The report by the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights on the situation of human rights in Iran during the month of Azar 1392 [November-December 2013]
In continuation of its monthly reports, the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights, which is presided over by Shirin Ebadi, has reviewed the situation of human rights in Iran during the month of Azar 1392 [Iranian month corresponding to 21 November to 21 December 2013].
The report by the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights has pointed to the fact that although the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and some members of Mr Rouhani’s cabinet are using Facebook and other social media channels, the other citizens of the country have not been given such a permission, and public access to Facebook and V Chat is still blocked in Iran.
Although the provisions of Articles 20 and 107 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasize that all the citizens of the country, including even the Supreme Leader, are equal before the law and enjoy equal rights, during the month of Azar, more than 49 cyber activists have been arrested in Iran, and the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights has protested against these arrests and has called for the lifting of the filters which prevent the public from accessing social media sites on the Internet.
Furthermore, in its report, which is published in both Farsi and English languages, this people-instituted organization 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”.
In the section of the report on the situation of political, cultural and social activists, the names of the arrested political, civil and cultural activists have been given. The economy and the situation the workers are among the other topics which the report has dealt with.
According to the website of the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights, the text of the report by the said centre for the month of Azar 1392, which has been published on 1 Dey 1392 [22 December 2013], is as follows:
A Brief Report on Human Rights Situation in Iran in November-December 2013
Introduction:
Article 20 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: “All citizens of the country, both men and women, are given the equal protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social and cultural rights, in conformity with the criteria and principles of Islam”. Equality of rights has received such emphasis in the Constitution that the issue is mentioned again in Article 107, which stipulates: “The Leader is equal with the rest of the people of the country in the eyes of law.” According to this Article, even the most senior political or religious figure in the country should not grant himself special privileges.
The principle of equality before the law has been overlooked time and again. While the Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a number of the cabinet ministers, including for instance the Foreign Affairs Minister, are making use of social media channels – such as Facebook and Twitter – to communicate with the public, the ordinary citizens of the country are not given such a permission, and access to Facebook continues to be blocked in Iran. In this connection, one should note the statement by the secretary of the Working Group for Determining Unlawful Content [of cyber media], saying: “Facebook is an espionage website.”
Furthermore, at least 49 people were arrested in the past month because they were accused of utilizing social media networks. The names of some of these individuals have been given in the text of the report for Azar 1392 by the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights.
The detention of these individuals gives rise to this legal question that why, despite the clear emphasis of the Constitution, a single action is permissible for some individuals and prohibited for others, who risk arrest and punishment if they engage in that action.
The other point is that the state officials have forced the Internet cafes to install closed circuit video cameras at their venues and register the names of all their customers. In this way, by checking individual PC terminals and the names of the customers, it is possible to find out which websites have been visited and which individuals have been contacted on-line. In addition, it is prohibited to install software which by-pass the official Internet filters and facilitate access to Facebook and news websites. Offending Internet cafes will be closed down as a punishment with immediate effect. According to the remarks by the head of the police force for “Production and Exchange of Information on the Iranian Cyberspace”, during the past month, 11 Internet cafes have been closed down in the North Khorasan Province for this very reason, and their business licences have also been revoked.
All these events and developments, which have been reported by the official and governmental sources, indicate the violation of human rights and the imposition of restrictions on the freedom of expression and information. Therefore, it would be appropriate for the Iranian President, who made the principle of respect for the rights of the citizens into one of his most pivotal election campaign pledges, to make use of the authorities that the Constitution has granted to him, to order the lifting of the restrictions on the use of social media networks, so that all citizens of the country, without any exception, can use these channels.
While emphasizing the points made above, what follows now is a summary of the human rights situation in Iran during the month starting ending on 21 December 2013. This report is based on information published by various media channels and websites, whose accuracy has been verified. The report, furthermore, will appear under three separate sections, and in both Farsi and English languages.
Human Rights Situation in Iran in November-December 2013
Section 1: Civil, Cultural and Political Rights
A) Situation of Nonconformist Political and Social Activists
1. During the month, around 82 people were arrested, 49 of whom were cyber activists. Out of these 49, the names of 29 individuals are unknown: The deputy prosecutor of Kerman has announced the detention of 16 people, without giving their names, while the head of the police force for “Production and Exchange of Information on the Iranian Cyberspace” in North Khorasan Province has reported the arrest of five individuals, who are under the age of 20, without giving their names. Also, the Prosecutor of Rafsanjan has announced the arrest of eight unnamed people for the offence of using social media sites in order to publish material deemed as insulting to the religious sanctities.
Furthermore, the names of 20 of those arrested for cyber offences have been given. These are: Mehdi Rajabian and his brother, as well as Yusef Emadi, who are among the managers of “Barg-e Muzik” [Sheet of Music] website; Ali Asghar Honarmand, Abbas Vahedi, Alireza Vaziri, Nasim Nik-Mehr, Maliheh Nakh’i, Mohammad Hossein Musazadeh and Sara Sajjadpur, who are among the writers and members of the “Narenji” [“Orange” – as in colour] website; and finally, Reza Ahmadinezhad, the manager of the “Aftab Web” site which also provides web hosting services.
Amir Golestani, Masud Qasemkhani, Fariborz Kardar, Seyyed Masud Seyyed Talebi, Roya Irani, Amir Sadeqpur, Mehdi Faryabi, Kiyarash Sotudeh, Jamshid Jabbari, Mohammad Amin Akrami and Mehdi Reyshahri Tangestani were the other cyber space activists who have been arrested.
In addition, during the past month, 33 people have been arrested for offences unrelated to cyber space activities. The names of 11 of these individuals are not known, but the news of their arrests were given by the appropriate state authorities in Iran: According to the prosecutor of the Revolution Court in Kerman, one person was arrested on suspicion of espionage. Furthermore, the Law-Enforcement Force Commander of Masjed Soleyman in Khuzestan Province has announced the arrest of 10 people during the burial ceremony of a well-known resident of that town.
The names of the other 22 arrested individuals are: Labour affairs activists Javad Lotfi, Kiumars Rahimi, Abbas Haqiqi and Ahmad Saberi; [pop and rap] singer Amir Tataloo; a cinema artist Samad Khatibi; newspaper journalist and cultural activist Alireza Darvish; a Sunni activist and member of the leadership council of the Qoran Academy of Kurdistan, Hashem Hoseyn Panahi; political activist Mehdi Maleki; and Jamal Jenami, Morteza Jenami and Saeed Jenami, three citizens of Khuzestan Province who were arrested after staging a group protest against a death sentence. The remaining arrested people were: Cultural activist Ali Ghofrani; newspaper journalist Sajedeh Arabsorkhi; social activist Kurosh Amiri; student activists Afsaneh Bayzidi and Shahu Bayzidi; and finally Dariush Andalibian, Yusef Mokhtari, Javad Sudbar, Habib Manafi Azar and Mokhtar Ebrahimi, who were all arrested while participating in a memorial service for Khanali Moti’i.
It should be noted that after a few days in detention, some of the arrested individuals were released temporarily on bail until the date of their trials.
2. Dissident cleric Ahmadreza Ahmadpur has been sentenced to 100 days in prison, and three Kurdish political activists, with the names of Kamil Sharifzadeh, Gharib Sharifzadeh and Erfan Majidi were each given prison sentences of three years, two years and four years, respectively. Additionally, Robert Avanesian, an official church priest, was sentenced to an imprisonment term of three and half years. Finally, Shirin Niyan has been sentenced to six years imprisonment and 30 lashes for the offence of beheading a statue of Imam Reza [the eighth Shi’i Imam] in the city of Mashhad.
3. Rasul Abdollahi, a Christian citizen of Iran, has been moved to the Evin Prison in order to serve his three years imprisonment term. Furthermore, Hashem Khastar, a retired teacher, has been sent to prison in order to receive his two year sentence.
4. Mohammad Sehhati Sardorudi, a cleric and religious scholar and researcher, has been summoned and subjected to interrogation by the Intelligence Ministry’s General Office in Esfahan. In addition, Adel Gholami, Ne’mat Azadkhah and Morteza Amini were summoned and threatened by the Intelligence Ministry’s General Office in the town of Mahabad. Cultural activist Kowsar Fattahi, was summoned and interrogated by the security forces in the town of Bukan. Furthermore, Khaled Hosseini, a labour activist, was summoned and subjected to interrogations by the Revolution Magistrate Court of the city of Sanandaj. Mehrdad Saburi and Afshin Nadimi, two labour activists, were summoned by the Revolution Court and the allegations against them were explained to them. Finally, Kurosh Za’im, a member of the National Front of Iran, has been summoned to the magistrate court.
B) Situation Regarding Cultural Rights
1. The student publication Ramneh of the Elm va San’at [Science and Industry] University has been suspended for two months. In addition, the Nafir student publication at the University of Zanjan, and two other student publications produced at the Martyr Chamran University of Ahvaz, under the titles Seda-ye Omid [the Voice of Hope] and Tarikh Pazhuhi [Historical Research], have been banned.
2. Maryam Zandi, a photographer and former chairwoman of the management board of the National Association of Iranian Photographers, has written a letter to the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, to object against a request by the Interior Ministry asking for her removal from the said management board.
3. The “Jamshid” Cultural Foundation, which belongs to the Zoroastrians of Iran, has had to suspend all its activities as a result of pressures by the security forces.
4. Access to the website “Bahar News” has been blocked by the government.
5. Baha’i students are still banned from studying at the country’s universities, and during the month of Azar, the security forces raided the residence of Shamim Shabro, a Baha’i citizen living in the city of Karaj, who was staging classrooms for Baha’i students [at her home]. After inspecting and searching the residence, the security forces confiscated computers and mobile phones there and made the students give an undertaking that they would never attend these classes again.
6. The head of the “Production and Exchange of Information on the Iranian Cyberspace” police force in North Khorasan has announced that 11 Internet cafes in that province have been closed down and put under official seal for the offences of installing filter-bypassing software, and failing to register the names of their customers and not installing close circuit video cameras in their premises.
7. Various Internet Service Providers in Iran have had to block access to the V Chat application.
C) Other Instances of Human Rights Abuse
1. Some 23 individuals have been executed in this month: four men with abbreviation identities “Abdolaziz-A”, “Saeed-B”, “Sirus-S”, “Abolfazl-A” and two women with abbreviation identities “A-A” and “R-A” have been executed in the city of Yazd. The website of the Judiciary in Yazd Province has announced that they had been convicted of the crime of possession and transportation of drugs. The Head of the Prison Administration Department in the town of Gachsaran has announced the execution of an individual in that town. This judicial official mentioned that the individual had been found guilty of possession and transportation of drugs. The Head of Judiciary in the province of Hormozgan announced the execution of three individuals due to the crime of possession and transportation of drugs and one person who had been found guilty of rape. He did not give their names. The Director of Public Relations in the Judiciary of Rasht gave notice about the execution of one individual in the city of Rasht. This judicial official said the person had been convicted of the crime of possession and transportation of drugs. The public and revolution court prosecutor in the province of Qazvin announced the execution of an individual with the abbreviation identity of “SH-Ch” in Qazvin. This judicial official said the executed person had been convicted of the crime of possession and transportation of drugs. Iraj Nasirian, Changiz Salehi, Ahmad Shakuri, Peyman Mohammadi, Mehdi Ajirikaffash, Hossein Aqazadeh and Qader Nikandish also have been executed in the central prison in the city of Orumiyeh after being committed of the crime of murder. According to reports, Iraj Nasiri was less than 15 years old at the time of the crime. Karim Haddai has been executed in the prison of Tabriz and Afshin Darvazi also has been executed in the prison of Bam city. Mass media have reported that they had been convicted of the crime of possession and transportation of drugs. Naser Goshadzehi and Mehdi Javanmard have been executed because of murder. Political activists Ghazi Abbasi, Abdolreza Amir Khanafreh, Abdolamir Mojdemi and Jasem Mohammadpanah have been executed in the city of Ahvaz.
2. Security forces prevented the ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of murder of Dariush and Parvaneh Foruhar, and many people were unable to attend the ceremony.
3. The chief of the Law Enforcement Force (NAJA police) announced that some beauty parlours have been closed and their licenses have also been revoked in Tehran and other cities because they had advertised and broadcast training programmes on [banned] satellite TV networks.
4. Mohsen Yazdisamadi , the lawyer of Amir Hekmati (who has been sentenced to a 10 year prison term for espionage accusations) has announced that he has not been permitted access to the case to enable him to study the details and apply for a retrial.
5. The cemetery of the Baha’i citizens has been destroyed and levelled with bulldozers in the city of Sanandaj.
6. A planned conference by the reformists has been cancelled due to the interference and pressure of security forces in the province of Fars.
7. The head of the Union of Real Estate Consultants in Tehran Province has announced that female stewards or advisers should not be employed in the real estate consultation offices.
8. Activists from “Narenji” website who were arrested recently have been shown on TV in the province of Kerman while their hands were tied and they stood facing a wall. It has been said that they have made some statements against themselves.
9. The conditions of political prisoners are still reported to be unfavourable, to the extent that some of them are ill but have not received any medical treatment. Some of their names are as follows: Seyyed Mohammad Seyfzadeh, Hossein Ronaghmaleki, Hamid Navid, Yaqub Maleki, Hamidreza Moradi, Mohammadhassan Yusefpur-e Seyfi, Esmaeel Barzegari and Kasra Nuri.
10. Iranian prisons do not meet the required standards. For example, during the past month, inmates at women’s prison in Qarchak have access to cold water only 3 hours per day, while they are completely deprived from warm water. The prisons in the cities of Borazjan, Zanjan and Ahvaz also have highly unfavourable conditions and in fact, some political and ideological prisoners have been sent to those jails as an extra punishment. Abodlreza Qanbari and Mohammad (Kurosh) Nasiri can be mentioned as some examples.
11. Imprisonment in exile is another illegal way to double the persecution of political prisoners in Iran, and the long distance acts as a hindrance for face to face visits. Peyman Arefi is one of the political prisoners who has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in exile and he was sent from Tehran to the prison of Masjed Soleyman city to serve his term. Unfortunately, however, his wife and his mother were killed in a car accident as they were making their way back to Tehran after visiting Arefi in Masjed Soleyman.
Section 2: Social and Economic Rights
1. The economic conditions in the country are still reported to be unfavourable. This is while according to the Transparency International’s annual report about administrative and economic corruption in 2013, out of 177 countries, Iran has been placed on the 144th rank, and this indicates the increasing administrative corruption in Iran. Also according to the Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance, the index of economic misery in Iran has risen to more than 50 per cent. This is while according to the Statistic Centre of Iran, among the population of 19,435,000 people in the 7 to 19 age range who should have continued their education in the 91-92 [2013-2014] academic year, more than 7,135,000 individuals were unable to continue their studies due to economic reasons and in fact more than 37 per cent of Iranian pupils have dropped out of schools.
2. The secretary of the House of Labour in Hamedan announced the closure of a steel mill in the town of Asadabad and the unemployment of more than 250 workers as a result. Also, 200 workers at the refinery in the city of Abadan have been fired.
3. The workers of the metro project in the city of Ahvaz and the workers of Shahdab factory in the city of Orumiyeh have not been paid their salaries for 5 months.
4. Some 650 seasonal workers of Haft-e Tir company have protested against failed and unfulfilled promises. Also 800 workers of “Chador Melo” mine in the city of Ardakan in Yazd Province went on strike for one day due to unfair wages and the dismissal of the secretary of the workers’ trade institution in that mine.
Section 3: Cultural Heritage and Environment
Reports concerning cultural heritage and environment also point to the continued presence of unfavourable conditions in these areas.
1. More than 40 per cent of natural ponds and lagoons have dried up in the country.
2. According to the Iranian Geological Organization, the plain of Tehran has the highest subsidence rate in the world. Iran is in the third place in the world in terms of the extent of danger and the rate of occurrence of natural disasters.
3. The representative of Andimeshk in the Islamic Majlis has announced the presence of depleted uranium in dust particles in Khuzestan province. He then said: Soil contamination in the area is due to residual chemical substances and remains of bombs from the Iran-Iraq war, and the dust particles are contaminated with depleted uranium which can cause cancer.
Conclusion:
In the month of Azar, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution by a majority of 86 votes in favour, condemning Iran’s human rights abuses. As in the past, the Iranian government officials considered the resolution as biased and said it was motivated by political objectives. The study of the report for the month Azar, which accounts for human rights violations during merely 30 days, shows the accuracy of that resolution. The Iranian government must understand that the only way to prevent further resolutions is improving the human rights situation in the country.
[Persian poem]:
“If the mirror shows you your real face,
Don’t break the mirror in rage: Go and change yourself!”
[Signed and dated] Shirin Ebadi, The head of the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights, 1 Dey 1392 [22 December 2013]
***
Note: For further information regarding the above reports, please refer to the following news websites: Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA), Fars news agency, Mehr news agency, Young Journalists Club news agency, CDHR website, JARAS, Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Nedaye Azadi, Baztab, HRANA, Ghanoon, Kaleme, Mohebbat News, Sunni Online, International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Majzooban-e Noor, Melli Mazhabi, Nedaye Sabze Azadi, Radio Zamaneh, Radio Farda and BBC.
the Centre for the Supporters of Human Rights