Say (No.): 516/2009 laygün (Date): 3 June 2009 The Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva , Please circulate this letter to: · Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance · The Independent Expert on Minority Issues · The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention CC Mr. Drewery Dyke and Mrs. Ann Harrison, Amnesty International, London Also: Human Rights Watch and Human Rights Server Dear sir/madam, GENERAL COMMUNİCATİON 4: RACIAL INCITEMENTS IN IRAN AGAINST SOUTH AZERBAIJANIS Please find enclosed Communication 4 on a new wave of violation of human rights of Southern Azerbaijanis by Iranian authorities, triggered by a racially motivated joke uttered by Hojjat-ul-Islam Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, a former president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Southern Azerbaijanis have now been orchestrating well measured protests but the Iranian authorities are resorting to the appeasement of Mr. Khatami, suppressing the protesters by preventing their protests, beating them up or arbitrarily detaining them. The overview of this episode is that Hojjat-ul-Islam Khatami tells a joke at a private party. The characters mentioned in the storyline of the joke comprise no lesser individuals than, the prophet Mohammad, his wife Khadija, his daughter Fatima and Fatima’s two sons: Hasan and Huseyn. According to the storyline, when the prophet Mohammad was walking his daughter off to her husband’s house on her wedding night, Khadija was preoccupied with the worries that this marriage, apparently blessed in heavens, was destined to the tragic death of her grandchildren. Apparently she utters the words saying that, o you little poor thing, only if you knew what our offspring will suffer (some rephrasing has been allowed to adapt to English)! This Communication provides you with background information as follow: Table 1: Provides the link to the joke, its accurate and rather verbatim translation into English Table 2: Presents an example of the reactions by Southern Azerbaijanis and this one was issued by ADAPP, a Canadian-based Association for Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran , which captures the mood of Southern Azerbaijan Table 3: Translates an official coverage of this racially-motivated joke by deploying soft techniques for a gentle landing of the offensive jokes Table 4: Provides an overview of the subsequent waves of reaction by Southern Azerbaijanis Table 5: Lists the name of the published detainees, some of whom have now been released on bail Table 6: Presents the letters from the wives of the two of the subsequent prisoners of conscience We understand that it would be difficult for you to grasp the point of contention and easily miss the punch line of the joke. So we offer the following explanation. The subject of the joke is peculiar to the Shiite sect of Islam and has nothing to do with a race or nationality, let alone with Azerbaijan . The punch line is that at the wedding day, it would have been impossible for any of the offspring to accompany the bride, as this is particularly serious accusation in Islam for forbidding sex before marriage. Also Khadija, Prophet Mohammad’s wife, could have not known the tragic end of her grandchildren. So the storyteller must have been confused and hence the reason for the joke. So far there is nothing offensive. However, the former president implicates this storyline with the people of a historic city of Azerbaijan and another individual in the party remarks that they are Turks, aren’t they? This is a build-up for associating a nation with diminished intelligence. This trick is normally deployed by racists. Thus when such words are uttered by ordinary individuals, their acts are referred to as the incitement of racism but here they are delivered by a diplomat, and therefore the words are deemed as an outright evidence for institutional racism in Iran. We are proclaiming that the storyline is peculiar to the Shiite sect of Islam. For instance, you may refer to the following link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjH1S-s2AfA&feature=related – Note, on request, we can transcribe the words), where a Farsi-speaking individual delivers a different version of the same storyline in a very hysteric manner to his matching hysteric audience. By viewing this link, one could see the breeding ground of the Iranian state-run terrorism. However, it would be wrong to attribute the subject in this link to the intelligence of the honourable Farsi-speaking people or nation. We have provided evidence in this Communication and the past ones that the institutionalised racism in Iran is colourful and crafty. In this Communication, we have exposed a glimpse of soft touch and gentle landing but they deploy other ingenious techniques as well, such the technique of diffusion. For instance, on 2 June 2009, IRNA (the official Islamic Republic News Agency) website published a statement (http://www.irna.ir/View/FullStory/?NewsId=522267) that 31 have been arrested in relation to the “turmoil” in Zahedan and Tebriz. It is simply rich to regard the protests in Tebriz as turmoil and outrageous to diffuse the democratic protests orchestrated in Azerbaijan with the armed struggle in Zahedan, Baluchistan . Indeed, the Iranian authorities are well capable of meeting force with force but completely exposed to confront with democratic movement of the nation of Azerbaijan in Southern Azerbaijan . We hold that they think they can get away by their contrived techniques and therefore we appeal to you to be particularly careful on the subtlety of their responses. We hope you agree with us that this episode is evidence for the rotten state-run racism in Iran . The immediate impact of this episode is that already we have more than 20 prisoners of conscience, as named in Table 5, the wives of two of them have appealed for help and we provide their translation in Table 6 for your attention. The current consequence of this episode is that there is a tremendous anxiety invoked in Southern Azerbaijan . Already, the Iranian authorities are wedging in Kurdish migrants to Azerbaijani territories who regard Kurds belonging to the so-called pure race of “Aryan” and incite racial tension by sponsoring provocative acts of renaming Azerbaijani territories. The long-term impact is that our mother language is coerced out of everyday life and out of our education to say the least whilst sparing you with massive impacts of the Iranian governance on the economy and the environment of Southern Azerbaijan . The overall outcome is that Southern Azerbaijan is deprived of effective governance. The published joke looks very genuine and some of the participants have confessed to it. However reportedly, Hojjat-ul-Islam Khatami denied his role in the published film on 27 May 2009, incredibly claiming that the film was assembled together (http://www.salaamnews.com/ShowNews.php?7541). It is incredible that such genuine looking evidence can be dismissed without even setting up an enquiry. It seems it is alright in Iran to incite racial hatred, get upset with protests, detain non-Farsi protesters, and get away by a simple denial without any official enquiry. Already some twenty individuals have been detained for their peaceful protests and Mr. Khatami has not taken responsibly for ensuring their release and not taken steps to condemn the institutionalised racism in Iran . He likes the credit for steering the dialogue of civilisations but yet he is so much as odds with Azerbaijan . We have now provided a great deal of details for your perusal and our message is that the Iranian authorities are at a slippery slope but they have no sense to feel it. It is only your mandate that stand some chance of reminding them the entitlement of the nations of Azerbaijan in Southern Azerbaijan for the full enjoyment of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We rally for your protest against the Iranian institutionalised racism. We thank you in advance for your care. Yours faithfully, Eli Tashkent The Committee for the Defence of the Rights of World Azerbaijanis Table 1 An Accurate Translation of the Joke by Hojjat-ul-Islam Khatami, a Former President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjH1S-s2AfA&feature=related Transcription By Elirza Qulunci Khatami: “ they were so and so, and his expertise was on pastoral tragic recitals [characteristic of the Shiites], i.e. the story of the wedding of her highness Zehra [prophet Mohammad’s daughter, generally known as Fatima ]. His speciality was his particular way of deliverance and Erdebil-ians (the people of Erdebil) used to like his way very much, which is a reflection of the genius of Erdebilians.” One of the attendants: “in a nutshell, he was a Turk.” Laughter. “He [the pastor] said, on the wedding night of her highness [Zehra] and whilst she was being taken [to her wedding] home, his highness prophet [Mohammad] was moving in front of her highness Zehra. Imam Hasan was on her right hand side and Imam Huseyn was on her left hand side. Her highness Khadija [Zehra’s mother] was beating up her chest [and uttering the words that] o my poor little thing, only if you knew what is waiting for your children (literal translation: let me sacrifice myself for your would-be-victim children).” The laughter of the audience. He continues: “well, this is what Erdebil is. (we do not know the meaning of his following words: hala be men migen to chera tu sofre-ye eqd aftabi)” Note 1: The standard way of addressing the Shiites holy persons is “Hezret + the name of the individual,” and hezret has been translated here as his/her highness. Note 2: Joke 2 is given another Ayatollah, which is more explicit in racial abuse but we are not translating it, as the first joke is more than enough. The texts within square brackets are added by the translator to help the English readers to understand the text better. Note 3: The specific reason for naming the above city is that this historic Azerbaijani city is the hinterland of the historic Azerbaijan and therefore delivering a blow to this city is delivering a blow to larger Azerbaijan . It is a well-calculated attack. Table 2 Press Release by the Canadian Based Association for Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP) – Source: http://azlink.info/saz.aspx PRESS RELEASE: FORMER PRESIDENT OF IRAN INSULTS AZERBAIJANI MINORITY Sat, 05/30/2009 - 20:32 — admin VANCOUVER – Protests have erupted this week in three Iranian cities after former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami made degrading comments about the Azerbaijani minority in Iran . On May 14th, a video emerged on the Internet which showed Khatami belittling ethnic Azerbaijanis at a gathering of Iran ’s reformist politicians, referring to the ethnic group as a community of unintelligent and foolish people. Among the identifiable attendees were prominent mullahs as well as representatives of presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi, all of whom were either laughing or contributing to the racist jokes. Thus far, four college students – Hamid Hasan Zare, Babek Minaqi, Ali Imani and Peyman Imani – have been identified among those who were arrested by federal police during protests in Tabriz . Demonstrations also took place in Tehran and Urmia. Activist groups have said they will continue their demonstrations until Khatami formally apologizes for his remarks. “President Khatami advocated a dialogue between civilizations, yet he entertains his fellow reformists with racist jokes against Azerbaijanis,” says Fakhteh Zamani, president of the Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners,” a Vancouver-based organization. Iranian Azerbaijanis (in the Source document it is: Azerbaijani Iranians) are ethnic Turks who make up between 25 and 30 per cent of the Iranian population. They are regularly discriminated against by the Persian majority. A cartoon published in the state-run newspaper Iran in 2006 compared Azerbaijanis to cockroaches and suggested various methods of exterminating them. The public backlash against Khatami’s comments has so far not been as severe as the protests against the publication of the cartoon, but has the potential to become much more widespread unless Khatami issues a formal apology to Iranian Azerbaijanis. Preliminary reports show that about dozens of prisoners were detained in Tehran , Tabriz and Urmia and it is believed that some may have been released. It is still unclear if the four protesters in Tabriz have released. ADAPP will continue monitoring and reporting on any further developments that arise. For more information contact: Fakhteh Zamani - President, Association for the Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners +1-604-677-2524 [email protected]/* */ www.adapp.info ADAPP (the transcription of Some of the names into English have been matched with Azerbaijani instead of using Farsi style) Table 3 The Coverage of Abusive Joke of the Former Iranian President by an Official Iranian Website Baztab (Note that the coverage deploys diversionary soft techniques to minimise damage) – Source http://www.baztabonline.com/fa/pages/?cid=33442 The publication of offensive anecdote (travesty) by Khatami The publication of a film by some of reformist officials has set up a wave of dissatisfaction among our Azerbaijani fellow countrymen. According to reports by Jahan, Seyyed Mohammad Khatami describe jokes and anecdotes in relation to Azeri-speakers on 23 May in a private party in the presence of Majid Ansari, Eshaq Jehangiri and a number of other high ranking persons. Parts of this film, which is in the Internet now, our country’s former president recounts a memoir related to Azeri-speakers and entertains the audience by laughter and describes a Turkic joke [translator’s note: a joke intended for the Turks], unsuitable in accent and expression. This is in a background where Mir Hossein Mousavi intends to travel to Azerbaijan [for his presidential campaigns] in the coming days. He has said in his sessions that he intends to deliver his speeches for the people of territories. However, after the publication of this film and the full support of Khatami from Mir Hossein, the region of Azerbaijan is now covered with a wave of general dissatisfaction for this initiative and expression of the anecdote by Khatami. It should be mentioned that the organisations responsible for the prevention of crisis in the region and prevention of negative consequence are seeking measures to resolve this problem. Translator’s note: the text is full of soft touches and air brushes to achieve gentle landing and we hope the reader will notice them. For instance this coverage regards the incident as an anecdote (Latifa) where it is an outright racially motivated joke. There is one or more instance of ambiguity as well and a warning at the end promising repressions. The last one is very credible and already biting badly. Table 4 Example of the Widespread Reactions of Southern Azerbaijanis against the Debasing Joke by the Former Iranian President – the list goes on and still a hot topic but we aimed to reflect the importance of the subject rather than to be exhaustive No Date An introduction to the Reaction Source 1 17-18 May 09 The first news emerged in Azerbaijani websites http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6697 2 17 May 09 The first Communiqué by the Student of Tebriz University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6698 3 18 May 09 The first reaction by Activists of Merend http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6699 4 18 May 09 The reactions of Azerbaijani students of Tehran University , Faculty of Medicine http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6700 5 19 May 09 Statement by students of open University, Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6701 6 19 May 09 The sit-in Protest by the students of Nur University in Tebriz http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6706 7 19 May 09 Statements by students from universities in Maragha, Binev (Binab) and Melik-kendi http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6707 8 19 May 09 Statements by students from the University of Science and Technology, Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6710 9 19 May 09 Repressive measures by Iranian authorities against Azerbaijani activists of Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6712 10 19 May 09 Statement 2: by Azerbaijani students of Tehran University , Faculty of Medicine http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6713 11 19 May 09 Statement by Erdebil activists of the Azerbaijani national movement http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6714 12 20 May 09 Elshen Ordubadli appeals to 8 religious authorities by an open letter http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6716 13 20 May 09 Statement by students of Urmu University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6724 14 20 May 09 A low-ranking individual resigns http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6725 15 20 May 09 Confrontation between pro-Khatami students and activists of the Azerbaijani national movement and beating up of the activists http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6727 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6733 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6735 16 20 May 09 Protests of religious Azerbaijani association of Kerej http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6730 17 20 May 09 Statement by activists of Tebriz http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6732 18 21 May 09 Statement of Zengan activists http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6733 19 21 May 09 Statement by Urmu activists of the Open University in Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6736 20 21 May 09 Calling for a public protest in Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6739 21 21 May 09 Statement 2 by students of Tebriz University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6740 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6741 22 21 May Statement by students of Tebriz Applied Science University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6742 23 21 May 09 Collective Statement by students of the Universities in the Azerbaijani provinces of Qezvin, Hemedan and the Central Province . http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6743 24 Expression of support to a resigned official by graduates of the Medical faculty of Tebriz University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6744 25 21 May 09 Call for protests by students in Erdebil and Gilan provinces http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6745 26 21 May 09 Statement by students of Teacher Training University in Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6747 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6749 27 21 May 09 Statement by the Federation of Southern Azerbaijani students in Turkey http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6748 28 21 May 09 Campaign for Presidential Elections is transformed into protest in Zengan http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6750 29 21 May 09 Widely distributed leaflets in Tebriz http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6752 30 22 May 09 Street protests in Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6754 31 22 May 09 The first of repressive measure by detention starts in Tebriz http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6755 32 22 May 09 Widely distributed leaflets in Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6756 33 22 May 09 Statement by activists in Khoy http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6757 34 22 May 09 Another statement by students of Teacher Training University in Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6758 35 22 May 09 Protests in the Azerbaijan Teacher Training University , Tebriz http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6759 36 22 May 09 Suppression in Miyana to prevent street protests http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6761 37 22 May 09 Repressive acts in Tebriz against protesters, some coverage by VOA, leading to the detention of a number of activists http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6762 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6763 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6775 38 May 09 Statement by student of Zengan University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6764 39 22 May 09 Statement by students of Germi University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6766 40 22 May 09 Statement by activists of Miyana http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6767 41 22 May 09 Statements by activists of Shebuster http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6768 42 22 May 09 Statement by Azerbaijani students of Emir Kebir University in Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6769 43 22 May 09 Call for protests by Turkic students of Tehran University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6770 44 23 May 09 Call for protests in Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6774 45 23 May 09 Protests by students of the Teacher Training, Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6778 46 23 May 09 Sit-in Protests by students of Shehid Rejai University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6779 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6782 47 23 May 09 Street protests in Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6780 48 23 May 09 Obtaining license for protests in Urmu Open University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6783 49 24 May 09 Urmu protests were severely suppressed http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6785 50 24 May 09 Zengan University is in tension http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6786 51 24 May 09 Protests in Open University, Urmu http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6790 52 24 May 09 Azerbaijani Protests in presidential campaigns in Zengan http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6791 53 24 May 09 Repression in Qoshachay, 2 detained http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6792 54 24 May 09 Protests of Turkic students of Tehran University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6794 http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6796 55 24 May 09 Statement by students of the Sharif University of Technology, Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6795 56 24 May 09 Statement by people of Tikantepe http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6797 57 24 May 09 Protests in front of Iranian Embassy in Ankara , Turkey http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6798 58 24 May 09 Statement 3 by student of Medical Science, University of Tehran http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6799 59 24 May 09 Protests in Khoy in the presidential Election campaigns http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6800 60 24 May 09 Statement of the Zengan Open University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6803 61 24 May 09 The Erdebil Member of the Iranian parliament called for an apology from the former president Khatami. This is quite unusual. http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/05/blog-post_387.html 62 25 May 09 Statements of Turkic students of Esfahan University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6806 63 25 May 09 Statement 2 of Urmu Activists http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6807 64 25 May 09 Statement 2 of Zengan activists http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6808 65 25 May 09 Call for protests by students of the Emir kebir University of technology http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6814 66 25 May 09 Musavi’s presidential campaign in Tebriz was converted into protests http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6820 67 25 May 09 Azerbaijani alumni issue a general statement http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6823 68 25 May 09 Protests in Tebriz 69 25 May 09 Protests in the Tehran University of Science and Technology http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6832 70 27 May 09 Statements by Turkic student of Esfahan University http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6838 71 31 May 09 Statement by Qaradagh activists against Khatami’s denial http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6865 72 31 May 09 Someone should clarify Khatami what is an assembled film! http://armanazer.blogfa.com/post-1779.aspx 73 31 May 09 Statement by Merend activists against Khatami’s denial http://www.oyrenci.com/News.aspx?newsId=6870 Table 5 The Detentions Following of Southern Azerbaijanis by Iranian Authorities following the Racially-motivated Joke by the Former Iranian President (Source: Tebriz sesi and other websites – the status of some of the detainees are yet to be confirmed) Some of the detainees have been released on bail. No Name and Surname City Date arrested Circumstances 1 Armin Shakiran Vahi Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests 2 Aydin Zakiri Khiyov 31 May 09 Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/06/blog-post_01.html 3 Babek Miyneqi Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests 4 Bayram Khaliqzade Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests 5 Behzad Sadiqiyan Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests 6 Eli Imani Khiyov 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests. The victim is a student reading a degree in agriculture. 7 Eli Islami Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests 8 Eli Sadiqi Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests 9 Elirza Fershi Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWRBSo9g75g 10 Esger Chemeni Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests 11 Esger Qedimi Merend 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests. The victim is a university student. 12 Ferdin Muradpur Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests 13 Ferdin Novbekht Khiyov 31 May 09 Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/06/blog-post_01.html 14 Ferid Baqirzade Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests 15 Hale Fehti Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested while taking part in street protests 16 Hamid Huseyn Zare Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests 17 Jahanbekhsh Bekhtaver Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz for taking part in a campaign 18 Mehdi Imani Khiyov 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz, where his is a student reading a degree in agriculture. He was taking part in a campaign 19 Mensur Seyfi Khiyov 31 May 09 Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/06/blog-post_01.html 20 Murtuza Muradpur Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz, a university student in Usgu who was handed over by his dormitory keeper for taking part in street demonstrations on 22 May 21 Nadir Bekhtaver Tebriz 24 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in an ongoing campaign for presidential election and using the opportunity for protests 22 Rehim Qulami Erdebil 30 May 09 Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/06/blog-post_4259.html 23 Resul Bedeli Tebriz 23 May 09 Were arrested in Tebriz his house together with his brothers 24 Seher Fehti Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in street protests 25 Sejjad Ezizian Qoshachay 22 May 09 Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/05/blog-post_8572.html 26 Sejjad Qarabaghli Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in street protests 27 Shiri Qoshachay 22 May 09 Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/05/blog-post_8572.html 28 Vehid Aghacani Tebriz 22 May 09 Arrested in Tebriz while taking part in street protests Table 6 Open Letter by the Wives of Jahanbekhsh Bekhtaver and Nadir Bekhtaver to the Media and High Court of Iran – Source: http://www.savalansesi.com/2009/06/blog-post_5591.html Note: both of these prisoners of conscience have now been released on bail Dear sir, At the wake of the tenth presidential election of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and whilst each one of the candidates were engaged in promising and serving slogans for freedom and reform, regrettably security and information agents attacked individuals seeking the recognition for their due national rights recognised by law and as such the agent abused the atmosphere suitable for the ongoing pre-election campaigns. In the course of these events, we, Siddiqe Semedi (maiden surname) and Fatima Keremi (maiden surname) appeal to you that our respective husbands called Jahanbekhsh Bekhtaver and Nadir Bekhtaver were arrested by security and information agents in Tebriz, violating Articles 23, 32 and 37 and the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the standards upheld by the Universal Human Rights Declaration. They were taking part in the election campaign organised by Mr. Mousavi. We have repeatedly referred to the appropriate authorities to obtain any information on the whereabouts of our husbands but are in vain. We are appealing to you by this open letter and whilst we protest to the illegal acts of security and information agents, we request for your kind attention to take any necessary steps to ensure their immediate release. 29 May 2009 With regards Siddiqe Semedi and Fatima Keremi نامه سرگشاده همسران جهانبخش بخت آور و نادر بخت آور به دیوان عالی کشور و رسانه ها