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09 June 2010
Release Iranian prisoners of conscience

Hundreds of Iranians have been detained as the authorities' crackdown on dissent has intensified throughout the year since President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad won the disputed June 2009 election.

A year on, Amnesty International has called on the Iranian government to release the many prisoners of conscience who have been detained or imprisoned for peacefully speaking out.

Journalists, students, rights activists, lawyers, academics, former political prisoners and members of Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities have all been targeted by the government in waves of repression over the past 12 months. This widening circle of repression is  an indication of the ruthless determination of the authorities to find scapegoats.

Detainees are denied access to legal counsel until investigations are deemed complete, leading to prolonged periods of incommunicado detention. 

Meanwhile, families are unable to visit their relatives who are detained, and medical care can be withheld as a means of putting pressure on detainees.

Trials are marred by fundamental flaws and convictions are based on “confessions” obtained under torture or other ill-treatment.

The “show trials” following the election were a travesty of justice aimed at sending a chilling message to those who dare challenge the authorities.

Defendants have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms, some to flogging, and at least 16 have been sentenced to death.

Amnesty International has called for all such prisoners of conscience to be released immediately and unconditionally.

Sign the petition to the President of Nigeria, His Excellency Go

Your Excellency,

I am writing to you to congratulate the people of Nigeria on 50 years of independence, and to request your urgent intervention on the case of Patrick Obinna Okoroafor, currently imprisoned in Aba prison, Abia State.

Patrick Obinna Okoroafor was 14 when he was arrested in May 1995 and only 16 when he was sentenced to death by Imo State Robbery and Firearms Tribunal.
He did not have the right to appeal against the sentence and said that he was tortured while in police detention. His death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1997, then to detention “during the pleasure of the governor” in 2001. On 29 May 2009, Okoroafor’s sentence was changed to ten years.
However, the ten year sentence does not take into account the 14 years Patrick has already spent in prison. Patrick is now 30 years old and has a serious and deteriorating asthmatic condition. A prison doctor has already recommended that Patrick be released.

Patrick was a victim of a miscarriage of justice. His right to a fair hearing within a reasonable time and before an independent and impartial tribunal was violated. Owing to these factors, the torture and ill-treatment he suffered while in detention, and the amount of time that he has already spent in prison and on death row, Amnesty International has been campaigning for the immediate release of Patrick Okoroafor from prison.

I urge you to use your offices and leadership of Nigeria to intervene to obtain his release.from prison and allow him to celebrate Nigeria’s 50 years of independence at home with his family.

Please free Patrick Okoroafor.

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Click on the 'send' button below to call on the Iranian government to release prisoners of conscience detained since the 2009 election.

Release prisoners of conscience

Your Excellency,
I am writing to express concern regarding prisoners of conscience who have been detained or imprisoned solely on account of the peaceful expression of their political, religious or other conscientiously held opinions.
They are arbitrarily detained on the basis of vaguely worded and contradictory Iranian legislation which restricts the internationally recognized rightz to freedom of expression, association and assembly as guaranteed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a state party.
Furthermore, I am concerned that trials in Iran before General, Revolutionary or other Special Courts do not meet international standards for fair trial, most notably those laid down in Article 14 of the ICCPR.
I urge you to ensure:

  • That the arrest and whereabouts of all detainees and prisoners be immediately communicated to their families, and that they are granted regular access to them and to adequate medical treatment. They must have the right to be assisted by a lawyer of their own choosing from the moment of their arrest;
  • That all detainees and prisoners be protected from all forms of torture or other ill-treatment;
  • The immediate and unconditional release of any prisoners of conscience held solely on account of their expression of their peaceful views, including about the outcome of the election or perceived criticism of the authorities;
  • That all other political prisoners are released unless they are to be promptly tried in proceedings which fully meet international fair trial standards. Those already sentenced should have their cases reviewed;
  • That all death sentences are commuted, including those imposed on people in connection with the post-election unrest;
Yours sincerely,

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