Demonstration for Dutch human rights activist

Amnesty International held a demonstration outside the Iranian embassy in The Hague on Friday, protesting against the imprisonment of Abdullah al-Mansouri, a Dutch human rights activist originally from Iran. Politicians from the Labour, Green Left and Socialist parties also took part in the demonstration.

Mr al-Mansouri has lived in the Netherlands since 1988 and was an active member of Amnesty. In 2006, he was arrested by the authorities while attending a congress in Syria and extradited to Iran. The Iranian government accused Mr al-Mansouri of terrorism, because he supports independence for the oil-rich Ahwaz region of Iran.

In reaction to Friday’s demonstration, the Iranian ambassador to the Netherlands refused to comment on the case or to accept a letter from Gerd Leers, the mayor of the city of Maastricht, where Mr al-Mansouri lived.

Source: Radio Netherlands, 17 May 2008