Reuters AlertNet Lite - U.N. rights boss rebukes Iran on women's arrests

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U.N. rights boss rebukes Iran on women's arrests

06 Mar 2007 17:21:53 GMT
Source: Reuters

GENEVA, March 6 (Reuters) - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights rebuked Iran on Tuesday for arresting at least 31 women activists during a peaceful protest and urged Tehran to respect all human rights.

In a statement, Commissioner Louise Arbour said the women had been "exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression".

Eight of the women were released on bail on Tuesday, Arbour's spokesman Jose-Luis Diaz said, quoting reports from U.N. officials in Tehran. But a number of women still in custody had gone on hunger strike, he said.

Security forces arrested the activists outside a Tehran court on Sunday during a protest in support of five other women detained in June 2006 who face criminal charges for having organised a women's demonstration, Arbour said.

The initial protest had been to call for equal rights for women. Iran, which denies any sex discrimination, routinely dismisses accusations of rights violations and says it does not hold any political prisoners.

Arbour noted the arrests came ahead of International Women's Day on March 8 and said Iran was bound by major international human rights treaties which it had signed. These included a pact guaranteeing political and civil rights.

"Iran must adhere to the legal obligations undertaken under the above international human rights treaties to respect all human rights without discrimination," Arbour said.

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Last updated:Tue Mar 6 17:21:28 2007