Iran Tribune

 Swedish Kurds demand removal from Interpol list
STOCKHOLM -- A group of Swedish citizens accused by Iran of terrorism and other crimes demanded Wednesday that their names be removed from Interpol's most-wanted list, and criticized the international police agency for honoring politically motivated requests.
The ۱۰ men on the list are Kurds who were recognized by Sweden as political refugees some ۲۰ years ago.
They are active critics of the Iranian regime, and their names were put on the Interpol wanted list at Iran's request. Six are accused by Iran of terrorism, and four of organized crime.
One of the accused Swedes, Rasoul Banavand, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and the nine others were shocked two weeks ago to discover their names and photographs on Interpol's Web site.
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"I have been active against the regime for ۳۰ years," he said. "It is nothing new that the Iranian regime judges me and calls me and the other opponents terrorists. But what is unexpected is that this comes from Interpol, an international organization."
Arezo Julie Jacobsson, a spokeswoman for the men, said they are studying the possibility of taking legal action against Interpol for violating international asylum policies.
In an e-mail statement to The Associated Press, Interpol said it would be "inappropriate" to comment on the details of individual cases, but pointed out it is not its role to assess the evidence of cases.
"The individuals concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol's role is to assist national police forces in identifying or locating those individuals with a view to their arrest and extradition," it said.
Interpol also said that although an open letter has been published about the Iranian postings, the international agency has not directly received any information regarding the complaints.
Generally, countries send requests for most-wanted postings, called red notices, to the Interpol General Secretariat, where they are reviewed before publication.
Red notices are not the same as international arrest warrants. They are, however, formal notifications to other countries that a person is wanted at home.
Swedish law enforcement officials have not yet acted on the Interpol notice regarding the ۱۰ men.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/۲۰۰۹/۱۲/۳۰/AR۲۰۰۹۱۲۳۰۰۱۳۴۸.html
Swedish Kurds Demand Removal From Interpol List
Filed at ۴:۱۱ p.m. ET
STOCKHOLM (AP) -- A group of Swedish citizens accused by Iran of terrorism and other crimes demanded Wednesday that their names be removed from Interpol's most-wanted list, and criticized the international police agency for honoring politically motivated requests.
The ۱۰ men on the list are Kurds who were recognized by Sweden as political refugees some ۲۰ years ago.
They are active critics of the Iranian regime, and their names were put on the Interpol wanted list at Iran's request. Six are accused by Iran of terrorism, and four of organized crime.
One of the accused Swedes, Rasoul Banavand, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he and the nine others were shocked two weeks ago to discover their names and photographs on Interpol's Web site.
''I have been active against the regime for ۳۰ years,'' he said. ''It is nothing new that the Iranian regime judges me and calls me and the other opponents terrorists. But what is unexpected is that this comes from Interpol, an international organization.''
Arezo Julie Jacobsson, a spokeswoman for the men, said they are studying the possibility of taking legal action against Interpol for violating international asylum policies.
In an e-mail statement to The Associated Press, Interpol said it would be ''inappropriate'' to comment on the details of individual cases, but pointed out it is not its role to assess the evidence of cases.
''The individuals concerned are wanted by national jurisdictions (or International Criminal Tribunals, where appropriate) and Interpol's role is to assist national police forces in identifying or locating those individuals with a view to their arrest and extradition,'' it said.
Interpol also said that although an open letter has been published about the Iranian postings, the international agency has not directly received any information regarding the complaints.
Generally, countries send requests for most-wanted postings, called red notices, to the Interpol General Secretariat, where they are reviewed before publication.
Red notices are not the same as international arrest warrants. They are, however, formal notifications to other countries that a person is wanted at home.
Swedish law enforcement officials have not yet acted on the Interpol notice regarding the ۱۰ men.
Swedish prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand said Sweden cannot extradite the men since they are Swedish citizens, but could theoretically charge them in Sweden if Iran presented sufficient evidence.
Lindstrand said the men risked extradition to Iran if they traveled abroad.
Banavand and the other Swedes are affiliates of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran Hekmatist -- an Iranian political party in exile opposed to the country's current Islamic regime. Two other members of the organization -- one who lives in Britain, and one in Germany -- also have been included on the Interpol list.
Banavand, who came to Sweden ۱۷ years ago and now lives in Stockholm, said he was politically active in a Kurdish region in northern Iran after the ۱۹۷۹ revolution when regional heads clashed with Ayatollah Khomeini's regime. He denied any links to terror-listed organizations.
He said the Interpol listing has been a horrible experience for him and his family.
''I'm afraid of traveling outside the Swedish borders,'' he said. ''Even though I know that a journey to England or Denmark maybe won't be that dangerous, I still don't feel safe.''
Interpol has previously been accused of being used for political ends and getting involved in touchy diplomacy issues. In ۲۰۰۷, Iran said the agency was becoming a tool of Israel and the United States after it placed five Iranians and a Lebanese terror suspect on its most-wanted list for a ۱۹۹۴ bombing in Argentina.
The agency said that although it is a rare occurrence, member countries or individuals subject to red notices may challenge their validity if they believe the notices contravene Interpol's rules.
It said article ۳ of its constitution says the organization is strictly forbidden to ''undertake any intervention or activities of a political, military, religious or racial character.''
On the Net
Interpol: http://bit.ly/۶QJ۳WV
Associated Press Writer Angela Charlton in Paris also contributed to this report.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/۲۰۰۹/۱۲/۳۰/world/AP-EU-Sweden-Iran-Interpol.html?_r=۲
Iran puts ten Swedes on Interpol wanted list
Published: ۲۹ Dec ۰۹ ۱۲:۳۹ CET
Updated: ۲۹ Dec ۰۹ ۱۵:۴۱ CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/۲۴۱۰۸/۲۰۰۹۱۲۲۹/
Dictionary tool Double click on a word to get a translation
Ten Swedes of Iranian descent are named on Interpol’s list of criminals wanted for terrorism and international organized crime.
* Thousands of Iraqis granted Swedish asylum (۸ Dec ۰۹)
* Sweden refuses Turkish extradition request (۱۲ Nov ۰۹)
* 'Saddam's body guard' to be deported from Sweden (۲۱ Sep ۰۹)
The men, all of whom hail from Iran’s Kurdistan province, came to Sweden as political refugees twenty years ago, the Dagens Nyheter (DN) newspaper reports.
Despite being active critics of the Iranian regime for more than thirty years, the men’s names and pictures only recently appeared on Interpol’s list of wanted fugitives, following a request from Iran.
“I was obviously surprised that Interpol would simply describe us using the same words as the Iranian police. It seems very strange to me,” Khaled Haji Mohammadi, one of the men now labeled as a fugitive by Interpol, told The Local.
Mohammadi is one of twelve members of the Worker-Communist Party of Iran - Hekmatist whose names were posted on the Interpol list.
“I don't know what sort of political or economic agreement Iran may have with Interpol, but it's very surprising that Interpol would abide by the demands of a request from a regime that has executed so many of its critics.”
Mohammadi doesn't deny he has long been critical of the Islamic regime in Iran, which he claims has imprisoned and killed many fellow activists in the years since he left the country to seek political asylum in Sweden.
“I'm used to being harassed and criticized by the Islamic regime in Iran,” he said.
But Interpol's decision to agree to Iran's request to list him and his colleagues as organized criminals and terrorists left him puzzled.
While Mohammadi has no plans to back down from supporting human and workers' rights in Iran, he remains concerned that by enlisting a respected international policing body, Iran may add legitimacy to its claims.
“Obviously it's a problem because it's Interpol,” he said.
“No one cares what Iran says, but if it's on Interpol, that's something different.”
Mohammadi has long been in the crosshairs of the Iranian authorities, having supported a number of pro-human rights campaigns over the years, most recently spearheading a campaign to support student demonstrators who clashed with authorities in ۲۰۰۷.
He suspects that the regime in Iran, under mounting pressure from demonstrators within the country, sees Interpol warrants as a new avenue for silencing its critics.
“One way they think they can stop demonstrations in Iran is to target well known activists,” Mohammadi explained.
“If the Iranian regime succeeds in doing something against such popular rights activists, then perhaps the people fighting for freedom in Iran will get scared.”
He also wondered why Iran chose him and his colleagues to appear on Interpol’s wanted list.
“I’m not exactly sure why they chose us here in Sweden. There are critics of the regime in Iran in a number of western countries,” he said.
“I guess they had to start somewhere.”
If Iran succeeds in extraditing any of the men currently listed on Interpol’s list, Mohammadi fears it may embolden the regime to put more names up the list.
“At this point, Interpol is responsible for what happens next,” he said, adding that he remains skeptical that any extraditions will actually take place
“I think people and authorities around the world are smarter than that,” he said.
So far Swedish authorities have not acted on the warrants.
According to chief public prosecutor Tomas Lindstrand, simply issuing a warrant isn’t enough to justify launching an investigation, explaining that his office would only get involved if Swedish police believe the country issuing the warrant has enough evidence to prove the case is worth pursuing.
“Then we’ll see what the Iranians want. It’s usually the case that to get people extradited to sue them, or in a request for legal assistance, that we question the people involved and so on,” he told DN.
Arezo Julie Jacobsson, a lawyer leading efforts to help Mohammadi and his colleagues clear their names, also believed Iran’s decision to issue warrants was a scare tactic meant to silence its critics.
She too was critical of Interpol for publishing the men’s names at Iran’s request and vowed to explore all available legal options to have the names removed.
“They feel offended and want to do everything they can to fix this,” she told DN.
Mohammadi said it would likely “take some time” but is hopeful his name will eventually be removed from the Interpol wanted list.
In the meantime, he has no plans for cutting back on his efforts supporting Iranian activists fighting for their rights.
“I've been active and will continue to be active defending human rights in Iran,” he said.
In an open letter to Interpol dated December ۲۱st, the Worker-Communist Party of Iran - Hekmatist said it was shocked by the inclusion on Interpol's list of members who were "all veteran and popular political activists and respected figures within the Iranian opposition movement.
"They are all recognised political refugees and are engaged in open, public and transparent political activities against the Iranian government. [...] We believe you should remove this list and your call immediately," the party wrote.
David Landes
david.landes@thelocal.se
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