UN Investigates Illegal Arrest of Mousavi and Karroubi

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"UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances" has informed the International Federation for Human Rights, and its member organisation the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI), in its letter of September 2011 that it has considered the cases of enforced disappearance of Messrs Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, Ms. Zahra Rahnavard and Ms. Fatemeh Karroubi "which your organisation submitted… and transmitted them to the Government of Iran on 4 April 2011, under its urgent action procedure", so that "investigations would be carried out in order to clarify the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared persons and to protect their rights. Any information received from the Government of Iran concerning these cases shall be transmitted to you in due course."

Following their joint statement of 2 March 2011, the International Federation for Human Rights and the Iranian League for the Defence of Human Rights (LDDHI) had filed a complaint on the enforced disappearance of the four opposition leaders with the "UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances."

Referring to the letter of the UNWGEID, vice-president of FIDH and President of the LDDHI, Karim Lahidji said: "It is clear that the Iranian government has failed to respond to the United Nations after more than six months. We have informed Mr Ahmed Shaheed, special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, of the matter. The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances shall examine this case in its 95th session from 1 to 11 November 2011. The international community must persuade the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect its obligations under the human rights covenants. The report of the special rapporteur for human rights and other actions shall gradually pave the way for raising the dossier of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the United Nations Security Council."