Written question to the Council

Tabled by Olivier Dupuis, on October 11, 1999

Object : Iran : the case of Iran Aid

Iran Aid is a U.K. charity established in 1983 that provides humanitarian relief to oppressed or destitute people in Iran, particularly orphaned children, from any ethnic, religious or political background, and with priority to the children of persons executed by the regime as mohareb or dissident. Most recently they are being cared for within Iran itself. This kind of assistence contravenes a fatwa (religious edict) and puts those who do so into the category of mohareb, with the concomitant penalties. For this reason, Iran Aids operative network, along with the identities and location of the beneficiaries, must remain secret. Over the years, many volunteers have been imprisoned, tortured and even killed in the course of their work for the organisation.

Since May 1998 Iran Aid has been placed under investigation because of allegations of "links with a terrorist organisation", its activities have been freezed and all the documents of the Charity have been seized. The responsibles of the Charity fear that the most sensitive files containing details of the beneficiaries in Iran become public and known to the Iranian government, jeopardizing this way the life of the volonteers and of the children. According to the reports from the media and from activists of the Charity, the Iran Security service and police have already "discovered" the name of some of the volonteers inside Iran and a ferocious campaign of repression has recently been launched.

What kind of information can the Council give concerning this case?