11 June 2012<\/p>\n
Iran must not execute five Arab minority prisoners<\/p>\n
The five Ahwazi Arab men were arrested in April 2011 amid unrest in Irans Khuzestan province. \u00a9 Ahwazi Human Rights Organization<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Iranian authorities must immediately overturn the death sentences of five members of Iran\u2019s Ahwazi Arab minority who were tried unfairly and may face imminent public execution, Amnesty International said after the prisoners were moved to an unknown location at the weekend. e<\/p>\n
The men were transferred<\/p>\n
out of the general section of Karoun Prison in the south-western city of Ahvaz on Saturday, prompting concerns their death sentences may be about to be carried out. e<\/p>\n
The group includes three brothers, Abd al-Rahman Heidari, Taha Heidari and Jamshid Heidari, their cousin Mansour Heidari and Amir Muawi. e<\/p>\n
All five were arrested in April 2011 amid unrest in Khuzestan province \u2013 where most of Iran\u2019s Ahwazi Arab minority lives \u2013 and were later convicted of moharebeh (\u201cenmity against God\u201d) for killing a law enforcement official. e<\/p>\n
\u201cIran must urgently halt any plans to execute these five Ahwazi men. The death sentences of all who languish on death row in Iranian prisons should be overturned or commuted,\u201d said Ann Harrison, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International. e<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir families must be informed immediately of their whereabouts and fate, and they should be allowed access to lawyers of their choice. While held, they must be protected from all forms of torture or other ill-treatment and granted all necessary medical care.\u201de<\/p>\n
Death row prisoners are generally transferred to solitary confinement shortly before their executions take place. e<\/p>\n
Under Iranian law, lawyers must receive 48 hours\u2019 notice of their client\u2019s execution, but it is not clear whether these five men have ever been permitted legal representation.e<\/p>\n
Around 5 March 2012, Iranian Ministry of Intelligence officials informed the men\u2019s families that Iran\u2019s Supreme Court had upheld the death penalty for all five prisoners. e<\/p>\n
It is not known when the men\u2019s initial trials before a Revolutionary Court took place. Their families have said the men \u201cconfessed\u201d to murder, but did so under torture or other ill-treatment.\u00a0 Iranian courts frequently accept \u201cconfessions\u201d extracted under duress as evidence. e<\/p>\n
Ahwazi Arabs, one of Iran\u2019s many minorities, live mainly in the oil-rich south-western province of Khuzestan. e<\/p>\n
They often complain that they are marginalized and discriminated against in access to education, employment, adequate housing, political participation and cultural rights.\u00a0 e<\/p>\n
Some Ahwazi Arabs \u2013 who are mostly Shi\u2019a Muslims like the majority of people in Iran \u2013 have formed groups calling for a separate Arab state in the area.e<\/p>\n
In April 2005, Khuzestan province was the scene of mass demonstrations after reports that Iran\u2019s government planned to disperse Ahwazi Arabs from the area and to attempt to make them to lose their identity as Ahwazi Arabs. e<\/p>\n
A series of bomb explosions in the city of Ahvaz and at oil installations in late 2005 and early 2006 prompted several waves of mass arbitrary arrests in the region. At least 15 men were later executed based on their alleged involvement in the bombings. e<\/p>\n
In April 2011, members of the Ahwazi Arab minority organized \u201cDay of Rage\u201d protests across Khuzestan province to mark the sixth anniversary of the earlier unrest. e<\/p>\n
Afterwards, Amnesty International was given the names of 27 people allegedly killed in clashes with the security forces, including in Ahvaz\u2019s Malashiya neighbourhood. e<\/p>\n
Ahwazi Arab sources claim there were more casualties, while the authorities claim only three people died. e<\/p>\n
Around the time of the protests, between March and May 2011, at least four Ahwazi Arab men reportedly died in custody, possibly as a result of torture or other ill-treatment. Others were hospitalized for injuries sustained while in detention.e<\/p>\n
In early May 2011, the Iranian authorities reportedly executed at least eight Ahwazi Arabs \u2013 including Hashem Hamidi, believed to be 16 years old \u2013 for their alleged role in the deaths of a law enforcement official and two others during the clashes. e<\/p>\n
It is not clear if this is the same policeman that the five men were also accused of killing.e<\/p>\n
In the run-up to Iran\u2019s parliamentary elections in March this year, mass arrests in at least three separate locations in Khuzestan province resulted in the detention of some 50 to 65 people, and a further two deaths in custody were reported.e<\/p>\n
\u201cAhwazi Arabs \u2013 like everyone else in Iran \u2013 have the right to peacefully express their opposition to government policies. Iran\u2019s authorities must review legislation which discriminates against Ahwazi Arabs and other ethic and religious minorities.\u00a0 Otherwise, the cycle of grievance, protest and unrest will only continue,\u201d said Ann Harrison. e<\/p>\n
\u201cThe authorities must launch independent, impartial investigations into the ongoing reports of torture and other ill-treatment in Iranian prisons and detention centres \u2013 whether of Ahwazi Arabs or others \u2013 and bring to justice anyone found responsible for abuses.\u201de<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/news\/iran-must-not-execute-five-arab-minority-prisoners-2012-06-11#.T9Y0vaXJwao.facebook<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
11 June 2012 Iran must not execute five Arab minority prisoners The five Ahwazi Arab men were arrested in April 2011 amid unrest in Irans Khuzestan province. \u00a9 Ahwazi Human Rights Organization The Iranian authorities must immediately overturn the death sentences of five members of Iran\u2019s Ahwazi Arab minority who were tried unfairly and …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1633,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,5,6,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ahwaz","category-human-rights","category-picture","category-reports","category-statement"],"yoast_head":"\n