.  Amir is a women’s rights activist, and an active member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, the men’s committee.  We are especially worried about the status of Amir, as clearly we are aware of the fact that men who support women’s rights are treated especially harshly. Given Amir’s student activities, and his involvement in the women’s movement, and the fact that he is a male, we feel that he will be treated harshly.  It should be noted that Amir is the 13th person involved in the Campaign to be arrested thus far.  The sensitivity to the Campaign, despite its extremely peaceful and civil approach, is on the rise, and the pressure on this group of women’s rights activists is increasing.  Read the reports regarding the arrest and detention of Amir Yaghoub-Ali:
http://www.wechange.info/english/
Read Amir’s article about his involvement in the Campaign: http://www.wechange.info/english/spip.php?article114

Current Situation: Since these widespread arrests, the homes of several of these student leaders have been stormed, their personal properties including computers and notes confiscated, and their families threatened.  It is believed that these individuals are being held in solitary confinement and under great pressure to provide false confessions, including possible beatings.  While all those currently in prison are believed to be in solitary confinement, we have confirmed that the following are definitely in being held in solitary confinement, and as such under great emotional pressure:
1. Bahareh hedayat
2. Mojtaba bayat
3. Abdollah momeni
4. Ali Nikoo Nesbati
5. Hanif Yazdani
6. Ali Vefghi
7. Mehdi Arabshahi
8. Mohammad Hashemi
Search of Homes, Seizure of property and threats against family members: The homes of the following persons have been stormed and their personal properties have been confiscated (based on confirmed reports so far):
Bahareh Hedayat
Abdollah Momeni
Mojtaba bayat
Ali Nikoo Nesbati
Hanif Yazdani
Ali Vefghi
Mehdi Arabshahi
Explanations: We are especially concerned for the situation of Bahareh Hedayat, as she is the only female arrested from among the students.  As such, we are certain that she is facing much more difficult circumstances.  It should be noted that Bahareh Hedayat is also a women’s rights activist and a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign—a peaceful and civil effort designed to educate the public and collect One Million Signatures in support of a petition requesting changes to discriminatory laws against women.  The Campaign and its members have increasingly come under fire by security agents, and we feel that Bahareh will be under extra pressure while in detention because of her involvement in this effort.  Bahareh was recently issued a suspended sentence of two years for her participation in the peaceful protest of June 2006 in support of women’s rights.  We are concerned that with her illegal arrest, the suspended sentence will be implemented immediately and she will be forced to serve two-years in prison.
We are also concerned for the situation of Abdollah Momeni, who is the Spokesperson for the Alumni Organization of Iran (Advar-e Tahkim), the organization that was stormed with gunfire and the doors sealed.  Abdollah Momeni accompanied agents to his home for search and seizure of property.  The search of Momeni’s home was extremely disruptive for his family, especially for his two young sons, aged 11 and 13, who have been traumatized by this experience, and by seeing their father in handcuffs.  Visible signs of beatings could be seen on Abdollah’s body.  He had lost a considerable amount of weight due to pressures endured in prison, and he himself during the time in his home, objected to the harsh treatment he was receiving in prison.  We believe that security agents are trying to build a false case against Mr. Momeni, and are trying to force him to publicly confess (through televised confessions) to crimes he has not committed, especially in relation to being connected with forces outside the country who are seeking to implement a soft revolution or color revolution.  We are especially concerned about the situation of Abdullah Momeni as he is a ranking member of the Alumni Organization of Iran.  One of the main directors of Advar, and a former member of the Central Council of Tahkim. Momeni is viewed with suspision by security agents for creating links between Advar and Tahkim. In the past, Momeni had been targeted by security forces for some time, was under surveillance last year for several months, was threatened on numerous occasions with arrest, and was sentenced to prison (a 3 year prison term, the serving of which is mandatory, but its implementation was suspended for a period of 2 years, which could be implemented in relation to this latest illegal arrest, and subsequent to his current imprisonment).  As the spokesperson for Advar, he was the voice of all those groups (student activists, women’s rights activists, teachers, labor leaders, and political prisoners, etc) whose human rights and civil rights had been violated, and who did not have other platforms for expressing their concerns, or voicing objections.  As such, there is a great deal of sensitivity to Abdollah and his role in advocating for human rights among security agencies and the courts. 
The Closure of the Alumni Organization (Daftare Advare Tahkim)
The Alumni Organization of Iran, is registered as a Political entity, under amendment 10 of regulations governing political parties.  While its status is officially that of a political party, this is the main human rights organization, reflecting news on and objecting to ill treatment of social and political activists, through their website, meetings, protests, and the issuing of statements.  It is closely affiliated with the main student organization, Office to Foster Unity (Advar was set by former members of the Office to Foster Unity), and during the increasing pressures on these student organizations, as well as arrest of its members, Advar has provided student groups with space to hold their elections and a has served as a platform for objecting to the increasing pressure on student activists, including through the holding of sit-in protests, etc.  Advar has also increasingly worked closely to provide support to other social movements, in particular the women’s movement, the labor movement, and the teachers movement, and has provided these groups with a platform to express their demands, has reported on crackdowns against their members, has conducted lobbying efforts in support of political prisoners, has initiated the writing of statements and collection of signatures in support of imprisoned members, and has provided space for protest meetings, and other public meetings held by members of other social movements.  In other words, while Advar is registered as a political party, it remains one of the only voices in support of human rights and has taken a lead with respect to objecting to the closing of political/social space. 
Reports of Torture by the Freed Students of Amir Kabir University:
A letter addressed to Shahroudi, head of the Judiciary, by the mothers of the three freed students of Amir Kabir University (Majid Tavakoli, Ahmad Ghassaban and Ehsan Mansouri) was recently issued.  The letter outlined the treatment of these students and asked for accountability and follow-up by officials.  Some of the issues addressed in this letter include:
• Severe beatings during detention and prior to detention (the beatings prior to admittance into Section 209 of Evin prison were so severe in fact, that security officials there were reluctant to take charge of the student prisoners);
• Forced to stand for 48 hours straight;
• Solitary confinement;
• Withholding of food for 48 hours;
• Withholding of medical care;
• Forced repeated activity (like sitting and standing) for an unbearable duration of time;
• Emotional torture; and
• Threats of murder, long imprisonment, infliction of bodily and other injuries on family members, etc. 
Based on reports from these freed students, we are extremely concerned about the status and well being of others imprisoned during this latest crackdown.  We hope that you will issue statements of support, asking for the immediate release of these individuals, while holding Iranian officials accountable for their physical and emotional well-being.