Shirin Ebadi Appeals to the UN Human Rights Commissioner

Mrs Navanethem Pillay
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Palais des Nations
CH-1211
Geneva 10
Switzerland


Friday, 14 May 2010


Your Excellency
Mrs Navanethem Pillay

In December 2009, the UN General Assembly advised the Iranian government to allow the Special Rapporteurs on human rights to visit Iran and called upon the Iranian government to cooperate with them. The Iranian authorities recently responded to the advice and declared Tehran is ready to host them in near future and promise to cooperate with the delegation.
We, the signatories to this letter, put utmost importance to the situation of human rights in Iran, would regard such visit as a matter of urgency. We would like to have guarantees by the Iranian government to let the Special Rapporteurs on ‘arbitrary detentions’, ‘extrajudicial executions’ and ‘torture’ to visit Iran and carry out investigations on those who have been sentenced to death on political grounds and executed after the disputed presidential elections, those who have received heavy prison terms, those who are charged but are not convicted yet, and those who are still in custody without any charges and submit their report to appropriate authorities.
The investigations of the Rapporteurs will be fruitful if they have access to the prisoners’ dossiers, be able to talk to their lawyers, and be allowed to visit prisons and prisoners and the members of their family in private.
We understand that an imminent visit of the Rapporteurs might prevent more tragic life losses.
We appreciate if the conduct of the Iranian authorities, if any, towards the Rapporteurs be shared with the human rights organisations and individual activists in Iran and abroad
Best regards

• Shirin Ebadi
Nobel Peace Laureate 2003
shirin@shirinebadi.org


• Mehrangiz Kar
Lawyer, Human Rights Advocate
mehrangizkar@gmail.com


• Abdol Ali Bazergan
Religious Researcher, Writer
abdolalib@yahoo.com



• Masoud Behnoud
Journalist, Writer, Novelist
mbehnoud@gmail.com


• Mohsen kadivar
Senior Cleric, Writer, Professor of Islamic Studies
kadivar64@gmail.com


• Ata-ollah Mohajerani
Former Deputy President and Minister of Culture, Writer, Novelist
mohajerani.ata@gmail.com


• Farrokh Negahdar
Political Analyst, Left movement activist
info@negahdar.net


• Hassan Yousefi-Eshkevari
Cleric, Researcher, Journalist
eshkevari@gmail.com

Contact phone: 00447932714322