Urgent appeal of Ahwazi Organization for the Defense of Human Rights

The Ahwazi organization for the Defense of Human Rights (AODHR) issued an urgent appeal to a number of United Nations Special Rapporteurs, amnesty international organization and Human rights Watch regarding two Ahwazi Arab political Prisoners, Ali Chebieshat, Sayed Khaled Mousawi whose death penalty confirmed by the supreme court in Tehran earlier this Month.

The Ahwazi organization for the Defense of Human Rights (AODHR) is calling on the International community to save these two Ahwazi Arab prisoners from imminent execution and urge the Iranian Judicial authorities to review their cases and refer it back to court for a re-trial, ensuring that the defendant due process rights guaranteed under both Iranian law and international law.

Ali Chebieshat, Sayed Khaled Mousawi, and Salman Chayani were arrested on 10 November 2012 in the village of Khalaf Kaab Imsallam near the city of Shush. They were held incommunicado for seven months while denied access to lawyer and family members at the Ministry of Intelligence Detention Centre in Ahwaz in South West of Iran. Intelligence officials illegally held the three incommunicado while subjecting each to severe torture with a view to extract confession.

Ministry of Intelligence authorities have also abused prisoners’ families by both refusing to supply information regarding their detained family members, and coercing them to participate in a confessional documentary entitled “Lost in Darkness “in which they admit to working on behalf of foreign governments – particularly the UK and Israel – and exiled Ahwazi Parties to commit terrorist attacks in Iran. The authorities caused families psychological trauma through the secret detention and torture of their loved ones. They also degraded the family members by forcing them to watch the false confessions of their loved ones while being filmed as a condition to access their right to visitation.

 Concern is growing over the fate of these two Ahwazi Arab prisoners after they were transferred from Dezful Prison to an undisclosed location and there is real fear of their imminent execution following the news of their execution sentence which was confirmed lately by the Supreme Court of Iran.

In this urgent appeal, Ahwazi organization for the Defense of Human Rights (AODHR) called on international community and those whom may concern over the human rights status to step up more pressure on Iran for the blatant human rights violation committed systematically particularly against ethnic groups including Ahwazi Arabs and urge Iran to quash the cruel death Penalty issued grossly against Ahwazi Political Prisoners, , Ali Chebieshat, Sayed Khaled Mousawi after unfair trials relied on confession extracted under torture.