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A/HRC/WGAD/2017/49 Advance Edited Version A/HRC/WGAD/2017/49 Advance Edited Version Distr.: General 22 September 2017 Original: English Human Rights Council Working Group on Arbitrary Detention Opinions adopted by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at its seventy-ninth session, 21-25 August 2017 Opinion No. 49/2017 concerning Siamak Namazi and Mohammed Baquer Namazi (Islamic Republic of Iran) 1. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention was established in resolution 1991/42 of the Commission on Human Rights, which extended and clarified the Working Group’s mandate in its resolution 1997/50. Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 60/251 and Human Rights Council decision 1/102, the Council assumed the mandate of the Commission. The mandate of the Working Group was most recently extended for a three- year period in Council resolution 33/30 of 30 September 2016. 2. In accordance with its methods of work (A/HRC/33/66), on 23 May 2017 the Working Group transmitted to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran a communication concerning Siamak Namazi and Mohammed Baquer Namazi. The Government has not replied to the communication. The State is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 3. The Working Group regards deprivation of liberty as arbitrary in the following cases: (a) When it is clearly impossible to invoke any legal basis justifying the deprivation of liberty (as when a person is kept in detention after the completion of his or her sentence or despite an amnesty law applicable to him or her) (category I); (b) When the deprivation of liberty results from the exercise of the rights or freedoms guaranteed by articles 7, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and, insofar as States parties are concerned, by articles 12, 18, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26 and 27 of the Covenant (category II); (c) When the total or partial non-observance of the international norms relating to the right to a fair trial, established in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the relevant international instruments accepted by the States concerned, is of such gravity as to give the deprivation of liberty an arbitrary character (category III); (d) When asylum seekers, immigrants or refugees are subjected to prolonged administrative custody without the possibility of administrative or judicial review or remedy (category IV); (e) When the deprivation of liberty constitutes a violation of international law on the grounds of discrimination based on birth, national, ethnic or social origin, language, religion, economic condition, political or other opinion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status, that aims towards or can result in ignoring the equality of human beings (category V). A/HRC/WGAD/2017/49 Submissions Communication from the source 4. Siamak Namazi, born in 1971, is an Iranian-American dual citizen. Born in the Islamic Republic of Iran, he was naturalized and became an American citizen in 1993. He usually resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 5. The source reports that Siamak Namazi has lived in numerous countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States of America, and that he moved to the United Arab Emirates in 2007. Also in 2007, he was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader. He most recently worked as head of strategic planning for the Middle East and North Africa region at a petroleum company in Dubai from 2013 to 2015. He has reportedly never engaged in politics. Interrogations, arrest and detention of Siamak Namazi 6. According to the source, on 18 July 2015, Mr. Namazi was intercepted on his way into Tehran airport by officers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps dressed in civilian clothes. He intended to travel back to the United Arab Emirates after a weekend visit with his parents in Tehran. The Revolutionary Guard officers momentarily showed him a document that they claimed to be a search warrant and order preventing him from leaving the country. In the few seconds that he was able to read the document, he reportedly saw the phrase “collaboration with the Young Global Leaders”. 7. The officers reportedly escorted Mr. Namazi to a parked car in the airport car park and forced him into the back seat. They then questioned him for several hours. All of his electronic devices, including his laptop computer, tablet and mobile devices were immediately confiscated, and his United States and Iranian passports were seized. When the officers had finished their questioning, they told Mr. Namazi that they would “keep in touch” and instructed him not to leave Tehran. They gave him a handwritten receipt of the confiscated items. 8. The source reports that, for the following three months, Siamak Namazi was interrogated regularly by officers of the Revolutionary Guard. He would receive an anonymous telephone call instructing him of a time and place to present himself. The time and frequency of the interrogations were unpredictable. At first, interrogations happened nearly every day, then only two or three times per week. Sometimes, several days would pass without an interrogation. The interrogations reportedly took place in private meetings at an unmarked location, and the primary focus of the questioning was Mr. Namazi’s association with the West. The officers reportedly accused him of being a spy for the West and would repeatedly tell him to “prove your innocence” and “admit it”. On several occasions, the officers reportedly staged an arrest scene to scare him. While he was being questioned, they would arrange for screeching tyre sounds outside and would tell him he was going to be taken to prison. 9. According to the source, Mr. Namazi had hired an attorney to represent him, but the lawyer’s ability to defend him was severely limited. He was reportedly told that it was an official policy that anyone accused of a crime related to national security may only be represented by an “approved lawyer”. He repeatedly asked to see the list of approved lawyers, but was ultimately never shown the purported list. As a result, he did not have a lawyer who could be present with him during any of the interrogations. 10. The source reports that Mr. Namazi was arrested on 13 October 2015 by officers of the Revolutionary Guard for alleged espionage and collusion with an enemy State without presenting any formal evidence or warrant. He was reportedly arrested at an interrogation location where he had been reporting regularly for the previous three months. The source notes that, while it is possible that Mr. Namazi was briefly shown a document regarding the purported legal basis for his arrest at the time of his indictment, his lawyers have not had access to such a document. The indictment reportedly occurred in secret and no documents have been made public or provided to his lawyers. 2 A/HRC/WGAD/2017/49 11. According to the source, since the date of the arrest, Mr. Namazi has been held in ward 2A of Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Revolutionary Guard. The source reports that exact charges, with specific references to Iranian law, were not presented to his family or lawyers during his pretrial detention. The source notes that, while it is possible that such charges were provided to Mr. Namazi privately during his detention, this is not likely. He has been detained since his reported conviction for “collaboration with a hostile Government”, in reference to the United States. The legislation later applied to his conviction was article 508 of the Islamic Penal Code, which states that anyone who cooperates by any means with foreign States against the Islamic Republic of Iran, if not considered a mohareb (enemy of God), shall be sentenced to 1 to 10 years’ imprisonment. Arrest and detention of Mohammed Baquer Namazi 12. Mohammed Baquer Namazi, born in 1936, is an Iranian-American dual citizen. He is married and is the father of Siamak Namazi. He usually resides in Tehran. 13. The source reports that Baquer Namazi had been Governor of the Iranian province of Khuzestan under the Shah. When the Government was overthrown in 1979, he left the Government and continued to live in the Islamic Republic of Iran for several years. Facing mounting pressure, he reportedly fled the country in 1983 and ultimately settled in the United States, where he was naturalized and took citizenship. He reportedly dedicated the rest of his career to the eradication of poverty. From 1984 to 1997, he served as a representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and worked in various countries, focusing on vulnerable people and the provision of aid for women and children affected by war. He retired from his UNICEF work in 1997, but continued to work for the eradication of poverty as a civil society volunteer. 14. The source reports that Mr. Namazi reportedly attempted to visit his son at Evin Prison two to three times each week after his arrest and imprisonment, but was never granted access, even when he had letters from prison officials granting him the right to see his son. 15. On or about 21 February 2016, while travelling to see other family members in Dubai, Baquer Namazi’s wife received a call from Evin Prison informing her that special permission had been granted for Baquer Namazi to visit his son, but that the permission was valid only for a visit on 24 February 2016. At the same time, it had been reported that Siamak Namazi had started a hunger strike. Baquer Namazi quickly changed his travel plans to return to Tehran. 16. The source reports that Baquer Namazi was arrested at the passport control office of Tehran airport on his arrival there on 22 February 2016.
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