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Human Rights Commissioner Kofler on the sentencing of six environmental activists in Iran
Bärbel Kofler, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement today (22 November) on the sentencing of six environmental activists imprisoned in Iran:
I am shocked that six environmental activists have been handed long prison terms in Iran. They campaigned peacefully and with great dedication to promote animal welfare and species conservation in Iran.
I call for their immediate release and for the Iranian Government to honour the human and civil rights obligations it has undertaken to respect.
Background information
On 24 January 2018, nine members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, which is committed to the preservation of Iranian wildlife and the promotion of nature conservation projects, were imprisoned in Iran. Among them was the founder of the organisation, Dr Seyed-Emami, who died in prison in February 2018 under unknown circumstances. On 21 November 2019, six of the eight environmental activists still in detention were sentenced to six to ten years imprisonment for “contacts with the US enemy state” with some also facing heavy fines.