September 14, 1999

An Iranian Revolution Court secretly handed down death sentences of four unnamed individuals for their participation in the demonstrations in July 1999. Gholamhossein Rahbarpour, head of Tehran’s revolution courts, announced that two of the execution orders had been confirmed by the Supreme Court and two others were under review. His remarks were the first public indication that "trials" had already been completed for some of those arrested in connection with the protests.

The protests began on July 8, 1999 when students gathered outside university hostels in Tehran to oppose new laws further curbing the government-controlled press. Armed members of the Ansar-e-Hezbollah and the regime's security forces attacked students, stormed their residences, threw students out of windows, and set rooms on fire. On subsequent days, the size and nature of the demonstrations changed, with many others joining the protests.

Despite a ban on demonstrations in Tehran, protests continued and spread to other cities. Six days of protests in 18 cities in Iran shook the very foundation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. For six days, tens of thousands came to the streets and called for an end to repression and an end to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Slogans heard in the streets included: "Political Prisoners Must Be Released," "Down, Down Mullah's Rule, Down," Cannons, Tanks, and Machine Guns, Don't Have Effect Anymore," and "People, the Rebellion Has Begun."

The regime responded in its usual manner – with mass arrests, threats, intimidation, disappearances, torture, forced confessions, and murder. As a result of the ensuing repression, many were injured and at least nine people whose names have been recorded were killed. They include: Ezzatollah Ebrahim-Nezhad, Mohammad Javad Farhangi-Bostanabadi, Tami Hamifar, Naimi, Sohrabian, Yavari and Zakeri. On August 1, Behrooz Farajzadeh, a 53-year-old worker shot in the neck, died in hospital. Mahmoud Khabasian also died in hospital from a gunshot wound to his head. Khabasian's brother suffered a stroke and died when told of his brother's death. Iranian authorities have said one person died in the protests.

According to Gholamhossein Rahbarpour, the head of Tehran's revolutionary courts, 1,500 (some reports say 1,400) people were arrested in connection with the demonstrations in Tehran alone. Rahbarpour said many were later released, but only on bail pending their "trials." Hundreds more remain in prison or have disappeared, some even from their hospital beds, and are presumably held by the authorities. Those in prison have been subjected to prolonged interrogations, beatings, torture, and have been forced to sign false confessions while blindfolded or to provide videotaped confessions extracted under torture. Though the regime has attempted to portray an atmosphere of normalcy to diffuse local and international outrage and solidarity in defense of the political prisoners, there is a continued wave of arrests. IFIR has also received reports of numerous people who have gone into hiding or fled the country.

The following list is a compilation of confirmed or unconfirmed political prisoners – women, men, and youth - obtained from various sources:

Mehran Abdolbaghi, Hamid Aghajani, Golaleh Ahmadi, Amin Alipour, Mandana Arjomand, Afshin Bagheri, Forough Bahmanpour, Mehdi Bazazadeh, Faramarz Beiki, Khaled Rostam Zadeh Boukani, Maryam Danaii Broomand, Ahmad Darvish, Majid Deldar, Razgar Ghaderpoor Eghdam, Kamelia Entekhabi-Fard, Seyed Djavad Emami, Elaheh Emir Entezam, Mehdi Fakhrozadeh, Roozbeh Farahanipour, Ghorbanali Faraji, Hossein Ghadyani, Javad Ghahremani, Mohammad Ghandi, Amrollah Mir Ghasemi, Mehran Gorkani, Morteza Hadadi, Ali Hamidi, Ali Heydari, Mohamad Reza Heydari, Mir Reza Heydari, Seyed Mohamad Hosseini, Shirin Shah Hosseini, Kaveh Jaberi, Amir Saeed Jahani, Faramarz Jafari, Kiyanoush Jahanpour, Behieh Jilaani, Abbas Karami, Loghman Karbassi, Mohamad Reza Karbassi, Abdolbaghi Kashani, Mohammad Reza Kasraii, Mohammad Eghbal Kazerouni, Minoo Khadivar, Farima Kolahi, Mohammad Majidi, Esmaeil Moftizadeh, Manuchehr Mohammadi, Gholamreza Mohajeri-Nezhad, Farzin Mokhber, Davoud Ahmadi Mounes (Armin), Samad Mousavi, Davood Movahedi, Anahita Najafi, Ahmad and / or Bahram Namazi, Ms. Nasiri, Obaidi, Hejber Pelaschi, Monir Radnia, Saeed Rasoulian, Mehrnoosh Rostamian, Mohammad Masood Salamati, Baig Baler Saneei, Khosrow Seif, Maryam Shansi (Malous Radnia), Parviz Safari, Safarifar, Mohammad Salary, Salbi, Hamid Samandar, Shoshtari, Maryam Taadi, Ahmad Tahmassebi, Afshin Tajian, Ali Tavakoli, Mazdak Kark Yaraghi, Jalil Yekrangi, Mehdi Zahedghavi, Hossein Zahmatkash, Alireza Zamani, Hamid Zarafiniya, and Hassan Zarezadeh.

Clearly, many more are being held, including former political prisoners who are often the first to be harassed, intimidated and detained in any uprising or crisis situation. The Intelligence Ministry has said that it is holding "bandits, trouble-makers, anti-revolutionaries, atheists, criminals and saboteurs."

Political prisoners, named and unnamed, have been imprisoned and tortured because of their opposition to repression and the absence of basic human rights in Iran. They must be immediately and unconditionally released.

The regime has threatened the protesters with execution. Any false distinctions between Khatami's and Khamenei's faction have withered away in order to maintain the Islamic Republic of Iran. Khatami has stated that "deviations will be repressed with force and determination." Hassan Rohani, the first vice-speaker of the Majles (parliament) and secretary of the Supreme Council of National Security (SCNS) has said that those who "have revolted against the sacred state will be dealt by relevant tribunals and treated as enemies of god and corrupts." Such charges are counter-revolutionary offenses with mandatory death sentences.

Despite the regime’s brutality, the people of Iran have risen demanding a better life. Those outside of Iran must create such an outpouring of solidarity that even the execution capital of the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran, cannot deny political prisoners in Iran their lives and unconditional freedom.

Join IFIR’s Urgent Action Campaign which began in August 1999 to obtain the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Iran.

· Condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran for its repression and denial of basic human rights

· Demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including those arrested during the July 1999 protests

· Demand unconditional freedom of assembly, association and expression

Send your protest letters, resolutions and petitions to Ali Khamenei and Mohammad Khatami, at the Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: Iranemb@salamiran.org; khatami@president.ir. Send a copy of your letters to IFIR (e-mail: ifiric@aol.com; fax: 212-425-7260).

Our international outrage can defend basic human rights and the lives and safety of innumerable human beings.

RESOLUTION

Whereas,

· The Islamic Republic of Iran has repressed the July 1999 protests of students and people in 18 cities in Iran;

· At least nine men and women have been killed by the regime;

· Over a thousand women, men and youth have been arrested, subjected to prolonged interrogations, beatings, torture, and have been forced to sign false confessions while blindfolded or to provide videotaped confessions extracted under torture;

· There is a continued wave of arrests of former political prisoners and others;

· The regime has threatened the protesters with execution;

Thus,

· We condemn the Islamic Republic of Iran for its repression and denial of basic human rights;

· We demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, including those arrested during the July 1999 protests;

· We demand an end to executions, and

· We demand unconditional freedom of assembly, association and expression.