The Voice of Mirza Xazar

Vice Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe engages in Abbas Lisani´s case. Göran Lindblad, the vice president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the chairman of the Swedish delegation to PACE has written a letter to president Ahmadinejad about Abbas Lisani. He regards the arrestment of Mr. Lisani as unjust and condemns it as well as demands Mr. Lisanis immediate release. Mr. Lindblad also states that the arrestment of Mr Lisani is an act of great contradiction since Mr. Lisani is imprisoned only for advocating his statutory rights, thus fighting a legitimate fight in accordance with Iranian law. Göran Lindblad ensures the Iranian president that he will continue to follow the case of Mr. Lisani in the future. Member of the Swedish Parliament, Mr. Lindblad, is a member of the ruling conservative party in Sweden. Mr. Linblad´s letter can be found in the attached file “LindbladLisani” http://riksdagen.se/webbnav/index.aspx?nid=1111&iid=0870805820217 (Nergiz Nedaei Azerbaycan Gencler Federasiyonu Isvech) _____________________________________________ Stockholm 15 February 2007 His Excellency President Ahmadinejad The Presidency, Palestine Avenue, Azerbaijan Intersection, Tehran, Iran Excellency, We wish to draw your attention to the unjust imprisonment of the prominent Azerbaijani political activist, Mr. Abbas Lisani. From the 1st of January until the 31st of January 2007 Mr. Lisani undertook a hunger strike as a protest against the refusal to grant him a short-term leave and the harassment of his family members. During this 30 day period Mr. Lisani was held in solitary confinement in a tiny cell without heating where the temperatures reaches -10 degrees during the nights. Between the 16th and 18th of January he was transferred from solitary confinement to section 1 of the Ardabil prison and was forced to share his cell with non-political prisoners, some of whom were drug addicts. Because of torture during previous detentions Mr. Lisani was prior to his hunger strike already in a poor health suffering from kidney and stomach problems. His health condition was worsened by the prison authority’s obvious negligence of his health through their conscious ill-treatment of him and through the refusal of allowing him any medical treatment. On the 31st of January 2007, Mr. Lisani ended his hunger strike, in response to the desperate requests from his family and supporters. However, his health condition remains critical and he is still in need of acute medical treatment, something that the Ardabil prison authorities still have not provided him with. According to Amnesty International Mr. Lisani is a prisoner of conscience. He is held confined solely because of his peaceful activities for the cultural rights of the Azerbaijanis and the Azerbaijani language in Iran. According to the United Nations there are approximately 30 million Azerbaijanis in Iran. Yet, there is not a single school in the entire country teaching in their language. In paragraph 15 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran it is clearly stated that the use of mother tongue in schools, as well as in the press and media is allowed alongside Persian . Arresting Mr. Lisani for advocating the implementation of these rights is thus a criminal act and an act of great contradiction. Mr. Lisani is protesting with peaceful and democratic means and in accordance with Iranian law. Therefore we condemn the imprisonment of Mr. Lisani and the harassment of his family members. We lay full responsibility of Mr. Lisani´s health problems in the hands of the Iranian prison authorities and strongly urge You, Mr. President, to take all actions necessary in order to guarantee the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Abbas Lisani. I would also like to ensure You, Mr. President that the case of Mr. Lisani as well as the cultural rights of the Azerbaijanis in Iran will continue to draw our attention in the future.