Amnesty International Issues ‘Urgent Action’ Appeal; Four Months Since Forced Disappearance of Ibrahim Babaei

Amnesty International has issued an urgent appeal calling for immediate action regarding Ibrahim Babaei, a political activist who has been subjected to “enforced disappearance” by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In this appeal published on Tuesday, Ordibehesht 13, Amnesty International references the disappearance of Ibrahim Babaei on December 21, 2021, noting that he “was forcibly disappeared while attempting to leave Iran and escape unjust prison sentences and flogging.”

The international human rights organization emphasized: “The fate and whereabouts of Ibrahim Babaei have been kept hidden from his family, and he is at risk of torture and other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.”

More than four months have passed since the enforced disappearance of Ibrahim Babaei, a 56-year-old political activist, while attempting to cross the Iran-Turkey border seeking asylum.

In this appeal, Amnesty International called on Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, head of Iran’s judiciary, to “immediately clarify the fate and whereabouts of Ibrahim Babaei” and ensure that “he has been transferred to an official and recognized detention facility, is protected from enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, has regular contact with his family and a lawyer of his own choosing, and has access to adequate medical care.”

Shima Babaei, a human rights activist based in Belgium, previously told Voice of America that the Islamic Republic attempted to convince her in a scenario involving luring her to a village on the Iran-Turkey border and detaining her that her father Ibrahim Babaei had died near Van, Turkey.

According to Amnesty International’s report, Ibrahim Babaei suffers from multiple health conditions, including heart disease, chronic injury to his leg, and psychological problems, and requires medical and pharmaceutical care.

This is not the first time the Islamic Republic has attempted to abduct dissidents outside the country. The security bodies of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly arrested Iranian dual citizens and foreign nationals on fabricated charges, and in some cases have used them as leverage and extortion tools in negotiations with Western countries.

Source: Voice of America