View this profile on Instagram

Impact Iran (@impactiran) • Instagram photos and videos

24/11/2016 Press Releases (Jahangir)

UN experts condemn charges against Iranian woman seeking missing relatives 

Joint letter in support of UNGA resolution

GENEVA (24 November 2016) – Iran must end the harassment of a woman trying to learn the fate of her brother and his newborn daughter, who disappeared from prison more than 30 years ago, a group of United Nations human rights experts has said.

The campaign against Raheleh Rahemipour may be a direct reprisal for her search, according to the experts*.

Ms. Rahemipour is now facing criminal charges and has undergone a lengthy interrogation at the same jail where her brother and the baby were last seen in 1984 – Evin prison in Teheran.

The UN experts are calling on Iran to drop all charges against Ms. Rahemipour and halt the campaign against her.

“Rather than investigating the alleged disappearance of Ms. Rahemipour’s relatives, the government of Iran has decided to launch a campaign of harassment and intimidation against her,” the experts stated.

“We are concerned that the judicial process against Ms. Rahemipour may be a direct reprisal for her human rights activism in the search for her relatives, as well as the exercise of her rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”

“We urge the Iranian Government to immediately drop all charges against Ms. Rahemipour and to halt any acts of retaliation against relatives, witnesses and human rights defenders who report cases of enforced disappearances.”

The experts say that since concerns about the missing pair were relayed to the Iranian authorities by the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances, earlier in 2016, the harassment against Ms. Rahemipour has only increased.

She is said to have faced intimidating calls and messages from the Iranian security apparatus, followed by lengthy interrogation sessions in Evin prison.

“We conveyed our concerns to the Government of Iran through an urgent communication in August 2016, yet instead of replying to our call, the State authorities have now charged Ms. Rahemipour with a number of national security offences, including ‘propaganda against the regime’, and ‘participation in unlawful assemblies’,” the experts noted.

Ms. Rahemipour has been given a court hearing date of 13 December before a judge reputed to pass extremely harsh sentences against political activists.

Her brother was last seen in Evin prison in August 1984, a year after he and his pregnant wife had been arrested over their political beliefs. Their baby daughter was born in jail in April 1984, but was taken away when she was only a few days old, and the couple was told she had died.

Link

UPCOMING EVENTS

(all times in EST)

07 12 23
  • International Civil Aviation Day

    07 12 23

09 12 23
  • International Anti-Corruption Day

    09 12 23

  • International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime

    09 12 23

10 12 23
  • Human Rights Day

    10 12 23

  • Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony

    10 12 23
    Oslo City Hall Rådhusplassen 1, 0037 Oslo, Norway

11 12 23
  • International Mountain Day

    11 12 23

12 12 23
  • International Day of Neutrality

    12 12 23

13 12 23
  • Sakharov Prize 2023

    13 12 23
    Paul-Henri Spaak Building Rue Wiertz / Wiertzstraat 60 B-1047 Brussels Belgium

18 12 23
  • Arabic Language Day

    18 12 23

  • International Migrants Day

    18 12 23

20 12 23
  • International Human Solidarity Day

    20 12 23

27 01 24
  • International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

    27 01 24

04 02 24
  • World Cancer Day

    04 02 24

06 02 24
  • International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation

    06 02 24

11 02 24
  • International Day of Women and Girls in Science

    11 02 24

13 02 24
  • World Radio Day

    13 02 24

20 02 24
  • World Day of Social Justice

    20 02 24

21 02 24
  • International Mother Language Day

    21 02 24

01 03 24
  • Zero Discrimination Day

    01 03 24

03 03 24
  • World Wildlife Day

    03 03 24

08 03 24
  • International Women's Day

    08 03 24

20 03 24
  • French Language Day

    20 03 24

  • International Day of Happiness

    20 03 24

21 03 24
  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

    21 03 24

  • International Day of Forests

    21 03 24

  • International Day of Nowruz

    21 03 24

  • World Down Syndrome Day

    21 03 24

  • World Poetry Day

    21 03 24

22 03 24
  • World Water Day

    22 03 24

23 03 24
  • World Meteorological Day

    23 03 24

24 03 24
  • International Day for the Right to the Truth concerning Gross Human Rights Violations and for the Dignity of Victims

    24 03 24

  • World Tuberculosis Day

    24 03 24

25 03 24
  • International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

    25 03 24

  • International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members

    25 03 24

02 04 24
  • World Autism Awareness Day

    02 04 24

04 04 24
  • International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action

    04 04 24

06 04 24
  • International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

    06 04 24