(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a WiPC, International PEN, letter to President Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami: 09 August 2002 His Excellency Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami The Presidency Palestine Avenue Azerbaijan Intersection Tehran Islamic Republic of Iran Fax: 00 98 21 649 5880 Your Excellency, We address ourselves to you in the spirit of our shared […]
(WiPC/IFEX) – The following is a WiPC, International PEN, letter to President Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami:
09 August 2002
His Excellency Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: 00 98 21 649 5880
Your Excellency,
We address ourselves to you in the spirit of our shared values and humanity to request your intervention on behalf of Khalil Rostamkhani.
As you know, Mr. Rostamkhani is currently in prison for his involvement in a conference the Heinrich Boll Foundation organized in Berlin, Germany in April 2001. His prosecution and conviction, and the prosecutions and convictions of many other distinguished men and women of letters in Iran, for the peaceful expression of their ideas at this international forum was deeply troubling to PEN. The reversal of the draconian sentences that Khalil Rostamkhani, Said Sadr, Akbar Ganji and Hojjatoleslam Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari are serving remains a top priority for our members and human rights advocates around the world, and we look forward to positive developments in these cases.
At the same time, we are compelled to make a special personal, urgent, and humanitarian appeal for the release of Khalil Rostamkhani.
As you may know, Mr. Rostamkhani’s wife, Roshanak Daryush, is suffering from an inoperable brain tumor in Germany, where she currently resides with the couple’s thirteen year-old son. Reports from our colleagues at German PEN suggest that Mrs. Daryush’s illness has advanced to a point where she is suffering from seizures and memory loss, and the treatment regimen has left her exhausted. We understand that her treating physician’s most recent report specifically emphasizes the detrimental effect of her husband’s imprisonment and their enforced separation on her capacity to endure and recover from treatments.
We therefore respectfully entreat you to intervene personally in Mr. Rostamkhani’s case to facilitate an early release on humanitarian grounds that will allow him to join his family in Germany. Such a release would enable Mr. Rostamkhani to assist his wife in her hour of need, and would surely be viewed most positively by the internationally community.
Respectfully yours,
Homero Aridjis
International President
Terry Carlbom
International Secretary
Recommended Action
Similar appeals can be sent to:
His Excellency Hojjatoleslam Sayed Mohammad Khatami
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: +98 21 649 5880
Please copy appeals to the source if possible.
