**We apologise for any cross-posting - The following is being forwarded
exactly as received**
To: IFEX Autolist (other news of interest)
From: Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC),
Sara.Whyatt@internationalpen.org.uk]
RAPID ACTION NETWORK
30 May 2007
Update #1 to RAN 18 /07
IRAN: Iranian Kurdish journalist Kaveh Javanmard sentenced to two years in
prison
The Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN protests the two-year
prison sentence handed down to Iranian Kurdish journalist Kaveh Javanmard
on 17 May 2007. The charges against him have not been made known, although
he is believed to be held for his legitimate professional activites as a
journalist. International PEN is calling for his immediate and
unconditional release in accordance with Article 19 of the United Nations
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran
is a signatory. PEN is also seeking reassurances of his well being from the
Iranian government.
According to PEN’s information, officials from the Ministry of Intelligence
arrested Kaveh Javanmard, a journalist for the weekly Krafto, at his home
in Sanandej on 18 December 2006. He was held incommuncado in pre-trial
detention at Sanandej prison, where he was feared to be at risk of
ill-treatment. The authorities have reportedly targeted other staff members
of Krafto in recent weeks. Javanmard’s arrest came during a wave of
arrests, bans and acts of intimidation against the media following a visit
to the Kurdish north by the President and the Culture Minister in September
2006. Other journalists have since been arrested, including Adnan
Hassanpour who was arrested on 25 January 2007 and is still held
incommunicado (see previous alerts). International PEN is deeply concerned
about an apparent pattern of repression against journalists and human
rights activists in Iranian Kurdistan, which has been ongoing since unrest
broke out in the Kurdish areas of Iran in July 2005, and was violently
suppressed by the authorities.
Kaveh Javanmard will reportedly serve his sentence at a prison in the town
of Maragheh, 300 miles from his family home. He was reportedly denied legal
representation and was tried in secret. The charges against him remain
unknown.
RECOMMENDED ACTION
Please send appeals:
- Protesting the detention of journalist Kaveh Javanmard, and seeking
details of the charges against him;
- Expressing concern that his trial did not appear to conform with
international standards;
- Calling for his release in accordance with Article 19 of the ICCPR, to
which Iran is a signatory.
- Expressing concern about an apparent pattern of repression against
journalists and human rights activists in Kurdish Iran.
APPEALS TO:
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei,
The Office of the Supreme Leader
Shoahada Street, Qom, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir or istiftaa@wilayah.org
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency
Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Ministry of Justice, Park-e Shahr,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: via Judiciary website: Iranjudiciary.org/feedback_en.html
Salutation: Your Excellency
Minister of Intelligence
Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie
Ministry of Intelligence,
Second Negarestan Street,
Pasdaran Avenue,
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Email: iranprobe@iranprobe.com
COPIES TO:
President:
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency,
Palestine Avenue,
Azerbaijan Intersection,
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: Via Foreign Ministry: +98 21 6 674 790
(mark: "Please forward to H.E. President Ahmadinejad")
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: www.president.ir/email
If possible please send a copy of your appeal to the diplomatic
representative for Iran in your country.
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN
Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London
WC1V
6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email:
cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk
Please contact this office if sending appeals after 21 June 2007.
**The information contained in this autolist item is the sole
responsibility of WiPC**

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