Friday, September 26, 2008
We demand for immediate and unconditional release of Emadeddin Baghi!
Emadeddin Baghi is an Iranian journalist, contemporary historian and prolific author who have continually risked his life during the past twenty years campaigning against evil in high places in his country. Recipient of several international awards including Civil Courage Prize in 2004, French Human Rights Prize in 2005, and the International Journalist of the Year 2008 at the British Press Awards. He also founded the Defense of Prisoners' Rights Committee to provide legal assistance to intellectuals imprisoned for promoting pro-democracy ideas and opinions.
He exposed the involvement of the Iranian government in the assassination of Iranian intellectuals and anti-government activists. He has written 20 books, six of which are banned in Iran, as well as many bylined articles in the independent reformist press exposing violations of free expression.
At great personal risk, Emad became the voice for many political dissadents in Iran. He and Akbar Ganji, another reformist journalist, wrote about the murders of 80 secular writers, intellectuals and political activists which took place in the late l990's, pointing out the government's overt involvement. These articles galvanized the public.
Emad Baghi was arrested, put on trial and imprisoned in solitary confinement for apostasy and endangering the security of the Islamic state in 2000. Released in the spring of 2003, he was repeatedly hailed to appear in court and received a one-year suspended sentence.
One of his most recent attempts to promote democratic reform was the founding of Jomhooriyat newspaper early this year. This newspaper contained some special pages on human rights, trade unions and civil institutions, subjects that are not normally covered even in the reformist papers. As a result of this bold attempt to educate the public about democratic ideals, the judiciary of the ruling clerics temporarily banned publication of Jomhooriyat this summer, and Emad Baghi was dismissed as chief editor.
Emadeddin Baghi was arrested on 14 October 2007 after responding to a summons to appear before Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. He was questioned about his activities with the Association for the Defence of Prisoners' Rights and accused of revealing classified information and insulting Iran's leaders through criticising the use of the death penalty. His health condition has been deteriorating while in detention; in December, 2007 and May, 2008 he suffered seizure. During the current year he was summoned before the court 55 times. Its worth to note that he wa transferred from solitary confinement to a common prison, and that he must be freed on 28 September, 2008. However, he must make attendance before the court on October 8, 2008 on another case.
We believe that sentencing, imprisoning of Emadeddin Baghi, and ongoing judicial harassment against him are based solely on his work in promotion of democratic values, freedom of expression and human rights.
We call on authorities in Iran to:
Immediately and unconditionally release Emadeddin Baghi and stop any harassment against him as it is believed that he was arrested, sentenced, imprisoned and are being subject to harassment as a result of his peaceful and legitimate activities in the defense of democracy and human rights;
Guarantee Emadeddin Baghi s security and physical and psychological integrity;
Ensure that treatment with him adhere with all those conditions set out in Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners adopted by Un General Assembly resolution 45/11 in 14 December 1990.
link: www.azattyk.org
ОКУЯЛАР жана ФАКТЫЛАР -- КЫРГЫЗСТАН
Бир катар укук коргоочулар Ирандык укук коргоочу Эмадеддин Багхини (Emomoldin Boghi) Тегерандын абагынан бошотуу талабы менен Бишкектеги Иран Ислам Республикасынын элчилигинин жанында пикетке чыгышты. Алардын Иран өкмөтүнө жолдогон кайрылуусун Акыйкатчы институтунун өкүлү элчи Мохаммад Реза Сабуриге берип чыкты. Иран консулдугунун өкүлү бул акцияны өткөрөөрдөн мурда Кыргызстандын укук коргоочулары элчиликке алдын алы кабардар кылбагынын, мындай иш чараны цивилизациялык жол менен өткөрүү керектигин айтты.
Ирандык журналист жана укук коргоочу Эмадеддин Багхини Тегерандын абагынан бошотуу талабы менен чыккан «Кылым шамы» укуктук борбордун жетекчиси Азиза Абдырасулова Ирандык укук коргоочу өз өлкөсүндө өлүм жазасын жоюу маселесин көтөрүп чыккандыгы үчүн жазыксыз айыпталып жатканын айтты:
- Адам укугу деген-бул чегараны билбейт. Биздин өлкөдө болобу же башка мамлекетте болобу, кайсы жерде адам укугу бузулуп жатса, ошол адамдын укугун коргогонго биз милдетибиз катары кабыл алабыз. Мындай акцияларды биз Кыргызстандагы Өзбекстандын элчилигинин алдында, Орусия,Казакстан элчиликтеринин алдында дагы өткөрүп келгенбиз. Ошол мамлекетте адам укугу бузулган фактылар боюнча. Азыр Иран өкүлчүлүгүнүн алдында бул акцияны өткөрүп жатканыбыздын себеби эки жылдан бери тынымсыз куугунтуктагы укук коргоочу Эмадеддин Багхи мырзанын эркиндигин Иран бийлигинен талап кылып жатабыз.
“Жарандык коом коррупцияга каршы” укуктук борбордун жетекчиси Төлөйкан Исмаилова болсо Иран бийлиги Бириккен Улуттар Уюмунда адам укуктары боюнча кабыл алынган эл аралык документтерге көңүл буруусу зарыл деп эсептейт.
- Биз Ирандын элчилигине БУУнун адам укуктары боюнча документтерге көңүл бурсун деп жатабыз. Анткени Иран мамлекети дагы БУУга мүчө катары өзүлөрүнүн өлкөсүндө болобу же дүйнөнүн башка мамлекеттеринде болобу өлүм жазасын жоюуга жардам бериши керек. Экинчи маселе, БУУнун 2006-жылы кабыл алган документине ылайык өкмөт укук коргоочуларга жардам берип бардык шартты түзүп берүүсү керек. Мына ошол документтин негизинде биз Иран бийлигинен белгилүү журналист жана укук коргоочу Эмадеддин Багхини тез аранын ичинде түрмөдөн бошотуу талабын коюп жатабыз. Анткени түрмөдө анын ден-соолугу начарлап баратат.
Кыргызстандык он чакты укук коргоочулардын бул акциясына Иран Ислам Республикасынын элчилигинен бирөө жарым чыгып жооп берген жок. Бирок укук коргоочулар менен кошо келген Акыйкатчы институтунун өкүлү алардын Иран өкмөтүнө Эмамеддин Бахгини абактан бошотуу талабы камтылган кайрылууну Иран консулдугунун өкүлүнүн коштоосунда элчи Мохаммад Реза Сабуриге алып кирип берди. Элчи менен жолугушуусу тууралуу Акыйкатчынын орун басары Мамат Момунов буларга токтолду.
- Азыр элчи менен кирип жолугушканда Мохаммад Реза Сабуринин бул акция жөнүндө кабары жок экен. Бирок укук коргоочулар жолдогон катты кабыл алды. Бул боюнча өздөрүнүн жообун беребиз деп айтты. Ошол эле кезде алар Иран Республикасы азыр кайгыда экенин белгиледи. Себеби дегенде, кечээ жакында болгон авиакырсыктан Ирандын жарандары дагы набыт болгон. Ошол үчүн элчи бул маселени кийинчерээк деле койсо болмок деген өзүнүн пикирин билдирди.
Мамат Момунов Иран элчилиги ар кандай маселелер боюнча Кыргызстандын жарандарыбы, укук коргоочусубу ким болсо дагы кабыл алууга даяр экендигин кошумчалады.
Аты-жөнүн айтуудан баш тарткан Иран консулдугунун өкүлү укук коргоочулар акция өткөрүү жөнүндө элчиликке алдын ала маалымдашы керектигин эскертти:
- Кадырыңыз жан болсун. Телефон чалгыла. Биз бардык маселе цивилизациялуу жол менен болуусун өтүнөбүз. Кайсы күнү, кайсы убакытка келе тургандыгыңар боюнча алдын ала маалымат бергиле.
“Жарандык коом коррупцияга каршы” укуктук борбордун жетекчиси Төлөйкан Исмаилова бул маселе боюнча Иран элчилигине алдын ала маалымдашканын, келерки жумада аймактардан келишкен укук коргоочулар менен чогуу келип бүгүнкү акцияга карата Иран элчилигинен жооп алышарын билдирди.
Ирандык укук коргоочу Эмамудин Багхи өз өлкөсүндө өлүм жазасын жоюу демилгесин көтөрүп чыгып, жалдама киши өлтүрүүлөрдүн бетин ачып, бул боюнча жыйырма чукул китеп жазган. Ал өзүнүн кара жанын тобокелге салып Иран бийлигинин жогорку тепкичтегилеринин былык иштерине каршы чыгып, адам укуктарын жана абактагылардын укугун коргоо боюнча Комитет түзүп, алардын укугун коргогон.
Анын мындай ишмердүүлүгү Иран бийлигинин жаалын келтирип, 2000-жылы аны үч жылга абакка камоо менен аяктаган. Адам укугу боюнча бир катар эл аралык сыйлыктардын ээси Эмамудин Багхини Иран бийлиги өткөн жылы 55 жолу сотко чакыртып, октябрда кайрадан камакка алган. Маалыматтарга караганда, абактагы Багхинин жүрөк оорусу кармап, учурда ден-соолугу начар абалда.
Аманбек Жапаров, Бишкек
link: www.azattyk.org
Document - Iran: Further information on Prisoner of conscience/ medical concern: Emadeddin Baghi
02 September 2008
Further Information on 130/08 (MDE 13/069/2008, 16 May 2008) Prisoner of conscience/ medical concern
IRAN Emadeddin Baghi (m), aged 46, human rights defender
On 9 August, Emadeddin Baghi, journalist and human rights defender, called his wife, Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi, informing her that his transfer from Evin prison to a hospital in Tehran had been authorized by the prison doctor. A few hours later he contacted her again saying that he had actually been transferred to Section 209 of the prison. Section 209 is controlled by the Ministry of Intelligence and houses prisoners in solitary confinement.
Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi visited her husband on 18 August. During the visit he appeared weak and complained of breathing difficulties. Emadeddin Baghi informed his wife that he had recently refused to be interrogated by the prison guards whilst being handcuffed and blindfolded. Emadeddin Baghi had received the authorization to betransferred to a hospital in Tehran for treatment for a range of ailments that have emerged since his imprisonment.Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi is concerned that her husband is not receiving adequate medical treatment.
On 14 October 2007, Emadeddin Baghi was arrested when he responded to a summons to appear before Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran. He was questioned about his activities as head of an NGO, the Association for the Defence of Prisoners’ Rights. He was accused of “publishing secret government documents". Court officials set bail at 500 million Rials (approx. US$54,000). While his family were in the process of delivering the money, they were told that instead of being released on bail, he must serve a suspended sentence of one year's imprisonment, which had been imposed after an unfair trial in 2003, during which he had no access to a lawyer. The court authorities revoked the bail, and Emaddedin Baghi was immediately returned to prison. Despite several periods of medical leave, Emadeddin Baghi continues to serve this one year sentence.
Since this time Emadeddin Baghi has faced politically motivated harassment whether by way of interrogation by Ministry of Intelligence officials or the opening of new ‘criminal’ investigations against him, some while he has been detained. These have included judicial protests to his acquittal of ‘national security’ related charges in one case, and interrogation concerning interviews in which he has highlighted human rights issues both in May 2008. He has faced interrogation in connection with his work with the Association for the Defence of Prisoners’ Rights, though it is not known whether this will be a continuation of existing cases or the start of new one.
Emadeddin Baghi is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and for his human rights work.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Since December 2007, Emadeddin Baghi has suffered three seizures, the most recent on 7 May. In January and May 2008 he was granted temporary periods of medical leave, in part in response to national and international appeals. His family, lawyers and medical experts have noted that he has not been cured and doctors insisted that he should recover in a calm, quiet environment with no stressful conditions or situations.
Iranian legislation severely restricts freedom of expression and association, and human rights defenders often face harassment, imprisonment and torture. The Iranian Constitution protects freedom of expression and belief: Article 23 states that “The investigation of individuals’ beliefs is forbidden” and that “No one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief.” Article 24 provides for freedom of expression in press and publications. Iran is a state party to international human rights treaties that enshrine these rights, notably the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Penal Code contains a number of vaguely worded provisions relating to association and "national security" which prohibit a range of activities, many of them connected with journalism or public discourse, which are permitted under international human rights law. Human rights defenders are often imprisoned on politically motivated criminal charges. Many are subject to travel bans that prevent them from leaving the country.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Persian, Arabic, English, French or your own language:
- expressing concern that Emadeddin Baghi is not receiving adequate medical treatment;
- urging the authorities to grant him access to the medical treatment that he needs;
- calling on them to release Emadeddin Baghi immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.
APPEALS TO:
Leader of the Islamic Republic
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
The Office of the Supreme Leader, Islamic Republic Street - Shahid Keshvar Doust Street
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@leader.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency
Head of the Judiciary
His Excellency Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
Howzeh Riyasat-e Qoveh Qazaiyeh / Office of the Head of the Judiciary
Pasteur St., Vali Asr Ave., south of Serah-e Jomhouri, Tehran 1316814737, Islamic Republic of Iran
Email: info@dadgostary-tehran.ir (In the subject line write: FAO Ayatollah Shahroudi)
Salutation: Your Excellency
COPIES TO:
President
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Fax: + 98 21 6 649 5880
Email: dr-ahmadinejad@president.ir
via website: http://www.president.ir/email/
and to diplomatic representatives of Iran accredited to your country.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 14 October.
1- http://www.amnesty.org/en/
2- http://www.amnesty.org/en/
3- http://www.protectionline.org/
4- http://www.protectionline.org/
5- http://www.payvand.com/news/
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Financial Times wins newspaper of the year
Paul Dacre, the Daily Mail editor, was given the special award by events organiser Press Gazette, while London Evening Standard investigative reporter Andrew Gilligan was named journalist of the year.
Dacre and Gilligan's awards were presented by the Conservative leader, David Cameron, last night's guest speaker.
Cameron praised the 800 journalists gathered at the event for respecting the news blackout of Prince Harry's deployment to Afghanistan, saying it showed a free press acting responsibly. "I thought that was something everyone in this room can be incredibly proud of," he said.
The Sun won more awards than any other paper, taking home four - two individual prizes for Newton Dunn, and two more for its Help for Heroes campaign, in which he was a key player. The FT won three awards, as did the Guardian, including best newspaper website.
As well as the top prize of newspaper of the year, the FT's Philip Stevens was named political journalist of the year while Gillian Tett won business and finance journalist of the year.
The Sun's defence editor, Tom Newton Dunn, went to the stage four times. He won scoop of the year for his story on the friendly fire killing of corporal Matty Hull and also won reporter of the year.
Newton Dunn also collected the Sun's two other prizes, the Cudlipp award for excellence in popular journalism and campaign of the year, both for its Help for Heroes series.
Gilligan won journalist of the year for his series of articles investigating misuse of public funds at the London Development Agency. He beat Nick Davies of the Guardian, Sun editor Rebekah Wade, Christina Lamb of the Sunday Times and the late Bill Deedes of the Daily Telegraph.
At the end of the night, the Press Gazette special award, presented only occasionally, was given to Dacre for his 18-year career as editor first at the Evening Standard and later at the Daily Mail and for overseeing the launch of Metro as editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers.
The Guardian won website of the year, while Ghaith Abdul-Ahad won foreign reporter of the year and Sean Smith won the new award, digital journalist of the year.
For the first time, the British Press Awards also honoured journalists outside the UK, with the inaugural international journalist of the year award.
This went to Iranian journalist Emadeddin Baghi, who has been imprisoned by the state for a second time. Baghi was unable to attend last night's BPA ceremony at London's Grosvenor House hotel and a representative from Amnesty International collected his award.
The Sunday Mirror picked up two awards, with Kate Mansey named young journalist of the year and Sean Hamilton winning in the showbusiness reporter category for scoops including Led Zeppelin reforming.
Associated Newspapers cleaned up in the photography categories, with Andy Hooper of the Daily Mail winning sports photographer of the year, and Jeremy Selwyn of the London Evening Standard landing photographer of the year.
The Mail and Evening Standard's Associated stablemate, the Mail on Sunday, won the supplement of the year, which was awarded jointly to its Live and You magazines.
Interviewer of the year went to freelance journalist Chrissy Iley for her work on both the Observer and Sunday Times magazines. Charles Spencer of the Daily Telegraph won critic of the year.
The sports journalist of the year was Martin Samuel of the Times, while AA Gill of the Sunday Times was named feature writer of the year, which he also won in 2005. Matthew Norman of the Independent won the hotly contested columnist of the year category.
Matt Pritchett won cartoonist of the year for his work on the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph.
As Gilligan took to the stage, event host Jon Snow said the judges had awarded him the prize for his relentless investigations and that the reporter was "back in the news for all the right reasons".
Gilligan paid tribute to the Evening Standard, which hired him after he was forced to leave the BBC in the wake of the Hutton report. He said he felt the award vindicated his work.
The judges described Dacre as "a unique journalist and editor who translates conviction, passion and vast experience into enduring success for his newspapers".
"I would just like to thank all the wonderful, selfless, brilliant journalists I have worked with on the Mail past and present," Dacre said. "And I would also like to thank the Rothermeres for giving editors that priceless gift - the freedom to edit."
link
British Press Awards: Andrew Gilligan named journalist of the year
Andrew Gilligan has been named Journalist of the Year at the British Press Awards.
The judges described Gilligan’s work for the Evening Standard as “relentless investigative journalism at its best from a man who has put himself back in the headlines for all the right reasons”.
Tom Newton Dunn of The Sun, who has already collected two awards, was highly commended, along with Bill Deedes, the legendary former Daily Telegraph editor who died last year.
• Emadeddin Baghi or the Iranian newspaper Jomhooriyat, won the inaugural International Journalist of the Year Award.
Baghi, who has been speaking out against the Iranian regime for more than 25 years, is currently serving a one-year prison sentence on charges of “acting against national security”.
He founded Jomhooriyat in 2004, and included coverage of human rights, trade unions and civic institutions. The Iranian judiciary has since banned the paper and called for Baghi’s dismissal.
• Associated Newspapers editor-in-chief Paul Dacre won the final award of the evening when he was presented with Press Gazette’s Special Award in recognition of two decades of achievement as editor of the Evening Standard and Daily Mail and his continuing work on the Press Complaints Commission.
He was described as “a unique journalist and editor who translates conviction, passion and vast experience into enduring success for his newspapers”.
All three awards were presented on Tuesday night during a ceremony hosted by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London.
Emadeddin Baghi, Tehran, Iran Statement for the British Press Awards
The print media has always been the platform of raising awareness, integrity, moral standards and scientific progress in the world; it has advanced Montesquieu’s notion of “separation of powers” and has, in its position as the Fourth Estate, complemented it.
Tonight, friends, I am addressing you from a land that still tastes the bitterness of bans on the press in spite of having a history of 150 years of striving for democracy. In the past 10 years, about 150 publications have been banned, although none of them were hostile to the Islamic Republic. They were only independent and reform-minded.
I am addressing you from a land with an ancient civilisation, yet where some people have changed Darwin’s theory of survival of the fittest to that of ‘death of the fittest’. Many newspapers have been sent into darkness as soon as they have neared their professional maturity and wielded influence; as if a newspaper’s chances of survival grew dimmer the higher its print run, the more its number of readers and the stronger it became.
I am addressing you from a land, where newspapers are not seen as civil but rather as political institutions. Instead of the intelligentsia, press associations and people, it those that wield power - the rulers - who decide the fate of the press.
They fear freedom of the press. Here in Persia the power wielders have freedom of expression and the scope to slander, libel, threaten and imprison the dissidents.
There have been many instances where citizens have been prosecuted for having exercised their right to freedom of expression, despite having complied with the law of the land and human rights principles
Tonight, friends, I am addressing you from a land where I have personally been eye-witness to the tearful eyes of journalists, whose emotions and livelihood were plunged into crisis when their newspapers were banned. They whispered the question:
Would a factory or an organisation be shut down or a large number of people and an organisation destroyed if an individual allegedly committed an offence?
Yet, many newspapers were banned and their journalists detained before their guilt was established by any a fair judicial process.
I wrote back in 1999 that the closure of each newspaper is tantamount to murder and we that should organise a movement for the “collective commemoration” of banned newspapers and hold memorials on the anniversary of their ‘deaths’; we should build memorials for them to shine a light on the ugliness of the war on the press1.
Today, I say we should create a monument – similar to monuments in many countries for the fallen of the patriotic and liberation wars where their names are inscribed – for these banned newspapers, in order to prevent history from forgetting; to prevent the forgetting of history.
As a scholar and writer, who has simultaneously worked as journalist, occasionally as editor or advisor in the press for the past quarter of a century, who has been imprisoned for the second time for an anthology of articles in lawfully published newspapers of the country, and will return to prison next week at the conclusion of a temporary leave from prison for medical treatment.
I console myself with the thought that it is not only Persian journalists and writers but also journalists and heralds of freedom of expression in the UK and throughout the world who endeavour to prevent the forgetting of newspapers fallen on the path of knowledge and free flow of information.
I bring my address to a conclusion by citing the first and last stanzas from a poem of the great Persian intellectual and journalist, Ali Akbar Dehkhoda, which he wrote one hundred years ago to mourn Sur-Esrafil, the first martyr of Persian newspapers, who was hanged at the hand of tyranny:
O’ bird of dawn!
When the dark night,
Has finally ended its darkness,
Remember the dead candle, remember!
Expressing my gratitude to British Press Awards and wishing for a world of peace, tolerance and freedom of expression! To freedom, my friends!
Emaddedin Baqi
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Baghi Family’s Report about His Latest Condition
After fourteen days of no news and extreme concern about Emadeddin Baghi’s condition, on Wednesday 26 December he was able to contact his family through a short phone call. He announced that he had been hospitalized in the Qamar Bani Hashem hospital in Tehran and his physical condition was better than in the morning of that day. Then, on the morning of Thursday, December 27th, with the help of security officials, Baghi’s family was able to meet with him, seeing that although he had become extremely thin and weak with God’s grace danger to his health had passed. He gave his family a detailed report of what had happened on Wednesday that is being recounted here for public knowledge:
At 8:00 a.m. of Wednesday, December 26 Mr. Baghi, while taking a shower in his small cell, experiences a nerve attack that manifested itself in the trembling of his hands and feet and fainting. With the help of his only cell mate he gradually regains consciousness but because of deteriorating physical conditions calls upon the staff in prison’s health center for help. Health center staff immediately tried to stabilize his blood pressure with a pill and sweetened water and attempted to take care of the burning sensation on his face and the paralysis condition that had overtaken parts of his feet and hands as Mr. Baghi was not able to bend his fingers. The health staff massaged his hands and feet and then attempted to take him with a wheelchair to the health center in order to stabilize his breathing through injection and giving him oxygen.
At this time, as was announced before, Mr. Saleh Nikbakht, Baghi’s lawyer, was waiting to see to him but because of Baghi’s critical condition the meeting was not possible and Nikhbakht was told that Mr. Baghi was being interrogated. However, with the relative improvement of his condition Mr. Baghi contacted his family and while speaking in a halting manner he informed his family about how he was saved from danger and requested Mr. Nikbakht’s return to prison. But in the span of time Mr. Nikhbakht returned to prison and was again told that Mr. Baghi was being interrogated again, Mr. Baghi had a second attack with severe trembling that now involved teeth clenching and locked hands. Heart tests also showed an undesirable condition. Symptoms of the second attack were nausea, dizziness, trembling of the whole body and locking of hands to the point that Mr. Baghi was unable to write a sentence. He had asked his cellmate for pen and paper in order to write his will but he was unable to hold on to the pen. At this time, according to Mr. Baghi, an ambulance was called and he was sent to Qamar Bani Hashem hospital. Until 10:00 p.m. he was held in the critical care unit and then moved to the relevant section as two agents of the Ministry of Intelligence joined the team of physicians. The physician in charge said that what happened to Mr. Baghi were panic attacks and because of the special physical and mental conditions of Mr. Baghi were extremely dangerous. Had the health officials in the Ward 209 of Evin prison not moved quickly, the second attack could have been disastrous.
When asked by the physicians and Intelligence Ministry agents about factors that impacted his condition, Mr. Baghi, along with a list of many problems, identified three main issues:
First factor: Mr. Baghi’s sensitivity to what happens in prison including the commotion he heard around 2:00 a.m in one of the nights in the cell next door, suggesting that a student had attempted to commit suicide and was only saved with the presence of an Intelligence Ministry agent. Hearing about the situation of the student who had claimed that he had been physically confronted twice made Mr. Baghi extremely upset. Hearing about the situation of other students also placed him under tremendous psychological strain which he relayed to prison officials.
Second factor: Along with fact that Mr. Baghi considers his imprisonment illegal, he also deems the conditions under which he is held as illegal. Mr. Baghi asked the Intelligence Ministry agents the reasons for being held in a separate ward if he has been sentenced to one year imprisonment for the articles he published ten years ago for which he received and served a four year sentence in 2003. He also pointed out that in the court in which the sentence was issues no one but Baghi and the judge, not even Baghi’s lawyer, was present. This is why he objected to the court procedures, relying on Article 129 of the criminal code, by remaining silent. On this basis, the decision rendered is without legal merit since according to the guidelines issued by the Expediency Council the legal process without a lawyer’s presence is not legal. Baghi also referred to the fact that a bail was set for 50 million toumans in relation to this one year sentence, nullifying the case for temporary detention. Assuming that he is spending his one year prison sentence, why should he be detained in a separate security prison? Why should he be kept illegally without a ruling for 21/2 months? This is while according to Article 574 of the Islamic penal code, those who engage in such violations against the accused must face 2 months to 2 years of detention or loss of employment. Baghi said that he had told the details of the violations involved to the assistant prosecutor and he had complained to the person in charge of Ward 209 about Mr. Baghi’s detention in that ward. The person in charge of prison had said that Mr. Baghi “is in our custody” while no where in law there such a thing as a “prisoner in custody.” This is why the assistant prosecutor announced that he will have a discussion with the interrogator of the special security branch and will begin the process of trying to get Baghi out of the separate detention center. But until Wednesday nothing had happened and this state of not knowing had impacted Mr. Baghi’s health.
Third Factor: throughout the 76 days of detention, every few days new individuals are placed in Mr. Baghi’s cell, apparently so that his closed cell would not be considered solitary. These individuals who are placed in Mr. Baghi’s cell in a limited and haphazard manner are typically anxious and weep and grieve much. Given Mr. Baghi’s sensitivity to the issues and rights of prisoners, he is bound to empathize and try to console them. Mr. Baghi’s psychological state is upset by the fact that he cannot do anything for them and arrested students. The physicians in the hospital have also referred to these stressful issues and, given the threat of recurrent attacks, have advised the ceasing or at least reduction of sources of stress.
Representatives of the Intelligence Ministry, after listening carefully to the physicians’ and Baghi’s reasons, promised to change the situation not only regarding Baghi’s incarceration in a separate prison but also regarding cases such as the suicide of the student and the situation of other students.
While Mr Baghi expressed his satisfaction with the way the prison health officials had fulfilled their legal obligations, he criticized the way his family was left concerned and without news for a night and half a day.
Baghi’s family also criticized the way the news about his situation was passed along. They saw the real harm in causing concern for the family and public opinion. After meeting or talking on the phone to Baghi directly, they pointed out that by keeping the news hidden initially all sorts of doubts were raised for the family regarding whether the health problem occurred during interrogations or under normal conditions.
Although Baghi’s family delivered him to prison healthy and now see him as thin and weak with at least two physical attacks, if they had been correctly informed about his condition they could have aided in detailed and correct relaying of information. At the same time, given Mr. Baghi’s physical condition and the words of physicians trusted by officials who have warned of the possibility of a repeat attack, which this time around may be more dangerous, and said that he should be kept away from stress and physical and psychological limitations, and given the promise by the representatives of those in charge regarding respect for Baghi’s right, his family hopes that conditions are prepared for his release so he can take care of his health in an atmosphere without stress.
Of course, according to the latest information of which the family was apprised while writing this statement, Mr. Baghi was returned to prison at sundown on Thursday and was transferred to the General Ward 350. We hope that this transfer paves the way for respect of Mr. Baghi’s rights and his release.
Emadeddin Baghi’s Family
Jailed Iran journalist hospitalised
A prominent Iranian pro-reform journalist and rights activist who was jailed two months ago has been taken to hospital, an Iranian news agency said.
A friend of Emadeddin Baghi said in mid-October he had been jailed for one year of a previously suspended prison sentence for acting against national security and publishing classified documents.
ISNA news agency quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran province as confirming that Baghi was taken to a hospital but that he would be returned to jail on Wednesday evening, without making clear when he was hospitalised or why.
"His general condition was not good and he was taken to one of Tehran's hospitals," the official, Sohrab Soleimani, said.
Baghi, the founder of the Society for Defending Prisoners' Rights, was on October 14 sent to Tehran's Evin prison, where many other dissidents are held, his friend Issa Saharkhiz said at the time.
A Tehran court found Baghi guilty four years ago of writing critical articles and making speeches about the judiciary's poor treatment of prisoners and cases of defendants being given inadequate access to lawyers, Saharkhiz said.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme.
The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.
Baghi was previously jailed for insulting Islamic sanctities.
He was released after three years in 2002.
Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process.
Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of rights abuses
Source: Reuters
Jailed Iranian rights activist hospitalised: report
"He has been receiving medical care since Wednesday afternoon when he was taken to a Tehran private hospital," lawyer Saleh Nikbakht told AFP.
"He collapsed twice in his cell in Wednesday morning... his doctor told me the attacks were caused by high nervous pressure," he said, adding that Baghi's condition was now normal.
Baghi has been in Tehran's notorious Evin prison since his arrest on October 12, when he was ordered to serve an outstanding one-year jail term for creating propaganda against the system.
Nikbakht said that according to his latest information, Baghi was still in hospital and had been allowed to meet his family there. He added his client was satisfied with speed of the reaction by the Evin authorities to his collapse.
"Baghi's general state was not good and he was transferred to one of Tehran's hospitals," the director general of Tehran province prisons, Sohrab Soleimani, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency late on Wednesday.
Baghi, who heads the Committee for the Defence of Prisoners' Rights, has already served several jail terms in Iran while also receiving awards from Western countries for his work.
According to the charges, Baghi obtained secret information from prisoners and then disseminated this information during seminars organised by his group.
He has publicly protested against the wave of hangings, many in public, that have swept Iran in recent months as part of a campaign the authorities say is aimed at improving security in society.
In September Baghi wrote an open letter to the heads of reformist parties -- including former president Mohammad Khatami and ex-parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi -- complaining of their silence over the increase in hangings.
In 2005 he was awarded a top human rights prize by France for his work campaigning against the death penalty. New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the US State Department have both called for his release.
Capital offences in Iran include murder, rape, armed robbery, serious drug trafficking and adultery. The Islamic republic is currently believed to be the second most prolific applier of the death penalty worldwide after China.
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Human Rights Defender: Emadeddin Baghi
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Human Rights Defender: Emadeddin Baghi
In 2000, he had been sentenced to a three-year jail term for writings “against the regime”. He served a two year sentence then for his works on the series of murders involving Iranian intellectuals, and was detained again this October, for another year (from his last sentence) for continuing his activities, which were spreading, “propaganda against the system” and “publishing secret government documents” .
State repression has manifested itself in various forms and extended to include his family.
After being released in 2003, he has been summoned to court 23 times. His wife, Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi and daughter, Maryam Baghi, were given three-year suspended prison sentences and five years of probation for participating in human rights workshops in Dubai in 2004.
The man is also an active campaigner for the past few years, against the death penalty, especially of those languishing in Iranian prison. He formed the Society for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, in 2003 and the Society of Right to Life Guardians in 2005 to tackle these issues. On the death penalty, he wrote to the authorities in 2006, including ex president, Mohammad Khatami, on the increased number of executions. By October 2007, Iran is officially reported to have carried out no less than 207 executions this year alone, a figure higher than 2006. Baghi has also voiced criticisms against “stoning” as a form of punishment for adultery in Iran.
As an intellectual, he has written 20 books, of which six has been banned in the country. The first book, “A Study About the Clerics” which called for a more open Islam that should be subjected to individual, rather than clerical interpretation was banned. “Realities and Judgments” which described the violent suppression of opposition in Iran, was published illegally and anonymously in 1991, and extensively destroyed by the government upon release. He is also a journalist, writing on mostly social and political issues for various newspapers and magazines since 1983.
As a recipient of the 2004 Civil Courage Prize, awarded by the Train Foundation, he was prevented from leaving the country to receive the award. The next year, he was given the French Human Rights Prize for his work against the death penalty. Human rights organisations, Reporters Without Borders; Human Rights Watch; and Amnesty International have all condemned his imprisonment as being politically motivated and measures to curb freedom of speech in Iran.
Emadeddin Baghi, considered one of Iran’s leading dissident, has also voiced criticisms against the US for funding “democracy promotion” activities in Iran, as it gives the government a cover to clamp down on human rights activism in the country.
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References:
1. Jailed Iran rights activist in hospital, AP, 27 December 2007
2. Emadeddin Baghi, Wikipedia, extracted on 28 December 2007
3. Iran: Release Leading Defender of Prisoners’ Rights; Emadeddin Baghi Jailed Under Politically Motivated Charges, Human Rights Watch, 16 October, 2007
4. Prisoners’ Rights Activist Arrested and Detained, WorldPress.org, Niusha Boghrati, 16 October, 2007
5. Prominent Iranian Human Rights Defender Emaddedin Baghi Detained, Amnesty International USA, extracted on 28 December 2007
His writings:
1. Iran’s new era: nine lessons for reformers, OpenDemocracy, Emadeddin Baghi, 2 August 2005
2. Hope for Democracy in Iran, Washington Post, 25 October 25, 2004
3. More of his writings in English can also be found at Emadbaghi.com
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Jailed Iran Rights Activist in Hospital
Emadeddin Baghi passed out while taking a shower in prison and initially no one knew to which hospital he had been sent, his lawyer Saleh Nikbakhat told The Associated Press.
"Mr. Baghi was transferred to a local hospital after he complained about his health during a phone call from prison to his wife on Wednesday," he said.
"Doctors in hospital said he nearly broke down twice on Wednesday," Nikbakhat added. "They believe nervous pressure on Baghi led to the illness."
Nikbakhat, who visited Baghi in the hospital Thursday, said he was feeling better and will be back in prison by Friday.
Baghi, 45, was arrested in October on charges of violating national security. Authorities said that due to his ongoing activities, he had to serve the remaining year of an earlier prison sentence that had originally been suspended.
In 2003, Baghi was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges of threatening national security, but he only served two years of the term.
Authorities have accused Baghi, who campaigns for the humane treatment of prisoners, of using his activism as a guise to cover anti-regime efforts.
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Media advocacy group RSF worried about health of jailed Iranian activist
Reporters Without Borders said journalist and human rights activist Emadeddin Baghi was taken to hospital Wednesday, after suffering a "double heart attack" in the Evin prison in Tehran, where he has been held for the past 74 days.
He was taken back to a new wing cell of Evin on Thursday evening, the press freedom organization, known by its French initials RSF, said in a statement made available to The Associated Press.
Baghi, 45, was arrested in October on charges of violating national security. He is an active campaigner for prisoners' rights and against Iran's death penalty. In 2005, he was awarded the French government's human rights prize, RSF said.
Iranian authorities have said that due to Baghi's ongoing activities, he had to serve the remaining year of an earlier prison sentence that had originally been suspended. They accuse him of using his activism as a guise to cover anti-regime efforts.
"The conditions in which Baghi is being held are unacceptable," the RSF statement said. "He has been in solitary confinement ever since he was first taken to Evin, as if imprisonment was not already enough punishment. As his state of health has worsened steadily during the past two months, it is inconceivable that he should be expected to convalesce in prison."
Baghi's lawyer, Saleh Nikbakhat, said his client was rushed to hospital after collapsing in a prison shower Wednesday. RSF said Nikbakhat had told them Baghi's deteriorating health was mainly due to appalling prison conditions and harassment he has been subjected to during interrogations.
In 2003, Baghi was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges of threatening national security, but only served two years of the term.
Iran recently released three Iranian-Americans after they spent about four months in Evin, a notorious prison on the northern outskirts of Tehran, on accusations of trying to stir up a revolution in the Islamic Republic.
A fourth Iranian-American also was allowed to leave the country after authorities confiscated her passport earlier this year. All four were charged with endangering national security — allegations they and their employers denied.
Human rights groups also have accused Iran of committing abuses against prisoners at Evin — a charge the government denies.
Link
Jailed Iran journalist hospitalised
A friend of Emadeddin Baghi said in mid-October he had been jailed for one year of a previously suspended prison sentence for acting against national security and publishing classified documents.
ISNA news agency quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran province as confirming that Baghi was taken to a hospital but that he would be returned to jail on Wednesday evening, without making clear when he was hospitalised or why.
“His general condition was not good and he was taken to one of Tehran’s hospitals,” the official, Sohrab Soleimani, said.
Baghi, the founder of the Society for Defending Prisoners’ Rights, was on October 14 sent to Tehran’s Evin prison, where many other dissidents are held, his friend Issa Saharkhiz said at the time.
A Tehran court found Baghi guilty four years ago of writing critical articles and making speeches about the judiciary’s poor treatment of prisoners and cases of defendants being given inadequate access to lawyers, Saharkhiz said.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme.
The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.
Baghi was previously jailed for insulting Islamic sanctities.
He was released after three years in 2002.
Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process.
Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of rights abuses.
- Reuters
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Jailed Iranian Journalist Taken to Hospital-Report
A prominent Iranian pro-reform journalist and rights activist who was jailed two months ago has been taken to hospital, an Iranian news agency said on Wednesday.
A friend of Emadeddin Baghi said in mid-October he had been jailed for one year of a previously suspended prison sentence for acting against national security and publishing classified documents.
ISNA news agency quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran province as confirming that Baghi was taken to a hospital but that he would be returned to jail on Wednesday evening, without making clear when he was hospitalised or why.
"His general condition was not good and he was taken to one of Tehran's hospitals," the official, Sohrab Soleimani, said.
Baghi, the founder of the Society for Defending Prisoners' Rights, was on Oct. 14 sent to Tehran's Evin prison, where many other dissidents are held, his friend Issa Saharkhiz told Reuters at the time.
A Tehran court found Baghi guilty four years ago of writing critical articles and making speeches about the judiciary's poor treatment of prisoners and cases of defendants being given inadequate access to lawyers, Saharkhiz said.
Rights groups and diplomats say there is a broad crackdown on dissenting voices in the Islamic state, which is under Western pressure over its disputed nuclear programme. The authorities deny such moves, saying they allow free speech.
Baghi was previously jailed for insulting Islamic sanctities. He was released after three years in 2002.
Rights groups often complain that Tehran imprisons pro-reform writers, journalists and intellectuals without due legal process. Iran denies holding political prisoners and routinely dismisses charges of rights abuses.
Link
Jailed Iran Rights Activist in Hospital
Emadeddin Baghi passed out while taking a shower in prison and initially no one knew to which hospital he had been sent, his lawyer Saleh Nikbakhat said to The Associated Press.
"Mr. Baghi was transferred to a local hospital after he complained about his health during a phone call from prison to his wife on Wednesday," he said.
"Doctors in hospital said he nearly broke down twice on Wednesday," Nikbakhat added. "They believe nervous pressure on Baghi led to the illness."
According to his lawyer, who visited him in the hospital Thursday, Baghi is feeling better and will be back prison by Friday.
Baghi, 45, was arrested in October on charges of violating national security. Authorities said that due to his ongoing activities, he had to serve the remaining year of an earlier prison sentence that had originally been suspended.
In 2003, Baghi was sentenced to three years in prison on similar charges of threatening national security, but he only served two years of the term.
Authorities have accused Baghi, who campaigns for the humane treatment of prisoners, of using his activism as a guise to cover anti-regime efforts.
Link
Dangerously Ill Iranian Human Rights Defender Must be Released
For Immediate Release: December 28, 2007
Krista Minteer (212) 845-5207
New York - Emadeddin Baghi, a leading Iranian human rights activist and journalist suffered an apparent heart attack on December 26 while being held in pre-trial detention in Tehran’s Evin Prison. He was moved to hospital, but the authorities returned him to prison the following day, where his health is at serious risk. Human Rights First is calling on the Iranian government to release Baghi immediately and unconditionally so that he can receive necessary medical care and resume his vital, legitimate work for human rights.
“Baghi has committed no crime and his continuing imprisonment, which threatens his life, is an outrage,” said Maureen Byrnes, Executive Director of Human Rights First.
Emadeddin Baghi was detained in October 2007 on charges of “endangering national security,” which relate to his activities as the head of a human rights organization, the Association to Protect Prisoners, that has documented cases of torture and abuse of prisoners in Iran and campaigned for reforms. He was previously arrested in 2003 and sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on similar charges for reporting on official involvement in the murders of opposition figures in the 1990s. He was released after two years, with the third year suspended.
Since his most recent detention, he has been held in solitary confinement in poor conditions, and according to his lawyer, subjected to harsh interrogation. These conditions have apparently contributed to the serious deterioration in his health. Baghi is 45 years old.
Baghi is the recipient of many international human rights awards including the 2004 Civil Courage Prize and the 2005 Human Rights Prize of the French Republic.
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Friday, December 28, 2007
Human Rights Activist, Jailed in Iran, Is Transferred to Hospital
Published: December 27, 2007
TEHRAN — A prominent human rights activist who has been jailed since October was transferred to a hospital Wednesday, according to his wife and the news agency ISNA.
The man, Emadedin Baghi, a reformist journalist who is in jail for the second time, was taken from the notorious Evin prison to a hospital in Tehran. His wife, Fatimeh Kamali, said in a telephone interview Wednesday that her husband had called her in the morning from prison and sounded as if he was barely conscious.
She said he could barely speak and kept repeating himself, but she was able to understand that he said he would have died had a prison official not recently found him. He also asked for his lawyer.
ISNA quoted the general director of prisons in Tehran Province, Sohrab Soleimani, as saying that Mr. Baghi was taken to a hospital but was expected to return to prison Wednesday evening. He did not provide any further information.
Mr. Baghi’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, had traveled to the prison to meet with him in the morning before the phone call but was turned away by prison officials who said Mr. Baghi was being interrogated, Ms. Kamali said.
After the phone call, Ms. Kamali said she and Mr. Nikbakht rushed to the prison, where they saw an ambulance go in and quickly leave.
Although she and Mr. Nikbakht spent the rest of the day trying to get permission from judiciary officials to see Mr. Baghi, they never got approval, Ms. Kamali said.
Mr. Baghi was jailed in October, when he was summoned to appear before a court to answer accusations related to a nongovernmental organization he founded to fight for prisoner rights, his Web site says.
Prior to the October court date, he had received a one-year jail term for a speech he made in 2004 and a three-year suspended sentence on charges of acting against national security.
Mr. Baghi was in jail from 2000 to 2003 for making allegations about the role government officials played in the assassination of intellectuals in the late 1990s.
Ms. Kamali said Wednesday that prison officials had promised that her husband would call her back Wednesday, but she said he had not called as of late Wednesday evening.
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Severe Decline in Baghi's Health
You know better than I do that when a person has a heart attack must be hospitalized for a couple of days and be taken care by the Doctors but after less than 24 hours he will be moved to the prison again.
This is an interview distributed in the web sites:
Emadeddin Baghi – the imprisoned head of defending prisoners' rights society- due to severe decline and deterioration in his health moved to the hospital on Wednesday night. Baghi in his last telephone call declared that he had a heart attack when he was taking shower and after that the prison authorities rushed to help and transfer him to the hospital.
The director general of Tehran prisons, Sohrab Soleimani, confirmed the news and added : "Wednesday night he will be returned to the prison. His general health was not favorable and transferred to one of the hospitals based in Tehran " .
According to the conferring and lobbying done, he is supposed to be taken care in the hospital till tomorrow (Thursday). He was first hospitalized in CCU and now due to his relative recovery he is being taken care in a general section.
This is while Mr. Karrobi had conferment and lobbying with Mohseni Ejei (intelligence minister), Ali Razini (court of justice minister) and Ali Mobasheri (the head of Tehran revolutionary court) for pursuing and knowing about the deteriorating situation of Mr. Baghi.
Also Mohammad Ghochani – Baghi's son in law- in an interview gave the following explanations:
Ghochani said: yesterday morning Mr. Nikbakht went to prison to meet baghi. But he was informed by the prison officials that Baghi is being interrogated and you are not allowed to meet him.
He added: two hours after Mr. Nikbakht left the prison; Mr. Baghi gave a phone call at home and informed the family of his deterioration in his health, that due to this, the telephone conversation interrupted. After that, we had a phone call to Evin Prison and urged the authorities that tell us know about Mr. Baghi's situation. We were told his lawyer can meet him.
Ghochani went on to say that unlike the prison officials' promise, Mr. Nikbakht together with Mr. Baghi's wife from 10/30 in the morning had been waiting for the permission to meet Baghi but after hours of delay they were not allowed to pay a visit to Baghi.
He continued saying that we are worried about his situation. If something bad happens to Mr. Baghi, it is the government officials' duty to take the responsibility.
Also Mrs. Kamali – Baghi's wife- had an interview with BBC World.
She said: "Mr. Baghi telephoned at home at 11 in the morning (Wednesday) from Prison but he was not able to talk and his only demand was to see his lawyer. I knew him from his "hello". I called him but no one answered to me. Again when I called him for the fourth time, I was notified that someone is telling baghi that you have to talk to your wife so that they understand that you are O.K. after this struggle, I heard that Mr. baghi is telling me "inform my lawyer to return to the prison". The interrogator told me on behalf of Baghi that he caught cold. That's it and he is o.k" .
Mrs. Kamali says: despite we hurriedly and rapidly rushed to the prison but we were not permitted to meet him and no one replied us.
Mrs. Kamali asks the question: "if he has severe decline in his health, why has he been interrogated? " she added that we couldn't receive any response from judicial officials. She said that this is the first time that I heard Mr. Baghi can not speak well. He spoke with low tone of voice that made me too worry.
This was bit of news about my brother. i will let you know soon more about him.