Open Letter from the Families of Currently Imprisoned Tabriz University Students

Families of the Imprisoned Students
By Gozaar

September 7, 2008

To the Chief of Justice Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroodi:The signatories of this letter—being the families of the imprisonedstudents of Azerbaijan—respectfully bring forth our objections to, andcomplaints about, the legal and security departments for wrongfullyarresting our loved ones and subjecting them to mental and physicalpressure.

In July and August, our children were arrested by safety officials andtaken to the National Security Office's temporary prison without anexplanation. There, in individual cells, they were interrogated dayand night and subjected to severe mental and physical pressures.

Our children were robbed of the most basic human rights granted to anaccused person, such as the right to meet with family, the right tosee a lawyer, and even the right to study or get fresh air. Instead,the accused were only allowed brief telephone communication with theirfamily members every two weeks.

Such restrictions have been implemented despite news of the waningphysical and mental condition of our loved ones. This bad news hasdirectly caused stress, and even mental and emotional illness, for thestudents' families.

As the Chief Justice, we request that you issue an order to deal withthe cases of our loved ones. We ask you to declare that the treatmentof our loved ones—appropriate only in the case of serious crimes—is inno way proportionate to the actions of these students. We ask that youmatch the imprisonment procedure with accusations against thestudents—which are not serious enough to warrant the currentpunishment. We would also like you to grant our loved ones permissionto meet with their families and lawyers. Further, we request thatthose who have been hit or injured be transported to a medical centerimmediately.

The family of University of Tabriz law student, Faraz Zahtab
The family of University of Tabriz law student, Aydin Khaje'i
The family of University of Tabriz mechanical engineering graduatestudent, Sajad Radmehr
The family of University of Tabriz mechanical engineering graduatestudent, Mansoor Aminian
The family of University of Tabriz electrical engineering student, Amir Mardani
The family of University of Tabriz geography student, Maghsood Ahdi
The family of former University of Tabriz student and militaryofficer, Daryoosh Hatemi
The family of "Malik Ashtar Isfahan" University student, Majid MakooyizadThe Families of

Currently Imprisoned Tabriz University Students
CC:The Prosecutor of the Public and Revolutionary Courts of Tabriz
The National ProsecutorThe Head of The Supreme Court