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Thursday, May 10, 2012

Human rights situation in Iran in 2011, UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office


Iran
In Khuzestan, reports indicated that several hundred protestors were arrested and live ammunition was used, with more than 30 people killed.e



There has been no improvement in the human rights situation in Iran in 2011, and in some areas there has been deterioration. The rate ofexecutions over the last 12 months continued at an exceptionally high level, with the minimum standards required in international law rarely applied. Iran regained the status of having more journalists in prison than any other country in the world. A number of political opposition leaders remain detained without charge since February. Non-government sponsored protests were brutally crushed. Ethnic and religious minorities faced systematic crackdowns. Human rights defenders and lawyers continued to be detained or forced to flee the country. Iran still displays a lack of will to cooperate with the international community on human rights issues. Despite assurances to the contrary, Iran has not accepted any visits by UN special rapporteurs or the High Commissioner for Human Rights since 2005, has responded to only 30% of correspondence from rapporteurs, and has
failed to focus on implementing the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review carried out in 2010. Our objectives for 2011 centred on persuading Iran to meet its international obligations on respecting the human rights of its people. In response to its failure throughout 2011 to do so with any serious intent, the international community has increased its scrutiny of Iran’s human rights record. In the UN Human Rights Council, the UK supported the establishment of a Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Iran. This passed by 22 votes to seven, and Dr Ahmed Shaheed, former Foreign Minister of Maldives, was appointed to the role in June. At the UN General Assembly in December, the annual resolution on human rights in Iran passed by an increased majority of 89 votes to 30. In the EU, the UK supported the introduction of restrictive measures against individuals in the regime responsible for human rights violations. In 2012, we are not expecting an improvement in the human rights situation, though we will continue to work for this. The Irania authorities have indicated that they
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intend to accept the visit of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the visits of two special rapporteurs in 2012. It is important that the country-specific Special Rapporteur for Iran is one of the visits permitted, and that all are given full and completely unrestricted access to any areas or persons they request. In 2012, the UK will support the renewal of Dr Shaheed’s mandate as Special Rapporteur in the UN Human Rights Council. Additional constraints have been placed on our human rights work as a result of the closure of the British Embassy in Tehran and the Iranian Embassy in London – a necessary step following the invasion of our Embassy compounds by Iranian regime-backed paramilitaries. However, the UK will continue to highlight abuses publicly and ensure that Iran’s record is subject to international scrutiny. The UK will work with EU partners to ensure that the perpetrators of human rights abuses do not enjoy impunity. We will support the extension of existing restrictive measures against individuals where
evidence of their involvement in abuses is available. Freedom of expression and assembly Iran drew worldwide condemnation for its crackdown on peaceful, legitimate protest in 2011. In February, Iran praised protests carried out across the region, while at home, several people were killed and hundreds arrested in a heavy-handed response by security forces to protests on February 14 by opposition groups in Tehran. For months following these protests, gatherings were met by a pre-emptive deployment of security forces. Prior to the start of these protests, two opposition leaders (and presidential candidates in 2009), Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, were detained in their homes. They have been held incommunicado since, with only sporadic visits by family members permitted. Despite a large security presence at their homes to prevent them from leaving, there have been several instances of gunfire targeting their properties, with no arrests made. On 15 February, Iranian parliamentarians chanted in parliament for them to be tried and executed – with the call for a trial echoed by the president. These moves to undermine the opposition were condemned in a statement by the Foreign Secretary, who called for their release and warned of strong consequences if their safety was threatened. This call was mirrored by the EU, G8, international NGOs and politicians around the world.
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The detention of these two leaders is all the more concerning given the parliamentary elections in 2012 and presidential elections in 2013. It is important for the credibility of both elections that they are held in a transparent manner, with all potential candidates free to participate.
Iran witnessed other protests and subsequent violence by security forces throughout the year. The worst of these was seen in Khuzestan, where local Arabs planned to march in solidarity with other protests across the region. Reports indicated that several hundred protestors were arrested and live ammunition was used, with more than 30 people killed. Protests occurred in Azerbaijan province in north-western Iranagainst the Iranian parliament’s rejection of a bill to maintain a natural salt-lake in the
area, Lake Orumiyeh. In August, Iran released over 100 political prisoners who were thought to have been arrested following the protests over the disputed elections in 2009. While a positive move, we remain concerned about the fate of the thousands of others arrested for
their part in protests since 2009 and call for their release. Iran should initiate a full investigation into the deaths and violence that have occurred during peaceful protests since the start of 2009, releasing the full findings. We are not aware of charges having been brought against many of those responsible for violently suppressing peaceful protests, nor of those that were detained following protests having served a sentence. We are aware of sentences being handed to a number of security personnel at the Kahrizak Detention Facility, though again we are not aware that the sentences were ever served. During 2011, the authorities further tightened controls on media and the internet. At least seven national newspapers and magazines were closed, some temporarily and some permanently. Restrictions on viewing foreign satellite broadcasts continued, with intensified jamming of broadcasts and destruction of satellite dishes by the security forces. Satellite companies confirmed that jamming of international
broadcasters, including the BBC Persian Service, emanated from Iranian territory.
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The Iranian authorities worked to reduce access to information through the blocking of further internet pages, including the British Government’s Farsi language website. Other tactics included banning and blocking the use of virtual private networks
(VPNs) and software used to evade censorship controls. Journalists and bloggers were targeted by the authorities. In addition to the
suspension of Etemad newspaper for printing an interview criticising conservative politicians and elements of the regime, a large number of journalists were detained in 2011. The Committee for the Protection of Journalists released a report at the end of 2011 showing that Iran has once again more journalists in jail than anywhere else in the world. The arrests of six journalists in September and October, accused of
working for the BBC and of espionage, were particularly concerning. We understand that all have now been released. However, too many others remain in prison. Human rights defenders The crackdown on human rights defenders and lawyers continued in 2011 with
arrests and detentions and the targeting of family members as a means of exerting pressure. As the year progressed, the pattern moved from the detention of highprofile lawyers, many of whom had already been imprisoned or forced to flee Iran, to journalists. In one example, two reporters, Maryam Majd and Pegah Ahangarani, known for their activism, were arrested and detained when attempting to travel to Germany to cover the Women’s Football World Cup as journalists. The increasing use of a prison term followed by a ban on a lawyer or journalist exercising their
profession is a particularly disturbing form of sentence, and ensures that human rights defenders are unable to resume their work long after they have been released from jail. The year began with the sentencing of two high-profile human rights defenders, Nasrin Sotoudeh and Shiva Nazar-Ahari, to eleven- and five-year jail terms respectively for their work in promoting human rights. Due to the nature of her charges, treatment in custody and the sentence passed down, the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent lawyer, was of particular concern. She was arrested in August 2010 and held in solitary confinement. On 9 January, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison with a further 10-year ban on practising law on charges of acting
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against national security, spreading propaganda against the regime and cooperating with a banned organisation (Nobel Prize Winner Dr Shirin Ebadi’s Defenders of Human Rights Centre). This sentence was later reduced to a six-year jail term on appeal. Narges Mohammadi, deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre, first arrested and detained for one month in 2010, was also sentenced to 11 years in jail in September. Similarly vague and illegitimate charges are often levelled against human rights
defenders in Iran. The UK government continues to draw attention to these two key
cases as they are symptomatic of the persecution of human rights defenders in Iran.
Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt called for both Nasrin
Sotoudeh and Shiva Nazar-Ahari to be released. FCO and EU officials have
requested further updates from the Iranian authorities throughout the year. The EU
High Representative, Catherine Ashton, also released a statement at the time of
their sentence, and has referred to them in other statements throughout 2011. The
Foreign Secretary gave a keynote speech at the “Imprisoned in Iran” event
organised by The Times newspaper in London in September, and met a number of
human rights defenders at the event, including Shadi Sadr, winner of the Dutch
government’s human rights award, and Mohammad Mostafaei, former lawyer to
Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani.
Access to justice and the rule of law
Lack of access to justice continues to underpin the majority of human rights abuses
in Iran. A large proportion of cases are highly politicised, with reports of intimidation
used as a means to extract confessions, lack of access to legal counsel, failure to
disclose the charges to the defence or accused, restricted consular access and
arbitrary sentencing from judges. There have been numerous reports in 2011 of
cases where the application of the death penalty by local courts has been rejected
by the Supreme Court, only to have the same application continuously returned until
accepted. Televised confessions in high-profile cases have continued, prejudicing
trials prior to their hearing. Many courts still operate in a closed fashion, with some
refusing even to issue written orders of a sentence until after it has been carried out.
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Corporal punishment in Iran has again been under the spotlight in 2011. In May,
reports emerged of the imminent blinding of two convicts by having drops of acid put
in their eyes, and in one of the cases, having part of their ear removed by a surgeon.
The barbaric nature of these punishments prompted an international outcry.
Although the sentence was postponed in one case, that of Majid Movahedi, the
courts attempted to proceed with the punishment in July. The punishment was
withdrawn at the last moment at the request of the accuser, who has the right to
request, or withdraw the “qisas” – an eye for an eye – punishment as they wish.
Death penalty
We were once again extremely concerned by Iran’s use of the death penalty in 2011,
including the scale of its use, methods of implementation and its application to
juveniles. Reliable NGO reports and local media reporting suggest at least 650
people were executed in Iran in the course of the year. This once again gives Iran
the highest rate of executions per capita in the world and puts them second in overall
figures, behind China. The vast majority (roughly 85–90 %) of executions were once
again related to drugs trafficking, with the vast majority of the remainder related to
violent crime or terrorist charges. NGOs again presented strong evidence that such
charges had been falsely applied to secure the death penalty for opponents of the
regime, including in the execution of a Dutch-Iranian dual national in January, who
was arrested during political protests in December 2009.
Iran continues to implement the death penalty in ways that contravene international
law. The most frequently used example of this is suspension strangulation, in which
the condemned is winched slowly upward. This barbaric method prolongs the
suffering of the condemned and is frequently used during public executions. Despite
public assurances from all levels of the Iranian government, at least 14 people
remain under stoning sentence in Iran. Although a stoning sentence has not been
carried out by Iran for three years, the threat of a sentence being implemented
remains. The British Government has consistently called on Iran both bilaterally and
in the UN to remove the sentence from its penal code.
We have seen the disturbing practice of the execution of juveniles continue in 2011.
This included the public execution of Alireza Molla-Soltani, a 17-year-old boy
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accused of murder in July, who was hung by suspension strangulation in front of a
reported crowd of 15,000 people. The practice of executing minors is prohibited
under the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, both of which Iran is a party to. This was specifically
mentioned once more in the annual UN General Assembly Resolution on Human
Rights in Iran.
Torture
NGOs reported numerous cases of torture and other ill-treatment against detained
persons in 2011. The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in
Iran highlighted in his report of 23 September that he had received reports that
“frequently communicated the use of physical and psychological mistreatment and
torture”. In one of the most serious of the cases reported by NGOs, Javad Houtan
Kian, former lawyer of Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, who was condemned to death
by stoning for adultery and whose case received international media attention, wrote
an open letter about his experience in jail detailing the horrific conditions and brutal
abuse received at the hands of his interrogators. The mistreatment described in his
letter matches that described in other letters and testimonies of those imprisoned in
Iran and it is likely that such treatment is state-sanctioned rather than the
independent actions of prison officials. FCO officials have highlighted concerns over
the alleged treatment of Mr Kian to the Iranian government, urging them to ensure
his safety while in custody and to investigate thoroughly any accusations of
mistreatment.
Migrants and refugees
Iran remains home to the second-largest group of long-staying refugees in the world,
the majority of whom are Afghans. The most recent estimates from the Iranian
Ministry of Interior and the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees put the
number of registered Afghan refugees in Iran at 1,027,339. There are estimated to
be a further two million refugees who remain unregistered. Many of these have been
in Iran since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Iran continues to provide
some level of support to Afghans living in Iran, assisted by the office of the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees. However, shifts in economic policy, and the removal of
blanket subsidies on basic food stuffs, means many of the most vulnerable groups
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within the refugee population faced particular hardship in 2011. Iran’s attempt to
better regulate the refugee and economic migrant population shifting between Iran
and Afghanistan has also had a negative impact on the refugee population.
Uncertainty, and a lack of transparency in the means by which Afghan refugees can
apply to remain in Iran legally, has resulted in many refusing to re-register as legal
refugees, losing access to education, healthcare and livelihood support provided to
them by the Iranian government. Through the Office of the UNHCR, the international
community continues to encourage Iran to maintain support for its refugee population
and to continue to improve its regulation of economic migration in the region.
Freedom of religion or belief
The year began with the continuation of the arrests of a large number of Christians
involved in the setting up of house churches, and those worshipping at them. NGOs
focusing on religious freedom in Iran report that in 2011 over 400 Christians were
arbitrarily arrested for forming and attending house churches. A number of reports
and quotes from those detained also indicate that the majority of these were put
under pressure to recant their faith and convert to Islam. The Foreign Office raised
these concerns with the Iranian authorities throughout the year, making clear that
such behaviour is entirely unacceptable and contradicts the Iranian constitution and
international conventions to which Iran is a party.
The troubling case of Christian Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani highlighted the plight of
Christians and other religious minorities in 2011. He was arrested and sentenced to
death in 2010, by a judgment delivered orally, on apostasy charges. At the time, the
Foreign Office raised concerns about this sentence directly with the Iranian
government, making clear that such a charge and sentence contravened
international law, urging Iran to rescind the sentence, or face an international outcry.
Iranian interlocutors for their part denied the sentence and said his case was
ongoing. In September 2011, an official written version of his verdict surfaced and
fears were raised that Pastor Nadarkhani’s sentence would be carried out
imminently. The Foreign Secretary released a statement condemning this sentence,
and Foreign Office officials summoned the Iranian Chargé d’Affaires in London to
protest at the sentence once more. A global campaign to save Pastor Nadarkhani
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began. Current information suggests that his case is under review by the Iranian
judiciary.
The Baha’is have remained a target for persecution from the Iranian authorities
throughout 2011. They are not recognised as a religion in Iran and are regarded
with extreme hostility and suspicion by the state. In April, the Iranian courts decided
to re-try and re-sentence seven Baha’i spiritual leaders who had been sentenced to
20 years in prison in September 2010, on allegations of security-related crimes, but
later had the terms reduced, with a number of charges overturned. Their re-trial
happened suddenly and behind closed doors, with NGO reports stating that the
accused were not given the opportunity to discuss their case with their lawyers.
Their original 20-year sentences were reinstated. The Foreign Secretary released a
statement condemning this and calling for the leaders’ release. They remain in jail,
with Iran ignoring international requests for information on their case. The Iranian
authorities also stepped up their campaign to close the premises of Baha’i Institute of
Higher Education (BIHE) across Iran. BIHE was set up in 1987 as a result of the
Iranian authorities’ attempts to prevent declared Baha’is from receiving Iranian state
education. In 2011, there was an increase in the frequency of raids on the homes
and workplaces of faculty members. Seven key faculty members were tried and
convicted, reportedly on the grounds of practising the Baha’i faith and on charges
relating to national security. They were all sentenced to between four and five years
in prison. A request by EU embassies to observe the trial, which the Iranian
authorities claimed was open, in line with Iranian law, went unanswered. In July, it
was reported that Baha’is in Sanadaj were summoned by authorities and warned
against taking part in “the 19-day feast”, a regular Baha’i devotional gathering.
Foreign Office officials highlighted these reports to the Iranian Embassy in London,
pointing out that this would breach international law protecting freedom of religion or
belief.
Sunni Muslims continue to face repression from state authorities who continue to
refuse to allow construction of a Sunni Mosque in Tehran. Reports from worshippers
indicate that the authorities are actively trying to prevent them from being able to
worship in acceptable alternative locations.
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There have been a number of incidents reported in 2011 against other recognised
religious minorities. Several occurrences of the desecration of graves in Jewish
cemeteries were reported, including in a cemetery in Damavand in April. NGO
reports have also suggested that Jewish worshippers also continue to be monitored
closely under suspicion of spying for Israel – a charge that is frequently used against
religious minorities during arrests.
Women’s rights
Iranian law discriminates against women, whose testimony is worth only half that of a
man’s. Gender discrimination also remains prevalent in employment, with only 20%
of Iranian women graduates finding employment in their sector upon completion of a
degree. Many of the country’s top political positions are also closed to women. Of
particular concern, the new Iranian penal code, which was still awaiting clearance at
the end of 2011, continues to prescribe the age of criminal responsibility for girls at
nine years old.
Women’s rights activists and journalists were targeted for harassment and
intimidation in 2011. Maryam Majd, a photojournalist, was detained at the airport on
her way to Germany to cover the Women’s World Cup. Her family were not informed
of her whereabouts until after it became clear she had not left Iran. She was held
over a month without charge and then released when her physical condition
deteriorated. Fereshteh Shirazi, a prominent member of the Million Signatures
Campaign for women’s rights, was detained in September. On 31 December,
reports emerged that she had been sentenced to three years in prison for her
women’s rights-related work. We are concerned by her arrest, detention and the
poor prison conditions she has been subjected to. Both of these cases are higherprofile
examples of the intimidation that activists and peaceful protesters alike have
faced in 2011. In July, the Foreign Secretary condemned this behaviour, highlighting
the cases of several other women’s rights activists, whose conscientiousness and
achievement should be celebrated, but instead they are behind bars.
Gender inequality in the workplace, in law and in society continues. Iran has made
no progress in addressing this in 2011.
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Minority rights
Iran is an ethnically diverse country. Along with a Persian (51%) majority, the
population is made up of Azeris, Kurds, Arabs, Baluchis, Turkmens, Armenians,
Assyrians, Jews, Afghans and Georgians. Despite this diversity, Iran’s ethnic
minorities regularly suffer discrimination on account of central and local-level
government policies. Although the constitution guarantees equality, ethnic minorities
in Iran are subject to discriminatory practices, including property confiscations, denial
of state education and employment, and cultural and linguistic restrictions. Iran’s
ethnic minorities continue to be affected by apparent government bias, fuelling
ethnic-based political violence, in particular among Iranian Kurds and Baluchi
communities.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights
LGBT people continued to be repressed by the law and in society. We received
numerous reports in 2011 of people who had been executed under article 108 of the
Iranian penal code, which prohibits sexual intercourse between men. In addition to
the clear objections that we have about such persecution, we also remain concerned
by the propensity for these charges to be falsely applied by those seeking to
manipulate the courts. While we continue to call for Iran to remove all discriminatory
laws, it is important that Iran safeguards the rights of all to a fair trial

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