Human Rights Organization Provides the Names of Prominent Detainees, Calls for Their Release
View the list of those detained and killed
Incommunicado Detentions Raise Fears of Torture and Ill-Treatment
(23 June 2009) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today published lists of Iranian citizens it has confirmed killed and detained since the disputed 12 June presidential elections. The lists are not comprehensive and show the names of only some of the well-known detained citizens and only four of the dead.
The lists name a total of 240 detained persons, including 29 who were detained and then released, as well as 102 political figures, 23 journalists, 79 university students, and 7 university faculty who are still in detention. The lists include only the names of four citizens amongst many who were killed. Government sources have referred to 170 people detained prior to 15 June, 457 detained persons on 20 June, and 27 dead. Other sources claim these numbers are much higher. Given the strict restrictions imposed by the government, the Campaign’s possibilities to confirm detentions are limited.
According to information received by the Campaign, many of those detained were arrested by plainclothes agents at their homes or other places, not at protests, and taken away in unmarked vehicles, which has led to extreme anxiety on the part of relatives about accountability for their safety. The Campaign has not received any reports of arrest warrants being presented, nor have family and friends of those in detention been informed of their whereabouts.
“We are deeply concerned by the neglect of due process in these arrests, by the fact that detainees are held incommunicado, and by the risk that detainees may face torture, which would provide forced confessions supporting official claims about the demonstrations,” stated Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.
The Campaign called for the immediate release without charge of all those detained in the context of peaceful demonstrations following the election.
