Jun 18, 2019 editorfz Articles, News, Reports Comments Off on Situation of human rights in Iran in Esfand 1397 [February – March 2019]
The Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights has reviewed the situation of human rights in Iran during the month of Esfand 1397 [February 2019 – March 2019]
The appointment of a harsh judge with no knowledge of the science of law as the Head of Judiciary Power shows the political atmosphere is becoming increasingly closed
In continuation of its monthly reports, the Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights has reviewed the situation of human rights in Iran during the month of Esfand 1397 [Iranian month corresponding to 20 February to 20 March 2019].
The Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights, which is presided over by Shirin Ebadi has referred to the appointment of Ebrahim Raeisi as the Head of the Judiciary and stated that, the appointment of a harsh judge with no knowledge of the science of law as the Head of Judiciary shows the political atmosphere is becoming increasingly closed.
This people-instituted organisation stated that by this appointment, the Supreme Leader had in fact reacted and responded to the people who had not agreed to vote for his favorite candidate in the last presidential election and added: ”Unfortunately, this act is not a rare occurrence in the 40 year history of the Islamic Republic. Many times, the Leader and high-ranking officials, contrary to the majority’s view, have pursued their own objectives and have not paid the slightest attention to the demands of the people. This mode of governance is the result of the political structure of the state and is rooted in the constitution.”
The Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights has also written: ”With the existing constitution, no reforms are possible and the constitution must shift to two important axes. The first is the separation of religion from the state so that clerics have the same rights as ordinary people. The second axis is the rejection of the Velayat-e Faqih [Guardianship of a senior cleric] and the return of real and genuine, as against formal and ceremonial, power to the Iranian people.”
Furthermore, in its report, which is published in both Farsi and English languages, this people-instituted organisation has reviewed the situation of human rights in Iran under the three main headings of “Civil and political rights”, “social and economic rights”, and “cultural heritage and the environment”.
According to the website of the Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights, the text of the report by the said centre for the month of Esfand 1397, which has been published on 6th of Farvardin 1398 [26 March 2019], is as follows:
A Brief Report on Human Rights Situation in Iran in February-March 2019
Introduction:
The year 1397 ended while the economic pressure is on the majority of the people in addition to the widespread human rights violations in various areas, including restrictions on freedom of expression, environmental degradation and the spread of corruption to the extent that the food basket of more than 90 percent of the households is shrinking all the time while the remaining ten percent have accumulated legendary wealth by misusing their powers and connections with the ruling elite.
In the past year, almost every day people have witnessed street protests. Although the protests’ demands were economic, they were underpinned by politics and were focused on the wrong policies of the government. State officials are declaring that economic sanctions are responsible for the dire economic conditions. However, in the past two and a half years, when there were no sanctions, there was still no improvement in living conditions of the people.
The most important factor responsible for the spread of poverty is the large-scale embezzlements. However, although a handful of people who are suspected of these crimes have been called to trial, it is clear that those who are tried and convicted are all at the service of the political power holders, and the names of the main perpetrators are kept secret and they are immune from prosecution.
In 1396, during the presidential election, the majority of voters were dissatisfied with the performance of Hassan Rouhani during his first term of his presidency but still reluctantly voted for him, because they did not want to see a victory by his opponent, Ebrahim Raeisi, who was the favourite of the Supreme Leader. Thus, they again showed the Leader that they were not willing to obey his wishes. Unfortunately, however, during the month of Esfand, the Leader appointed Ebrahim Raeisi as the Head of the Judiciary, thereby giving him the responsibility to safeguard the lives and livelihood of the same people who had already shown their disdain for him.
In 1359 [1980-81], Ebrahim Raeisi was appointed as an assistant judge at the Revolutionary Court of Karaj. Even though he was very young and inexperienced with no knowledge in law, he ably demonstrated his full loyalty and submission [to the higher authorities] and quickly progressed through the ranks.
The peak of his judicial career was the summer of 1988, when he became a part of the three-member board, known in the legal literature as the “Death Board”. The board issued and executed the death sentences for thousands of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, to the extent that Ayatollah Montazeri, who was at the time the successor-designate of the then Supreme Leader, objected to those decisions and described them as the greatest crime in the Islamic Republic.
The appointment of a harsh judge with no knowledge of the science of law as the Head of Judiciary shows the political atmosphere is becoming increasingly closed. By this appointment, the Supreme Leader in fact reacted and responded to the people who had not agreed to vote for his favorite candidate in the last presidential election. Unfortunately, this act is not a rare occurrence in the 40 year history of the Islamic Republic. Many times, the Leader and high-ranking officials, contrary to the majority’s view, have pursued their own objectives and have not paid the slightest attention to the demands of the people. This mode of governance is the result of the political structure of the state and is rooted in the constitution.
The report also provides a summary of the human rights situation in Iran during the month of Esfand 1397, as follows. This report is based on information published by various media channels and websites, whose accuracy has been verified. The report is appearing under three separate sections, and in Farsi and English languages.
Human Rights Situation in Iran in February-March 2019
Section 1: Civil, Cultural and Political Rights
Saeid Naseri, Hamid Naseri – two Baha’i citizens – and Rahim Qolami – a cultural activist.
On the other hand, some news sources have reported the detention of Peyman Naqshbandi – a teacher; Hatam Malahi – a Sunni religious activist; Tohid Amiramini and Kiyanush Aslani – two citizens; Arezu Miraki – an athlete; Babak Hosseinzadeh, Behnam Akhlaqi and Mehdi Khatibi – three newly converted Christians; Yusef Kakavand and Ali Rezaei – two citizens from Kakavand in Lorestan Province; and Saman Behfar – a singer.
There are other cases of arrest of protesting citizens in Esfand 1397: the detention of some citizens from Khuzestan Province such as Hassan Sobhipur, Hadi Marvani; the detention of some citizens in Sanandaj, Bukan, Oshnavieh, Saqez, Piranshahr, Kermanshah, Sanandaj and Marivan and Oromieh such as Aram Bahrami and Asu Ramezanzadeh because of various reasons such as communicating and cooperating with Kurdish opposition parties; the detention of citizens in Sistan Va Baluchestan Province – around 14 individuals – such as Maryam Gomshadzehi because of explosion of a car bomb. Moreover, some citizens have been arrested due to protesting against non-payment of salaries at Friday prayer in Sadra, some fans of an Azarbaijani soccer team have been detained such as Yusef Salahshur due to political slogans and some citizens of Torbat-e Heidarieh have been detained because of belief in a religious movement with the theme of Mahdism.
It should be noted that some of the detainees were released temporarily on bail after a few days until the date of their trial.
The confirmed sentences of the 22 members of Gonabadi Darwishes Sect who are currently in jail and are as follows:
Mostafa Abdi was sentenced to 26 years and three months imprisonment, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of ban on social and media activities and two years ban from leaving the country; Reza Yavari was sentenced to nine years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Reza Entesari was sentenced to seven years in prison, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Sina Entesari was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Morteza Kangarlu was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Salehedin Moradi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Majid Moradi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Babak Moradi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Sekhavat Salimi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Reza Sigarchi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Saeid Durandish was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Ahmad Iranikhah was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Mojtaba Beyranvand was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Mohammadreza Darwishi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Mehdi Keyvanlu was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Javad Khamisabadi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Rasul Hoveida was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Ardeshir Ashayeri was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Jafar Ahmadi was sentenced to seven years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Saeid Soltanpur was sentenced to six years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Amir Nuri was sentenced to six years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Mohammad Sharifi Moqadam was sentenced to 12 years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile to Borazjan, two years of social and media deprivation and two years ban from leaving the country; Kasra Nuri was sentenced to 12 years in jail, 74 lashes sentence, two years exile to Salas Babajani, two years deprivation of membership in political parties and political and social media groups and parties and two years ban from leaving the country.
In addition, Barzan Mohammadi – a citizen who is currently in jail – was sentenced to three years and six months imprisonment in the appeal court; Masumeh Askari – a retired teacher who is currently in prison – was sentenced to five years incarceration; Ensieh Abdolhosseini – a citizen who has been detained during the incidents of Dey 1392 (Dec 2017-Jan 2018) and is currently in prison – was sentenced to three years imprisonment; Masud Kiani – a citizen who is currently in jail – was sentenced to 10 years incarceration; Arsham Rezaei – a citizen who is currently in jail – was sentenced to eight years and six months imprisonment and Mehdi Miri – a citizen from Tehran – who has been detained during the incidents of Dey 1392 (Dec 2017-Jan 2018) and is currently in prison – was sentenced to three years in prison.
Qader Mohammadzadeh – a citizen – was transferred to Yazd Prison and Mohammad Mahdavifar – a civil activist – was transferred to the city of Sarbaz for the execution of their exile sentences.
The defrocking sentence of Seyyed Hassan Aqamiri – a religious activist – was executed.
Mohammad Davari – a civil activist – was summoned to prison to complete his five months imprisonment.
Moreover, Nahid Behshid – a member of the Mystic Ring (Erfan-eh Halqeh) was detained and sent to prison in the month of Bahman (Jan-Feb 2019) to spend five years in jail.
Jafar Azimzadeh – a labour activist who is currently in jail – was sentenced to 30 lashes due to what has been called as absence after his leave [not returning to jail after the end of his leave].
Moreover, Nasrin Sotudeh – lawyer who is currently in prison – was sentenced to 33 years imprisonment (12 years of which will be carried out) and 148 lashes sentence, and Abolfazl Qadayani – a political activist – was sentenced to three years in jail (2 years of which will be carried out) and transcription of three volumes of books with specific titles.;
On the other hand, the appeal court has confirmed the five-year imprisonment sentence of Davud Razavi – a labour activist.
One individual was executed in public in Jahrom, one individual in public in Aq Qala, one individual in Shirvan and three people in Khorasan Jonubi Province due to murder, armed conflict and possession and trafficking of drugs. News media in Iran have declared that their crime was murder. [as published in the original Farsi]
Section 2: Social and Economic Rights
Reports concerning situation regarding social and economic also point to the continued presence of unfavourable conditions in these areas for example, news reveals unsatisfactory employment and legal rights of workers in a number of units such as:
Eastern Alborz Coal Mine, “NGL Dehloran” Construction Project, Jahan Edible Oil Factory, Phase 12 of Pars Jonubi, Abadan Refinery centeral workshop, Golnar Edible Oil Factory, Technical building lines in Hormozgan Railways, Lorestan, Zagros, Mashhad, Andimeshk and Azarbaijan; Rasht Municipality, retirees of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Complex, personnel of Saham-e Edalat (Equity Shares), working and retired nurses and teachers in Kermanshah.
The workers of Andimeshk Municipality for 11 months, workers of Maskan-e Mehr Project in Pardis for eight months, personnel of a firefighting stations of Abadan for five months, workers of phases 20 and 21 in Asaluyeh [oil and gas project] for six months, Maintenance workers of Karaj Railway for three months, workers of Borujerd Municipality for eight months, workers of Parsabad Moghan Municipality for nine months and 32 workers of Sedeh Municipality for six to seven months.
Section 3: Cultural Heritage and Environment
A teenager was killed due to a mine explosion in the town of Dehloran.
Conclusion:
The Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights has repeatedly stated that with the existing constitution, no reforms are possible and the constitution must undergo reforms around two important axes. The first is the separation of religion from the state so that clerics have the same rights as ordinary people. The second axis is the rejection of the Velayat-e Faqih and the return of real and genuine, as against formal and ceremonial, power to the Iranian people. The Centre for the Defenders of Human Rights believes this is similar to prescribing a bitter medicine for a dying patient; if the Islamic Republic of Iran refuses to drink this bitter medicine, it certainly is not going to survive.
End
Jan 08, 2021 Comments Off on UN expert calls for “clear, unambiguous standards” to protect aircraft over conflict zones
Nov 16, 2020 Comments Off on Iran: Internet deliberately shut down during November 2019 killings – new investigation
Oct 16, 2020 Comments Off on UN human rights experts call release of Iranian human rights defender a hopeful sign
Sep 25, 2020 Comments Off on Iran: Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh must be freed for treatment, say UN experts
Jan 08, 2021 Comments Off on UN expert calls for “clear, unambiguous standards” to protect aircraft over conflict zones
Nov 16, 2020 Comments Off on Iran: Internet deliberately shut down during November 2019 killings – new investigation
Oct 16, 2020 Comments Off on UN human rights experts call release of Iranian human rights defender a hopeful sign
Sep 25, 2020 Comments Off on Iran: Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh must be freed for treatment, say UN experts
Jan 08, 2021 Comments Off on UN expert calls for “clear, unambiguous standards” to protect aircraft over conflict zones
Nov 16, 2020 Comments Off on Iran: Internet deliberately shut down during November 2019 killings – new investigation
Oct 16, 2020 Comments Off on UN human rights experts call release of Iranian human rights defender a hopeful sign
Sep 25, 2020 Comments Off on Iran: Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh must be freed for treatment, say UN experts