Your Excellency, Ban Ki-Moon
General Secretary of the United Nations
We are writing to appeal for your help to obtain the release of our father, Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi, from detention in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Ebrahim Yazdi is the Secretary-General of the Freedom Movement of Iran. He is at present the oldest of imprisoned dissidents in Iran. He is 80 years old and in frail health. The actions of the government and judiciary of Iran towards Ebrahim Yazdi are in contradiction of the constitution and laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran and in violation of Iran’s international commitments to respect human rights.
Ebrahim Yazdi was arrested in the city of Isfahan on October 1, 2010. He had gone there to attend a memorial service for the young daughter of a friend. While participating in a prayer service in a private house, police violently disrupted the service and took a number of people into custody, including Dr. Yazdi. The authorities later justified these arrests with the claim that this was an “illegal trip” because he had not informed the government of his travel and an “illegal prayer” because it occurred without prior permission from the government.
Subsequent to his detention, Dr. Yazdi was transferred from Isfahan to Tehran to Section 209 of Evin prison. Within a few days, the government announced that he would be held in “temporary custody” for…
