10 July 2006

Your Excellency Ayatollah Sayed 'Ali Khamenei,

Re:  Saleh Kamrani

We are writing on behalf of the Human Rights Institute of the International Bar Association in connection with the fate of Saleh Kamrani, lawyer and human rights defender.

The International Bar Association (IBA) is a global federation of lawyers, Law Societies and Bar Associations that works to influence the development of international law reform and shape the future of the legal profession. Its 195 Member Organizations and 30,000 individual members cover all continents. The IBA’s Human Rights Institute works across the association, helping to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and legal profession worldwide.

We understand that Saleh Kamrani has practiced as a lawyer since 1999 and has defended a number of Iranian Azeri Turks who have been detained in connection with their political or cultural activities. He has reportedly suffered harassment at the hands of the Iranian security forces, including phone calls threatening him with arrest and in 2005 was detained for three days with his brother in the town of Oromieh.

Saleh Kamrani had reportedly called his wife at their house in Tehran at around 3pm on 14 June to say that he was on his way home. He never arrived. That evening, his wife called Ministry of Intelligence officials who at that time reportedly refused to confirm whether they were holding her husband. In an interview on 19 June 2006 on Araz Radio, broadcasted from Sweden, Saleh Kamrani’s wife, Mina Esgeri, said that she had been allowed to meet with her husband in detention on 18 June. He reportedly needs medication for a heart condition. He may be held solely for his work as a lawyer and human rights defender.

This case raises a number of concerns in connection with the rights that should be accorded all citizens of Iran.

The detention of Saleh Kamrani would appear to violate the spirit and provisions of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was adopted on 24 Oct 1979 and has been effective since 3 Dec 1979. These articles comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which the Islamic Republic of Iran signed on 4 April 1968 and ratified on 24 June 1975.  Article 20 of the Islamic Republic Constitution provides that “All citizens of the country, both men and women, equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic criteria”. Article 32 provides that “No one may be arrested except by the order and in accordance with the procedure laid down by law. In case of arrest, charges with the reasons for accusation must, without delay, be communicated and explained to the accused in writing, and a provisional dossier must be forwarded to the competent judicial authorities within a maximum of twenty-four hours so that the preliminaries to the trial can be completed as swiftly as possible. The violation of this article will be liable to punishment in accordance with the law.”  

Article 9 (3) of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states that ‘[a]nyone arrested or detained on a criminal charge shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power and shall be entitled to a trial within a reasonable time or to release.’  Further Article 9 (4) continues ‘[a]nyone who is deprived of his liberty by arrest or detention shall be entitled to take proceedings before a court, in order that the court may decide without delay on the lawfulness of his detention and order his release if the detention is not lawful.’  There is no evidence that Mr. Saleh Kamrani has been given the opportunity to challenge the lawfulness of his detention. If so, this is in conflict with Article 37 of the Islamic Republic Constitution which states “Innocence is to be presumed, and no one is to be held guilty of a charge unless his or her guilt has been established by a competent court”.

Finally, we should also like to remind you that Article 2 of  Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances,(Adopted by General Assembly resolution 47/133 of 18 December 1992) provides that  “Any act of enforced disappearance places the persons subjected thereto outside the protection of the law and inflicts severe suffering on them and their families. It constitutes a violation of the rules of international law guaranteeing, inter alia, the right to recognition as a person before the law, the right to liberty and security of the person and the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It also violates or constitutes a grave threat to the right to life.”

We are extremely concerned that the detention of Mr. Saleh Kamrani without trial has not been officially admitted and that he has not had the opportunity to challenge his incarceration.  We are further concerned at reports that the charges against him are not the real reason for his continued detention and that it may have arisen as a result of his exercising his right and duty to defend the human rights of others.   Further, we urge that if indeed Mr. Saleh Kamrani is suffering from a heart condition, that he be given the correct medical treatment.  

We should be grateful to receive your assurances that our concerns will be investigated as a matter of urgency.

Yours sincerely,

Ambassador Emilio Càrdenas                       

Justice Richard J. Goldstone

Co-Chairs, Human Rights Institute