Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie whose wife and brother-in-law are currently held hostage by the Iranian regime until Mostafaei turns himself in

Human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie whose wife and brother-in-law are currently held hostage by the Iranian regime until Mostafaei turns himself in

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Mohammad Mostafaei, Iranian human rights lawyer whose wife and brother-in-law are under arrest since the beginning of last week, wrote a letter to Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi. The by RAHANA on July 31, 2010.

Last week, Mostafaei, who is most known for defending the execution cases of and , was summoned to Evin prison for questioning. He went on the morning of July 24th and endured four hours of interrogation. Later that afternoon, security forces visited his office with an arrest warrant. When they arrived, Mostafaei was not there. There is no word on Mostafaei since then. On that evening, Mostafaei’s wife Fereshteh Halimi and his brother-in-law Farhad Halimi and imprisoned. According to , the lawyer for Fereshteh and Farhad Halimi, family members of his clients were informed that the release of the Halimi’s depends on whether Mostafaei turns himself in.

In a letter addressed to the Chair committee members of the Iran Bar Association regarding Mohammad Mostafaei, stated that “it appears the legal-security system, while forced to stop carrying out the , is hell bent on taking revenge on Mr. Mostafaei based on some trumped up charges. Since they were unable to find him, they arrested his wife and brother-in-law. Not only is the evidence against Mr. Mostafaei questionable but there is [also] no evidence that his wife and his brother-in-law had any role in Mostafaei’s disappearance.”

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RAHANA states that the arrests were designed to put pressure on Mostafaei, which in turn prompted him to write the following letter ():

If You Have Faith in God and Judgment Day, Release My Family

By MOHAMMAD MOSTAFAEI

Letter released by on July 31, 2010 | Letter translated and edited by 

In the Name of God

Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi, General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Tehran:

Greetings,

Since July 24th, the interrogator in branch 2 of the Shahid Moghaddas [investigations office in Evin prison] has held my brother-in-law and my lawful, kind, and tormented wife captive, an act that is unjustifiable and against the principle of personal crime and punishment. The interrogator has announced that my family members will not be released until I turn myself in.  Two of my loved ones have been taken hostage because the interrogator has abused his power by acting [based] on personal [reasons].

Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi,

On July 21st, a legal summons was sent to my office that asked me to appear at branch 2 of the investigations office to provide a few explanations. I went to Evin prison at 9:00am on July 24th. A soldier by the name of Mohammad Khani escorted me inside. I waited for a long time before I was called in for interrogation. The interrogator read out a few pages of the complaints against me and asked questions regarding the help I provide to adolescents condemned to execution. Although I was not prepared for the questions, I responded from what I knew and thus I was able to resolve for him the areas of ambiguity.  After a few hours, the interrogator called in soldier Mohammad Khani and ordered my release. There were no charges laid against me. The soldier guided me as we passed though many security obstacles in the prison.  I used someone’s phone outside Evin to let my wife Fereshteh Halimi know not to worry and that everything was resolved.  Since I didn’t have my mobile phone on me at that time, I was unable to contact her.

The interrogator of branch 2 had announced that my mobile phone was in my possession [in prison] and that I had escaped. This news is false upon that I never ran away. I have my mobile phone on me. You can review the prison tapes from the closed circuit television sets.

At 5:00pm I went to my office and my secretary informed me that my wife had called. I called her back and she told me that branch 2 of the investigations office had called to summon me again. Since it was after [work] hours, I made the decision to go the next day.

One of my colleagues in the office announced, without telling me the order was issued, that a number of plainclothes agents wanted to see me. [note:]  The special agent  at the interrogator’s office announced to my colleague to not reveal the [newest] summon issued [for me], and my colleague listened to the order. I stepped outside [my office] a few times but no agents came after me. I then attended a meeting that took some time.

At 11:00pm, I called my wife but there was no answer. I got worried and called her father. He said that they had gone to the office to pick up the car. The car that my wife normally drives belongs to my father-in-law. She uses it to perform her daily routine. Since I didn’t take my car with me, I gave it to [my wife] to use [Editor's note: At this point, Mostafaei explains that there is a witness to verify the whereabouts of Fereshteh Halimi]. I called again a few minutes later and my father-in-law told me that his children were arrested and transferred to Evin prison.

Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi,

After hearing this news I was very upset and wanted to go to Evin prison but I could not stand so much lawlessness and the violation of basic human rights. Despite the arrest of the person I love most in my life, I decided to never set foot in a judicial office where the interrogators do not abide by basic laws like the principle of personal crime and punishment, charges need to follow formalities, charges require a legal basis (hostage taking is never legal), just prosecutions, the principle of neutrality, and hundreds of other principles that have been violated. I will not turn myself in until agents at the investigations office find me in the solitary home I built for myself.

Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi,

You know very well that issuing arrest warrants requires certain preconditions. My case is excluded from those conditions considering my occupation, place of living, and my work are all public. Also in all cases of prosecution, first the accused is summoned and if he/she does not appear, then an arrest warrant is issued. Arrest warrants are never issued without summons. This was the case when I was first summoned and I did appear at Evin prison. If it was needed, the interrogator could have issued another summon for more questioning or he could have summoned me by phone and I would have appeared again. Was any research performed to find out under which law my arrest warrant was issued? I am sure that the interrogator who works for you has not even bothered to read the judicial laws even once. This is why my wife and her brother were illegally taken hostage; unless we believe that there are people who consider themselves above the law and are able to do whatever they wish.

Mr. Jafari Dolatabadi,

The interrogator who works for you or other agents who share your power have not only acted against the law but they have not even employed any moral conscious. They have taken away a beautiful six year old girl from her parents and have left her stranded. Through the illegal and immoral actions taken by security agents, my Parmida has lost both her parents. I do not believe any Muslim can take a child away from his/her mother in this way. It was announced that until Mohammad Mostafaei turns himself in, the other two won’t be released. Mr. Prosecutor, what part of our judicial code does this belong to? More importantly, I ask the interrogators who played a role in the arrest of my wife and brother-n-law: if you are a Muslim, please tell me where in the Holy Sharia laws does it state that an innocent mother whose only concern in life is raising her child can be taken away so cruelly? I swear to God that this is not part of Islam.

My brother-in-law Farhad Halimi recently wed and was starting his new life. He had studied hard for one year in order to participate in Thursday’s national university exams. But the illegal arrest made the last year a waste since he had to miss the exam.

Mr. Prosecutor,

For the past few years all my efforts went toward saving people who did not deserve to die. I was so occupied with saving these people that I hardly was able to see my wife and daughter. I was able to save the lives of 18 adolescents who were condemned to death, sometimes by raising funds for their bail. This is a service to my country. I have also saved many older people. I asked the former head of judiciary on numerous occasions for pardons on cases of stoning and my requests were accepted. My bigger goal was to convince the judicial judges not to step beyond the boundaries of the law. I am willing to show you hundreds of judicial cases where the deputy district attorney, the interrogators, and judges abused their powers to issue unjust sentences, just like my case.

For someone who has always worked toward justice and the interests of the Islamic Republic, is this the way I am paid back for my God loving and human loving actions?

Mr. Dolatabadi,

Since you are the highest ranking official in the Tehran prosecutor’s office, I am asking you to guide the interrogator to stop these actions and release my wife and brother-in-law  from captivity and hostage-taking. You should know that once the court and the prosecutor’s office puts forward a just case for my trial I will appear in court, even though I am completely innocent, and I will accept and endure any verdict.

At the end I need to remind you that in the past year agents from the Ministry of Intelligence have summoned me by phone and I have answered their questions. If I were to be summoned again, I would have undoubtedly appeared again. But now that these actions have taken place, I am forced to endure separation from my dear wife and child and my respectable family in an effort to establish rule of law in our country.

I leave you and your interrogator at the mercy of God, the creator. I hope that you won’t let my child cry for her mother. She is not eating food and wants her mother back. She needs to hug her mother. If my daughter gets hurt from the separation from her mother, then that is a sin you have committed. If you believe in judgment day, free the two people who have not committed any sins. It’s unjust and against our judicial laws to arrest them.

Mohammad Mostafaei,

Husband of Fereshteh Halimi