A Letter From Iran

To the honorable heads of State of the Non-Aligned Movement and their representatives,

As an Iranian citizen I would like to urge you to request an audience with former presidential candidate and opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi during your visit to Tehran to participate in the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit. Mr. Mousavi, was recently hospitalized as a result of heart complications and has been under illegal house arrest for more than 18 months.

As you are aware, the ruling authoritarian establishment has denied Dr. Shaheed the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran, the opportunity to visit Iran, systematically and categorically rejected the findings of Dr. Shaheed’s reports, including the repudiation of the existence of political prisoners in Iran. The ruling apparatus has even gone so far as to make the ludicrous claim that the 2009 elections in Iran were the most democratically held elections in the world, and that Messrs. Mousavi and Karroubi and Dr. Rahnavard are not under house arrest. Your participation at the NAM Summit will provide a unique opportunity to expose these claims as false.

Honorable members,

The democratic aspirations and the just demands of the Iranian people deserve the support of the international community, including all member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). To this end, I ask that when meeting with the authorities of the Islamic Republic, in your addresses at the Summit, as well as your interview with the foreign press, you express your strong disapproval and objection to the current anti-democratic and repressive policies in Iran, emphasizing the immediate and unconditional release of the leaders of the Green movement and all political prisoners held behind bars.

Best Regards,

Farshid Faryabi