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Dear all your support and solidarity urgently needed regards haifa Kelshan Al Bayati (her photo is on www.iraqiwomenswill.org/), Iraqi woman writer/journalist and Al Hayat newspaper correspondent (London based Arabic newspaper) in Iraq, was first arrested on 11/9/06 by Iraqi forces in the city of Tikrit. She was released after signing an ‘undertaking’ on the 15th Sep 06, only to be re arrested again. The news from Iraq received yesterday: she was badly tortured the first time and it is very likely that she is being currently mistreated in detention. Kelshan was re arrested after attempting to retrieve her computer that was confiscated during the first raid on her house. Kelshan had written an article criticizing the security forces in Tikrit. This is widely believed to be the reason behind her arrest. This is a call from Women’s Will Association for all descent people in the world to protest about her detention and call for immediate release. we received the email below from WWA this morning. A call for all orgnaisations/ politicians the world over to demand her immediate release. The propaganda being branded about freedom and democracy in Iraq, does not stand to close scrutiny. Writers and journalists in Iraq are subjected to a campaign of assassinations and arrests. According to the British Independent newspaper sources 134 journalists have been assassinated since the war on Iraq started. Iraqi writer Qais Kadhum Al Janabi was arrested by the US forces on the 28th June 2006 in Hilla province, he is currently being held in the notorious Airport prison. He should be released immediately. The US forces in Iraq, has no bussiness arresting writers. We call on the UN, Council of Europe and memberers of parliament, to intervene and use their influence for the immediate release of Kelshan Bayati and bringing those responsible for her arbitrary arrest and detention as well as torture to justice. The Iraqi authorities and the occupying forces are both responsible for the flagrant violations of human rights being commited with impunity in Iraq. We demand that Gulshan al Bayati is given immediate independent legal counsel, as is her right under humanitarian law (including Article 113 of the 4th Geneva Convention) and international human rights law (Article 14, paragraph 3, section b of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). We remind those who hold Kulshan Al Bayati that holding detainees in an unsafe location is a violation of Article 85 of the 4th Geneva Convention. We also remind those who hold detainees thatKulshan Al Bayati has inalienable rights under many relevant instruments of binding international law. Tahrir Swift Haifa Zangana ActionThe most important thing to do is alert the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Email for EU Commissioner for Human Rights: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights United Nations Office at Geneva, 1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandFax: + 41 22 917 9022 E-mail: tb-petitions@ohchr.org Kofi Annan the Secretary General of the UN: inquiries@un.org Al Hayat Newspaper:Deputy Editor in Chief: badr@alhayat.com or information@alhayat.com Contact Tony Blair via: www.number-10.gov.uk/output/page821.asp Dick Cheney: Vice President Richard Cheney: vice_president@whitehouse.gov You also have the option of contacting members of the ‘puppet government of Iraq’. Iraqi president: Jalal Al Talabani - questions@iraqipresidency.net Justice minister : Hashim Al Shibli: head-minister@iraqi-justice.org Interior Minister - Jawad Al Boulani Iraqi embassies:in the UK: Phone: (020) 7581 2264 Fax: (020) 7589 3356 in Paris: paris@emassyiraq.com in Belguim: iraqyia@swing.be Amnesty international: eastgulf@amnesty.org Rapid Action Network- PEN [ Campaign against the Persecution and Imprisonment of Writers for Stating their views General URLs with contact info: http://www.coe.int/t/commissioner/About/welcome_en.asp |