Amnesty launch appeal after family of fresher wrongfully arrested in Iran

They’ve apparently been held without charge

| UPDATED

Amnesty International are appealing for help after the family of a fresher have allegedly been wrongfully arrested by Iranian police.

On 22nd February, Ava Meir received a phone call from her mother. In the brief, fraught conversation that followed, she discovered her cousin, Siamak Namazi, had been arrested by the Iranian secret police.

Apparently without charge, without trial, and – according to Middle Eastern online media site Almonitor – at the behest of hardline factions within the Iranian government.

Only a couple of weeks later, they heard more bad news. Siamak’s father and Ava’s uncle, Baquer Namazi, had also been arrested. Baquer Namazi, the 80-year-old former UN Official, was being held without explanation and denied contact with the outside world.

Since then, there has been little information released about the condition of Siamak and Baquer Namazi. Almonitor reports that Siamak and Baquer are being “severely interrogated”.

It remains difficult to confirm what this means because Sazman-e Ettela’at va Amniat-e Melli-e Iran, (SAVAMA), the Iranian secret police, do not operate transparently, and they have been accused of human rights abuses in the past.

Ava, who studies English Literature and Theology said: “I am very shocked and upset given their complete and utter innocence and the fact they were given no trial or taken through any necessary procedure of law.”

Ava and her family have spent the last couple of weeks trying to raise awareness for the cause both inside and outside the University. Amnesty International St Andrews will be campaigning on behalf of Siamak and Baquer Namazi.

Amnesty International St Andrews President Caroline Sexton said: “We are totally opposed to the arrest of both Baquer Namazi and his son, Siamak Namazi in Iran.

“Both were arrested without just cause or due process, which is a blatant violation of human rights. Additionally, multiple contact attempts by family and legal counsel have been ignored.

“Amnesty International St Andrews plans to raise awareness about the unfair arrest and subsequent holding of Baquer and Siamak Namazi through petition signings and fundraisers.”

Amnesty St Andrews will hopefully be joined by other groups and students with an interest in human rights to take action on behalf of Baquer and Siamak Namazi for as long as it takes to secure their release.

But there’s only so much we can achieve alone. Campaigns like this depend on achieving and maintaining publicity and coverage, and at the moment the level of attention the Namazis are achieving remains disgracefully low. In fact, as of the time of writing, The Tab St Andrews remains the only UK media outlet to have covered the case. This has to change.

Srdja Popovic, the Serbian political activist, instrumental in toppling the regime of brutal dictator Slobodan Milosevic, once said there were two types of campaign – ones that got attention, and therefore succeeded, and those that didn’t, and therefore failed. It might sound obvious, but it’s held true in every political campaign in history.

That’s where you come in. No one is going to take notice of this issue unless we make them. So please, share this article. Talk to your friends about it. Spread the word in any way you can. More full scale campaigning at St Andrews will come later. But without publicity – without you – nothing will happen. You can make the difference.