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Justice Denied

          
          5/31/2011
          Justice Denied - Human Rights in Iran
          Justice Denied
          November 28, 2008
          “We stand resolute in our demand to know the whole
          truth about these crimes against humanity and to
          have a competent court investigate them ... These
          crimes are still an open wound in the collective
          conscience of the Iranian society. And each one of us
          feels responsible to press for justi ce”
          Forouhar, Mokhtari, and Pouyandeh families (2008)
          Those who have signed this call for justice are the children
          and relatives of four peaceful dissidents and intellectuals slain
          in Iran in the fall of 1998. Ten years ago, on November 22
          1998, Darioush and Parvaneh Forouhar were brutally
          murdered in their home by agents of the Ministry of
          Information. While the Iranian society was still shocked by
          the news of this abject crime, two members of Iran's writers'
          associations, Mohammad Mokhtari and Mohammad Ja'far
          Pouyandeh disappeared and were found dead on December
          3 rd and December 1998, respectively.
          Parvaneh and Dariush Forouhar were outspoken critics of
          the Islamic Republic. Mokhtari and Pouyandeh were actively
          engaged in reviving the independent Iranian writers'
          association. All four had received threats and warnings
          regarding their activities. Their murder brought to light a
          string of disappearances and suspicious deaths of scores of
          intellectuals and dissidents. The evidence disclosed over the
          past 10 years points to the fact that the Ministry of
          Information implemented throughout the 1990s, the decision
          made by the highest authorities of the Islamic Republic, to
          eliminate peaceful dissidents.
          The attempt of the Forouhar, Mokhtari, and Pouyandeh
          families to seek justice for the murders has brought them
          little more than frustration, distress, and disillusionment. The
          Iranian authorities attributed the killings to “rogue elements”
          and unnamed “foreign powers” aiming to harm the Islamic
          Republic. They refused to investigate or prosecute high
          ranking officials who are believed to have ordered the
          systematic elimination of peaceful dissidents inside and
          outside Iran, silenced the press, intimidated the families and
          imprisoned their lawyer.
          On November 22, as in previous years, the authorities
          banned friends and families of the Forouhars to gather and
          commemorate their death neither in public nor in the privacy
          of their own home. The security services closed off the street
          leading to the Forouhars' house, confiscated the mobile
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          Iran rights.org/engl ish/newsletter-8.php
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          5/31/2011 Justice Denied - Human Rights in Iran
          phones and identity papers of five individuals who intended to of Human Rights Abuses in Iran
          attend the ceremony, and dispersed people who attempted to
          stay nearby and talk. Iran 's Pro-democracy Voices
          On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of these serial >> And more.. .
          killings, The Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation has
          translated “ Report to the Nation” , (attached in PDF format) in
          which the Forouhars' daughter, Parastou, provides a public
          account about her parents' death and the subsequent
          investigation and prosecution.
          ABF honors the memory of the victims and urges all Iranians
          to show their support and solidarity with the three families'
          appeal for truth and justice by signing their petition*. ABF
          also calls on the international community to remember these
          victims and demand that the Iranian authorities allow an
          independent investigation of their murders.
          * Text of the families' petition:
          Fellow citizens,
          On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the tragic
          assassination of dissidents in November 1998, we
          pay homage to the memory of the victims, Paravaneh
          and Darioush Forouhar (political dissidents),
          Mohammad Mokhtari (writer), and Mohammad )a'far
          Puyandeh (writer), along with all other victims of
          political crimes [ in Iran].
          We stand resolute in our demand to know the whole
          truth about these crimes against humanity and to
          have a competent court investigate them. The killing
          of dissidents was an organized plan implemented
          from within government's bodies. These crimes are
          still an open wound in the collective conscience of the
          Iranian society. And each one of us feels responsible
          to press for justice.
          With the hope for the rule of freedom and justice in
          Iran.
          Forouhar, Pouyandeh and Mokhtari families
          To support this appeal please send you name,
          surname and city of residence to
          da adkha hi©cioocilema il.com .
          You may also send a signed copy of the appeal to
          Tehran, Saidi avenue, Hedayat avenue (Sha hid Qaedi),
          Shahid Moradzadeh street, #22, Forouhar residence.
          Iran rights.org/engl ish/newsletter-8.php 2/3
        
          
          5/31/2011 Justice Denied - Human Rights in Iran
          Copyright © 2011, Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation t Back to too
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