11. März 2010 To Whom It
May Concern:
I am writing to express my strongest concern over the fate of Jamal Saberi [Jalal
Amanzadeh Nouei] who is currently detained bv Immigration Bureau and is going to be
deported to Iran from Japan. Jamal Asaberi is political opponent which will face serious
persecution if refueled to Iran.
I urge the Japan Immigration Authorities to immediately release him and cancel his
deportation order. I also urge the UNHCR and Japan Immigration ministry to grant him
refugee recognition.
I am awaiting you immediate intervention in this life-threatening situation. Needless to
say, the UNHCR and Japanese government will be held accountable for Jamal Saberi life and
freedom.
[link for sending]
Stop deportation of Jamal Saberi
Mr. Jamal Saberi is a well known political opponent of the Islamic Republic of Iran
that came to Japan in 1990. Since 1992 he has joined the Worker-communist Party of Iran
[WPI]. Mr. Saberi has been politically active with the WPI for the past 10 years in Japan,
including printing and distributing WPI literature as well as writing several articles
against the Islamic regime of Iran, which have been published in Persian and Japanese
magazines and websites. His lengthy political activities with the WPI and against the
Islamic regime of Iran have come to the notice of Iranian authorities. He applied for
refugee status to the Japanese Minister of Justice on May 10, 2001.
Mr. Saberi has a well-founded fear of persecution based on his political opinion. He
warrants recognition as a political refugee and merits the protection foreseen by the
Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. His life and freedom would be
in danger if he were refouled to Iran.
The political and human rights situation in Iran:
Based on information gathered by the International Federation of Iranian Refugees [IFIR]
first-hand and from well-known international human rights organizations, the Iranian
government continues to be a major abuser of human rights with no evidence of improvement.
Systematic abuses include extra-judicial killings and summary executions; widespread use
of torture and other degrading treatment; arrest and detention; lack of fair trials; and
harsh prison conditions
The political activity of banned organizations is forbidden in Islamic Republic of Iran
and if political activists are identified they would torture and heavy sentences. Members
of political parties and individuals particularly those demanding the overthrow of the
government face harsh and maximum sentences. The Islamic government of Iran does not
tolerate opposition from parties like the Worker-communist Party of Iran [WPI], who
advocate and actively organize for an equalitarian, non-religious and secular state.
Mr. Saberi clearly fulfills the criteria for refugee recognition detailed in relevant
international instruments. He faces a threat to his life or liberty if refouled to Iran.
Forcible return of Iranian asylum seekers:
A well-known example of persecution upon forcible return to Iran was reported in Amnesty
Internationals recent report on the forcible return of Iranian asylum seekers from
Japan in October 2003. According to Amnesty Internationals press release, a
58-year-old Iranian, an undocumented resident who converted to Christianity in Japan, was
sent back to Iran in October 2003 and was arrested several days later. Five other Iranian
undocumented residents Amnesty had been in contact with have been deported since the start
of 2004, but only one has safely returned.
In other examples from an Australian newspaper The Age [29/04/2002] two Iranian men
refused refugee status by Australia after spending two years in detention at Woomera were
arrested by security police on their return to Iran and ordered to appear before a
revolutionary tribunal.
Also, Karim Tuzhali, a former asylum seeker recognized as a refugee by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees [UNHCR] is another well known case. The Turkish authorities
forcibly returned him to Iran on 20 June 1998. He was sentenced to death on 16 September
1998, in connection with his former membership of the banned armed opposition group, the
Kurdistan Democratic party of Iran [KDPI]. Karim Tuzhali was reportedly executed on 24
January 2002 at Mahabad prison, western Iran. He had been in detention for three years,
allegedly in Orumieh prison, West Azerbaijan province. He had reportedly been tortured
while in detention and there was apparently a delay in releasing his body to his family.
In other cases, 50-year-old Khaled Shoghi, who was forcibly returned from Turkey and
arrested in 1997, was tortured in Iran; Kheder Viesi, another returned asylum seekesr, was
sentenced to death in 1998 as well as Saleh Goudarzi, who was sentenced to death in 1999,
and is detained in Sanandaj prison.
IFIR considers the forcible return of Iranian political activists to be a violation of the
principle of non-refoulement. This principle prohibits the forcible return of a person to
a country where their life or freedom would be threatened. It is a principle of customary
international law, which binds all states. Japan is a party to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights [ICCPR] which prohibits torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
Send off your appeal via the following form and/or phone/fax your appeals at:
Japan ministry of justice
1-1-1, Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 100-8977 the Red Brick Building (The Ministry of Justice)
Tel: 00813 3592-7911 or 0081-3-3580-4111
UNHCR IN Japan Tokyo
4-14 Akasaka 8-chome, Minato-ku,
Tokyo 107,
Tel: 0081- 3-3499-2310
Fax: 0081-3-3499-2273
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