28 February, 2007
The Iranian regime is preparing to put Abdul Rasoul Mazrae, a UNHCR-registered refugee illegally deported to Iran by the Syrian government in May last year, on trial in the next 20 days, his son has told the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS).Mazrae - who is also known as Abdullah Abdulhamid Al-Tamimi (UNHCR file registration number 15010) - was accepted for asylum in Norway, after he was recognised as a refugee by the UNHCR office in Damascus. However, on 11 May 2006, shortly before he was due to be resettled, he was detained by Syrian authorities. For weeks after his arrest, the UNHCR repeatedly requested access to Mazrae and four other Ahwazi refugees detained by the Syrian authorities - Dutch national and Ahwaz Liberation Organisation (ALO) leader Faleh Abdullah Al-Mansouri, Saeed Saki, Taher Mazrae and Jamal Obidawi. The Syrian government repeatedly told the UNHCR that the men were safe in custody, when in fact they had been transferred to Tehran just days after their arrest. Taher Mazrae, Abdul Rasoul Mazrae's brother, and his family were granted asylum in Sweden. According to IRIN, following Taher's deportation to Iran, his family were prevented from leaving Damascus.According to Mazrae's son, Taregh Abdullah Al-Tamimi, who lives in Norway, he has spent the past 10 months in solitary confinement in a prison in Ahwaz. He has also undergone physical and psychological torture. As a result of his torture, he is urinating blood and has lost all his teeth. His kidneys and liver are also damaged and injuries to his spine have left him unable to walk. His torturers have ordered him to give a televised confession for crimes he did not commit. Mazrae is a member of the ALO, a separatist Ahwazi group based in the Netherlands.Amnesty International has accused Syria of breaking international law by deporting refugees to Iran (click here for report). In August 2006, it said: "Returning refugees or any other individual to a country where they are at risk of torture or ill-treatment or other serious human rights abuses is a violation of Syria's obligations under international law, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which it is a state party."In December 2006, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond appealed to Iranian authorities "to ensure the well-being of the four and allow for a fair trial and the right to due process.""Extradition does not mean that a refugee or asylum seeker loses his or her international protection status," he added. "UNHCR also appeals for access to the four refugees and we are prepared to find alternative solutions for them."The Iranian regime does not appear to have taken notice of the UNHCR's appeals and BAFS believes that the refugees are likely to face show trials and receive the death penalty. All five men left Iran long before the bomb attacks in Ahwaz of 2005 and 2006, so it is unclear what crimes they will be charged with.BAFS member Reza Vashahi, who spoke to Al-Tamimi, said: "Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which includes the right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess guilt (Article 14.3.g). Principle 21 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states that it should be prohibited to take undue advantage of the situation of a detainee for the purpose of compelling him to confess or incriminate himself."Iranian must stop the torture and imprisonment of Ahwazi Arabs. Ahwazis must also receive a fair and public trial with access to their legal representatives."The secret nature of the trials of Ahwazi political prisoners and the way Iranian sentenced Ahwazi Arabs to death and executed them not only violate international standards of justice but also contravene Iranian law and sharia. For example, Ahwazis were executed during the month of Moharam, in which it is not permitted to kill."BAFS Chairman Daniel Brett said: "Syria was part of a conspiracy to send Ahwazi Arab refugees to Iran. Consequently, it should face the same censure as the Iranian government for the illegal detention, deportation, torture and any future execution of these refugees. There is little doubt that both governments have blatantly violated international law and should face consequences."We urge European governments to do what they can to give asylum to Ahwazi political dissidents escaping Iran. The traditional safe havens for Ahwazis - Syria, Iraq and Kuwait - can no longer be regarded as safe. Syria is willing to break to international law on Iran's behalf and send Arabs to their death. Ahwazi exiles have been ejected from their homes in Iraq and some have been murdered. Kuwait also has an understanding with Iran under which Ahwazi activists may be deported to Iran, although no deportations have yet been carried out. Ahwazis also feel unsafe in the UAE and Bahrain, where Iranian intelligence agents are active."Iran's sphere of influence covers a large part of the Middle East and Ahwazi opposition activists cannot rely on international law to protect them. European states must hasten the transfer of Ahwazi refugees registered with the UNHCR to Europe."
The Iranian regime is preparing to put Abdul Rasoul Mazrae, a UNHCR-registered refugee illegally deported to Iran by the Syrian government in May last year, on trial in the next 20 days, his son has told the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS).Mazrae - who is also known as Abdullah Abdulhamid Al-Tamimi (UNHCR file registration number 15010) - was accepted for asylum in Norway, after he was recognised as a refugee by the UNHCR office in Damascus. However, on 11 May 2006, shortly before he was due to be resettled, he was detained by Syrian authorities. For weeks after his arrest, the UNHCR repeatedly requested access to Mazrae and four other Ahwazi refugees detained by the Syrian authorities - Dutch national and Ahwaz Liberation Organisation (ALO) leader Faleh Abdullah Al-Mansouri, Saeed Saki, Taher Mazrae and Jamal Obidawi. The Syrian government repeatedly told the UNHCR that the men were safe in custody, when in fact they had been transferred to Tehran just days after their arrest. Taher Mazrae, Abdul Rasoul Mazrae's brother, and his family were granted asylum in Sweden. According to IRIN, following Taher's deportation to Iran, his family were prevented from leaving Damascus.According to Mazrae's son, Taregh Abdullah Al-Tamimi, who lives in Norway, he has spent the past 10 months in solitary confinement in a prison in Ahwaz. He has also undergone physical and psychological torture. As a result of his torture, he is urinating blood and has lost all his teeth. His kidneys and liver are also damaged and injuries to his spine have left him unable to walk. His torturers have ordered him to give a televised confession for crimes he did not commit. Mazrae is a member of the ALO, a separatist Ahwazi group based in the Netherlands.Amnesty International has accused Syria of breaking international law by deporting refugees to Iran (click here for report). In August 2006, it said: "Returning refugees or any other individual to a country where they are at risk of torture or ill-treatment or other serious human rights abuses is a violation of Syria's obligations under international law, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which it is a state party."In December 2006, UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond appealed to Iranian authorities "to ensure the well-being of the four and allow for a fair trial and the right to due process.""Extradition does not mean that a refugee or asylum seeker loses his or her international protection status," he added. "UNHCR also appeals for access to the four refugees and we are prepared to find alternative solutions for them."The Iranian regime does not appear to have taken notice of the UNHCR's appeals and BAFS believes that the refugees are likely to face show trials and receive the death penalty. All five men left Iran long before the bomb attacks in Ahwaz of 2005 and 2006, so it is unclear what crimes they will be charged with.BAFS member Reza Vashahi, who spoke to Al-Tamimi, said: "Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which includes the right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess guilt (Article 14.3.g). Principle 21 of the UN Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment states that it should be prohibited to take undue advantage of the situation of a detainee for the purpose of compelling him to confess or incriminate himself."Iranian must stop the torture and imprisonment of Ahwazi Arabs. Ahwazis must also receive a fair and public trial with access to their legal representatives."The secret nature of the trials of Ahwazi political prisoners and the way Iranian sentenced Ahwazi Arabs to death and executed them not only violate international standards of justice but also contravene Iranian law and sharia. For example, Ahwazis were executed during the month of Moharam, in which it is not permitted to kill."BAFS Chairman Daniel Brett said: "Syria was part of a conspiracy to send Ahwazi Arab refugees to Iran. Consequently, it should face the same censure as the Iranian government for the illegal detention, deportation, torture and any future execution of these refugees. There is little doubt that both governments have blatantly violated international law and should face consequences."We urge European governments to do what they can to give asylum to Ahwazi political dissidents escaping Iran. The traditional safe havens for Ahwazis - Syria, Iraq and Kuwait - can no longer be regarded as safe. Syria is willing to break to international law on Iran's behalf and send Arabs to their death. Ahwazi exiles have been ejected from their homes in Iraq and some have been murdered. Kuwait also has an understanding with Iran under which Ahwazi activists may be deported to Iran, although no deportations have yet been carried out. Ahwazis also feel unsafe in the UAE and Bahrain, where Iranian intelligence agents are active."Iran's sphere of influence covers a large part of the Middle East and Ahwazi opposition activists cannot rely on international law to protect them. European states must hasten the transfer of Ahwazi refugees registered with the UNHCR to Europe."
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