Amnesty International
Iran
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Covering events from January - December 2003
Scores of political
prisoners, including prisoners of conscience, continued to serve sentences
imposed in previous years following unfair trials. Scores more were arrested in
2003, often arbitrarily and many following student demonstrations. At least a
dozen political prisoners arrested during the year were detained without
charge, trial or regular access to their families and lawyers. Judicial
authorities curtailed freedoms of expression, opinion and association,
including of ethnic minorities; scores of publications were closed, Internet
sites were filtered and journalists were imprisoned. At least one detainee died
in custody, reportedly after being beaten. During the year the pattern of
harassment of political prisoners' family members re-emerged. At least 108
executions were carried out, including of long-term political prisoners and
frequently in public. At least four prisoners were sentenced to death by
stoning while at least 197 people were sentenced to be flogged and 11 were
sentenced to amputation of fingers and limbs. The true numbers may have been
considerably higher.
Background
The development and fulfilment of human rights in
Iran were adversely affected by the political stalemate between supporters and
opponents of reform. Socio-political and human rights reforms, favoured by
President Khatami and parliament, were often blocked by the Guardian Council
(GC), the highest legislative body whose function is to ensure that laws uphold
Islamic tenets and the Iranian Constitution. The GC follows a stricter
interpretation of political and social conduct and moral codes. Its continued
rejection of legislative reforms contributed to a growing sense of despondency
and alienation from political affairs among large swathes of society,
especially students, and was reflected by a low turnout for municipal elections
in March.
In June, the International Labour Organization
called on Iran to report on the application of gozinesh (selection) –
discriminatory and ideologically-based regulations that stipulate who is
eligible to work in the state sector or who can attend university. During the
year, discriminatory and arbitrary procedures based on gozinesh were
employed in the selection of candidates for parliamentary elections scheduled
for February 2004.
Following heightened domestic and international
security concerns over Iran's nuclear power program, the country's accession in
December to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Additional Protocol
contributed to an easing of diplomatic tensions with the European Union (EU)
and the USA.
A growing sense in Iran of the importance of
international human rights standards was indicated by local initiatives to
expose abuses. In June, the leading student body Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat
(Office for Strengthening Unity – OSU) issued an open letter to the UN
Secretary-General describing human rights violations in Iran in terms of the
rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Relatives of
political prisoners and prisoners of conscience publicized the plight of their
loved ones. non-governmental organizations such as the Iranian Jurists
Association for the Defence of Human Rights, and the Association for the
Defence of Prisoners' Rights pressed for higher standards in the administration
of justice and in prison conditions.
In August, the Secretary General of the parastatal
Islamic Human Rights Commission stated that it had received over 12,000 letters
from people interested in the human rights situation in Iran.
The judiciary and its security force continued to
carry out arbitrary arrests and often held people in secret detention.
Detainees were denied access for varying periods to relatives, legal
representation and, in a number of cases, medical care.
Legal reforms
Legal reforms addressing human rights concerns that
were rejected by the GC included two bills introduced by the Presidency and
passed by parliament in 2002. The first was a bill to allow the President to
overturn court decisions deemed unconstitutional. The second, which would have
removed the GC's powers to select general election candidates, was rejected
twice.
In August, citing financial and constitutional
reasons, the GC rejected a parliamentary bill providing for Iran's accession to
the UN Convention against Torture. In December, parliament clarified concerns
raised by the GC but the Convention had not been ratified by the end of the
year. Draft legislation aimed at prohibiting torture to obtain confessions or
information had been rejected twice in 2002.
A bill put to parliament by the judiciary
facilitating the creation of juvenile courts was passed by parliament in
December. If upheld by the GC, it would exempt from the death penalty children
aged under 18 at the time of the offence.
After many years of debate, the role of prosecutor
was reintroduced in early 2003. However, the controversy surrounding the role
of Tehran's Chief Prosecutor in connection with the death in custody of Zahra
Kazemi in July (see below) indicated that practices in relation to such posts
urgently needed to be brought in line with international standards. It remained
to be seen whether the introduction of provincial prosecutors would serve the
interests of human rights.
In December, legislation providing for equal
compensation (diyeh– blood money) to non-Muslim victims of crime was
concluded by the Expediency Council (an arbitration body that is empowered to
finalize legislation) and widely welcomed by Iran's minorities.
Imprisoned students
Following reports that universities would be
privatized and tuition costs increased, a protest by a group of students in
early June inspired mass demonstrations that continued throughout the month. In
the resulting unrest, hundreds of people were arrested, including three members
of the OSU who were arbitrarily arrested by plainclothes officials following a
press conference. Most detainees were released without charge. However, 132
reportedly remained in detention without charge or trial at the end of the
year. An AI request in August for information about their situation received no
response.
Students convicted and imprisoned after student
demonstrations in July 1999 were reported to have been ill-treated in custody.
In several cases, they faced new charges, including some relating to defamation
and insult, reportedly based on statements made in prison or given to the media
while on temporary leave from prison.
- Manuchehr
Mohammadi, who had been sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment (reduced to
seven years on appeal) following a manifestly unfair trial in October
1999, was reportedly transferred from Evin Prison in June to another
prison, raising fears for his safety. He had reportedly been severely
beaten by officials in Evin Prison after he gave an interview to a radio
station based outside Iran. In July, his sister and father, who had
travelled to Tehran from their home in the north of the country, were
arbitrarily arrested by plainclothes officials.
- Ahmad
Batebi, who had been sentenced to death in connection with his
participation in student demonstrations in July 1999, was granted
temporary leave on medical grounds in October 2003. He went missing on 8
November and his family was subsequently informed that he had been
rearrested on 17 November. It was widely believed that he was arbitrarily
rearrested for having met the visiting UN Special Rapporteur on the
promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression.
The government stated he had been arrested for violating the terms of his
temporary leave.
Administration of justice
Flagrant violations of Iranian and international
law continued in the administration of justice. At least one detainee died in
custody, reportedly after being beaten. Scores of individuals were held in
arbitrary and incommunicado detention, often for prolonged periods.
- Zahra
Kazemi, of dual Iranian/Canadian nationality, was arrested on 23 June
outside Evin prison in Tehran and accused of taking photographs in a
prohibited area. She died in a military hospital, still in custody, on 12
July. During her detention, she had been interrogated for three days by
judicial officials and later by Ministry of Intelligence officials. It was
widely believed that she had been tortured. An inquiry ordered by
President Khatami found that she died of a brain haemorrhage, apparently
caused by beating. On 23 September, a Ministry of Intelligence official
was charged with "semi-intentional" murder. In October, parliament's
Article 90 Commission – constitutionally charged with investigating
citizens' complaints – detailed allegations of irregularities and human
rights abuses carried out by Tehran's Chief Prosecutor in the case. The
Article 90 Commission argued that his actions perverted the course of
justice and referred its report to the disciplinary court for judges.
- Three
members of a religious group, Melli Mazhabi (National Religious
Alliance), were denied access to their lawyer and family members from the
time of their arrest in June to the end of the year. They were reportedly
detained incommunicado for supporting student demonstrators. Their lawyer
was not informed of any charges against them or allowed to see their file.
Families who raised concerns
about the treatment of their imprisoned relatives were threatened, usually with
prosecution, and harassed. Some were also evicted from their homes, at times
after their homes had been searched and left uninhabitable.
In December, President Khatami announced that he
had agreed with the Head of the Judiciary, Ayatollah Shahroudi, to conduct a
probe into prison conditions.
Women's rights
In December, lawyer Shirin Ebadi received the Nobel
Peace Prize for her promotion of human rights, especially the rights of women
and children. She is a member of the Iranian Jurists Association for the
Defence of Human Rights, whose founding members included five lawyers who had
previously been imprisoned and banned from practising law for periods by the
Revolutionary Court.
In August, the GC rejected legislation passed by
parliament providing for Iran's accession to the UN Women's Convention. In
December, citing irreconcilable differences between parliament and the GC, the
bill was sent to the Expediency Council.
Death penalty and other cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishments
At least 108 people were executed, often in public.
The death penalty was carried out on long-term political prisoners, apparently
to intimidate political or ethnic groups such as Kurds and Arabs.
At least 197 people were flogged or sentenced to be
flogged, often in large groups. At least 11 people were sentenced to have
fingers and limbs amputated as judicial punishments. The total figures may have
been considerably higher.
In March, EU officials were reportedly informed
that the Head of the Judiciary had called on judges not to pass sentences of
stoning and to find alternative punishments. Nevertheless, in November, four
men in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, were sentenced to death by stoning in
connection with allegations of rape and adultery.
- Stays of execution were
announced in the cases of two women, Afsaneh Nourouzi and Kobra
Rahmanpour, who had been sentenced to death for murder. Both said they had
been acting in self-defence. The stays of execution were announced
following widespread public opposition to the sentences.
- In February, long-term
political prisoner Sasan Al-e Ken'an, a supporter of the banned Komala
party, was executed. At the time of his execution his mother was in Tehran
seeking a meeting with members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention (WGAD) who were visiting Iran. On her return home to the town of
Sanandaj, she went to visit her son in prison. She was informed that he
had been hanged and told not to make a "fuss" but to bury him
quickly.
International and regional organizations
The visits by UN human rights experts contributed
to increasing awareness of human rights issues in Iran. However, judicial and
other authorities made no public response to their recommendations. In November, the Third Committee of the UN General
Assembly adopted a resolution welcoming developments in the human rights
situation in Iran, but noted ongoing, grave abuses. The resolution urged the
government to, among other things, abide by its international obligations,
speed judicial reform and guarantee the dignity of the individual.
The WGAD visited Iran in February. The scope of the
visit was limited by restrictions apparently imposed by the authorities. The
WGAD recommended, among other things, comprehensive reforms of the criminal
justice system, in particular the abolition of Revolutionary Courts and the
Special Court for the Clergy, and strengthening the position of lawyers.
In November, following a four-month postponement,
the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to
freedom of opinion and expression visited Iran. He met a limited number of
political prisoners and did not appear to have the full cooperation of judicial
officials.
After an encouraging start in November 2002,
further sessions of the EU-Iran Human Rights Dialogue took place in February
and October in Belgium, not Iran as originally planned. The venue was changed
after the Iranian authorities objected to the participation of AI and Human
Rights Watch. Although the dialogue did not lead to substantive change in
judicial practices in Iran, the increased contact between individuals and
groups in the countries concerned resulted in greater understanding of the
human rights situation in Iran.
AI country visits
Despite increasing communications with the
authorities at various levels, AI requests to visit Iran were not granted.
© Amnesty
International