ahro members

Dr Ahmad Shahid the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran submitted and presented his 4th report and addressed the recent human rights situations in Iran during 11th and 12th of March 2013. Dr Shahid highlighted the deteriorated human rights in Iran. He described how he gathered information and interviewed 286 victims and adopted on tens of detailed official and non-official reports. He also pointed on the rising member of the executions and tortures and arrests among journalists and persecutions of ethnic and religious minorities.

Dr Shahid added that Iran had dramatic increase on human rights accusation and the regime carried out 500 executions. He also said there were 297 executions announced by the Iranian government and 200 executions carried out in secrete and reported by their families and other judgmental staff.

Dr Shahid also revealed in particular the human rights situations in Ahwaz province.

Furthermore, Dr Shahid stated that five Ahwazi Arab men were convicted of among other charges “spreading propaganda against the system” and sentenced to death in connection with their founding of an Arab minority linguistic and cultural organization named “Al-Hiwar.” Reports from multiple sources indicate that all five men were mistreated or tortured while in detention and that they were not afforded fair trials. He urges the Iranian government to officially halt the execution of these cultural activists, two of whom are teachers, and to take every effort to investigate the aforementioned allegations. The five Ahwazi Arab activists named: Mohammad Ali Amouri, Sayed Jaber Alboshokeh, Sayed Mokhtar Alboshokeh, Hashem Shaabani and Hadi Rashedi.

Saleh Hamid in an interview with Alarabyeh channel calls for urgent halt of the execution of Ahwazi Arab activists while they continue hunger strike for the last ten days. At the same time the British Delegate in the event calls for urgent halt of the execution of five Ahwazi Arab activists.

Furthermore the delegates of Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Austria and the representative of the European Union, they all condemned the extensive human rights violations and suppression of freedoms and restrictions on minorities and increasing executions in Iran. And they call for the need to take the necessary steps to compel the Iranian regime to respect human rights. Ahro attended an amendment by Dr Shahid and Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Prize winner, which followed by the condemnation of Iran’s human rights record at the UN Human Rights Council.

Saleh Hamid and Amir Saedi call for urgent and serious steps to be taken to halt further executions, ethnic cleansing and daily executions against Ahwazi Arabs. Ebadi condemned the executions of five Ahwazi Arab activists in “Al-Hiwar” cultural organisation. She says that the charges against them are false and the Iranian courts turned into branches of the intelligent Services. Ahro also met with Arab delegates of human rights organisations and call them to take serious action against the executions of Ahwazi Arabs.

There were also deep concerns of the Western countries, The European Union, and the US regarding current situations of human rights in Ahwaz. There were also exchange distribution of literatures, CD’s and leaflet representing recent human rights violations in Ahwaz and call for serous actions on Iran to halt further executions and persecutions.

Ahwaz Human Rights Organisation (AHRO)

16 march 2013