April 2, 2015\u2014The understanding reached on Iran\u2019s nuclear program\u00a0on April 2 is a welcome development, averting at least for now, an inexorable descent into confrontation, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today. This initial agreement presents renewed opportunities for human rights.<\/p>\n
\u201cPolitical space in Iran, long consumed by the nuclear conflict, should now be freed up for the discussion of civil liberties in the country,\u201d said Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director of the Campaign.
\nSince Rouhani assumed the presidency of Iran in August 2013, his government has not lessened domestic repression in the country, despite pledges during his campaign to do so. Moreover, he has largely refrained from publicly taking on hardliners who have closed the political and social space still further. His supporters have said the nuclear negotiations must take precedence over domestic issues.
\nIran\u2019s domestic politics, says Ghaemi \u201chas been frozen, awaiting the outcome of the negotiations.\u201d The agreement, he argues, presents an opportunity for attention to begin to return to the state of basic rights and freedoms in the country. \u201cIt will have the potential to validate voices of moderation and embolden those who have called for a loosening of the political and cultural environment in Iran,\u201d he added.
\nGhaemi noted, however, that intense political jockeying between hardline and more moderate forces is also likely.
\n\u201cIran could be roiled in political tension in the wake of the agreement, and even more so if a permanent accord is reached in June,\u201d he said. \u201cHardliners will push to maintain political relevancy, while pent up demand for basic rights, long frozen as Iran locked horns with the West, will rise to the surface.\u201d
\nAs a result, the agreement could also mean increased potential for a crackdown on political dissent as hardliners mount a rearguard action to maintain their grip on power.
\nThe outcome of this political struggle will not only affect human rights in Iran, it will have implications for the nuclear deal as well. If hardliners are able to maintain the current repression, they will feel emboldened to prevent a successful implementation of the nuclear agreement, and to silence the voices of the accord\u2019s supporters.
\nThe ultimate success of the agreement thus depends on the ability of Iranian society to express its views. And it has made its preferences consistently clear: every poll undertaken has confirmed Iranian society\u2019s strong support for the nuclear negotiations, and the resounding electoral win of the centrist Hassan Rouhani reflects society\u2019s desire for greater political and social freedoms.
\n\u201cIran\u2019s negotiating partners must confront any attempt at wholesale repression inside the country that may follow this agreement,\u201d said Ghaemi. \u201cOtherwise they will not only be colluding in the denial of the basic rights of the Iranian people, they will also be undermining the nuclear accord and setting the stage for yet more instability in a region already choked with strife.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nFor the latest human rights developments in Iran visit the Campaign\u2019s website
\nFor interviews, contact:
\nHadi Ghaemi at +1-917-669-5996, hadighaemi@iranhumanrights.org
\nGissou Nia at +1-203-654-9342,\u00a0gissou.nia@iranhumanrights.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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