Ahwazi: AHRO Urges for Investigation Into Enforced Disappearance of Yousef Silavi and Other Victims of Iranian Regime
Even more than seven years after his enforced disappearance in 2009, the fate and whereabouts of Mr. Yousef Silavi, a 57-year-old Arab Ahwazi from Iran, remain unknown. On the occasion of the UN's International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO) calls upon the Iranian regime to disclose the whereabouts of Mr Silavi and other victims of enforced disappearances, to investigate the circumstances of their disappearances and to hold accountable those agents of the Iranian state responsible for it. It further urges the international community to pressure the Iranian government into doing so. In early 2016, Amnesty International, together with Justice for Iran, issued an Urgent Action on the case of Mr Silavi, which can be signed here.
Below is an article published by AHRO:
Seven years after his disappearance in 2009 Iranian authorities have not yet clarified the whereabouts of Yousef Silavi, one of 522 registered victims of enforced disappearance in Iran according to the UN working group.
As defined in the preamble of the Declaration, enforced disappearances occur when persons are arrested, detained or abducted against their will or otherwise deprived of their liberty by officials of different branches or levels of government or by organized groups or private individuals acting on behalf of, or with the support, direct or indirect, consent or acquiescence of, the government, followed by a refusal to disclose the fate or whereabouts of the persons concerned or a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of their liberty, which places such persons outside the protection of the law.
Today on the international day of the victims of enforced disappearances the Ahwaz Human Rights Organization (AHRO) renews its calls to the Iranian government to disclose the whereabouts of Yousef Silavi, a 57-year-old Ahwazi Arab citizen .
He was taken from his home in Ahwaz in November of 2009 and despite of his wife's and daughters' relentless search and efforts inside and outside of Iran, there has been no sign of Mr.Silavi.
The Iranian government has not replied to the calls from UN Working Group on Involuntary and Enforced Disappearance (WGEID). It is worth mentioning that the Iranian government has been delaying the country visit by the UN working group since 2004 .
Early this year, Amnesty International and Justice for Iran issued an urgent action for Mr. Silavi and today, concurrent with this international day, an AHRO representative met with Mr. Emile Franck (Amnesty Gulf coordinator in Brussels), where the issue of human violations against ethnic minorities in Iran was discussed. In addition to Amnesty Brussels, [Amnesty's] francophone division issued a petition in French introducing the case.
AHRO calls upon Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and all international human rights organizations and the UN Special Rapporteur to pressure Iran in order to disclose the whereabouts of Mr. Silavi and other victims of enforced and involuntary disappearances and put an end to the pain and confusion of families by disclosing the place of detention or their fate.
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