Mass Arrests and Detentions Signal Increasing Repression - “A purge of reform-oriented individuals….

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Mass Arrests and Detentions Signal Increasing Repression
“A purge of reform-oriented individuals….”

(17 June 2009) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported today that several dozen notable figures including Saeed Hajjarian, Mohammad Ali Abtahi, Behzad Nabavi, and Abdolfattah Soltani were arrested on 16 June 2009. Hajjarian was an advisor to former president Mohammad Khatami and Abtahi was director of Khatami’s office during his presidency and is now a senior adviser to Mehdi Karroubi. Nabavi is a former member of parliament and Minister of Industry and Mining. Soltani is a leading human rights lawyer and member of the Defenders of Human Rights Center.

The detainees include numerous political figures, intellectuals, civil leaders, human rights activists, and journalists, as well as a large but unknown number of ordinary citizens who have taken part in street demonstrations since the disputed 12 June presidential elections.

“Iranian intelligence and security forces are using the public protests to engage in what appears to be a major purge of reform-oriented individuals whose situations in detention could be life-threatening,” according to Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

“The authorities are responsible for the health and safety of these people and should be held accountable,” he added.

The Campaign expressed serious concerns for the health and safety of Hajjarian, who was the target of an assassination attempt by extremists. In 2000, he was shot in the head, suffering serious brain and spinal cord injuries. He is in urgent need of continuous medical care and authorities have not provided any information about his whereabouts or conditions. Hajjarian has been under the constant care of several doctors, including Dr. Taghi Kimya-Asadi, a neurologist in Washington who travels often to Iran.

Dr. Kimya-Asadi told the Campaign: “He has been left with great difficulty walking, suffering much pain and discomfort. He is in need of multiple medications, including Mysoline, Inderal, & Trileptal, that I prescribed for him, among others that have been prescribed by his other medical doctors in Iran. He is in need of constant nursing care, as well as physical therapy. Detention is extremely detrimental to his well-being and puts his life in danger. Especially if there is any interruption in his medication which may cause a serious life threatening situation in the case of sudden withdrawal. At home, he is under the constant medical supervision of his wife, who is a medical doctor.”

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http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2009/06/increasingrepression/

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1. Thank God I read the whole thing. I thought it was a new sticky.