Kian Tajbakhsh, a social scientist and urban planner, was sentenced by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran on Tuesday following a mass trial of more than 100 people accused of organizing the protests.

“The ’show trial’ that has so far led to the imprisonment of Kian Tajbakhsh and a number of other reformist politicians and journalists, as well as the imposition of at least four death sentences, was grossly unfair and a travesty of justice,” said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Media reports say that the charges against Tajbakhsh included espionage, co-operation with an enemy government, and acting against national security.

Similar charges were brought against US-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who was originally sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in April. She was released in May following international and domestic protests at her detention.

Tajbakhsh was detained for several months in 2007. He was formally charged with “acting against state security by engaging in propaganda and espionage for foreigners”. He was released in September 2007.

“The authorities should welcome the part that intellectuals can play towards developing the political and social life of their country, instead of locking them up on spurious charges,” said Malcolm Smart.

“It appears that Kian Tajbakhsh has been targetted on account of his dual nationality and his academic work, and we consider him a prisoner of conscience.”

Amnesty International has called on the Iranian authorities to overturn immediately all sentences passed following the mass trial and to release all those detained in connection with it unless they are to be tried fairly on recognizably criminal charges.

The Tehran Prosecutor said last week that a case had been lodged at a clerical court against Mehdi Karroubi following a recommendation by an official investigation.

“The authorities must immediately stop entertaining the delusion that by raising human rights concerns Mehdi Karroubi has broken the law,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“Instead they should turn over all reports of allegations of abuse and killings of protesters and detainees, including those they have confiscated, to a truly independent and impartial investigative body”.

The official investigation, which included the former Minister of Intelligence who was in post at the time of the presidential vote, was formed after the election to investigate allegations of abuse.

It concluded that the evidence presented to them by Mehdi Karroubi was forged and intended to “disturb public opinion and undermine the credibility of the system”.

Cases involving clerics in Iran are heard before the Special Court for the Clergy, a highly secretive body which reports directly to the Supreme Leader and is independent of the judiciary, Only clerics appointed by the court may serve as defence lawyers and, like in other courts in Iran, judges can impose the death penalty.

The Iranian authorities have acknowledged violations by security forces during the unrest after the election.

But both the official investigation and another conducted by the Iranian parliament are likely to be used to shield security officials from prosecutions.

“The threat of charges against Mehdi Karroubi is further evidence of the determination of the authorities to cover up the truth about the conduct of the security forces and that Iranians daring to speak out for their rights will face an unremitting crackdown,” said.Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui

On 7 September 2009, Iran’s security forces closed the office and confiscated testimonies held by an independent body established by Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi, another presidential candidate, which had collected accounts of allegations of abuse in the course of the demonstrations following the 12 June 2009 presidential election.

Human rights experts from the United Nations, specialising in extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and on torture have been denied access to Iran in spite of repeated requests by these bodies to enter the country.

“Instead of conducting sham investigations in response to the ghastly reports of rape of detainees and other abuses and now targeting Mehdi Karroubi and others who speak out, the Iranian authorities must launch a proper investigation which meets international standards” Hassiba Hadhj Sahraoui added. “They should also allow international scrutiny by immediately letting in the country all relevant UN human rights experts”.

In the days following the 13 June 2009 announcement that incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had won the presidential election, mass demonstrations were swiftly repressed with excessive force, in which dozens of protestors were killed, and hundreds more injured. Some died later of their injuries.

At least 4,000 people were detained across the country. Most have since been released, but up to several hundred are believed to remain in detention, and arrests are continuing.

“If our fears are born out, this would be an appalling tactic on the part of the security services to silence high profile political leaders once and for all, and to send a clear message to others with dissenting views that they should expect dreadful consequences if they speak out,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Senior political leaders Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramazanadeh and Mostafa Tajzadeh were taken away from their homes in the early hours of 16 June, coinciding with the arrests of many other opposition leaders and supporters. According to reports received by Amnesty International, all three are believed to be held in Section 209 in Evin Prison in Tehran which falls under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, and where reports of torture of detainees are frequent. It is not clear whether they have been allowed to contact their families. In ‘security’ related cases, detainees are routinely denied access to a lawyer during the interrogation period which can be prolonged indefinitely.

On Friday 26 June, cleric Ahmad Khatami, who is a member of the Assembly of Experts, in a sermon at Friday prayers at Tehran University, called on the judiciary to punish, “severely and without mercy”, those involved in the demonstrations. He said that “agitations, destructive acts, setting fire to mosques and buses, destroying people’s property, creating insecurity and terror, and harassing people” could be considered to be instances of moharebeh or enmity against God, a charge which can carry the death penalty.

This echoes a warning made by Esfahan province’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Reza Habibi, on 17 June when he reportedly stated that the few elements behind the post-election unrest could face the death penalty.

On 16 June, following the arrest of Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramazanadeh and Mostafa Tajzadeh and other leading opposition figures, Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie reportedly told the Fars news agency that 26 “masterminds” suspected to be involved in post-election unrest had been arrested. It is not known whether Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramazanadeh and Mostafa Tajzadeh are among the 26 referred to.

“Such statements, including by those in influential clerical positions, add to the already worrying signs that the authorities in Iran are preparing to eradicate any form of peaceful political opposition, including by trying these political leaders on trumped-up and vaguely worded charges,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. “We call on the Supreme Leader to give clear instructions to all government and judicial officials not to torture people within their custody, and urge him and the security services to guarantee the safety of every detainee, including by clarifying their whereabouts, allowing immediate access to families and lawyers and any medical care that may be needed.”

Amnesty International considers the three leaders to be prisoners of conscience who should be immediately and unconditionally released. At the very least, those arrested must be promptly informed of any charges and brought before a judge to assess the legality and necessity of their detention.

According to the Iranian authorities, eight members of the Basij militia, a volunteer paramilitary force under the control of the Revolutionary Guards which has been used to crack down on protesters, have died in the demonstrations. While the authorities have not revealed any information about these deaths or named any suspect, Amnesty International is worried that if these deaths are ultimately attributed to detained opposition leaders, it would pave the way to them being sentenced to death and would make more likely their eventual execution”.

Televised “confessions” have repeatedly been used by the authorities to incriminate political activists in their custody. Many have later retracted these “confessions”, stating that they were coerced to make them, sometimes after torture or other ill-treatment.

Several people arrested at the demonstrations that followed the 12 June election have made statements on state television saying they were “influenced” by foreign radio broadcasts. A woman shown on Press TV on 25 June, who admitted to carrying grenades in her bag, had her face digitally concealed. Such televised statements may indicate that other “confessions” regarding the recent demonstrations will be forthcoming.

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