12-02-2008

Dear Sir / Madam,

Mr Yaqub Mehrnehad an open spoken brave young Baloch, civil right activist, father of 3 children, founder and chairman of a NGO called “Voice of Justice Youth Association” has been sentenced to death by Iranian Revolutionary Court in Balochistan few days ago and is under imminent threat of being executed at any time.

“Voice of Justice Youth Association” is a formally recognised and registered under the Islamic Regime’s regulations in Balochistan, seeking social, civil and cultural rights for people through peaceful means of activities which included arranging annual open discussion meetings with Balochistan provincial authorities bringing the discrepancies and discriminations to their attention.

On 26^th of April 2007, Mr Mehrnehaad including his 16 years old brother alongside the Central Committee members of the above organisation were arrested straight after the end of an open discussion meeting by the Iranian secret agencies in the city of Dozaap (Zahedan) the provincial capital of Balochistan.

As usual and common practice of the Iranian regime, all were alleged of being perpetuators and the enemy of Islam, Co-operators of the western powers who work to destabilize Iranian Islamic regime.

Nobody were aware of their whereabouts for months until the release of all but keeping Mr Mehrnehaad in custody in Tehran under the harshest mental and physical tortures.

Recently the secret agencies transferred him back to Balochistan and according to his close relatives, last week in a secret trail he has been sentenced to death.

Although we have already brought to your attention but it is necessary to you that last month Iranian government amputated right hand and left feet of five young Baloch men in Baluchistan, where daily hangings and executions of young Balochs under bogus charges is operational and the authorities’ common practice. Where according to the Iranian authorities, about 1000 young Baloch men have been sentenced to death and are in their death row queues.

Mr Yaqub Mehrnehaad is a well known young Baloch civil right activist figure amongst Iranian civil right activists, and have been delivering speeches to defend human and civil rights of Iranian people in many universities and provincial capitals of other Iranian nationalities.

We once again with stress and urgency kindly appeal to you to be very prompt to take appropriate steps for necessary actions in order to spare this young Baloch civil right activist from imminent execution in the hands of the Iranian regime.

We appeal to International Communities Human Right Organisations and Civil Rights activists in the world to call upon the Iranian government and ask them to stop death penalty and immediately release Mr Yaqub Mehrnehaad.

We appeal for the release of all imprisoned social, cultural and political activists and stop practising inhuman penalty of imputation and stoning to death penalty of Baloch and other people in Iran.

Nasser Boladai, Spokesperson for Balochistan Peoples Party

CC:
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch
- UNPO

- European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights
- European Parliament Iran delegation
- United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Professor of Law NYU, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
- Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Head of Asia Desk
- President of the UN Human Rights Council