Amnesty International Calls on Iran’s Authorities to Immediately Free Human Rights Activists
Amnesty International announced that Iran has recently detained at least six young human rights activists.
According to a report published on Amnesty International’s website on Friday, Bahman 13, security officials arrested Saeed Eghbali, Shima Babaei and her husband Dariush Zand, Leila Forjami, Mahmoud Massoumi, and Behnam Mousavand.
Five of these individuals were arrested on Thursday in a coordinated operation. Ms. Forjami, however, had been detained earlier.
Magdalena Mughrabi, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and Africa, said in this regard: “These human rights activists must be released immediately and unconditionally. They have committed no crime, and their detention is related to their actions in defense of human rights. We are deeply concerned that these individuals may be subject to torture and abuse.”
She added: “The coordinated arrests demonstrate the harsh reality of treatment against these human rights defenders in Iran; a place where peaceful activists are criminalized by the authorities.”
She called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to stop attacks on human rights defenders and allow them to continue their activities in a peaceful and fearless environment.
This new wave of crackdown on human rights defenders occurred several weeks after the subsiding of last December’s unrest. Following widespread recent protests in various Iranian cities, security forces, in addition to arresting thousands of protesters, detained hundreds of student and civil activists. Some of these individuals were released, but some remain in detention.
Source: Voice of America
