15 Months Since Osman Mameh's Forced Disappearance: Family Struggles Without Breadwinner

Hengaw: Saturday, February 17, 2024

Today marks 455 days since the forcibly disappearance of Osman Mameh, a resident of Bukan during the Jin, Jiyan, Azadi movement. Despite appeals to various institutions within the judicial, security, and regulatory structures of the Islamic Republic of Iran, no response has been forthcoming. His family, grappling with the absence of their breadwinner, faces significant financial, emotional, and health challenges.

According to a report received by the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, 56-year-old Osman Mameh from Bukan has been missing for one year and three months. His family has received no information about his whereabouts, despite their relentless efforts to seek answers.

During this period, Osman Mameh's wife has approached the governorship of Bukan, the local intelligence department, and even the extra-legal institution associated with the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, known as "Beite Rahbar,"  either alone or with her children. However, all these institutions have refused to provide any information.

Hengaw's investigation revealed that some of Osman Mameh's family members and close relatives have been warned by security agencies against pursuing his legal status.

The financial burden resulting from Osman Mame's disappearance has caused significant hardship for his family, as he was the primary breadwinner. Additionally, Osman Mameh's wife suffers from migraines, the eldest child has heart problems, and the younger child is dealing with severe depression.

To date, Osman Mameh has had no contact with his family, and no documentation has been provided since his abduction.

Prior to his forced disappearance, Osman Mameh was an employee at a poultry farm in the city of Dukan, located in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.

Osman Mameh, a resident of Bukan, was forcibly disappeared by government forces on the evening of Friday, November 18, 2022. His custodial status remains unknown.

Enforced disappearance, a crime against humanity, entails the arrest and concealment of an individual by governmental or political entities with no disclosure of their fate or location to their families or society. This tactic is frequently employed to instigate fear, terror, or as a means to silence and penalize political adversaries. Enforced disappearance constitutes a severe violation of human rights, inflicting profound suffering and uncertainty upon the families and acquaintances of the victims, leaving them in a state of distress and ambiguity.

Referring to Article 2 of the Convention for the Protection of All Individuals from Enforced Disappearance, Hengaw is holding the Iranian government accountable for forcibly disappearing Osman Mameh and demanding accountability from the Islamic Republic, urging immediate access to legal services, lawyers, communications with his family, and healthcare for Osman Mameh.