PRESS RELEASE

sthgiR namuH rof setacovdA DIMO

امید: مدافعان حقوق بشر

APRIL 6th, 2010                            FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

When: April 5th return of International Humanitarian Fact-Finding Delegation visiting UNHCR, foreign government representatives, and Iranian refugees in Turkey. Who: An international humanitarian delegation composed of lawyers from the U.S. (Nancy Hormachea & Mina Litvak, OMID Advocates), Germany (Hanno Timner, HRW), and Pakistan (Akhtar Hussain, IADL), A member of EU parliament (Marietje Schaake), a candidate for EU Parliament (Azadeh Rojhan Gustafsson), human rights scholars (Hans-Joachim Funke) and medical professionals from Austria and the U.S. Agenda: The fact-finding delegation met with UNHCR and foreign embassy officials of the U.S. and European countries to advocate for increased admission and expeditious resettlement of Iranian refugees to the U.S. and elsewhere. Of particular concern to the delegation were students, human rights defenders, and other activists who were forced to flee Iran after the June 12th presidential elections. The delegation also met with Iranian refugees to provide legal support and assess the medical and psychological needs of Iranian refugees, especially those who were subjected to torture and rape during their imprisonment in the Islamic Republic. OMID Advocates will publish its findings in a forthcoming report and documentary to use in advocacy for more expeditious refugee admissions and resettlement in the U.S., Canada, and European countries, as well as for increased allocation of funding to UNHCR. Endorsed by: Nobel Peace Prize Laurite Shirin Ebadi, Hon. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, Dr. Mehrangiz Kar, Dr. Payam Akhavan, The League for the Defense of Human rights in Iran (LDDHI), International Association of Democratic Lawyers, National Lawyers Guild, Iran Crime Watch Iran, NorCal4Iran, and United4Iran. Contacts: Nancy Hormachea or Mina Litvak – www.omidadvocaates.org Email: info@omidadvocates.org, Telephone: (510) 647-5078