SOSTENIAMO GLI ATTIVISTI PER I DIRITTI DELLE DONNE IRANIANE NEL LORO GIORNO DI SOLIDARIETA' NAZIONALE

Con qualche giorno di ritardo posto questo appello di Human Rights First in favore delle donne iraniane. Il 12 giugno è stato il secondo anniversario di una grande protesta femminile repressa con la forza dalle "forze di sicurezza" e conclusasi con l'arresto di 70 persone tra donne e uomini. Gli attivisti iraniani per i diritti umani hanno lanciato la One Million Signatures Campaign, una campagna senza precedenti per cancellare le norme sessiste delle leggi iraniane. Il 12 giugno di quest'anno sono state arrestate 8 donne, che chiedevano di fermare le persecusioni contro gli attivisti per i diritti umani nella Repubblica islamica: Nafiseh Azad, Jila Baniyaghoub, Farideh Ghaeb, Jelveh Javaheri, Sarah Loghmani, Nahid Mirhaj, Aida Saadat, and Nasreen Sotoodeh. E' una richiesta fatta propria da "Human Rights First" e, nel nostro piccolo, da noi: express support . Visto il regime con cui abbiamo a che fare una petizione può far sorridere, ma... meglio firmare, no?

Subject:
Your Excellency:
I am writing to express my concern about the continued persecution of women's rights activists in Iran.
(Edit Letter Below) It has been two years since June 12, 2006, when women's rights activists attempted to hold a peaceful demonstration to ask for equality. Although the 70 individuals arrested on that date were released, several activists continue to be harassed and face prosecution in Iran. A number of activists have been convicted of "endangering national security," for doing nothing more than participating in a peaceful rally or collecting signatures for a petition to reform discriminatory laws. On June 12, security forces detained eight women who were planning to participate in an event commemorating the second anniversary of the protests.

Human rights defenders in Iran should be allowed to engage in activities to advocate for their basic rights. The activists involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign, in particular, deserve recognition and protection for the efforts to promote gender equality and to make Iranian laws more compliant with international human rights standards.
The rights to peaceful assembly and free expression are enshrined in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was endorsed by all U.N. member states, as well as the International Covenant for Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory and which is binding on the Iranian government. Therefore, these prosecutions (including the latest sentencing of Amir Yaghoub Ali on May 25, 2008) are violations of Iran's obligations under international law.
I ask that the government of Iran comply with its obligations to protect citizens exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly, to release those still in detention, and to drop all remaining charges against the activists.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.
Sincerely,[Your name] [Your address]
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Head of Judiciary H.E. Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
His Excellency Mahmoud Ahmadinejad President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei
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