On October 4, 2004, Mr. Baghi, a well-known human rights activist, had his passport confiscated and was prevented from leaving Tehran. Mr. Baghi was on his way to Montreal to participate in the Second World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organized by Penal Reform International and Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (Together Against the Death Penalty).
Mr. Baghi had previously been the editor-in-chief of Jomhouriyat (Republic), a daily newspaper in Iran, which was shut down in September 2004. The newspaper regularily ran articles on human rights issues. Mr. Baghi was also jailed from 2000-2003 as a result of his activism on behalf of human rights and his opposition to the death penalty.
LRWC finds these violations of Mr. Baghi’s rights to be extremely troubling and has written a letter to members of the Iranian government requesting Mr. Baghi be returned his passport and allowed to travel in conjunction with his human rights work.
LRWC ACTION
Letter Written October 6, 2004 by Charles Davison
