DEFEND. IRANIAN- POLITICAL- PRISONERS
A "Committee for the Defense of the Iranian Political. Prisoners" has been set up in Paris under the chairmanship of Jean-Paul Sartre. In. a press. release. March: 21. the committee declared:
"Political trials are: held behind closed ‘doors by. the Iranian military, tribunals. Despite. the declaration. of the. prime minister of Iran concerning ‘suppression. of the censorship, ' the public is poorly or not at all informed on what occurs or is said at these trials.
"The ‘political prisoners- are “submitted, systematically to torture. Mrs Ali. Djan Shansi of the League. of. Iranian Socialists, after trying to. commit Suicide in prison, gave the military court. a shocking account of. the tortures to which he had: been submitted.
"Foreign observers and journalists: are. no longer authorized to attend the trials. Thus the sole. possibility the prisoners have of making: their side. known has been taken away.
"In view of such a state of. things, in. view of the disregard the Iranian government is displaying for the most elementary. rights of man, we protest indignantly and express our solidarity anew with | the. fighters of the democratic Iranian opposition.’ : a
The committee: ‘members, besides Jean-Paul Sartre, are Simone © de: Beauvoir, N. Braun, Mme and M. Jacques Madaule, J. Pontheil, — Madeleine Riffaud, Elsa Triolet, Francois Mauriac, Pierre Abraham, Aragon, Chesne, Edouard Depreux, Jean Dresch, Pierre Gamarra, | Viadimir Jankelevitch, J. Matarasso.and J. Nordmann.
The address of the committee is Jean-Paul Sartre, 9 rue Delambre, Paris.