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Previous Action Alerts 2/14/06
February 16, 2006
IRAN: Seven journalists detained without charge for publishing satirical political articles; VIETNAM: Imprisoned dissident writer Pham Hong Son denied medical attention and family visits.
(For Sample Letter of Appeal for Iran, click here)
(For Sample Letter of Appeal for Vietnam, click here)
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From PEN International:
RAPID ACTION NETWORK
14 February 2006
IRAN: Journalist and writer Elham Afroutan (f) and up to six other journalists arrested for the publication of a satirical article; fears for safety.
International PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee is deeply concerned about the arrest of journalist and writer Elham Afroutan (f), who is among seven journalists from the provincial weekly newspaper Tammadon-e Hormozgan
(Hormozgan’s Civilisation) to have been detained since 29 January 2006 following the publication of a satirical article. The journalists are believed to be held incommunicado without charge, and to be at risk of
torture and ill-treatment. International PEN is seriously concerned for the safety of Elham Afroutan and those detained with her, and seeks immediate guarantees of their well-being. PEN calls for their immediate and
unconditional release if held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.
According to PEN’s information, journalist and writer Elham Afroutan (f) and six other Tammadon-e Hormozgan journalists were arrested following the publication of a satirical article entitled “Let’s Expose the AIDS Epidemic of the Regime”, which compared the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran and the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini to AIDS and gave the current physical embodiment of the disease as President Ahmadinejad. The detained journalists did not write the article, and are thought to have reproduced it in the newspaper’s health section without thorough checking because they were short of stories. Afroutan is believed to be the principle accused in the case. The article is said to have been written under an alias by somebody outside Iran, and published on the Internet.
Amnesty International gives the following background:
‘The journalists were arrested in the city of Bandar Abbas, in the province of Hormozgan, where the newspaper is based, as soon asthe issue appeared on the streets. Demonstrations were staged and ended with the newspaper’s offices being ransacked and torched. Ali Dirbaz, the editor of Tammadon-e Hormozgan and the parliamentary representative for Bandar Abbas, was questioned bythe Tehran Prosecutor’s Office and then freed on bail. On 30January the Persian-language Radio Farda, which broadcasts from outside Iran, reported him saying that he was not aware of the article being published and that the author should be executed for the article’s numerous insults against the Islamic revolution and state officials.
The Deputy for Press Affairs of the Ministry of Culture and
Islamic Guidance suspended Tammadon-e Hormozgan shortly after the arrests. The Ministry’s statement on the closure accuses the newspaper of violating Iran’s press law and refers the case to the relevant judicial bodies for prosecution.
Elham Afroutan and those detained with her are not known to have been formally charged, nor to have had access to legal
representation, their families or any medical treatment.’
Elham Afroutan, aged 20, is one of the principal members of the writers association in the city of Bandar Abbas, southern Iran.
Please send appeals:
- expressing serious concern about the arrest of journalist and writer Elham Afroutan (f) and up to six other Tammadon-e Hormozgan journalists detained with her, and seeking immediate assurances that they are not being ill-treated;
- urging that they are granted access to their families, lawyers, and any necessary medical attention;
- calling for their immediate and unconditional release if held in violation of Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.
Appeals to:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 649 5880/ 774 2228
President
Mr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 649 5880
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice,
Park-e Shahr,
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Fax: +98 21 879 6671
Email: irjpr@iranjudiciary.org (mark ‘Please forward to HE Ayatollah
Shahroudi’
.
If possible please send a copy of your appeal to the diplomatic representative for Iran in your country.
For further details contact Cathy McCann at the Writers in Prison Committee
London Office: 9-10 Charterhouse Buildings, London EC1M 7AT UK Tel: + 44
(0) 20 72 53 32 26 Fax: + 44 (0) 20 72 53 57 11 e-mail: cmccann@wipcpen.org
------------------------------------------------------
RAPID ACTION NETWORK
15 February 2006
VIETNAM: Grave concerns for the health of Internet writer and dissident
Pham Hong Son.
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is gravely concerned
about the health of internet publisher and dissident Pham Hong Son, who is
said to be seriously ill in prison and in urgent need of medical attention.
PEN urges that he receive a medical examination by an independent doctor
and all necessary medical treatment immediately. PEN calls for his
immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds and in
accordance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a signatory.
According to reports, the health of imprisoned writer Pham Hong Son has
been deteriorating since August 2004 and he is now said to be seriously
ill. Requests from his family for him to be given a medical examination to
determine the nature of his illness have not been granted. His symptoms
include coughing up blood. He is also believed to require an operation for
a hernia.
Internet publisher Pham Hong Son was arrested on 27 March 2002 and
sentenced to thirteen years in prison and three years’ house arrest by the
Ha Noi People’s Court on 18 June 2003. He was convicted on espionage
charges for his pro-democracy activities, including using email to
“translate and send anti-Party documents and anti-government documents” to
colleagues abroad. In an appeal hearing on 26 August 2003, the Hanoi
Supreme Court upheld the conviction against internet publisher Pham Hong
Son, but reduced his sentence from thirteen to five years imprisonment. Son
will still be required to serve three years of administrative detention
(house arrest) upon his release from prison.
Pham Hong Son, aged thirty-seven, is a medical doctor by training, but
since 2001 has dedicated himself to writing and translating pro-democracy
articles and posting them on various overseas websites. He is married with
two sons aged seven and five, and has been forbidden from receiving family
visits in detention. He is a recipient of the 2003 Hellman/Hammett awards
for persecuted writers.
International PEN protests the detention of dissident writer Pham Hong Son
solely for expressing his views, and is seriously concerned for his health.
It reminds the Vietnamese government of its commitment to freedom of
expression as guaranteed by the Vietnamese Constitution and the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and calls for the
release of all writers held solely for the exercise of their right to
freedom of expression.
Please send appeals:
- Expressing serious concern for the health of dissident writer Pham
Hong Son, and urging his release on humanitarian grounds so that he can
receive urgent medical treatment;
- protesting reports that he is held in harsh prison conditions and
has been denied family visits;
- Calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Pham Hong
Son and all other writers held solely for the exercise of their right to
freedom of expression, in accordance with Article 19 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Vietnam is a signatory.
Appeals to be sent to:
His Excellency Tran Duc Luong
President, Socialist Republic of Vietnam
C/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Prime Minister Phan Van Khai
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Pham Quang Nghi, Minister of Culture and Information
1 Hoang Hoa Tham Street
Hanoi
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Vietnamese
authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for
Vietnam in your country to forward your appeals. It would also be
advantageous to ask your country’s diplomatic representatives in Vietnam to
intervene in the case.
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN
WiPC, 9/10 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7AT, U.K. Tel:
+44 (0)20 7253 3226, fax: +(0)20 7253 5711, email: cmccann@wipcpen.org