SPECIAL ISSUE
Assessing the UN Special Rapporteur's Report on Iran
[Editor’s Note: On October 17th, Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations’ recently-appointed Special Rapporteur on Iran, released his inaugural report on domestic conditions within the Islamic Republic. The study paints a damning picture of widespread repression, rule of law violations and human rights abuses. The report can be read in its entirety here ; relevant excerpts are provided below.]
ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN
“...the most urgent issues that have been brought to the attention of the Special Rapporteur include multifarious deficits in relation to the administration of justice, certain practices that amount to torture, cruel, or degrading treatment of detainees, the imposition of the death penalty in the absence of proper judicial safeguards, the status of women, the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, and the erosion of civil and political rights, in particular, the harassment and intimidation of human rights defenders and civil society actors.”
“...reports frequently communicated the use of physical and psychological mistreatment and torture for the purposes of inducing self-incrimination.”
“Charges brought against human rights defenders, as well as civil society and religious actors, include: (a) acting against national security; (b) participating in an illegal gathering; (c) insulting the Supreme Leader; and (d) spreading propaganda against the regime.”
“...several reports allege that prosecutors are aware of the sentence to be imposed prior to the defendant’s appearance in court for sentencing and often inform the defendants accordingly. Those reports contain speculations that this reflects a lack of independence of judges in such cases...”
ON THE TREATMENT OF CIVIL SOCIETY ACTORS
“Reports about the detention conditions and denial of the rights of political leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, as well as their wives, Zahra Rahnavard and Fatemeh Karroubi, are deeply disturbing. All four individuals were placed under a form of house arrest by the Government in February 2011 in response to their calls for protest in solidarity with pro-democracy activists throughout the region.”
“In a letter to the Special Rapporteur dated 17 August 2011, the Committee to Protect Journalists stated that 34 journalists had been detained as at the end of 2010. They wrote that journalists were often subjected to exorbitant bail, at times totaling as high as $500,000.”
“[Student activists interviewed by the Special Rapporteur] reported that they faced arrest and intimidation and were sometimes subjected to beatings and torture for their ties to legally registered student activist organizations.”
“Prominent human rights lawyer and Nobel laureate, Shirin Ebadi, submitted to the Special Rapporteur a list of 42 attorneys that have faced Government prosecution since 2009. She noted that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran had been viewing lawyers representing political and ideological defendants with suspicion in recent years and, as a result, they had had criminal cases filed against them.”
ON WOMEN’S RIGHTS
“Women’s rights activists who endeavour to address... gender equality issues seem to have been targeted for their campaigns and activities in support of women’s rights. For example, members of the “One Million Signatures Campaign” have routinely been subjected to threats, harassment, interrogations and imprisonment.”
“Moreover, strict implementation of the morality code concerning dress and attempts to criminalize improper veils have limited women’s participation in public and social arenas. Equally worrisome are statements made by authorities that blame victims for inducing attackers to violate their physical integrity. These include reports of Government officials citing women’s dress as the cause of recent attacks that took place in Isfahan in June 2011, where 14 women were kidnapped and gang-raped while attending a private party. Government statements asserted that the women’s dress was a source of the violence perpetrated against them and a rationale for the lack of action in bringing the perpetrators to justice.”
ON RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES
“Members of recognized and unrecognized religious and ethnic minorities such Arabs, Azeris, Balochs, Kurds, Nematullahi Sufi Muslims, Sunnis, Baha’is and Christians are reportedly facing a wide range of human and civil rights violations. These include encroachment on their rights to freedom of assembly, association, expression, movement and liberty.”
“The Special Rapporteur is concerned about reports of violations against the Baha’i community, which, despite being the largest non-Muslim religious minority, does not enjoy recognition as such by the Government. Its members have historically suffered multifaceted discrimination, including denial of jobs, pensions and educational opportunities, as well as confiscation and destruction of property.”
“In addition, recognized religious minorities reportedly face serious constraints in the enjoyment of their rights and are subjected to severe limitations and restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief.”
ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
“The interim report of the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/16/75) documented a dramatic increase in executions recorded in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to serious concerns over the frequency of its application, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that the death penalty is regularly used in cases where due process rights were denied to the accused. Secret group executions inside prisons, which reportedly occur in alarmingly high numbers, are often carried out without the knowledge and presence of families and lawyers. Public executions, which the Iranian authorities claim have been effective in preventing crimes, also continue to recur.”
“...the Special Rapporteur is troubled by reports of the widespread application of the death penalty for crimes that do not meet the international standard for most serious crimes. According to various sources, including Amnesty International, a majority of those executed in 2010 had been convicted of drug-related offences.”