NCPDA Statement
March 17, 2004
Human Rights Activists Sacrificed in Political Deals
While Iran under the religious dictatorship has one of the worst human rights records and is the leading sponsor and supporter of terrorism and fundamentalism, the fate of the political prisoners there are ignored during political deals.
On a daily basis, press reporters are jailed, Iranian youths are flogged in public, Iranian women are stoned to death on official orders, students are expelled from universities, and defense attorneys are imprisoned.
These atrocities are not limited to the Iranian borders. Last year, the Iranian government, through a dirty political deal with the Syrian government, secretly abducted two Iranian human rights activities who were political refugees based in England and were in Syria on official visa to visit their family members. These two activists, Mr. Jamil Bassam and Mr. Ibrahim Khodabandeh, are now under torture in Iran.
The NCPDA calls on all human rights advocates and organizations to protest and condemn the abduction and ask the Syrian government for the return of Mr. Bassam and Mr. Khodabandeh from Iran. The Syrian government is responsible for the fate of these two activities.
