(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes reports that the death sentence handed down to Professor Hashem Aghajari for apostasy on 9 November 2002 has been quashed. However, the organisation remains concerned at reports that Aghajari will be required to reappear before the same court that ordered his execution and that the death penalty […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The WiPC of International PEN welcomes reports that the death sentence handed down to Professor Hashem Aghajari for apostasy on 9 November 2002 has been quashed. However, the organisation remains concerned at reports that Aghajari will be required to reappear before the same court that ordered his execution and that the death penalty may even be reinstated.
On 17 February 2003, a spokesman for the Iranian judiciary announced that Aghajari will face retrial before the Court of the First Instance in the western city of Hamedan. The announcement follows the Supreme Court’s decision to repeal the death sentence handed down to Aghajari in November, after his lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, filed an appeal on his behalf on 2 December.
Following protests by hundreds of university teachers and students, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered Iran’s chief judge to review the academic’s death sentence. Aghajari was also sentenced to 74 lashes of the whip, eight years’ imprisonment and internal exile, and a 10-year prohibition from teaching, all of which may still be applied if the death penalty is abandoned.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
– welcoming the Supreme Court’s decision to quash the death sentence handed down to Aghajari
– expressing concern that Aghajari faces retrial solely for the peaceful expression of his views, making reference to Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression
– expressing alarm at reports that Aghajari will appear before the same court that ordered his execution and may receive the same sentence
– asking that all judicial proceedings pending against Aghajari be dropped and that he be freed
Appeals To
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
His Excellency Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Please note that there are no fax numbers available for the Iranian authorities, so you may wish to ask the diplomatic representative for Iran in your country to forward your appeals. It would also be advantageous to ask your country’s diplomatic representatives in Iran to intervene in the case.
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
