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RAPID
ACTION NETWORK 15
May 2008 Update
# 2 to RAN 44/07 IRAN:
Imprisoned Journalist’s Health Critical The
Writers in Prison Committee of International PEN is
seriously concerned about reports that leading journalist and human rights
defender Emadeddin Baqi has suffered another
heart attack in prison on 7 May 2008. International PEN considers journalist
Emadeddin Baqi to be detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his right
to free expression, and calls on the Iranian authorities to release him
immediately and unconditionally on humanitarian grounds and in accordance
with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
(ICCPR), to which Iran is a signatory. PEN seeks assurances of Baqi’s
health, and guarantees that he is being given access to all necessary
medical care as a matter of urgency. According
to PEN’s information, Emadeddin Baqi, who has a history of heart problems,
suffered a heart attack in prison on 7 May 2008. He
was taken to hospital, but returned the same day to Tehran’s Evin prison.
He previously suffered a heart
attack in prison on 26 December 2007, after which he was briefly
hospitalised for emergency treatment but then returned to prison. He is
believed to be held incommunicado and in solitary confinement in section 209
of Tehran’s Evin prison. Further heart problems
meant that Baqi was released from prison on 18 January 2008 on
medical grounds, but was returned to jail
against the advice of his doctors on
15 April 2008. There are grave concerns for his well-being. Background Emadeddin
Baqi, leading pro-reform journalist and human rights activist, was arrested
on 14 October 2007 at the Security Unit of the General and Revolutionary
Public Prosecutor’s Office after he responded to a summons. He is believed
to have been charged with ‘propaganda against the regime’ and
‘publishing secret government documents’ for his activities as president
of the Society for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, an organisation that
he founded in 2003. Whilst his family was posting bail, Evin prison
authorities arrived at the courthouse and announced that Baqi was required
to serve a one-year suspended sentence he was given in December 2003, and he
was immediately transferred to jail. In November 2003 he had been charged
with ‘endangering national security’ and ‘publishing lies’ in a
series of articles published in the reformist press and his book The Tragedy of Democracy in Iran, implicating Iranian officials in the 1998 murders of a number of
intellectuals and dissidents. Baqi was sentenced on 4 December 2003 to one
year in jail, suspended for five years. On 17 October 2004 the suspensive
character of the prison sentence was reportedly lifted, and he subsequently
launched an appeal against the judgement. On
2 February 2005, the one-year prison sentence was upheld and his appeal
was rejected. However the sentence was not enforced until now, for reasons
that remain unclear to PEN. Emadeddin
Baqi has a history of political imprisonment and persecution; his family
report that he has been summoned to court 23 times in the past four years
alone. He was first imprisoned on 29 May 2000 after being convicted on
several counts stemming from his critical writings, including those that
“questioned the validity of ...Islamic law”, “threatening national
security”, and “spreading unsubstantiated news stories”. Baqi was
sentenced on 17 July 2000 to five and a half years in prison, which was
commuted to three years on 22 October 2000. He reportedly served two years
of this sentence. On
8 April 2008, Baqi was named the 2008
International Journalist of the Year, by the British Press Awards. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/09/pressandpublishing1 RECOMMENDED
ACTION Please
send appeals: ·
Expressing
serious concerns about reports that Baqi has suffered another heart attack
in prison, and seeking guarantees of his well-being and demanding that he is
given full access to his family, lawyers and all necessary medical treatment
immediately. ·
Protesting
the detention of journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi, and
calling for his immediate and unconditional release on humanitarian grounds
and in accordance with Article 19 of the ICCPR. 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. ***Please
check with this office if sending appeals after 14 June 2008***
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