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Amnesty Call for Release of Dr Mohammad Maleki

Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of Dr Mohammad Maleki who was arrested following his peaceful criticism of the Iranian presidential election. The former chancellor of Tehran University is believed to be seriously ill and in need of urgent medical attention.

Dr Maleki, 76, was arrested in August with a two-month temporary detention order being renewed on October 22 without any reasons or details of the charge given. At the time of his arrest he was receiving regular treatment for prostate cancer. There is grave concern that his life is in danger if he is not able to continue his treatment. Amnesty International has called for essential medical attention to be given, including any necessary treatment available outside of Evin Prison.

His wife was told at the time of his arrest that he was being investigated for stirring up unrest and for alleged links to the People’s Mohahedin Organisation of Iran, a banned opposition group. Mohammed Maleki criticised the election process but did not publicly comment on any of the presidential candidates. Amnesty considers him to be a prisoner of conscious and has stated that he is being held “solely for the peaceful expression of his views”.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

Dr Maleki was appointed the first Chancellor of Tehran University in 1979 following the Islamic Revolution and has been arrested and detained by the Iranian authorities several times before. Tehran University is the oldest, largest and most prestigious of Iran’s universities. One hundred and nineteen lecturers and staff of the University of Tehran resigned on June 15, 2009 to protest the attack on university dorms in the wake of contested presidential election.

Iran is bound by international human rights law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which it ratified in 1975. Under the covenant, Iran is required to recognize and protect key human rights, including rights to physical integrity and freedom of thought.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

NEAR joins Amnesty International’s call for immediate medical attention to be given to Dr. Mohammed Maleki and for the authorities to clarify his state of health and grant immediate and regular access for his lawyer and family.

Please send appeals:

1. Urging the authorities to re-examine the circumstances of Dr Mohammad Maleki’s arrest and to work for his immediate release;

2. Urgently calling for medical attention to be given to Dr. Mohammad Maleki and for immediate and regular access to be granted to his lawyers and family;

3. Reminding the authorities that Iran is bound, under international law by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by Iran in 1975), to recognise and protect the right to physical integrity and freedom of thought.

APPEALS TO:

His Excellency Dr. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
President, Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

His Excellency Gholam-Hossein Elham
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran

COPIES TO:

Mr. Mohammad Khazaee, Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA

PLEASE ALSO SEND COPIES OF YOUR APPEALS TO:

Programme Officer, Network for Education and Academic Rights
90 London Road,
SE1 9LN
London, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7021 0884
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7021 0881

contact@nearinternational.org

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