the Minister of Justice, 45 people have been arrested in
connection with the October explosions. On 14 February 2006, the Minister
of Justice told the state news agency IRNA that seven of them had been
convicted on charges including "enmity with God and corruption on earth
(moharebeh and ifsad fil-arz, for which the penalty is execution, cross
amputation, crucifixion or banishment), and murder" and that their
sentences would be announced shortly. On 20 February 2006, the Prosecutor
General reportedly said that "some of those convicted in this case have
been sentenced to death, including the two main culprits, whose presence
in the recent Ahvaz incidents was proved and their execution verdict is
definite". On 21 February, in a statement to IRNA commenting on this
report, the Minister of Justice stated that only two had been sentenced to
death and these sentences were under review by the Supreme Court. He noted
that "the seven convicts have not all committed crimes that call for the
death penalty."

Although seven men were said to have been convicted of involvement in the
October bombings, nine men were shown "confessing" on Khuzestan Provincial
TV on 1 March 2006. Among them were Mehdi Nawaseri and Ali Awdeh Afrawi,
who were hanged in public the following morning; Dr Awdeh Afrawi (father
of executed Ali Awdeh Afrawi), Risan Sawari , Jaafar Sawari, Aliredha
Salman Delfi, Ali Manbouhi, Ali Helfi, and Nazem Burehi.

Dr Awdeh Afrawi, 52, is a psychologist at Ahvaz's Shahid Chamran hospital.
He and and his son, Ali Awdeh Afrawi, were reportedly arrested in Ahvaz
shortly after the October 2005 explosions.

Teacher Risan Sawari, 30, was reportedly arrested in April 2005, released
and arrested again in September.

Jaafar Sawari and Aliredha Salman Delfi were reportedly arrested in
September 2005. Mehdi Nawaseri was reportedly arrested on 19 October 2005
and teacher, Mohammad Ali Sawari, on or around 4 November 2005. Moslem
al-Hai was mentioned during the "confessions" as a participant in the
bombings, but it is not known when he was arrested.

Ali Manbouhi, Ali Helfi and Nazem Bureihi have reportedly been in custody
since 2000, when they were arrested on charges of "insurgency" and were
each sentenced to 35 years imprisonment. However, they also featured in
the "confessions" footage. In March 2006 there were unconfirmed reports
that they were to face a retrial on charges of moharebeh and murder.

On 10 May 2006, according to Etemad newspaper, the Governor of Khuzestan,
Amir Hayat Moqaddam, announced that the cases of an unspecified number of
people suspected of involvement in the bombings had been transferred to
the judiciary and would be tried soon. He said, "It is anticipated that,
on account of the type of crime committed, a number of these people will
be executed."

Background

Much of Iran's Arab community lives in the province of Khuzestan which
borders Iraq. It is strategically important because it is the site of much
of Irans oil reserves, but the Arab population does not feel it has
benefited as much from the oil revenue as the Persian population.
Historically, the Arab community has been marginalised and discriminated
against. Tension has mounted among the Arab population since April 2005,
when scores of Arabs died, hundreds were injured and hundreds more
detained following demonstrations in protest at a letter allegedly written
in 1999 by a presidential adviser, who denied its authenticity. This
appeared to set out policies for the reduction of the Arab population of
Khuzestan, including resettling Arabs in other regions of Iran, resettling
non-Arabs in the province, and replacing Arabic place names with Persian
ones. The text, with an English translation, can be found at
http://www.ahwaz.org.uk/images/ahwaz-khuzestan.pdf; the supposed authors
denial that he wrote the letter, along with an explanation of the
contents, can be found (in Persian) at http://www.webneveshteha.com/. The
security forces appear to have used excessive force in stopping the
demonstration resulting in unlawful killings or possible extra-judicial
executions.

Since then, the cycle of violence has intensified in the province. Scores
of Arabs were arrested following four pre-election bomb blasts in Ahvaz
and two others in Tehran which killed up to 10 people and injured at least
90. Other bombs in October 2005 and January 2006 killed at least 12 people
and were followed by waves of arrests. Arrests have also followed
demonstrations on culturally significant occasions such as the Muslim
festivals of Id al-Fitr and Id al-Adha. Amnesty International has received
the names of around 500 Iranian Arabs detained since April 2005, some
repeatedly, although the true number of detainees is likely to be much
higher.

RECOMMENDED ACTION
Please send faxes/ e-mail letters in Persian, Arabic, English or French:
- calling for the eleven men to be given immediate access to lawyers,
their families, interpreters and medical treatment if necessary;
- seeking assurances that they are not being tortured or ill-treated in
detention;
- expressing grave concern that the eleven men (naming them) may be at
risk of execution;
- urging the Iranian authorities to commute any death sentences passed
against them immediately;
- asking for details of the men's trial proceedings, including the
specific charges against them, whether they have been granted access to
independent lawyers of their choice, and, if they have been convicted and
sentenced to death, whether they have been allowed to appeal against their
convictions and sentences, as required by Article 14 (5) of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a
state party;
- acknowledging that governments have a responsibility to bring to justice
those suspected of criminal offences, but stating your unconditional
opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishment and violation of the right to life.

PLEASE SEND YOUR 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: info at leader.ir
istiftaa at wilayah.org
Salutation: Your Excellency

President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Fax: Via foreign affairs: +98 21 6 674 790 and ask to be forwarded to H.E
Ahmadinejad
Email: dr-ahmadinejad at president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
Salutation: Your Excellency

Speaker of Parliament
His Excellency Gholamali Haddad Adel
Majles-e Shoura-ye Eslami
Imam Khomeini Avenue,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 646 1746

COPIES TO
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: (Via Ministry of Justice) + 98 21 3 311 6567 (Mark: "Please forward
to HE Ayatollah Shahroudi")
Email: irjpr at iranjudiciary.org (mark "Please forward to His Excellency
Ayatollah Shahroudi")
via the judiciary website: www.iranjudiciary.org/feedback_en.html
Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of the Interior
Hojjatoleslam Mustafa Purmohammadi
Ministry of the Interior, Dr Fatemi Avenue, Tehran, Islamic Republic of
Iran
Email: ravabetomomi at moi.gov.ir
Fax: +98 21 8 896 203 / 8 899 547 / 6 650 203

Islamic Human Rights Commission
Mohammad Hassan Ziai-Far
Secretary
Islamic Human Rights Commission
P.O. Box 13165-137
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +9821 2204 0541

Governor General of Khuzestan Province
His Excellency Amir Hayat-Moqaddam
The Office of the Governor General
Felestin Street, Amanieh, Ahvaz,
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 611 336 7313
Salutation: Your Excellency