Photo: Fanood~enwiki via Wikimedia Commons
CCS has written both the President of Iran and the High Representative of the European Union on behalf of Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood, a retired professor of chemistry who has been imprisoned in Iran for peacefully expressing his political views. Rafiee was arrested in June 2015 without a court order or justification.
Dr. Rafiee’s conviction and six-year prison sentence has been upheld by an appeals court in Iran. CCS has written requesting that Iran honor its commitment to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and release Dr. Rafiee as well as to assure that he will receive appropriate medical care. We have asked that the European Union intercede and assist in Dr. Rafiee’s situation.
March 29, 2016
The Honorable Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy
European Commission
Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat 200
1049 1049 Brussels
Belgium
Email: federica.mogherini@ec.europa.euYour Excellency:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists, an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world, wishes to bring to your attention our extreme concern on behalf of our colleague Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood, a 71-year-old retired Chemistry professor who was imprisoned in harsh conditions in Iran merely for expressing his political views in a peaceful and legal manner.
According to information CCS received from the American Chemical Society, Dr. Rafiee was convicted and given a six-year prison sentence for his membership in a banned political group and for giving interviews to media outlets considered to be “against the state”. This conviction and sentence were recently upheld by an appeals court.
As you know, the right to freely associate and to freely express one’s beliefs is protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran has been a signatory state since 1975, and we have respectfully urged the government of Iran to see that Dr. Rafiee is immediately and unconditionally released.
We write to bring this case to your attention, and to urge you to ensure that the European Union calls on the Islamic Republic of Iran to fulfill its human rights treaty obligations by releasing Dr. Rafiee without delay.
We also must express our serious concern for Dr. Rafiee’s health, as the extremely poor conditions of his detention in the notorious Evin Prison may amount to “ill-treatment” in violation of the United Nations “Mandela Rules” regarding the adequate treatment of prisoners.
We are aware of your vital role in negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the important agreement on Iran’s nuclear program. In fact, it is Dr. Rafiee’s support for those negotiations that led to his arrest and prosecution. We, therefore, wish to respectfully request that you now raise the case of Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood with Iranian officials in order to secure his release and to promote the human rights of scientists in Iran and around the world.
Thank you for your attention to our concern.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich,
Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander GreerCo-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
March 29, 2016
Hasan Fereidun Ruhani
The President
The Islamic Republic of Iran
Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of IranRe: Professor Mohammad Hossein Rafiee Fanood, Ph.D.
Your Excellency:
The Committee of Concerned Scientists is an independent organization of scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars devoted to the protection and advancement of human rights and scientific freedom for colleagues all over the world. We write with extreme concern on behalf of our colleague Dr. Mohammad Hossein Rafiee-Fanood, a 71-year-old retired Chemistry professor who was imprisoned under harsh conditions for expressing his political views in a peaceful and legal manner.
On January 27 of this year we wrote to you regarding Dr. Rafiee. Since that time, his conviction and six-year prison sentence has been upheld by an appeals court.
The right to freely express one’s beliefs is protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a state party, so we respectfully reiterate our call for you to do everything in your power to see that Dr. Rafiee is immediately and unconditionally released.
We also must express our serious concern for Dr. Rafiee’s health, as the extremely poor conditions of his detention in Evin Prison may amount to “ill-treatment” in violation of the United Nations “Mandela Rules” regarding the adequate treatment of prisoners.
We urge you to fulfill the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold international law, respect the human rights of Dr. Rafiee, and release him without delay.
Sincerely,
Joel L. Lebowitz, Paul H. Plotz, Walter Reich,
Eugene M. Chudnovsky, Alexander GreerCo-Chairs, Committee of Concerned Scientists
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