Urgent Action Appeal

Zahra Kamalfar and her two children are at risk of torture and of being forcibly returned to Iran by Russian authorities

November 16, 2006

Possible forcible return / Fear of torture or ill-treatment   

Russia/ Russian interior ministry and UNHCR in Russia
Mahtab (Zahra) kamalfar UNHCR case no: 38749 and her two children Anna and Dawoud - Iranian asylum seeker

IFIR learned that Ms. Kamalfar and her two children are in imminent danger of being forcibly returned to Iran on Monday, November 20 by Russian authorities. She would be at risk of arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment in Iran as a result of her political activism.

Background information on Zahra (Mahtab) Kamalfar:

 

Zahra (Mahtab) Kamalfar and her husband were involved in demonstrations in Iran in July 2004. She participated in political activities against Islamic republic of Iran and in hope to raise awareness about a barbaric practice being inflicted upon women in Iran. She aimed to prevent its occurrence by increasing public knowledge. All her life she strived to improve others’ lives by raising their awareness.

 In July 8 2004, Zahra arrested and held in jail. Zahra (Mahtab) was in jail for 8 months and was tortured and raped by Iranian authorities. On 4 April 2005 she managed to get a 48 hour leave from the prison to visit her family. She was forced to flee Iran with her two children on April 6 2005 to save her life from torture and imprisonment. She and her two children went to Turkey. False Bulgarian passport arranged by a smuggler. Zahra (Mahtab) and her children travelled from Turkey, transiting through Russia on their way to Germany. When they arrived in Germany, the authenticity of their passports was questioned. Zahra made asylum claims but their asylum claims were refused by German immigration authorities and then they were sent back to Russia. When they returned to Russia, they were detained by the Russian authorities. Russian authorities assaulted her and her daughter.

The Russian authorities want to send Zahra and her children back to Iran. Zahra is afraid to return to Iran as she believes she will be sent to jail and at risk of rape, torture and possibly death. She also fears her daughter will be at risk of being sexually assaulted and raped.

Ms. Kamalfar is a political activist. Like many other activists and non- activists though, the repressive Iranian government targeted her because of being an opponent of the Iranian Islamic Regime.

Ms. Kamalfar would face a serious threat to her life and liberty should be deported to Iran.  Being a political activist of Islamic republic of Iran, having identified, arrested and persecuted by the Iranian Islamic Regime police, having fled Iran illegally, place their lives and safety in danger by the Iranian Islamic government. They warrant recognition as a political refugee and merit the protection foreseen by the Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.  Their lives and freedom would be in danger if they were refouled to Iran.

Ms. Kamalfar was severely tortured. According to Amnesty International, the tortures that he faced such as beatings, flogging and rape are frequently reported types of torture. The suspension torture causes intense pain.

IFIR believes that Ms. Kamalfar fulfils the criteria for refugee recognition detailed in relevant international guild-lines. Therefore IFIR strongly urges the Russian and NUHCR authorities to revisit her case and grant her refugee recognition based on her well-founded fear of future persecution and imprisonment. 

The deportation of Ms. Kamalfar from Russia to Iran would violate the most fundamental principle of international refugee law, the principle of -non-refoulement, which prohibits the forcible return of a person to a country where there is a risk of grave human rights abuses. In a letter dated 28 August, IFIR wrote to the Russian Minister of the Interior seeking assurances that Zahra (Mahtab) Kamalafar would not be forcibly returned to Iran and asking that her rights as a refugee - including her right not to be arbitrarily detained and to be treated with humanity and dignity - be respected. No response to this letter has been received.

The political and human rights situation in Iran:

Based on information gathered by the International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) first-hand and from well-known international human rights organizations, the Iranian government continues to be a major abuser of human rights with no evidence of improvement. Systematic abuses include extra-judicial killings and summary executions; widespread use of torture and other degrading treatment; arrest and detention; lack of fair trials; and harsh prison conditions

The political activity of banned organizations is forbidden in Islamic Republic of Iran and if political activists are identified they would torture and heavy sentences. Members of political parties and individuals particularly those demanding the overthrow of the government face harsh and maximum sentences. The Islamic Republic of Iran has institutionalized and brutally enforced sexual discrimination in all sectors of society; women cannot travel or work without the permission of their father or husband, and women has hardly any rights.  Women are tortured, imprisoned, raped and executed based on accusations.  

Trials in political cases in Iran are unfair and proceedings are summary.  Hearings often last a few minutes, with defendants having no access to lawyers, no right to call witnesses in their defence and no right to appeal. The court's arbitrary judgements in political case were in contravention of internationally recognized standards regarding fair trials.

Forcible return of Iranian asylum seekers:
 

It is well known that the Islamic Republic of Iran has arrested, imprisoned, tortured, and killed Iranians who were forcibly returned to Iran if they had unlawfully departed from the Islamic Republic of Iran, had stayed abroad without authorization, and/or had applied for asylum in another country.

• A well-known example of persecution upon forcible return to Iran was reported in Amnesty International’s recent report on the forcible return of Iranian asylum seekers from Japan in October 2003. According to Amnesty International’s press release, a 58-year-old Iranian, an undocumented resident who converted to Christianity in Japan, was sent back to Iran in October 2003 and was arrested several days later. Five other Iranian undocumented residents Amnesty had been in contact with have been deported since the start of 2004, but only one has safely returned.

·         In other examples from an Australian newspaper The Age (29/04/2002) two Iranian men refused refugee status by Australia after spending two years in detention at Woomera were arrested by security police on their return to Iran and ordered to appear before a revolutionary tribunal.

·         Also, Karim Tuzhali, a former asylum seeker recognized as a refugee by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is another well known case. The Turkish authorities forcibly returned him to Iran on 20 June 1998. He was sentenced to death on 16 September 1998, in connection with his former membership of the banned armed opposition group, the Kurdistan Democratic party of Iran (KDPI). Karim Tuzhali was reportedly executed on 24 January 2002 at Mahabad prison, western Iran.  He had been in detention for three years, allegedly in Orumieh prison, West Azerbaijan province.  He had reportedly been tortured while in detention and there was apparently a delay in releasing his body to his family.

·         In other cases, 50-year-old Khaled Shoghi, who was forcibly returned from Turkey and arrested in 1997, was tortured in Iran; Kheder Viesi, another returned asylum seekesr, was sentenced to death in 1998 as well as Saleh Goudarzi, who was sentenced to death in 1999, and is detained in Sanandaj prison.

·         one Iranian asylum seeker Esmail Usefi, was killed two weeks after his deportation to Iran. Norwegian Refugee Councils in its pres release reported that Esmail Usefi was deported to Iran in 13 February 2004 and his body with broken head was discovered on 28 February 2004.

·         An Iranian woman whose asylum request (Hale Sahba) was rejected by Canada was expelled from the country in December 2004. She was arrested by Iran’s security forces as she entered Tehran’s Mehrabad Airport,

IFIR considers the forcible return of Iranian political activists to be a violation of the principle of non-refoulement. This principle prohibits the forcible return of a person to a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. It is a principle of customary international law, which binds all states. Japan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which prohibits torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Please send appeals immediately:

To the Russian interior ministry:

-          Calling on them to immediately recognize Ms. Kamalfar as a refugee;

-           

-          Stressing that the forcible return of any person to a country where they are at risk of torture or ill-treatment is a violation of the principle of non-refoulement;


 

To the UNHCR in Russia:

-          Calling on them to intervene to secure the release of Ms. Kamalfar and to uphold their duty to protect those to whom they have granted refugee status.

-          urge them afford Ms. Kamalfar protection and grant her recognition as  a refugee.

Please send your letters to the UNHCR Geneva as well as the UNHCR office in Russia. Please remember to send a copy of your letters to our organization as well.  A sample letter is provided for your convenience.

APPEALS TO:

Russian Interior Ministry:

Ministry of the Interior of Russian Federation

117049, Moscow, Zhitnaya, 16

 Press service

 +7 095 239-69-71

UNHCR:

6, the alley of butt-end,

105064, Moscow,

The Russian Federation

Telephone: (+7 095) 232-3011

Fax: (+7 095) 232-3017

Electronic mail: rusmo@unhcr.ch

Please send appeals immediately. For further information, contact Farshad Hoseini with Tel: 0031 6304 140 73 or E-mail farshadhoseini@yahoo.com .

IFIR is an international non-governmental organization with over42-branches in 16 countries worldwide which advocates promoting and protecting the rights of Iranian refugees and asylum seekers; provides evidentiary support through its Documentation Centre; and provides referrals for services.


 

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
IFIR

Postbus 1312

5602BH Eindhoven, Netherlands

 Email  farshadhoseini@yahoo.com  or

http://www.hambastegi.org
Phone: 31 6304 140 73
 
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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL

SAMPLE LETTER

RE: Ms. Zahra (Mahtab) Kamalfar

To Whom It May Concern:

I / My Organization am / are writing to express my strongest concern over the fate of Ms. Kamalfar who is in Moscow transit air port and she is  in danger of deportation to Iran. Ms. Kamalfar is political opponent which will face serious persecution if refuelled to Iran.

I / My Organization urge(s) the Russian government to immediately grant her refugee status and protection and cancel all her deportation order.  I also urge the UNHCR to grant her refugee recognition. The International Federation of Iranian Refugees (IFIR) demands that Ms. Kamalfar be granted refugee status, any charges against her have to be cancelled and grant her refugee recognition.

I am awaiting you immediate intervention in this life-threatening situation.  Needless to say, the Russian government and UNHCR in Russia will be held accountable for Ms. Kamalfar lives and freedom.

Signed

Name

Organization

CC: farshadhoseini@yahoo.com