THE HAGUE, 14/07/06 - Foreign Minister Ben Bot says the EU will request the Iranian authorities for the release of human rights activist Ali Akbar Mousavi Khoini. The former parliamentarian was arrested on 12 June during a demonstration in Tehran for equal rights for women.

The Lower House wanted to know what options Bot has to support Mousavi and hasten his release. The Christian democrats (CDA), conservatives (VVD) and Labour (PvdA) wanted Bot to commission the Dutch ambassador in Tehran to demand the Iranian authorities provide access to Mousavi as quickly as possible, preferably together with other ambassadors from EU countries.

In a letter to the Lower House, Bot says 70 people were arrested in Tehran on 12 June, among whom only Mousavi was still being held a week later, according to the Iranian justice ministry. "I have not to date been able to verify reports that he (...) was beaten and suffered serious injuries."

Bot states that "the EU presidency, on behalf of the member states, will call on the Iranian authorities (...) to release Mousavi immediately and launch an independent investigation of the alleged excessive use of violence against the participants in the demonstration."

Bot promises to provide the House shortly with a report on the developments in the area of human rights during President Ahmedinejad's first year in office. "Based on the findings, what the Netherlands can undertake to put more force behind concerns on the human rights situation in Iran will be considered."