British MEP Urges High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security to Address Iran's Discrimination Policies Against Ahwazis
One day before their execution Dr. Charles member of European Conservatives and
Reformists Group tabled a parliamentary question to Baroness Ashton urging her to urgently to press Iran to review and
commute death sentences of four Ahwazis.
Below are excerpts from his 18 June 2012 letter to
Baroness Ashton on plight of Ahwazis:
"The High Representative may be aware of the Ahwazi Arabs
... who mostly inhabit Iran's southern province of Khuzestan [Arabistan]. The
Ahwazi population are allegedly frequently discriminated against by the Iranian
authorities and made to suffer a plethora of disadvantages in education and
employment spheres for examples, as well as cultural discrimination and other
hardships...the recent case of five Ahwazi men who have been convicted on "enmity
against God" by allegedly killing a police officer and consequently may
sentenced to death. Amnesty international and Ahwazi activists allege the men are entirely innocent
of such charges and were made under extreme duress to sign false confessions.
The convicted men Abd al-Rahman Heidari, Taha Heidari, Jamshid Heidari, and
Mansour Heidari, three of them brothers- face possible imminent execution.
Can
the High Representative comment on the human rights situation on the Ahwazi
Arab...does she agree that the Ahwazis, in common with other ethnic and
religious minorities in Iran including homosexual, Baha'is , Jews and
Christians are subjected to systematic persecution and discrimination?
Will she therefore press Tehran to institute better
respect for basic human rights standards, including the fundamental rights of
freedom of religion and to peacefully protest against government policies as
allowed under the Iran constitution and under its international legal
obligations. Will she also urgently press for these allegedly innocent men have
death sentences reviewed commuted?".
See:
http://www.charlestannock.com/gallery1.asp
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/042/2012/en/7ed07a4e-f795-4159-aa0f-deea1a4230de/mde130422012en.html
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12301&LangID=E
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42346&Cr=execution&Cr1=
http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_12328_en.htm
See:
http://www.charlestannock.com/gallery1.asp
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/042/2012/en/7ed07a4e-f795-4159-aa0f-deea1a4230de/mde130422012en.html
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=12301&LangID=E
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42346&Cr=execution&Cr1=
http://www.eu-un.europa.eu/articles/en/article_12328_en.htm
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