Jelveh Javaheri is defying repression in Iran: Help her continue her work for women's rights
Posted on: 28/02/08

Profile

Jelveh Javaheri, a journalist, is a founding member of the Campaign for Equality, which aims to collect a million signatures demanding an end to legal discrimination against women in Iran. As well as serving on the Campaign’s education committee, Jelveh Javaheri has written several articles for its website (www.we4change.info/). She has also written extensively on women’s issues for other websites. She was one of the co-founders of Hastia Andish Center, a leading women’s NGO, which focuses on promoting women’s rights through education.

Jelveh Javaheri was detained in Section 3 of Tehran’s Evin Prison between 1 December 2007 and 2 January 2008. She was reportedly accused of “disturbing public opinion”, “propaganda against the system” and “publication of lies” in connection with articles she posted on the Internet. She was released on bail, but may face prosecution in the future.

Take Action on this case

1. Sign Amnesty's e-appeal calling on the Iranian judiciary to drop all charges against Jelveh Javaheri, and to end the harassment of human rights defenders

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Amnesty International’s concerns in Iran

The human rights situation in Iran continues to deteriorate, with civil society facing increasing restrictions on fundamental freedoms of expression and association. Scores of political prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, continue to serve prison sentences imposed following unfair trials in previous years. Thousands of arrests are made every year in Iran, mostly during or following demonstrations. Human rights defenders, including journalists, students and lawyers, are often detained arbitrarily without access to family or legal representation. Torture, especially during periods of pre-trial detention, remains commonplace, and practices such as execution by stoning, and corporal punishment in the way of flogging, amputation and eye-gouging continue to be passed.

Amnesty’s Involvement in Jelveh's case

Harassment and intimidation of women's rights activists by authorities has become even more evident and acute since the launch by activists of the Campaign for Equality on 27 August 2006. As a founding member of the Campaign for Equality, Jelveh Javaheri was arrested along with other members last March. Upon learning of their arrests, Amnesty members sent letters demanding their release and asking that their right to peaceful protest to be protected.

Unfortunately, human rights defenders leading the campaign to end legalized discrimination against women continue to be frequently arbitrarily arrested and detained, denied access to lawyers, family members and due process, and sometimes ill-treated with impunity by security officials.

In support of the Campaign for Equality, Amnesty International is calling for a change in Iran’s discriminatory legislation which, among other things, excludes women from the most senior positions of state and appointment as judges, denies them equal rights with men in marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance, and determines that any evidence they give before a court carries only half the weight of that given by a man.

To learn more please read Amnesty’s report, Iran: Women’s Rights Defenders Defy Repression. Case Updates

03/09/08
On September 3rd, 2008, Jelveh Javaheri and three other members of the Campaign for Equality were sentenced to 6 months in prison for “acting against national security by spreading propaganda against the state”.  This conviction was based on articles written for two websites, Change for Equality and Zanestan, both of which cover women’s issues in Iran. 

Jelveh is currently awaiting the appeal of her conviction, and Amnesty International is calling for her appeal, along with the other four women, to be heard promptly and impartially.  If her conviction and sentencing is confirmed on appeal, it must be overturned as the sentenced against these four women result solely from their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression.  Women’s human rights defenders in Iran must not be silenced.

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