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Iran: Arbitrary arrest of human rights defender Mr Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi

Posted on 2010/02/04

Human rights defender Mr Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi was arrested on 3 February 2010. Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi is a journalist and a member of the Central Council of the Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan. He is also a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, working for an end to gender discrimination in Iran.

Further Information

On 3 February 2010, Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi was arrested in his home in Kermanshah in Western Iran. According to information received, seven security agents searched his home, confiscated personal belongings including his computer and several documents, and took him to an unknown destination. When arresting him, the security agents showed an arrest warrant, which however did not show the name of the authorities who issued it. No information has been given to his family about his current whereabouts.

The Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan is under increasing pressure to close down. In January 2010, Ejlal Ghawamihe, the spokesperson for the organisation, was summoned three times by security agents who demanded closure of the organisation. The founder of the organisation, Mohammad Sadiq Kaboudvand, has been in custody since June 2007, and is serving an 11-year prison term having been convicted solely on the basis of his human rights activities.

Front Line believes that Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi was arrested as result of the human rights activities he carries out as a member of the Central Council of the Human Rights Organisation of Kurdistan. Front Line fears for the physical and psychological integrity of Kaveh Ghasemi Kermanshahi.

Action Finished: 

This Urgent Appeal has now ended. No further action is requested at this point. Thank you for taking action on this case.

Front Line issues Urgent Appeals on behalf of human rights defenders at risk on a daily basis. These Appeals normally remain active on our web site for a period of up to six weeks, depending on the situation. After this time they will be archived. Front Line maintains a watching brief on all these cases but no further action is requested after the six weeks, unless there is a significant development in the case.