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Nepal Prime Minister urged to commit to combating enforced disappearances

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:15:39 +0100

Amnesty International representatives visited Nepal's Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal on Wednesday and called on him to ratify a human rights treaty aimed at combating enforced disappearances.

Acting on behalf of the International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances (ICAED), the delegation from Amnesty International Nepal delivered thousands of letters to the prime minister calling on him to ratify the treaty.

"Thousands of people have been subjected to enforced disappearances in Nepal and an even larger number of relatives and friends continue to live in an anguish of uncertainty about the fate of their loved ones," said Madhu Malhotra, Deputy Director, Asia-Pacific, Amnesty International. "Urgent and effective measures are needed to combat impunity for grave human rights violations in the country."

The visit to the prime minister came over two years after a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal on 1 June 2007, which found that the existing legal system in Nepal was ill-equipped to respond to the thousands of cases of disappearances.

The Court ordered Nepal's government to conduct law reform based on the UN's 2006 Convention against Enforced Disappearance and to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate past disappearances.

Two years later, law reform has not taken place and flawed legislation to establish the Commission of Inquiry is still pending before parliament.

During the Nepalese civil war between 1996 and 2006, Amnesty International documented the killing, enforced disappearance and torture of thousands of civilians. The army, the police and Maoist forces committed these crimes and other human rights violations.

More than two years after the adoption of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement, none of those responsible for these horrific crimes, whether committed by state security forces or members of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), have so far been brought to justice and victims continue to wait for justice and redress.

In May 2009, a new political crisis emerged when then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal resigned following the President's refusal to dismiss the head of the army. Since then, Nepal's Constituent Assembly elected Madhav Kumar Nepal of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) prime minister and a new government has been formed.

"It is vital that these recent political developments do not further delay the concrete steps that are necessary to end impunity in Nepal," Amnesty International said, urging the new government to proceed with ratification and other effective measures to ensure justice, truth and reparation for the victims and deter future crimes.

Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006 the Convention against Enforced Disappearance was the culmination of a long effort by many families of disappeared persons, NGOs and governments to address the continuing problem of enforced disappearance through international law.

The Convention has been called the effective way to help prevent enforced disappearances, establish the truth about this crime, punish the perpetrators and provide reparations to the victims and their families.

"As countless persons continue to be 'disappeared' throughout the world, the prompt entry into force of the Convention and its ratification and effective implementation in all countries must be a priority for the international community and particularly for countries that have a legacy of enforced disappearances, such as Nepal," said Madhu Malhotra.

India's ruling against 'sodomy' laws is first step to equality

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:00:17 +0100

The historic decision by the high court in Delhi on Thursday to decriminalize homosexuality, has been welcomed by Amnesty International.

"The decision is a significant step toward ensuring that people in India can express their sexual orientation and gender identity without fear or discrimination," said Madhu Malhotra, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Asia Pacific programme. "This British colonial legacy has done untold harm to generations of individuals in India and across the Commonwealth."

The ruling overturns a 19th century British colonial law which bans engagement in consensual sex with an individual of the same sex as "carnal intercourse against the order of nature". The law had been used to stifle the work of organizations working on HIV/AIDS prevention in India. The court rejected the law as discriminatory and "against constitutional morality".

"Amnesty International urges the Indian government to address abuse and discrimination by police and other officials and take measures to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in access to economic, social and cultural rights, including housing, employment and health services," said Madhu Malhotra.

The court's ruling rejected every argument put forward by the government in defence of the law. It found that section 377, the law criminalizing homosexuality, reflected an understanding of sexual orientation that is "at odds with the current scientific and professional understanding". In particular, the government's contention that the measure helped stop the spread of HIV/AIDS is "completely unfounded" and "based on incorrect and wrong notions," the court said.

The court acknowledged that Section 377 has been used to "brutalis[e]" members of the gay community and other men who have sex with men, abuses that have long been documented by local human rights defenders and Amnesty International. The Judges ruled that popular morality or public disapproval of certain acts is not a valid justification for restriction of the fundamental rights set forth in the Indian Constitution.

India has no laws specifically criminalizing child sexual abuse and has used Section 377 to address this gap. The court's ruling now restricts section 377 to cases of rape and child abuse. Amnesty International urges lawmakers to rewrite the law to deal explicitly with those crimes.

The Naz Foundation, an Indian sexual rights organization which brought the case against Section 377, told Amnesty International: "It's an incredible day, it's been a long battle. Today homosexuality has been decriminalized but not legalized. It is a baby step but finally India has entered the 21st century."

With this decision, India became the latest country to join the global trend towards decriminalization. Amnesty International has called on those countries that continue to criminalize homosexuality to follow India’s example and repeal those laws.

Impunity for war crimes in Gaza and southern Israel a recipe for further civilian suffering

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:40:23 +0100

Israeli forces killed hundreds of unarmed Palestinian civilians and destroyed thousands of homes in Gaza in attacks which breached the laws of war, Amnesty International concluded in a new report published on Thursday. Operation 'Cast Lead': 22 days of death and destruction, is the first comprehensive report to be published on the conflict, which took place earlier this year.

"Israel's failure to properly investigate its forces' conduct in Gaza, including war crimes, and its continuing refusal to cooperate with the UN international independent fact-finding mission headed by Richard Goldstone, is evidence of its intention to avoid public scrutiny and accountability," said Donatella Rovera, who headed a field research mission to Gaza and southern Israel during and after the conflict.

"The international community, led by the UN Security Council, must use all its leverage to ensure that Israel cooperates fully with the Goldstone inquiry, which now offers the best means to establish the truth."

The Amnesty International report documents Israel's use of battlefield weapons against a civilian population trapped in Gaza, with no means of escape and is based on evidence gathered by Amnesty International delegates, including a military expert, during field research in January and February.

The report shows that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups fired hundreds of rockets into southern Israel, killing three Israeli civilians, injuring scores and driving thousands from their homes. "Such unlawful attacks constitute war crimes and are unacceptable," added Donatella Rovera.

The scale and intensity of the attacks on Gaza were unprecedented. Some 300 children and hundreds of other unarmed civilians who took no part in the conflict were among the 1,400 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

Most were killed with high-precision weapons, relying on surveillance drones which have exceptionally good optics, allowing those observing to see their targets in detail. Others were killed with imprecise weapons, including artillery shells carrying white phosphorus – not previously used in Gaza - which should never be used in densely populated areas.

Amnesty International found that the victims of the attacks it investigated were not caught in the crossfire during battles between Palestinian militants and Israeli forces, nor were they shielding militants or other military objects. Many were killed when their homes were bombed while they slept. Others were sitting in their yard or hanging the laundry on the roof. Children were struck while playing in their bedrooms or on the roof, or near their homes. Paramedics and ambulances were repeatedly attacked while attempting to rescue the wounded or recover the dead.

"The deaths of so many children and other civilians cannot be dismissed simply as 'collateral damage', as argued by Israel," said Donatella Rovera. "Many questions remain to be answered about these attacks and about the fact that the strikes continued unabated despite the rising civilian death toll."

More than 3,000 homes were destroyed and some 20,000 damaged in Israeli attacks which reduced entire neighbourhoods of Gaza to rubble and left an already dire economic situation in ruins. Much of the destruction was wanton and could not be justified on grounds of "military necessity".

The Israeli army has not responded to Amnesty International's repeated requests over the past five months for information on specific cases detailed in the report and for meetings to discuss the organization’s findings.

"For its part, Hamas has continued to justify the rocket attacks launched daily by its fighters and by other Palestinian armed groups into towns and villages in southern Israel during the 22-day conflict. Though less lethal, these attacks, using unguided rockets which cannot be directed at specific targets, violated international humanitarian law and cannot be justified under any circumstance," said Donatella Rovera.

In addition to locally made Qassam rockets, Palestinian militants often fired longer-range Grad-type rockets smuggled into Gaza via the tunnels on the Egyptian border, which reached deeper into Israel and placed many more Israeli civilians at risk.

"Five months on, neither side has shown any inclination to change its practices and abide by international humanitarian law, raising the prospect that civilians will again bear the brunt if fighting resumes," said Donatella Rovera.

Under international law, states have a responsibility to exercise universal jurisdiction and start criminal investigations in national courts, wherever there is sufficient evidence of war crimes or other crimes under international law, to arrest and bring to justice alleged perpetrators.

"Those responsible for war crimes and other serious violations must not be allowed to escape accountability and justice," said Donatella Rovera.

Among other recommendations, the report calls on states to suspend all transfers of military equipment, assistance and munitions to Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until there is no longer a substantial risk that such equipment will be used to commit serious violations of international law.

It calls on Israel to commit not to carry out direct, indiscriminate or disproportionate attacks on civilians; or use artillery, mortars and white phosphorus weapons in densely populated areas; and to end its blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is collectively punishing the entire population.

The report urges Hamas to renounce its policy of unlawful rocket attacks against civilian population centres in Israel and to prevent other armed groups from carrying out such attacks.

Video: Oil companies and the Nigerian government must clean up the oil industry in the Niger Delta

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:18:07 +0100

Accountability for human rights violations key to normalization in North Caucasus

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:12:45 +0100

Normalization in the North Caucasus is impossible without a complete end to human rights violations and full accountability for the grievous human rights violations carried out over the past decade, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Published on Wednesday, Rule without law: Human rights violations in the North Caucasus, highlights the continuing human rights violations in Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan and Kabardino-Balkaria in a climate of impunity.

The report is based on testimonies that tell of indiscriminate killings, excessive use of force, death and torture in custody, arbitrary and secret detention, abductions, threats to human rights activists and independent journalists, the targeting of relatives of suspected fighters and the forced evictions of internally displaced people.

The counter-terrorism operation that the Russian authorities declared in Chechnya, gave a green light to these abuses. On 16 April 2009, the authorities announced its end only to reintroduce it in several districts shortly afterwards. The civilian population continues to live in an atmosphere of lawlessness that engenders fear and insecurity.

"There has been and continues to be a total failure of political will to uphold the rule of law and address impunity in Chechnya which has led to destabilization across the North Caucasus," said Nicola Duckworth, Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia programme. "Perpetrators of human rights violations – both past and present – too often walk free."

While there is currently less fighting between government forces and armed groups in Chechnya, fighting in other regions has intensified.

"The recent attacks by armed groups against high ranking officials in Ingushetia, where on 22 June President Yunus-Bek Yevkurov was wounded in an assassination attempt, are just the tip of the iceberg," Nicola Duckworth said.

Armed groups throughout the region have killed hundreds of law enforcement officials and large numbers of civilians over recent years. In June, the deputy head of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia and the Interior Minister of Dagestan were assassinated.

Amnesty International has received reports from Chechnya, Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria, where people have been convicted of terrorism-related offences based on forced confessions and testimony extracted under torture. Despite this, law enforcement officials implicated in human rights violations during the armed conflict in Chechnya, walk free.

"The legitimate aim of tackling armed groups and bringing stability to the region cannot be achieved by illegitimate means and measures that violate international humanitarian law," Nicola Duckworth said.

"Neither can stability be achieved solely through the badly needed reconstruction of buildings, roads and energy supplies of the last years in Chechnya."

"Only thorough and independent investigations into past and continuing human rights abuses can bring normalization and security and can heal the pain experienced by the victims. Such investigations will also be a deterrent to future violations."

Over 15 years Amnesty International has consistently investigated and brought to light cases of human rights abuses, including war crimes, in the North Caucasus. The organization has been exposing the lack of accountability in spite of the barriers imposed by the Russian authorities on its representatives, as well as on those of other human rights organizations and independent observers to visit the region.

"Opening the region to independent observers and journalists would be a signal that the authorities there are ready for transparency and dialogue," Nicola Duckworth said.

"Without true respect for the rule of law from all sides, and a genuine commitment to address the festering legacy left by the blatant failure of political will at all levels to prevent and punish a catalogue of grievous abuses, there can be no stability and security for the people of the North Caucasus."

Security forces in Honduras urged to respect human rights as protests continue

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:06:19 +0100

With further demonstrations in support of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya expected all this week, Amnesty International has urged the security forces to "refrain from using excessive force against protesters and ensure the safety of those participating in the demonstrations."

"We are concerned for the safety of protesters," said Kerrie Howard, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Americas programme.

"Failure to allow demonstrators to express their opinions peacefully would only fuel an already fragile situation."

Supporters of President Zelaya clashed with the military on Monday night. According to media reports, several protesters were injured and many were beaten by members of the security focres.

A number of trade unions across Honduras have announced an indefinite strike commencing on Tuesday in support of the ousted President.

President Zelaya has announced he will return to Honduras on Thursday. Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, has offered to accompany him.

Political turmoil in the Central American country started after President Zelaya was detained by the military and forcibly exiled from the country on Sunday. Roberto Micheletti, Congress speaker, has been sworn in as "Interim President".

"President Manuel Zelaya must be able to return to Honduras immediately, without conditions and safely," said Kerrie Howard.

Oil industry has brought poverty and pollution to Niger Delta

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:50:15 +0100

The oil industry in the Niger Delta of Nigeria has brought impoverishment, conflict, human rights abuses and despair to the majority of the people in the oil-producing areas, according to a new Amnesty International report.

Pollution and environmental damage caused by the oil industry have resulted in violations of the rights to health and a healthy environment, the right to an adequate standard of living (including the right to food and water) and the right to gain a living through work for hundreds of thousands of people.

Published on Tuesday, the report, Petroleum, pollution and poverty in the Niger Delta, also details how the Nigerian government is failing to hold oil companies to account for the pollution they have caused.

“Oil companies have been exploiting Nigeria’s weak regulatory system for too long,” said Audrey Gaughran of Amnesty International. “They do not adequately prevent environmental damage and they frequently fail to properly address the devastating impact that their bad practice has on people’s lives.”

The Niger Delta is one of the world’s 10 most important wetland and coastal marine ecosystems and is home to some 31 million people. It is also the location of massive oil deposits, which have been extracted for decades by the government of Nigeria and by multinational oil companies.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) describes the region as suffering from “administrative neglect, crumbling social infrastructure and services, high unemployment, social deprivation, abject poverty, filth and squalor, and endemic conflict.” This poverty, and its contrast with the wealth generated by oil, has become one of the world’s starkest and most disturbing examples of the “resource curse”.

Oil has generated an estimated US$600 billion since the 1960s. Despite this, many people in the oil-producing areas have to drink, cook with and wash in polluted water, and eat fish contaminated with oil and other toxins.

“More than 60 per cent of people in the region depend on the natural environment for their livelihood,” said Audrey Gaughran “Yet, pollution by the oil industry is destroying the vital resource on which they depend.”

Oil pollution kills fish, their food sources and fish larvae, and damages the ability of fish to reproduce, causing both immediate damage and long-term harm to fish stocks. Oil pollution also damages fishing equipment.

Oil spills and waste dumping have also seriously damaged agricultural land. Long-term effects include damage to soil fertility and agricultural productivity, which in some cases can last for decades. In numerous cases, these long-term effects have undermined a family’s only source of livelihood.

The destruction of livelihoods and the lack of accountability and redress have led people to steal oil and vandalize oil infrastructure in an attempt to gain compensation or clean-up contracts.

Armed groups are increasingly demanding greater control of resources in the region, and engage in large-scale theft of oil and the ransoming of oil workers. Government reprisals against militancy and violence frequently involve excessive force, and communities are subjected to violence and collective punishment, deepening anger and resentment.

The oil industry in the Niger Delta involves both the government of Nigeria and subsidiaries of multinational companies. The Shell Petroleum Development Company (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is the main operator on land. The majority of cases reported to, and investigated by,
Amnesty International relate to Shell.

Oil spills, waste dumping, and gas flaring are notorious and endemic. Oil spills result from corrosion of oil pipes, poor maintenance of infrastructure, leaks and human error and at times are as a consequence of vandalism, theft of oil or sabotage.

The scale of pollution and environmental damage has never been properly assessed. The figures that do exist vary considerably depending on sources, but hundreds of spills occur each year. According to the UNDP, more than 6,800 spills were recorded between 1976 and 2001. According to the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency some 2,000 sites require treatment because of oil-related pollution. The real total may be higher.

The regulatory system in the Niger Delta is deeply flawed. Nigeria has laws and regulations that require companies to comply with internationally recognized standards of “good oil field practice”, and laws and regulations to protect the environment but these laws and regulations are poorly enforced. The government agencies responsible for enforcement are ineffective and, in some cases, compromised by conflicts of interest.

"The people of the Niger Delta have seen their human rights undermined by oil companies that their government cannot – or will not – hold to account.” said Audrey Gaughran “They have been systematically denied access to information about how oil exploration and production will affect them, and they are repeatedly denied access to justice."

For more information

Summary: Nigeria: Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta

Campaign Digest: Nigeria: Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the Niger Delta

Corporate Policy v Corporate Practice – a reality check

Oil companies and the Nigerian government must clean up the oil industry in the Niger Delta

Video: Oil companies and the Nigerian government must clean up the oil industry in the Niger Delta

Italian Senate must stop controversial bill

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:00:28 +0100

The Italian Senate will decide, on Tuesday, whether or not to pass a controversial draft law that would violate the human rights of migrants and asylum-seekers and could lead to discrimination against Roma and Sinti.

The draft law, the so-called “security package”, was approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 14 May 2009.

Amnesty International said it is specifically concerned about a draft provision which criminalizes “irregular migration”, where people have arrived in a country without authorization and documentation. The organization is also concerned about other provisions of the law which would deny rights to vulnerable people based on residence and registration status and would establish and empower associations of citizens to patrol municipalities.

“The Italian authorities are responsible for all people living on the territory of the country regardless of how they have come to be there,” said David Diaz-Jogeix, Deputy Director of the Europe and Central Asia Programme at Amnesty International.

“By enacting some of the proposals in the ‘security package’, they will deny people who live on the margins of society their basic rights. They will also violate the country’s obligations under international human rights law.”

Under the proposed introduction of the new crime of irregular migration, such migrants will be punishable with a fine of between 5,000 and 10,000 Euros. Due to the new and existing criminal provisions, civil servants and public employees (doctors, teachers and municipal employees) will be obliged to report irregular migrants to the police or face criminal charges.

Irregular migrants will also be prevented from accessing school, medical (including emergency) care, and being protected by security forces against crime, for fear of being reported to the police. Parents who are irregular migrants may be prevented from reporting the birth of their child affecting the newborn’s right to recognition before the law.

“States have the authority and the duty to control migration, but they must not do it at the expense of the human rights, including the right to health, education and registration at birth of irregular migrants,” David Diaz-Jogeix said.

According to the draft provision on residence and registration, all homeless people and those living in run-down housing or mobile homes will be removed from local residents’ registries. Registration in a municipality is a precondition for obtaining access to health care, social assistance, education and public housing, in the place where individuals live. As it is irregular migrants who live predominantly in run-down homes and Roma and Sinti people who live in mobile homes, implementation of the law may lead to indirect discrimination.

Finally, the provision allowing private citizens’ groups to be used by local authorities to patrol the streets may result in discrimination and vigilantism. It is unclear what powers these patrols would have; what training (if any) is required to participate in them; under whose authority they will operate and what measures will be adopted to ensure accountability for violations of human rights law.

In the last few years, Amnesty International and other organizations have documented attacks by self-organized groups against Roma and foreigners in several parts of Italy.

“The potential ‘legitimization’ of private citizens’ groups may lead to higher or more covert levels of harassment and abuses, which may even constitute crimes,” David Diaz-Jogeix said.

“The authorities will be ultimately responsible for inciting discrimination and hostility against minority groups, including Roma, Sinti and migrants.”

Amnesty International has called on the Italian Parliament not to pass any law that could lead to discrimination and could violate the country’s obligation to respect, protect and fulfil internationally sanctioned rights.

Burundian refugees in Tanzania intimidated into returning home

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:47:22 +0100

Burundian refugees living in the Mtabila refugee camp in Tanzania are being coerced into returning home, according to reports received by Amnesty International, from refugees and organizations working in Tanzania.

More than 36,000 refugees have stayed at Mtabila camp since the early 1990s, after fleeing from the conflict in Burundi. The camp is to close by 30 June 2009 as part of a repatriation programme that will see all refugees returned to Burundi.

"We are worried about reports of refugees being pressured to leave the Mtabila camp where some of their homes have been burned in order for them to leave the camp," said Godfrey Odongo, Amnesty International's East Africa researcher.

"It is all the more worrying that some of the refugees have had their homes set on fire – and others threatened with arson - by individuals said to be acting under direct the instructions of the Tanzanian authorities."

Refugee leaders who have attempted to organize affected refugees to advocate for the voluntariness of the repatriation process have been arrested and detained.

The repatriation programme is being implemented in terms of a tripartite agreement agreed to by the Governments of Tanzania and Burundi and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in April 2002. In a December 2008 joint communiqué, the programme was described as "voluntary" and justified on the basis of "recent developments galvanizing the peace and reconciliation process in Burundi."

Amnesty International said that it understands that, contrary to international and regional law, to date and even as the deadline date for the camp closure looms close, there is no procedure in place to assess any individual claims by refugees and asylum-seekers of well-founded fears of persecution.

"Both Burundi and Tanzania must make it clear to the refugees that any repatriation programme is voluntary and offer the refugees alternative and durable solutions such as local integration," said Godfrey Odongo. "Any coercion of refugees to return to their original country would be a breach of international and regional law."

"Any repatriation must respect the relevant principles of refugee protection," said Godfrey Odongo. "Voluntary returns must be based on a free and informed decision taken in safety and dignity. Intimidation, removing assistance or closing camps can amount to coercion which means repatriations would be involuntary and potentially unlawful."

Iran: Detained political leaders at risk of torture, possibly to force “confessions”

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:36:58 +0100

Amnesty International is gravely concerned that several opposition leaders detained in the wake of the 12 June elections may be facing torture, possibly to force them to make televised “confessions” as a prelude to unfair trials in which they could face the death penalty.

“If our fears are born out, this would be an appalling tactic on the part of the security services to silence high profile political leaders once and for all, and to send a clear message to others with dissenting views that they should expect dreadful consequences if they speak out,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa Programme.

Senior political leaders Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramazanadeh and Mostafa Tajzadeh were taken away from their homes in the early hours of 16 June, coinciding with the arrests of many other opposition leaders and supporters. According to reports received by Amnesty International, all three are believed to be held in Section 209 in Evin Prison in Tehran which falls under the control of the Ministry of Intelligence, and where reports of torture of detainees are frequent. It is not clear whether they have been allowed to contact their families. In ‘security’ related cases, detainees are routinely denied access to a lawyer during the interrogation period which can be prolonged indefinitely.

On Friday 26 June, cleric Ahmad Khatami, who is a member of the Assembly of Experts, in a sermon at Friday prayers at Tehran University, called on the judiciary to punish, “severely and without mercy”, those involved in the demonstrations. He said that “agitations, destructive acts, setting fire to mosques and buses, destroying people's property, creating insecurity and terror, and harassing people” could be considered to be instances of moharebeh or enmity against God, a charge which can carry the death penalty.

This echoes a warning made by Esfahan province’s Prosecutor General, Mohammad Reza Habibi, on 17 June when he reportedly stated that the few elements behind the post-election unrest could face the death penalty.

On 16 June, following the arrest of Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramazanadeh and Mostafa Tajzadeh and other leading opposition figures, Intelligence Minister Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejeie reportedly told the Fars news agency that 26 "masterminds" suspected to be involved in post-election unrest had been arrested. It is not known whether Mohsen Aminzadeh, Abdollah Ramazanadeh and Mostafa Tajzadeh are among the 26 referred to.

“Such statements, including by those in influential clerical positions, add to the already worrying signs that the authorities in Iran are preparing to eradicate any form of peaceful political opposition, including by trying these political leaders on trumped-up and vaguely worded charges,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui. “We call on the Supreme Leader to give clear instructions to all government and judicial officials not to torture people within their custody, and urge him and the security services to guarantee the safety of every detainee, including by clarifying their whereabouts, allowing immediate access to families and lawyers and any medical care that may be needed.”

Amnesty International considers the three leaders to be prisoners of conscience who should be immediately and unconditionally released. At the very least, those arrested must be promptly informed of any charges and brought before a judge to assess the legality and necessity of their detention.

According to the Iranian authorities, eight members of the Basij militia, a volunteer paramilitary force under the control of the Revolutionary Guards which has been used to crack down on protesters, have died in the demonstrations. While the authorities have not revealed any information about these deaths or named any suspect, Amnesty International is worried that if these deaths are ultimately attributed to detained opposition leaders, it would pave the way to them being sentenced to death and would make more likely their eventual execution”.

Televised “confessions” have repeatedly been used by the authorities to incriminate political activists in their custody. Many have later retracted these “confessions”, stating that they were coerced to make them, sometimes after torture or other ill-treatment.

Several people arrested at the demonstrations that followed the 12 June election have made statements on state television saying they were “influenced” by foreign radio broadcasts. A woman shown on Press TV on 25 June, who admitted to carrying grenades in her bag, had her face digitally concealed. Such televised statements may indicate that other “confessions” regarding the recent demonstrations will be forthcoming.