حقِ آغوش

حقِ آغوش

«من یکی از دهها نمونه این حق کشی هستم. بسیاری از فعالان مدنی و سیاسی در ایران بطور غیرقانونی و سلیقه ای برای مدتهای طولانی از حق سفر به خارج از کشور منع شده اند و بسیاری شان سالها از دیدار با فرزندان و عزیزان خود محروم بوده اند. یکی از نمونه های بارز آن مهندس عباس امیرانتطام است که بیش از سی سال از سفر و دیدار با فرزندان خود محروم بوده است.
از آنجا که در جمهوری اسلامی و ساختار اجرایی و قضایی آن به دادخواهی ما رسیدگی نمی شود، از شما می خواهم داد ما را از این بیدادگران بستانید. چرا و تا چه زمانی من باید ممنوع الخروج باشم و از حق سفر و دیدار با فرزندانم در این سنین کهنسالی محروم باشم؟ میخواهم بعد از حدود ۷ سال فرزندم را ملاقات و در مراسم فارغ
التحصیلی او شرکت کنم. این حق بدیهی و آرزوی قلبی هر پدری است....»

این بخشی از نامه محمد ملکی است به احمد شهید در حکومتِ آغوش ممنوع.
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I am Mohammad Maleki, a retired professor of Tehran University, writing this letter to you to ask for justice regarding the violation of one of my basic human rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is the right to freedom of movement and visiting my beloveds abroad. I have taken all legal measures that I could do in advance of writing this letter to you. In the following, I mention the steps that I took, and how I was treated over the past months.

On September 10, 2011, only a few days after writing you a letter to testify to the truth of torture in the Islamic Republic’s prisons, I received a notice from Tehran's Prosecutor Office banning me again from traveling abroad. After three years, on the 8th of October 2014, I went to Evin Prison’s prosecutor's office and asked about my travel bans. The person in charge checked my file in the computer and endorsed on my written request that my travel ban had been lifted on the 24th of December 2013 (The scan of my request including the response by the officer (in Persian) is attached to this letter). To double-check the lifting of my travel bans, I have gone to the central Passport Office of Tehran, and they also confirmed the lifting of the travel ban. Being confident about it, I applied for the extension of my passport on December 6, 2014, in the special police office. They told me that the passport would be issued and sent to me in two weeks. However, a month passed and I did not receive the passport. To follow the case, I went to the police office and they sent me to the post office. I went to the post office and they sent me to the main passport office, and there they told me that I should go to the revolutionary prosecutor's office (Mr. Tajik). I went there and they sent me again to Evin prison’s prosecutor office. After passing me from one office to another for several months, they told me that I would be informed in three weeks. Again they did not call. I went to the Evin prison’s office again and eventually on March 3, 2015, they told me that my request for the passport had been rejected from the “top,” without indicating who this top commander is.

Dear Dr. Shaheed,

You know better than I that according to Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights “Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” Moreover, based on Article 33 of the Islamic Republic's Constitution “No one can be banished from his place of residence, prevented from residing in the place of his choice, or compelled to reside in a given locality, except in cases provided by law.” According to Articles 132 and 133 of the Islamic Republic’s Criminal Code of Procedure for Public and Revolutionary Courts “If need be, in order to prevent the defendant from absconding, hiding, or collusion with others, the court can also arrange to prevent the accused from leaving the country. The validity of this arrangement is six months and if deemed necessary by the court, it can be extended every six months.” Also according to Article 3-137 of the Civil Rights Charter issued by Rouhani’s administration “all Iranian citizens have the right of entering or leaving the country freely and no citizen can be banned from entering or leaving, except in cases provided by law.”

Now my question is on what principle, law or standard of due process have I been deprived of this right? I did not commit any crime, theft or embezzlement. I have been deprived of my civil rights because of being an outspoken dissenter, critical writer and human rights activist. I am 82 years old and have neither the intention nor the capability of absconding or hiding. Moreover, I have no inclination to live and stay abroad. These facts are known to the security and judicial authorities as they are aware of my background. Furthermore, I am sufficiently outspoken and have expressed all my criticisms inside the country and have nothing more to say outside the country that would make the authorities nervous of my presence abroad. Therefore, no excuse is accepted from the Islamic Republic’s authorities for this injustice and apparent violation of my right to travel.

Dear Dr. Ahmed Shaheed,
I am one of the tens of civil and political activists who have been deprived of the right of freedom of movement over the past years. Many of them could not visit their beloveds for a long time. The most prominent example is the well-known Mr. Abbas Amirentezam, who has been banned from traveling and deprived of visiting his children for more than thirty years.
As the judicial and administrative systems of the Islamic Republic do not care to provide justice to us, I ask you for help in obtaining this indisputable right. For what reason and how long should I be banned from traveling and be deprived of visiting of my beloved children? I wish to visit my son after seven years and attend in his doctoral defense ceremony. This is the right and sincere desire of each and every father. I appeal to you to convince the Islamic Republic’s authorities to put an end to these unjust, illegitimate and inhumane behaviors towards their people and to stop the violation of our basic human rights.