Dutch fear for rights activist in Iran

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch government has sought consular access to a human rights activist thought to have been sentenced to death in Iran, the foreign ministry said on Monday.

Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen has repeatedly raised the case of Dutch national Abdullah al-Mansouri with Tehran, most recently speaking to the Iranian ambassador last week after rumors of his conviction, a ministry spokesman said.

"As a Dutch citizen, we think that Mr. al-Mansouri has a right to our help," the spokesman said.

Dutch news agency ANP cited Adnan al-Mansouri, the activist's son, as saying on Monday that his father had been sentenced to death and that he feared the execution would be carried out within 48 hours.

Adnan al-Mansouri was quoted as telling a Syrian human rights organization that his father had appeared three times before a court without a lawyer and he feared he would now be forced to record a confession before being executed.

Al-Mansouri fled Iran in 1988 after campaigning for independence for Arabs in the Al-Ahwaz region and sought asylum in the Netherlands. He was arrested in May 2006 during a visit to Syria and sent to Iran, according to rights group Amnesty International.

"Amnesty is very concerned about the report that Abdullah al-Mansouri has been sentenced to death and has asked the Iranian ambassador for clarification," the Dutch branch of the group said in a statement on its website.