(WiPC/IFEX) – International PEN’s WiPC is seriously concerned about the detention of writer and women’s rights activist Roya Toloui, who was among several prominent Kurdish human rights defenders and journalists detained on 2 August 2005 following protests in the city of Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province. PEN fears that Toloui and those arrested with her […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – International PEN’s WiPC is seriously concerned about the detention of writer and women’s rights activist Roya Toloui, who was among several prominent Kurdish human rights defenders and journalists detained on 2 August 2005 following protests in the city of Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province. PEN fears that Toloui and those arrested with her may be held in violation of Article 19 of the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory, and if so calls for their immediate and unconditional release. PEN seeks details of any charges and sentences against them, and urges that they be granted access to any necessary medical attention, their families and legal representation whilst in detention.
According to PEN’s information, those detained on 2 August in Sanandaj alongside Toloui include: Mohammad Sadeq Kabudvand, journalist and co-founder of the Kurdistan Human Rights Organisation, Jalal Qavami, editor of the journal “Payam-e Mardom”, writer Said Saidi and journalist Media Ahmadi. All were arrested at their homes or offices and charges against them are believed to include “disturbing the peace” and “acting against national security”. Prison terms of at least two months have reportedly been handed down to the detainees by the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On the same day, the government also shut down two newspapers, “Ashti” and the weekly “Asu”.
There has been mounting unrest in Iran’s Kurdish region since the presidential elections in late June, which saw the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is closely identified with Iran’s ruling clerical establishment and viewed as hostile to Kurdish demands for greater political and cultural recognition. The protests have reportedly been violently suppressed by the Iranian security forces, resulting in over twenty deaths and hundreds of arrests. Martial law is said to be effectively in place across the region.
Amnesty International gives the following background:
“The unrest began in the town of Mahabad, in early July, following the shooting of Shivan Qaderi, a Kurdish opposition activist, also known as Sayed Kamal Astam, or Astom, and two other Kurdish men, by Iranian forces in the town of Mahabad on 9 July, in circumstances where they may not have posed an immediate threat. The security forces then reportedly tied Shivan Qaderi’s body to a Toyata jeep and dragged him in the streets . . . During the days following Shivan Qaderi’s death, several thousand Mahabad residents, mainly youths, took to the streets to protest the killings. Since then, demonstrations have erupted in the mainly Kurdish neighbouring towns of Sanandaj, Mahabad, Sardasht, Piranshahr, Oshnavieh, Baneh, Sinne, Bokan and Saqiz. The Iranian state-owned media has reported and confirmed the unrest of the past 3 weeks, but have described the situation as due to ‘hooligan and criminal elements’.”
Toloui is editor of the monthly cultural magazine “Rassan” and founder of the Association of Kurdish Women for the Defence of Peace and Human Rights. According to Human Rights First, the authorities have refused to legally register this organisation and its members have been repeatedly harassed and threatened in recent months. Toloui is known for her outspoken criticism of the Iranian authorities and defence of the rights of women and religious and ethnic minorities. Her public comments have brought her to the attention of the authorities and she was summoned to appear before a Revolutionary Court in April 2005 to face accusations that her non-violent activism “endangered national security” (see IFEX alert of 25 April 2005). She is also a member of Kurdish PEN.
