IRANIAN RESPONSE TO EU DEMARCHE ON DETAINED AMCITS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 001268

SIPDIS

SIPDIS, DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/IR, EUR/ERA, CA/OCS, DRL FOR
LURIE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PHUM CASC PGOV PREL GM IR
SUBJECT: IRANIAN RESPONSE TO EU DEMARCHE ON DETAINED AMCITS

REF: STATE 080300

Classified By: Political Minister-Counselor John Bauman for reasons 1.4
(b)/(d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The German MFA has provided details on the
EU demarche carried out by the German Embassy in Tehran, in
its role as EU President, to the Iranian MFA on June 19. The
German CDA informed the Iranian MFA's Office Director for
Human Rights Emadi of worldwide concern about the detention
cases of five dual nationals (including four
Iranian-Americans) and noted that these arrests cast a bad
light on Iran. The German CDA also raised the detainees'
status as dual citizens and that access to legal counsel had
not yet been granted. The Iranian Office Director noted that
the detainees will be treated as Iranian citizens as per
Iranian law, that the investigations are not yet finished but
that some confessions were already available, and that the
detainees would be granted legal counsel. After the EU
representatives raised a number of other human rights cases
in Iran, Emadi presented the EU representatives with a
laundry list of "documented" Western human rights violations,
a number of which the EU representatives then rebutted. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) MFA Iran Desk Officer Florian Laudi provided
Iranwatcher details of German Embassy Tehran's reporting
cable on the June 19 demarche regarding the IRI's detention
of four Iranian-American dual nationals (as listed in reftel)
and a French-Iranian, as well as other Iranian human rights
cases. The German CDA and his Portuguese counterpart
delivered the demarche on June 19 to the MFA's Office
Director for Human Rights, a Mr. Emadi.


3. (C) Laudi provided the following details from the
reporting cable:


4. (C) The German CDA began by discussing the five dual
national cases as a complex, noting the EU-specific and
international connections of the detainees, including Haleh
Esfandiari's Austrian heritage and Kian Tajbakhsh's work with
the World Bank, as well as his work at the behest of the
Iranian government. The German CDA noted that the EU, and
the entire world, has observed the cases in Iran with great
concern, noting that it casts a bad light on Iran. The cases
will not go unnoticed and have already gained attention. The
EU and others will carefully watch. The impression arises
that this is another attempt to intimidate Iranian
journalists and academics, especially dual citizens.


5. (C) Emadi noted that the five dual nationals (four
Iranian-Americans and one Iranian-Frenchwoman) are Iranian
citizens; according to Iranian law, they will be treated as
such regardless of their second citizenship. There are no
exceptions to this. The German CDA then noted the ages of
the Iranian-Americans, noting that it was improbable they
would call for a velvet revolution. Emadi took note of this,
but countered that Iranian law does not consider preferential
treatment based on age and that no differentiation exists.
He said that all of the dual citizens have acted against
national security and public order but did not detail these
charges. The investigations are not yet finished; however,
confessions of some we already available.


6. (C) The German CDA then addressed reports that the
prisoners had not yet been granted access to legal counsel.
He noted reports that lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who has reportedly
been retained as counsel by a number of the detained AmCits'
families (in particular Haleh Esfandiari),had not yet been
granted access to either her clients nor to their case files.
Emadi countered that this was not true and that Ms. Ebadi
could take on these cases. All five of the cases are still
being investigated; only after the conclusion of the
inestigation could he give a final report.


7. (C) The EU demarche addressed a number of other recen
human rights cases in Iran. Regarding reports f the
execution of an Iranian who was executed fr crimes committed
as a minor, Emadi said he wasnot informed and would pass it
to the MOJ, but ventured to guess that it was in connection
to his embership in a radical group. In the case of bus
workers' union leader Mansoor Ossanlou, Emadi stated that
Ossanlou is currently in the UK participating in a labor
conference. Emadi stated that Ossanlou gave a VOA interview
on June 24 and said he had no trouble renewing his passport
or exiting the country, and that he and plans to return to
Iran. Emadi said that in the case of Ayatollah Seyyed
Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, no death sentence is current
in place; according to Iranian justice officials, such a

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sentence is not expected.


8. (C) Emadi then presented a lengthy laundry list of human
rights "violations" in the West that have been documented by
an Iranian human rights "Monitoring Center." Stating that
Western European countries do not have the sole
representative authority on human rights issues, he
mentioned, among other issues, discrimination against
religious minorities, and especially Muslims, in Europe; the
treatment of G-8 Summit demonstrators by German police;
Europe's ambivalent stance on U.S. facilities at Guantanamo
Bay; the criminal prosecution in France of a participant in
the 2006 Tehran Holocaust conference; anti-veiling laws in
Belgium; the knighting of Salman Rushdie, calling it an
insult to all Muslims; as well as the exclusion of the
"Friedman family case" in Vienna, where five Austrian
children have reportedly been refused entry into both private
and public schools. In reply to Emadi's list, the German CDA
noted that in the case of the G-8 Summit, the right of
assembly and to demonstrate was most certainly provided and
that security had acted proportionately and as required to
provide protection to the delegations. He also added that
the case of the French prosecution is an example of how
Holocaust denial can be prosecuted in some European
countries, a point that would also apply to Iranian President
Mahmood Ahmadinejad's statements on the Holocaust. In
response to the statements about European veiling laws, the
Portuguese representative asked why the Iranian government is
so strict about its own dress codes. (NOTE: Desk Officer
Laudi commented that Emadi's retort was unexpected and that a
number of the cases cited, especially the Austrian case, were
strange.)



TIMKEN JR