Bereaved Relatives Appeal To UN’s Iran Human Rights Expert
Parts of Masih Alinejad’s interview with Mr. Ahmed Shaheed with partial English transcription by Tourang Birani.
Masih: “Hello Mr. Shahid. I have studied your report and as a reporter who has interviewed the families of the slain in the past two years, I believe that real reporters were those who were sending out information from inside Iran; people like Parvin Fahimi, the mother of Sohrab Arabi who was killed on June 15, 2009 during a peaceful demonstration. She was the first woman who transmitted the news about the killing of her son from inside Iran. I would like to ask your permission to call her so that she can ask the first question from you as a real reporter.
Parvin Fahimi: “I am the mother of Sohrab Arabi, one of the people killed in the aftermath of the presidential election in Iran in June 2009. My son along with many other children of this land participated in a peaceful civil protest. They were killed by the Basij and Revolutionary Guards forces.
After many inquiries, I was finally able to receive the body of my son after 26 days! I would like to ask regime officials what crime did my son commit to deserve being killed? and why is it that Mr. Larijani who is the head of judiciary in Iran claims that only one person was killed in the aftermath of the presidential election? And the president, Mr. Ahmadinejad says that only a few were killed and they were from the Basij and security forces!
But the pictures, films and documents printed all point to the fact that our youngsters were being murdered. Why does the judiciary refrain from holding a public hearing? and why do they always stop us from mourning the death of our children? Dear Mr. Ahmad Shahid, my expectations are that you pay closer attention to those who died after the election. And when you come to Tehran, please pay a visit to us and the families of the dead.
When our voices do not get anywhere in our own country, we are forced to take refuge with the United Nations and shout about seeking justice for our children. This is to prevent the repeat of this type of irresponsible actions both in Iran and in other places around the world; and no injustice is done against innocent people. Mr. Shahid, I have promised to forgive my son’s blood if all political prisoners and Mr. Mousavi, Mrs. Rahnavard and Mr. Karoubi are freed.
I shall let God to carry out justice for the crimes committed against me and my son. I wish peace for all people around the world.
Ahmad Shahid: “I thank you very much for the opportunity to hear a question directly from Tehran. Yes if I get to travel to Tehran, I would be very interested to meet with families of those who lost their lives after the June 2009 election. I would like to find out more about their condition in Iran.
Of course there are other people I would like to meet as well but I would definitely want to meet with the families of those who lost their lives after the presidential election in 2009. Regarding the other part of her question, I must say that yes there are problems and challenges regarding Iran’s judiciary. My report has also pointed out that there are many issues with Iran’s judiciary.
Iran must act transparently regarding this matter. My report is not a complete document. This report is only a sample of issues of concern. This report is not all encompassing. The report is a tool to force Iran to open the doors to the United Nations so we can do more investigation regarding the human rights situation in Iran.
So my response to her is yes I would very much like to meet the families of those who lost their lives and to hear first hand information from these families. Their worries are also my worries.
Masih: “I would like you to hear the second question from another family member of someone who was killed after the presidential election”
Second Witness: “Hello, I am very happy that finally at least one person is willing to listen to our stories. I am the spouse of Ali Hassanpour who was killed on June 15, 2009. They did not return the body of my husband for 105 days! I would like to ask you now that we cannot meet you in Tehran, is it possible that we could talk to you on the phone directly so that we can present to you all the documents we have? These are documents that have been certified by judges in my own country. They have testified that my husband has been shot by a gun belonging to the Basij. Is it possible for us to make a trip to the U.N. to meet you in person; can you guarantee our safety; or is there another way for us to present our documents to you?
Ahmad Shahid: “My response to her is yes. There are ways for her to present details of her situation to me using email, skype and other means. But what I cannot guarantee is her safety because I am outside the country and of course we are in a situation where most regime officials are threatening, harassing, intimidating and in some instances injuring those who spread the news. These are problems. But there are ways to contact me. But I would be happy to create the avenues for these families to contact me.
They can contact me through email. My offices are in Geneva and New York. It’s correct that I will not have the opportunity to travel to Iran in the near future. But I am very interested to gather more information to do more research and to shine a light on the truth. I will report to the council and when I report to them they might decide to do more investigations on certain subjects.
That’s their choice. I must say that I am very open to the idea of families of the slain to travel to Europe. I would be happy to meet them in Geneva or any other country. But I really cannot guarantee their safety. Unfortunately none of the special rapporteurs are able to guarantee that.
They cannot protect people of Iran inside their own country. We can take their information anonymously. Also it would be great to get the coroner’s office reports. I need such documents to include in my report and to give to member countries of the U.N.
Iran denies UN report on increasing human rights violations
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Iran’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Eshagh al-Habib, on Thursday denied allegations in a recent UN report that human rights violations in Iran are on the rise. Al-Habib criticized the report for being poorly sourced, non-neutral and simply untrue. The report cited an increase in persecutions among political activists and journalists, detention conditions for opposition leaders and their wives, the torture and mistreatment of detainees, the significant administration of the death penalty to people under 18 years of age and “exorbitant bail requirements” for human rights defenders and religious practitioners. However, UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Ahmed Shaheed, the author of the report, stated that he was encouraged by Iran’s willingness to cooperate with him and that Iran “needs to be seen in a better light.” He further focused on the need to maintain dialogue with Iran’s political leaders in order to improve conditions in the country. The US issued a statement on Tuesday denouncing Iran’s “‘intensified’ campaign of abuse” : “Under international law and its own constitution, Iran has committed to protect and defend the rights of its people, but officials continue to stifle all forms of dissent, persecute religious and ethnic minorities, harass and intimidate human rights defenders, and engage in the torture of detainees.”
Iran has been heavily criticized for its alleged human rights abuses. Jailed Iranian journalist Isa Saharkhiz in July urged Shaheed to investigate prison conditions in Iran. In May, rights groups decried [JURIST report] Iran’s persecution of lawyers. In January, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran [official website] claimed that Iran is on an “execution binge” , killing one prisoner every eight hours. In January, prominent Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Sotoudeh was found guilty of “acting against national security” and “making propaganda against the system” for which she will serve five and one years, respectively. She was the lawyer for Arash Rahmanipour, who was arrested for his role in the post-election protests on charges of moharebeh, or being an enemy of God. Rahmanipour was executed in January 2010. Also in January, Iranian chief prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi delivered a speech at Tehran University indicating that he would prosecute opposition leaders for political unrest that took place after the country’s 2009 presidential election.
via JURIST – Paper Chase: Iran denies UN report on increasing human rights violations.
UN Human Rights Expert Delivers Interim Report
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran Ahmed Shaheed
19 October 2011 –
There were also reports of capital punishment in juvenile cases, and the use of the death penalty for cases that do not meet the level of serious crimes by international standards, he said.
“In some cases, elements of Iran’s penal code and legal practices amount to contravention of those international laws it acceded to,” said Mr. Shaheed.
He said Iran’s record seems to have gained particular attention because of the country’s “lack of substantive cooperation with the UN human rights system and because of the existence of frequent reports of suppression of those self-correcting mechanisms that deprive Iranians from freely seeking redress or reform within the parameters of their human rights.”
The “self-correction mechanisms” that are suppressed include free and fair elections, denial of freedom of expression and assembly, allegations of depravation of the right to education, harassment and intimidation of religious and ethnic minorities, human rights defenders and civil society and religious actors.
He urged Iranian authorities to provide adequate medical access to the well-known cleric Ayatollah Kazemeini-Boroujerdi, and to consider his immediate release.
He also called upon Tehran to consider releasing all individuals listed in his report, including political leaders Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who consider themselves detainees of the Government, human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, student and women’s rights activist Bahareh Hedayat, student activist Abdollah Momeni, and Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani.
He also urged Iran to cooperate with him as he carries out his mandate. “In the absence of this, however, my course of action will be to continue to obtain information through interaction with Iranians both in the region and in other parts of the world, as well as with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other parts of the UN system.”
Mr. Shaheed said he had been informed of the arrests and prosecution of at least 42 lawyers for their attempts to provide legal counsel. Charges brought against the majority of them include acting against national security; participating in illegal gatherings; insulting the Supreme Leader; and spreading propaganda against the regime.
He took notice of the positive steps taken by the Iranian authorities, including the Government’s recent decision to release between 60 and 100 prisoners, many of whom had been arrested as a result of their participation in events related to the 2009 presidential elections.
via UN
Iran's Human Rights Violators
On 12 April and 10 October, the EU imposed sanctions on Iranian officials responsible for grave human rights abuses. This represents a further expression of the EU’s serious concern about the human rights situation in Iran. All have perpetrated violations as serious as torture and applying the death penalty on vague charges and without fair trial. A total of 61 individuals are now subject to EU asset freezes and have been denied entry to the EU.
The names of those listed and the reasons for their listing have been published in the EU’s Official Journal of 12 October and 12 April.
On 10 October, the Foreign Affairs Council of the EU announced the latest measures in a statement, that expressed the EU’s deep concern that “the human rights situation in Iran continues to deteriorate”, called for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty and deplored the “widespread repression of Iranian citizens.
Mahmoud Abbaszadeh-Meshkini
Interior Ministry’s political director
Alireza Akbarshahi
Commander of Tehran Police
Seyyed Alireza Avaee
President of Tehran Judiciary
Jaber Baneshi
Prosecutor of Shiraz
Seyyed Hasan Firuzabadi
Chief of Staff of Iran’s Joint Armed Forces
Mostafa Barzegar Ganji
Prosecutor-General of Qom
Mohammadreza Habibi
Deputy Prosecutor of Isfahan
Mohammad Hejazi
Head of IRGC’s Sarollah Crops in Tehran
Nabiollah Heydari
Head of Iran Airport Police Authority
Yadollah Javani
IRGC Political Bureau Chief
Masoud Jazayeri
Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran’s Joint Armed Forces, in charge of cultural affairs
Mohammad Saleh Jokar
Commander of Student Basij Forces
Behrouz Kamalian
Head of the IRGC-linked ‘Ashiyaneh’ cyber group
Mousa Khalilollahi
Prosecutor of Tabriz
Sadeq Mahsouli
Former Minister of Interior until August 2009
Mojtaba Maleki
Prosecutor of Kermanshah
Mehrdad Omidi
Head of the Computer Crimes Unit of the Iranian Police
Mahmoud Salarkia
Deputy to the Prosecutor General of Tehran for Prison Affairs
Hossein Tala
Governor General of Tehran Province until September 2010
Morteza Tamaddon
Governor General of Tehran Province, head of Tehran Provincial Public Security Council
Hossein Zebhi
Deputy to the Prosecutor General of Iran
Mohammad Kazem Bahrami
Head of the judiciary branch of the armed forces
Seyyed Morteza Bakhtiari
Minister of Justice, former Isfahan governor general and director of the State Prisons Organization until June 2004
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance since September 2009
Heydar Moslehi
Minister of Intelligence
Mohammadbagher Bagheri
Vice-chairman of the judiciary administration of South Khorasan province, in charge of crime prevention
Aziz Hajmohammadi
Former judge at the first chamber of the Evin Court, and now judge at branch 71 of the Tehran Provincial Criminal Court
Hojjatollah Souri
Head of Evin Prison
Hassan Akharian
Keeper of Ward 1 of Radjaishahr prison, Karadj
Sanctions from EU include 3 Iranian ministers
LUXEMBOURG — Three Iranian government ministers are on a list of 29 people targeted by new European Union sanctions, diplomatic sources told AFP on Monday.
The present ministers for intelligence (secret services), justice and culture are joined by a former interior minister as well as regional governors, prosecutors and prison directors, the sources added.
The sanctions will take effect on Tuesday when they are published in the EU’s legal log, the Official Journal.
EU foreign ministers signed off the Iranian travel bans and asset freezes, alongside other sanctions on Belarus in Luxembourg on Monday.
They follow a previous wave of restrictive measures in March against 32 Iranians, as well as plans to hit the Commercial Bank of Syria, targeted by a US assets freeze in August, according to diplomats.
Heydar Moslehi, intelligence minister, is responsible for the infamous Evin prison’s torture ward, section 209.
Moslehi stands accused of ordering arbitrary detentions and persecution of opposition figures.
Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini is held responsible for press censorship as well as the arrests of journalists and artists, the same sources said.
Justice Minister Seyyed Morteza Bakhtiair is said to have harassed prominent Iranians living abroad.
Former interior minister Sadeq Mahsouli and the head of the Iranian police computer crimes squad are also on the list, for investigations into opposition figures using the Internet.
In Belarus, where President Alexander Lukashenko has thrown hundreds of opponents behind bars, four of 16 people blacklisted are believed to be involved in a court case against the head of a top human rights group, Ales Beliatsky, that has sparked global outrage and calls for his release.
The 27-nation bloc last month banned the delivery to Syria’s central bank of bank-notes and coins produced in the EU in a seventh round of sanctions designed to step up economic pressure on President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
The last round also included a ban on European firms making new investments in Syria’s oil industry, biting further at Assad’s regime after an earlier ban on imports of Syrian crude to Europe.
Europe buys 95 percent of Syria’s oil exports, providing the regime with one third of its hard currency earnings.
The sanctions against Syria come on the heels of growing irritation against Russia and China in the EU and the United States, for their veto of a UN resolution against the Syrian regime’s unrelenting crackdown on protests.
via AFP: Three Iranian ministers target of EU sanctions: diplomats.
Keeping Iran’s Heart Beating – Amnesty International
Women in Iran are often portrayed as victims – helplessly unable to stand up and claim their own rights. The truth, however, is that Iranian women are at the very heart of the human rights movement, and are some of the most courageous and effective human rights campaigners in Iran. Keeping Iran’s heart beating – stories of women’s rights activists is an exhibition which celebrates Iranian women’s rights defenders. It showcases the women, and the men, who stand up for women’s rights in Iran on a daily basis and seeks to tell their story. This exhibition, which is partly funded by TCD Community Initiative Fund, has been put together by members of the Amnesty Iran group in Ireland with support of Amnesty International. Following its launch the exhibition will be travelling around Ireland and Europe, and will be available for group, schools or local communities to host. If you would like more information on this, please contact the Iran Group (irangroup@amnesty.ie)
