Letter Barbara Lochbihler (Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights) for Ira…

Letter Barbara Lochbihler (Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights) for Iranian Student Activist Arash Sadeghi

by Mariacarmela Ribecco (Notes) on Friday, June 28, 2013

Dear Ms Ribecco

Thank you for updating us on the indeed worrying situation of Mr Arash Sadeghi. With all due caution about the info one receives and without being able to check, we have at least heard from his former lawyer that Arash Sadeghi is alive. However, the issue remains pressing. In my position as chair of the Human Rights Subcommittee of the European Parliament, I therefore drafted a letter on the case to the Iranian Ambassador yesterday, which is going to be co-signed by EP Vice-President Isabelle Durant and Tarja Cronberg, chair of the EP-Iran-Delegation. I will copy you as soon as I send it out, such that you can inform your networks.

Best regards,

Barbara Lochbihler
Chair of the EP Subcommittee on Human Rights

—–Original Message—–
From: mariacarmelaribecco@libero.it [mailto:mariacarmelaribecco@libero.it]
Sent: 26 June 2013 23:38
Subject: Iranian Student Activist Arash Sadeghi, On Hunger Strike Against Jailers' Brutality, Has Gone Missing!

Your Excellencies,
I am writing to express my extreme alarm regarding the plight of imprisoned Iranian student activist Arash Sadeghi. Mr. Sadeghi is currently serving a prison term for politically motivated (and therefore illegal) charges, but has another "case" opened against him and thus remains isolated and at the complete mercy of his interrogator. Recently, he went on hunger strike in protest against physical brutality he has endured. Since then, he has gone missing–no one, including his family and lawyer, know where he is! To make an already disturbing situation more unsettling, there are rumors circulating that Mr. Sadeghi may be dead. What is certain is that the continued "disappearance" of Arash Sadeghi into the bowels of the Islamic Republic's interrogation cellars while on hunger strike almost certainly implies continued abuse, possibly including torture, being inflicted upon him. In this time of transition from one Iranian presidential administration to another, amid the great public fanfare regarding campaign platforms promising greater freedom, respect for human rights, and the release of all political prisoners in Iran, this is PRECISELY the type of situation in which the international community CANNOT and MUST NOT remain as passive bystanders. I join all other voices urging you to use all the resources at the disposal of your officers to bring all possible pressure upon the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediatelyaccount for the whereabouts and well-being of Arash Sadeghi, to provide him with all necessary medical care, and to secure his immediate and unconditional release from prison (with all convictions vacated and all pending charges dropped).
Thank you in advance for your timely action on the extremely urgent matter.

Sincerely,
Mariacarmela Ribecco