On Monday, July 27th, CHRI crew were warmly received by the  Amnesty International chapter in Ottawa. After meet and greet we talked about our journey and about our goals for the day. The cyclists were then accompanied by A.I. staff in a ride to the Parliament and The Human Rights monument before making their way to the Iranian Embassy. The cyclists entered the embassy as a group and delivered the Amnesty International petition to the embassy.

CHRI holds a final meeting in Amnesty International office in Ottawa

We held our last meeting in Amnesty International office celebrating our great success before heading back to Toronto.

Here is a more detailed report of the events of the last day:

3,919 people Signed the Amnesty International petition in support of Human Rights in Iran. We cycled 450km from Toronto to Ottawa and delivered this petition to the Iranian Embassy.

Mr. Khatibi, 2nd secretary at the Embassy informed us (on  Ali Karimzadeh Bangi’s cell phone), on Monday, July 27, morning that no representative from the embassy would meet with us and the embassy would not accept the petition.

He called again at around noon and informed us, through Ali, that only 4 of us, who had to be Iranian bikers could enter the embassy to deliver the petition because there was not enough room for all 20 of us and “the code of conduct” for non-Iranian citizens to enter the embassy was different, requiring a different procedure.

He called again at around 1:00pm and said that all of us, Iranians and Canadians, could go inside and deliver the petition.

CHRI at Iran embassy’s door in Ottawa

CHRI enters the Iranian embassy to deliver the Amnesty International petition

We arrived at the embassy at 2:00pm as planned, where we met two RCMP officers who accompanied us into the embassy. We met with Mr. Khatibi, read the petition in both Farsi and English and delivered the message of concerns of those who signed the petition to him.

He accepted the petition and told us that he would carry out his responsibility to send the petition to Iran. He also said that he would inform us, (by contacting Ali) of the date he would send the petition to Tehran.

He acknowledged that human rights was universal and said that he understood that we, as Iranians living abroad and Canadians, were concerned about the violation of human rights of those arrested [for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly since the June 12th elections].

He continued that the human rights of those in Iran should be respected too, because they want to live in peace.

He also mentioned that he differentiated between us, concerned Iranians and Canadians, and those who belong to the “terrorist” groups. When he mentioned the word “terrorists”, he pointed out to outside, where a group of Iranians had gathered and were protesting by saying “death to the Islamic regime”. He did not mention the name of any particular group. However, he said the “terrorist” groups that have been recognize as “terrorist” by international community.

He said he was pleased to meet us, would meet with us again if necessary and would certainly send the petition to the Iranian government in Tehran.

CHRI rides in Ottawa after delivering the Amnesty International petition

Cycling for Human Rights in Iran was a successful campaign to inform the Iranian government about the concerns of many people regarding the violation of human rights in Iran. In addition, it sent a message of support to prisoners of conscience, their families and friends that they have not been forgotten.

Thank you again for your wonderful support. This campaign would not be possible without you.