Urgent action is required to save the lives of our brothers in Iran. Please write letters and emails immediately to express your disapproval and to urgently demand a halt to the death penalty against our brothers. Please send copies to any Iranian diplomatic representatives accredited to your country. In addition we request that you send copies to any media organisations to help raise awareness.
You may use the following template letter: (Updated 08 October 2013)
We are writing to demand an immediate halt to the planned execution of 32 Sunni men on death-row in Iran. Of particular urgency is the case of six prisoners, who Amnesty International said could be executed ‘within days’. It is believed that the men were tortured and forced to make false confessions.
The six prisoners who are facing imminent execution are being held in Ghezel Hesar prison near Tehran, Iran. Two of the men, Seddigh Mohammadi and Hadi Hosseini, are reportedly suffering from mental disorders. The other four men, Jamshed Dehghani, Jahangir Dehghani, Kamal Molayee and Hamed Ahmadi were arrested in June and July 2009. They were among a group of ten men who were sentenced to death in 2011. Their court appearance was said to have lasted just ten minutes, and the men said they were handcuffed and blindfolded throughout. Six of the men were executed in December 2012.
Allegations of torture raise serious concerns about the reliability of the evidence presented against these men. It is reported that the men were severely tortured and their families were threatened, until they confessed. In addition, the men said they were forced to sign papers without being allowed to read them. We request an urgent investigation by the Iranian authorities into these allegations, and we demand that all evidences obtained through torture are disregarded.
Similar concerns are raised about the cases of the 26 other Sunni prisoners on death row, who are held in Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, Iran. The men are all believed to have been tortured and mistreated in pre-trial detention. We were informed that many were kept in solitary confinement and were denied contact with their families or access to their lawyers. It is reported that the men were not involved in any violent or armed activities, and it is alleged that the men were instead targeted because they were active in peacefully propagating Sunni Islam within their community.
Four of the six prisoners facing imminent execution were accused of involvement in the assassination of a senior Sunni cleric who had close ties with the Iranian government. The men maintain that it was impossible for them to have been involved because they were detained in June and July 2009, months before the assassination took place in September 2009.
All 32 men were reportedly sentenced by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh, Head of branch 28 of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. In April 2011, the European Union named Moghisseh as an individual subject to sanctions for human rights violations. According to the Official Journal of the European Union, Moghisseh “issued long prison sentences during unfair trials for social, political activists and journalists and several death sentences for protesters and social and political activists.” It is extremely worrying that a judge facing such accusations is given the authority to impose the death penalty.
In light of the above we strongly express our concern at the injustice being committed in Iran against these men. We demand an urgent halt to the death penalty against them. We urge that all evidences obtained through torture are disregarded. We call on the Iranian authorities to ensure the men are protected from torture and ill treatment. We request that they are granted all necessary medical treatment. We insist that they are allowed immediate and regular contact with their lawyers and family.
We respectfully await your reply,
Leader of the Islamic Republic
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid
Keshvar Doust Street,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @khamenei_ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, 2 Azizi Street intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected] (Subject line: FAO Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani)
Salutation: Your Excellency
And copies to:
Secretary General High Council for Human Rights
Mohammed Javad Larijani
c/o Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St, Vali Asr Ave
South of Serah-e Jomhouri
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: [email protected] (Subject line: FAO Mohammad Javad Larijani)
Name Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Fax Fax number Email Email address Salutation Salutation
Please check with your section office if sending appeals after the above date.