Sir, - The right to freedom of expression is the basic issue behind the serious disturbances which have broken out in Iran recently. It is tragic that three students should die protesting at the denial of this right to the Iranian people, a right supposedly guaranteed by Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a state party.
A disturbing aspect of the violence which took place is the report that policemen participated in the attack on the students who were holding a peaceful demonstration. Surely it is the function of the police to protect those who are behaving in a peaceful manner, rather than contributing to the violence. A statement issued by the Ministry of Culture and Higher Education in Iran said the rally held by students on Thursday night at the dormitory campus was about to end after talks with university management but unfortunately turned to a bitter and regrettable incident due to violent intervention by law enforcement forces.
Salam is not the first newspaper to be closed down. Me 'yar, a magazine edited by Ebrahim Zalzadeh, was forced to close after printing an article critical of the government. Mr Zalzadeh went missing in February in 1997 and was found dead with multiple stab wounds. His death and the deaths of others remain unexplained. Mashallah Shamsolvaezin is quoted in the July issue of National Geographic as saying: "We have freedom of speech in Iran, but it's what happens after we speak that becomes a question." The newspaper edited by him, Society, was closed down in 1998 after a series of tough news stories. Shamsolvaezin opened another paper, Tous, but it too was closed down after some controversial articles. It was alleged the paper undermined national security. Despite a number of weeks in jail, Shamsolvaezin has opened yet another newspaper.
Journalists and writers in Iran have suffered for some time for exercising freedom of expression. The former editor of the English language newspaper Iran News, Morteza Firouzi, was sentenced to death after a secret trial. He was charged with espionage and adultery but serious doubt remains as to the fairness of his trial. Amnesty International has written to the Iranian authorities about Mr Firouzi's case among others but received no reply.
The well-known Iranian writer Akbar Saidi-Sirjani died in a Tehran hospital in 1994 following eight months of detention during which he was not allowed to see family or lawyers. He had written open letters to the Iranian government objecting to censorship of dissenting voices in the country. Most of his writings were banned.
The people of Iran are obviously intelligent and educated. They want different voices and opinions to be heard and it appears the students have joined the journalists, writers and others who are demanding the right to speak freely. Amnesty International calls on the Iranian government to honour their commitment to Article 19 of the ICCPR and allow real freedom of speech. - Yours, etc.,
Terry Butler, Dublin Central Group, Amnesty International, East Wall, Dublin 3.