INTERPOL General Secretariat

200, quai Charles de Gaulle

69006 Lyon

France

Fax: +33 (0)4 72 44 71 63 

5/1/10

Dear General Secretary,

IFIR has been informed that INTERPOL has issued wanted alerts on the 21 December for the following Iranian activists all of which are political opponents of the Iranian regime.  They are also veteran political activists and political leaders within the opposition movement in Iran who continue to fight for equality, freedom, women rights and human rights in Iran:

Asad Golchini;  Ali Abdaly, Rasool Bnavnd; Rahmat Fatehi, Abdullah Darabi,  Khaled Haj Mohammadi, Rahman Hosseinzadeh, Koorosh  Modaressi, Mozaffar Mohammadi, Tofiq Pir-Khezri, Saleh Sardari and Salam Ziji,  

IFIR calls upon INTERPOL to immediately recall the wanted alerts issued against the above 12 Iranian pololitical activists

The Islamic Republic of Iran has supported terrorism and is guilty of killing, stoning, executing Iranian citizens for the most minor offences.  The shooting of Neda Agha Soltan (which was filmed and shown across the world) by the Iranian authorities for attending a demonstration against the authorities shows graphically the brutality of the Iranian regime.

Many writers, journalists, and political activists in Iran have been murdered on the orders of the Iranian authorities.  Many innocent civilians are executed daily by the Iranian authorities   According to reliable sources, the numbers of exiled political individuals who have been murdered by the IRI from 1991 - 1997 is 210. I list below for your information well known opponents to the Iranian regime have been killed outside of Iran Gholam Keshavarz, Sedigh Kamangar, Abdulrahman Qasemlu, Sadegh Sharafkandi, Shapur Bakhtiar, Abdul Rahman Broomand, Fereydoun Farrokhzad.   More recently however thanks to greater political opposition to the Islamic Republic outside Iran and the awareness and defiance of the Iranian people, the regime has been unable to dispatch its teams of terrorists to hunt the opposition activists.  Instead the Iranian regime is now using INTERPOL to hunt activists.  All of these victims were accused by the Iranian regime of the same crimes that they now claim the above named 12 Iranian political activists are guilty of, and that INTERPOL have issued wanted notices for.

By complying with this request and taking the word of the Iranian regime against the 12 Iranian political activists, INTERPOL is making the lives of all who oppose the Iranian regime’s persecution inside and outside of Iran more insecure and dangerous.  We ask INTERPOL to take into account the above facts and immediately recall the wanted alerts issued against political opponents of the Islamic republic of Iran.

We note that Article 3 of the Constitution of INTERPOL expressly forbids the Organization from undertaking any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character. It is clear that taking into account the background of the individuals in respect of whom these alerts have been issues, that the Iranian government’s actions in seeking them are political. In issuing arrest alerts for the people referred to above, we consider that it is arguable that INTERPOL has acted contrary to its Constitution.

We look forward to hearing your response.

Yours sincerely

Dashty Jamal

Secretary

International Federation of Iraqi Refugees -IFIR      

The International Federations of Iraqi Refugees has predicted the regressive trend of this era, warned against its destructive effects on people's lives at various junctures, clarified the practical ways in which to resist, and been at the forefront of the struggle for defending human values and refugee rights. Our starting point in the struggle for refugee rights as ever has always been the inalienable right of human beings to a better life. The effort and struggle to secure free and equal rights is an ongoing vast social movement with various dimensions and forms. Our philosophy of existence and daily activities are connected to this very struggle to secure and guarantee the rights of human beings. We believe, first and foremost, in the unconditional freedom of travel and movement and freedom to choose one's place of residence for all. Furthermore, we believe that eliminating the calamities of today’s world is linked to the abolition of capitalism, a system that reproduces poverty, hunger, war and flight on a daily basis for billions of people and owes its survival to these very social inequalities. Until the refugee question remains, however, we are duty-bound to continue our struggle to secure and guarantee the most extensive refugee rights.