Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, an Iranian economist and journalist, was arrested and imprisoned in June 2009 for alleged anti-state activities and was sentenced to seven years and four months imprisonment and 34 lashes. On January 27, 2014, the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion, based in part on information provided by CCS, requesting the Iranian government release Amouee and provide reparations. So far, the government has not responded and CCS wrote to request its compliance with the UN recommendation.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o H.E. Mr. Mohammad Khazaee,
Ambassador of Iran to the United Nations
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
662 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017, USA
Via email to: iran@un.int
Via fax to: +1 (212) 867-7086March 14, 2014
Your Excellency:
We are writing to you in concern for Bahman Ahamdi Amouee.
On December 4, 2012, we wrote to you on behalf of Amouee, an Iranian economist and journalist who was arrested and imprisoned in June 2009 for alleged anti-state activities and was sentenced to seven years and four months imprisonment and 34 lashes. In 2012, he was transferred to Rajaee Shahr Prison, where he has been denied access to family visits. Copies of our letter were sent to the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights.
On January 27, 2014, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an opinion, stating:
The deprivation of liberty of Bahman Ahmadi Amouee is arbitrary, being in contravention of articles 9, 10 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9, 14 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
In that opinion, the UN Group requested your Government release Mr. Amouee immediately and if the case merits a trial, to ensure a fair, impartial trial, respecting all the guarantees enshrined in the domestic law of the Islamic Republic of Iran and in international human rights law.
We are writing to you now requesting that you comply with the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention by releasing Amouee from prison and ensuring that any future proceedings against him be conducted in accordance with international standards of due process, fair trial and detention as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz
Paul H. Plotz
Walter Reich Eugene M. Chudnovsky
Alexander GreerCo-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
Copies to:
His Excellency Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Sadeqh Larijani
The Honorable John F. Kerry, US Secretary of State
The Honorable Samantha Power, US Ambassador to the United Nations
The Hon. Navanethem Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Our Previous Activities
- Responding to CCS, UN Working Group Finds Iranian Detention of Amouee Arbitrary
- Harsh Sentence for Iranian Journalist Should Be Overturned
