ICAE PR #79: October 11, 2010: Sajjad Ghaderzadeh and Houtan Kian have been arrested PLUS action you can take to help

PR 79
11 October 2010

Sajjad Ghaderzadeh and Houtan Kian have been arrested

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s son and lawyer, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh and Houtan Kian respectively, were arrested along with two German journalists in Tabriz on 10 October 2010 at 1900 hours local time. The security forces raided the lawyer’s office where an interview was taking place and arrested all four.

Their whereabouts are currently unknown and no news has been received of their situation since their arrests. All that is known is that they were arrested given that at the time of the raid, one of the journalists was on the phone speaking with Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson of the International Committee against Stoning and International Committee against Execution. He had to abruptly end the call when the security forces brutally pushed their way in.

Since the arrests, Mina Ahadi has tried to contact them for several hours but to no avail. She also immediately contacted the relevant press agency and the German authorities. The arrests have now been confirmed.

We will make every effort to to secure the release of the four and call for increased pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran. The four and Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani must be immediately released.

International Committee against Stoning
International Committee against Execution
11 October 2010

For more information, contact:
International Committee Against Stoning (http://stopstonningnow.com)
International Committee Against Execution (http://notonemoreexecution.org)
Spokesperson: Mina Ahadi minaahadi@aol.com 0049-177-569-2413

Note from Mission Free Iran:

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

– Urgently work on contacting law associations and law schools in your country and internationally and ask them to advocate publicly for Houtan Kian and all Iranian lawyers – without Houtan Kian and Sajjad free, it becomes very difficult for Sakineh’s campaign.

– Contact your government representative and ask that they put pressure on the Islamic Republic for the immediate and unconditional release of Sakineh Ashtiani, Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, Houtan Kian, and the two German journalists.