16 March 2007

Ayatollah Ali KhameneiSupreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Office of the Supreme LeaderShoahada Street, Qom

Excellency,

PEN Canada is writing to demand the release from detention of writers Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh and Shadi Sadr.

According to our information, both women were arrested on 4 March 2007, among some thirty female human rights defenders and writers who had gathered in front of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran to protest the court proceedings of Nooshin Amhadi Khorasani, Parvin Ardalan, Shahla Entesari and Susan Tahmasebi—prominent members of Iranian women's organizations who had been arrested in previous peaceful gatherings.

Since her arrest, Abbasgholizadeh has since been kept in solitary confinement for further investigation. She has not been allowed to contact anyone since her arrest, including her lawyers and her family. Sadr has been charged with “acting against national security.” She, too, is being kept in solidarity confinement under a temporary confinement injunction. There are reports that both women have since begun a hunger strike.

PEN Canada believes that Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh and Shadi Sadr have been detained in violation of their rights to freedom of expression and of assembly, guaranteed under Articles 19 and 21, respectively, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party and legally bound. We call for their immediate and unconditional release. PEN Canada also urges that Abbasgholizadeh and Sadr be treated humanely while in detention and that they have access to family members and legal counsel.

Sincerely,



President
PEN Canada