UNPO Appeals for Halt to Execution of 7 Ahwazi Activists in Iran
On Monday 8 January 2007 the families of seven Ahwazi Arab men were informed by Iranian authorities that their men are to be executed within the next few days. The names of these men are:
1. Ghasem Salami, 41, married with 6 children
2. Mohammad Lazem Kaabpour, 28, married with one child, student at
3. Abdolamir Farjolah Kaab, 26, married, student at
4. Alireza Asakereh, 24, from Maashur (Mahshahr)
5. Majad Albughbish, 30, from Maashur (Mahshahr)
6. Abdolreza Sanawati, 34, married, from
7. Khalaf Dohrab Khanafereh, 34, married with one child, from Falahieh
This latest announcement is further evidence that a long, distressing, and brutal campaign, conducted by the Iranian regime against Ahwazi Arab activists, is continuing despite widespread international condemnation.
On Tuesday 19 December, 2006, the Khuzestan branch of the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) reported that Malek Banitamim, Alireza Asakreh, and Ali Matorizadeh had been executed for "waging war on God" in
On 13 November, 2006, the forced “confessions” of 11 Ahwazi Arabs were broadcast on Khuzestan TV. The men were sentenced to death following one-day secret trails. The international outrage that followed, including resolutions by the European Parliament and several national European Parliaments, was however successful in delaying their executions.
On 8 June, 2006, the
In March of 2006, two Ahwazi Arabs, Ali Afrawi (17) and Mehdi Nawaseri (20), were publicly hanged in
Although the Ahwazi Arab homeland in
Iran’s campaign against its religious minorities, as well as the nature of its political trials and extensive use of public executions as a weapon of fear, have been repeatedly condemned by the international community, including; the European Parliament, the United Nations General Assembly, and a large number of European Parliamentarians.
UNPO remains deeply concerned by the routine execution of
UNPO has therefore appealed to; Dr. Javier Solana, the Secretary-General/High Representative of the Council of the European Union; Mr. Pierre de Boissieu, the Deputy Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union; and Mr. Robert Cooper, Director-General of External Economic Relations and Politico-Military Affairs at the Council of the European Union, to:
- urge
- urge Iran to afford all Ahwazi Arab activists presently detained; free, fair, and open trails, in a manner consistent with international standards of justice;
- call upon the Iranian Government to cease in its use of public executions as a weapon of free and oppression;