The Foundation for Democracy in Iran has received several reports in recent days suggesting an upsurge in violence against political dissidents in Iran.
It is not a coincidence that these moves - which include arrests, an alleged kidnapping, and the murder of a political opponent overseas - occurred just prior to the visit to Tehran of two senior European diplomats, Germany's deputy Foreign Minister, Peter Hartmann, and the Chairman of the European Commission of the Irish Parliament, Michael Ferris. Both met with senior officials of the Islamic Republic on Nov. 5. According to reports in the state-controlled press in Tehran, their discussions focused on trade and the U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic, but made no mention of the rampant human rights abuses of the regime.
The opposition Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran reported on Oct. 31 that seven Party activists who had taken refuge in northern Iraq were arrested by pro-Iranian elements on Oct. 20 and handed over to intelligence agents of the regime.
The seven were named as:
- Arshad Rezai, son of Sadegh, born in the village of Shoshmeh (Paveh district)
- Mohammad Aziz Ghadri, son of Karim, born in the village of Nerweh (Paveh district)
- Darioush Islamdoost, son of Mohammad, born in the town of Nossood (Paveh district)
- Yunes Mohammadpour, son of Mohammad Naim, born in Paveh
- Mozaffar Kazemi, son of Mulud, born in Paveh
- Adnan Ismaili, son of Mohammad, born in the village of Hadjidj (Paveh district)
- Maroof Sohrabi, son of Mohammad Said, born in Paveh.
According to information from the KDPI and confirmed by independent FDI sources in Iran, all seven are currently being held incommunicado in a Revolutionary Guards jail in the town of Paveh in northwestern Iran. There are credible reports that they have been tortured while in prison. All face possible execution for their membership in a banned organization.
The Foundation considers the seven to be political prisoners, and calls on the authorities in Tehran to release them unconditionally.
On November 4, the opposition Fedayeen (Minority), a group affiliated with the Mujahidin-e Khalq, announced that a member of their organization identified as Ali Mowlali had been assassinated by Iranian government agents in Islamabad, Pakistan.
Coinciding with the arrival of the German Deputy Foreign Minister in Tehran, the regime arrested the editor of a well-known literary monthly, Faraj Sarhouhi, as he was preparing to board a flight to Frankfurt at Tehran's Mehrebad airport on Nov. 3. According to reports received by FDI from family members and friends in Tehran, Mr. Sarhouhi was arrested by agents of the Ministry of Information and Security, although his whereabouts remain unknown.
The day before Mr. Sarhouhi's disappearance, another newspaper editor, Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, was arrested when he appeared before a Tehran court after journalists at his weekly defied a publication ban. Mr. Tabarzadi's publication, Payam-e Daneshjoo (Student's Message) was closed in July after it ran investigative reports on high-level corruption in the regime.
The Foundation appeals to the European Union - if it is at all serious about the "critical" side of its dialogue with Tehran - to raise the cases mentioned above immediately with the authorities in Tehran, instead of rewarding the Islamic Republic with trade and financial aide.
The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is a private, non-profit corporation registered in the State of Maryland. Contact: Kenneth R. Timmerman, Executive Director. Tel: (301) 946-2918. Fax: (301) 942-5341. FDI materials, including the FDI Newswire, are available free-of-charge via the Internet at http://www.iran.org