After a farce trial, Tehran plans to hang seven Arabs
The families of the seven men from
The UN officials said the seven were part of a larger group of Arabs arrested in June
The suspects were also accused of training in Iraq by US, British and Israeli officials, said Philip Alston, the UN Human Rights Council's expert on summary executions, and fellow investigators Leandro Despouy and Manfred Nowak.
Contacted by the Associated Press an official at
It was unclear whether the condemned Arabs were arrested in connection with two bombings that killed at least nine people in
But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has blamed “the occupiers of
The investigators conceded that those awaiting execution were accused of serious crimes but said such suspicions “cannot justify their conviction and execution after trials that made a mockery of due process requirements.”
The human rights experts said lawyers were not allowed to see the defendants before the trial and faced charges of “threatening national security” when attempting to defend their clients.
Reportedly, convictions were based on confessions extorted under torture, they said.
Arabs represent less than three per cent of
The area is well-known for its anti-government sentiments. Since 2005 it has seen unremitting demonstrations against the mullahs’ regime.
Last week-end, about a million people in Khuzestan, wrote letters to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his visit to complain about high unemployment, Kuwaiti daily al-Qabas reported on Tuesday.
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