October, 28 2008, 03:33pm EDT
Iran: Attacks Escalate Against Women's Rights Activists
NEW YORK
The Iranian government is escalating its attacks against women activists, subjecting them to arbitrary detention, travel bans, and harassment, Human Rights Watch said today.
On October 26, 2008, security agents blocked Sussan Tahmasebi, a leader of the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality, from boarding a plane and confiscated her passport, without charging her with any crime. At her home, they confiscated her computer and demanded that she report to court for interrogation. The government has prevented Tahmasebi from leaving the country for the past two years, but has never brought charges against her or provided a reason for her travel ban.
"Instead of seeking to silence women's rights advocates who draw attention to the urgent need for reform, the government should move to repeal Iran's discriminatory laws," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.
Human Rights Watch said the Judiciary has prosecuted more than 100 women's rights activists over the past three years and continues to detain, intimidate, and prohibit from traveling a number of other women's rights activists, particularly those involved in the One Million Signatures Campaign for Equality. The grassroots campaign aims to raise awareness of Iranian laws that sanction discrimination against women, by collecting 1 million signatures throughout the country in an effort to repeal them.
Human Rights Watch is one of the world's leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. By focusing international attention where human rights are violated, we give voice to the oppressed and hold oppressors accountable for their crimes. Our rigorous, objective investigations and strategic, targeted advocacy build intense pressure for action and raise the cost of human rights abuse. For 30 years, Human Rights Watch has worked tenaciously to lay the legal and moral groundwork for deep-rooted change and has fought to bring greater justice and security to people around the world.
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