<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<div class="moz-forward-container">
<table class="moz-email-headers-table" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE"><br>
</th>
<td><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE"><br>
</th>
<td><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE"><br>
</th>
<td><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE"><br>
</th>
<td><br>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap" valign="BASELINE"><br>
</th>
<td><br>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<b><span style="font-size: 24pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" href="http://www.homahoodfar.org/"
target="_self" style="color: rgb(149, 79, 114);"><span
style="font-family: Helvetica-W01-Bold; color: rgb(153,
11, 96);">#FREEHOMA</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></b>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<blockquote type="cite" style="font-family: Calibri;">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<span style="font-size: 23.5pt; font-family: Georgia,
serif; color: rgb(0, 149, 145);">Free Homa Statement
by Former UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs</span><span
style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<b><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span></b><b><span
style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"> Twenty-Two Former United Nations
Human Rights Special Rapporteurs Call for the
Release of</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<b><span style="font-size: 13pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Professor Homa Hoodfar, Imprisoned in
Iran for “Dabbling in Feminism”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">On the occasion of the 71st session of
the UN General Assembly which started in New York
City on 13 September, we, former human rights
mandate holders for the UN, recall that the newly
adopted Sustainable Development Goals unequivocally
reaffirm commitment to achieving gender equality and
empowering all women and girls as Goal 5.</span><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Underlining the obligation of all UN
Member States to respect, protect and promote gender
equality and States Parties to fulfill obligations
under the UN International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR), we draw attention to the
case of Professor Homa Hoodfar held in solitary
confinement in Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, since 2
June 2016. Today marks her 100th day of
imprisonment. Her detention came after a three-month
period of unrelenting interrogation sessions and the
confiscation of her passports preventing her from
leaving Iran. We call for the release of Professor
Hoodfar, a 65-year-old renowned anthropologist from
Concordia University in Montreal, Canada who has
dedicated her career to understanding and improving
the status of women and promoting gender equality,
particularly within Muslim communities.</span><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">The Iranian judicial authorities at the
Revolutionary Court have continuously denied
Professor Hoodfar access to her lawyers and to her
family, and have recently moved to dismiss her
lawyers and deny her bail, to which she is legally
entitled. Professor Hoodfar suffers from a rare
neurological condition, which has clearly worsened
in solitary confinement. It is unclear whether she
is receiving the medical care and essential
medication she requires. Her family has learned that
she was briefly hospitalized around August 8-10,
2016, barely able to walk or talk.</span><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">The Islamic Republic of Iran, a State
Party to the ICCPR, has accused Professor Hoodfar of
collaborating with a hostile foreign government
against national security, promoting propaganda
against the Iranian state and for “dabbling in
feminism.” It is unclear how ‘feminism’ is a threat
to Iranian national security, given that Iran has
committed itself to the Sustainable Development Goal
#5, which is gender equality.</span><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">As the General Assembly meets to
promote a human rights-based approach to
development, including gender equality, we urge the
Islamic Republic of Iran to comply with its own
laws, and meet its legal obligations under
international treaties as well as its commitments
under the SDGs and other international instruments.
We stress that Iran is breaching its national
constitutional principles by arbitrarily arresting
and detaining people for simply expressing their
opinion and conducting academic research, as is
their professional right and duty. Professor
Hoodfar’s ill-treatment is a violation of the rights
of individuals to freedom of thought, opinion, and
speech which are explicitly protected under the
ICCPR (Articles 18, 19, 21), to which the Islamic
Republic of Iran is a State Party. Specific
violations of her rights under Iranian law include:</span><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Not making the indictment and content
of the interrogation file available to Professor
Hoodfar and her lawyer, while purported details of
the interrogation and the indictment are published
in the media.</span><span style="font-size:
13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Denying bail, transfer to a general
ward, family visitations and consultations with
her lawyer, all of which are due after an official
indictment.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Denying her access to legal defense
of her choosing. The court has dismissed the two
lawyers she sequentially appointed and has
assigned her a court-appointed lawyer against
Iranian law and standard international legal
practice.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">In her forty-year career, Professor
Hoodfar has focused on understanding and promoting
gender equality and women’s civil and political
rights in her academic work. Iranian born, a dual
Canadian and Irish national, Professor Hoodfar has
promoted a contextualised understanding of the
status of Muslim women by challenging stereotypes
and polemical arguments, for example, regarding
veiled women in Canada, Malaysia, or Iran. She has
spent years studying the social and economic context
of women’s work and family life, labor force and
political participation and the ways in which gender
and gender equality have been situated historically
and legally across the Muslim world. Unafraid to
study important yet controversial issues that affect
women’s lives such as reproductive rights, family
planning, legal autonomy and physical mobility,
Professor Hoodfar’s work has a broad geographic,
historic, and legal expanse (including the first
published book on Muslim women and sports). She has
conducted research in Egypt, Iran, Canada,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, among many other Muslim
majority and minority nations. She has consistently
followed the social changes and politics of her
country of birth, Iran; at times praising the
Islamic Republic for innovative public policies that
improved the lives of some women, for example those
that permitted them to enter higher education in
great numbers and allowed them to receive
theological training in religious seminaries for the
first time.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Deeply concerned about Professor
Hoodfar’s arbitrary arrest and deteriorating health,
equally concerned that the Islamic Republic of Iran
is violating its own constitution and laws, as well
as obligations under international human rights
treaties, we the undersigned call for her immediate
release. </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">As the 71st session of the General
Assembly commences, we draw the attention of all UN
Member States to this case and to Professor
Hoodfar’s 100th day in detention; we call upon the
governments of Canada and Ireland, global civil
society, and all individuals attending the session
and related events to join in this campaign to Free
Homa Hoodfar and to raise the case of Professor
Hoodfar with their colleagues, counterparts, and
allies.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;
font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align:
justify;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Signed by:</span><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Jorge Bustamante (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Migration)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Radhika Coomaraswamy (former UN
Special Rapporteur, Violence Against Women)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Param Cumaraswamy (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Independence of Judges & Lawyers)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Olivier de Schutter (former UN
Special Rapporteur, Right to Food)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">John Dugard (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Palestine & Occupied Territories)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Yakin Ertuk (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Violence Against Women)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Richard Falk (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Palestine & Occupied Territories)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Anand Grover (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Health)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Hannu Halinen (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Palestine)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Thomas Hammarberg (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Cambodia)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Christof Heynes (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Arbitrary & Extrajudicial
Executions)</span></b><span style="font-size:
13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Sigma Huda (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Human Trafficking)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Paul Hunt (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Health)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Peter Leuprecht (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Cambodia)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Rashida Manjoo (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Violence Against Women)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Najat M'jid (former UN Special
Rapporteur Sale of Children & Child
Pornography)</span></b><span style="font-size:
13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Manfred Nowak (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Torture</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Farida Shaheed (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Cultural Rights)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Gulnara Shahinian (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Contemporary Forms of Slavery)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Theo Van Boven (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Torture)</span></b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><b><span
style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;">Amos Wako (former UN Special
Rapporteur, Arbitrary & Extrajudicial
Executions)</span></b><span style="font-size:
13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 108, 109);">Media Contacts</span><span
style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 108, 109);">Lahore: Farida
Shaheed, Former UN Special Rapporteur in the field
of cultural rights </span><span style="font-size:
13.5pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: 11pt;
font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: center;"
align="center">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Arial,
sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 108, 109);">Montreal:
Amanda Ghahremani | | +1 514 915 0920</span></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</div>
<br>
</div>
</body>
</html>