Thursday, February 23, 2017

Write for Nazanin Zghari-Ratcliffe, a Prisoner of Conscience in Iran


from Amnesty International:

Write for the freedom of falsely imprisoned charity worker in Iran, Nazanin Zghari-Ratcliffe.


URGENT ACTION
FEBRUARY 23, 2017

"British-Iranian charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is suffering with severe arm, neck and back pain and needs urgent hospitalization. An appeal court has upheld her five-year prison sentence for the charge of “membership of an illegal group” in connection with her work with the BBC and Thompson Reuters Foundation."

"British-Iranian prisoner of conscience Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been suffering from severe neck, arm, and back pain and has extremely limited movement in her arms. On 4 February, she was seen by a doctor in Evin prison’s clinic, who referred her to a neurology specialist."

"However, the Office of the Prosecutor refused to authorize her visit to the specialist until 19 February, when she was finally taken to a hospital outside prison. There, the neurologist advised that she needed immediate admission for tests and treatment, without which there was a risk of permanent damage to her right arm and hand. Despite this, she was returned to prison the same day."

"On 22 January, during his weekly press conference, judiciary spokesperson Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i announced that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s five-year prison sentence has been upheld by an appeal court."

"She had been convicted of “membership of an illegal group” in connection with her work at the BBC’s Persian Service and Thompson Reuters Foundation (TRF), a charity organization promoting socio-economic progress, independent journalism and the rule of law."

"Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested on 3 April 2016. In September 2016, following an unfair trial held before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran the previous month, she was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment."

"1) TAKE ACTION
Write a letter, send an email, call, fax or tweet:
Calling on the Iranian authorities to release Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe immediately and unconditionally, as she is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for her work in connection with peacefully exercising the right to freedom of expression and association;
Urging them to ensure that she is immediately granted access to specialized medical care outside prison;
Calling on them, pending her release, to allow her extended visits with her daughter in a suitable environment, which takes account of the best interests of the child in line with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Iran has ratified;
Requesting that she be granted access to British consular assistance."

"Contact these two officials by 5 April, 2017:
Head of the Judiciary
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani
c/o Public Relations Office
Number 4, Deadend of 1 Azizi
Above Pasteur Intersection
Vali Asr Street, Tehran, Iran
Salutation: Your Excellency

Office of the Supreme Leader
Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
622 Third Avenue, 34th Floor
New York, NY 10017
Fax: (212) 867-7086
Phone: (212) 687-2020
Email: iran@un.int
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
Salutation: Your Excellency"

Read the rest of the URGENT ACTION post at:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/get-involved/take-action-now/urgent-action-update-uk-iranian-charity-worker-needs-medical-care-iran-ua-11716

Work for Human Rights, care for the suffering, rescue those falsely imprisoned,

Daniel Wilcox

No comments: