Amnesty International: The human rights situation in Iran has worsened

Amnesty International's report says the human rights situation in Iran has deteriorated sharply in the past year. The report points to public protests against increasing poverty and corruption, the suppression of demonstrations, and the arrest and torture of many critics.

Amnesty International has issued a detailed report that comprehensively examines the human rights situation in Iran in 2018. The report emphasizes, citing numerous cases, that the human rights situation in the country has deteriorated sharply.

Amnesty International has pointed to numerous cases of the worsening situation in Iran, including strong public protests against high prices and the rampant spread of corruption in the country, the harsh treatment of peaceful demonstrations by security forces, and the arrests, torture, and unfair trials of critics.

The report states that in 2018, “torture and other ill-treatment were widely practiced, with impunity for perpetrators and perpetrators. Flogging, amputation, and other cruel and inhumane punishments were also carried out. During the year, authorities continued to commit widespread discrimination and violence based on gender, political opinion, religious belief, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.”

Amnesty International has written in its report about numerous and systematic cases of restrictions on freedom of religion and belief in legal and practical dimensions, the issuance of a large number of death sentences, unfair trials, public executions, and the execution of convicts who were under 18 years of age at the time of the crime.

Restrictions on freedom of expression, association and assembly

Amnesty International's report states that in the past year, "Iranian authorities have increasingly suppressed the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, and have detained hundreds of people on baseless charges of threatening national security."

The human rights organization names as among those imprisoned in Iran on various charges “peaceful political opponents, journalists, social media activists, students, filmmakers, musicians and writers, and human rights defenders including lawyers, women’s rights activists, minority rights activists, labor rights activists, environmental activists, anti-death penalty activists, and individuals seeking truth, justice, and reparations for the widespread executions and enforced disappearances of the 1960s.”

In this report, Amnesty International examined cases of excessive use of force last year in connection with the suppression of protests against poverty and corruption in the country, and wrote about arbitrary arrests and detentions.

According to the human rights organization, most of those arrested in Iran have been denied the right to choose and access to a lawyer. The report goes on to cite numerous examples of the continued detention of Nasrin Sotoudeh and her husband Reza Khandan for supporting women who protested against the hijab, and the arrest of other lawyers, including Amir Salar Davoudi, Arash Keykhosravi, Ghasem Sholeh Saadi, Farrokh Forouzan, Mohammad Najafi, Mostafa Daneshjo, Mostafa Turk Hamedani, Payam Darfashan, and Zeinab Taheri.

Media repression

Amnesty International has documented the restrictions on the work of media activists and the arrests and detentions of media activists in its annual report. The report states that last year, “managers of some of the most popular Telegram channels in Iran faced heavy prison sentences.” Telegram was blocked in May, while Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube remained blocked. Millions of Iranians continued to use Telegram by using anti-filter software.

The report continued, stating that “media censorship and disruption of foreign satellite television channels continued. A number of journalists and online media activists were arbitrarily arrested and detained; some were tried and sentenced to prison and flogging. The Journalists’ Guild remained suspended.”

Torture of prisoners

Amnesty International has documented numerous and detailed examples of “systematic torture and other ill-treatment, including prolonged solitary confinement, particularly during interrogation,” in its new report, which says that violations of prisoners’ rights continued last year. “Prisoners were forced to endure cruel and inhumane prison conditions, including overcrowding in cells, inadequate food, a shortage of beds, poor ventilation, and insect infestations,” the report said.

Amnesty International also mentioned the house arrest of leaders protesting the 2009 elections in Iran.

Restrictions on freedom of religion and belief

According to Amnesty International, freedom of religion or belief has been systematically violated in the past year, both in law and in practice. The report notes that “Iranian authorities continued to force believers of other religions and atheists to conform to religious rules and principles derived from strict interpretations of the Shia religion. Widespread violations of the right to change or renounce religious beliefs continued.”

The report continues by mentioning the situation of the Gonabadi Dervishes and the suppression of their demonstrations and the arrest of hundreds of them, stating that “more than 200 of them were sentenced to four months to 26 years in prison, flogging, exile within the country, a ban on leaving the country, and a ban on membership in social and political groups during unfair trials.”

The report further examines the restrictions on religious minorities, including those regarding Christian converts and their continued persecution and arbitrary detention, as well as cases of long-term prison sentences for several members of the Assyrian minority, widespread and systematic attacks against the Baha'i minority, arrests, imprisonment, forced closure of businesses, confiscation of property, bans on employment in the government sector, lack of access to higher education, and destruction and disrespect for their cemeteries, as well as discrimination and deprivations against Sunni Muslims.

Discrimination against women and girls

The Amnesty International report noted that last year women continued to face deep-rooted discrimination in family and criminal law, including in the areas of divorce, employment, inheritance, and access to political office. Iran’s civil code continued to deny women married to non-Iranian men the right to pass on Iranian citizenship to their children, and a bill to ensure women’s safety from violence remained pending, as in previous years. Amnesty International wrote that last year Iranian authorities continued to refuse to criminalize gender-based violence, including domestic violence and marital rape, and that violence against women and girls, including domestic violence and forced and early marriage, was widespread.

The report continued, “At the same time, millions of women were subjected to harassment, violence, and discrimination by the Islamic Guidance Patrol for not adhering to strict Islamic dress codes. Women were prevented from singing and, in some cases, even playing musical instruments in public, and authorities still prevented women from entering football stadiums.”

Suppression of labor struggles

The ban on the formation of independent trade unions continued last year.

Thousands of workers peacefully demonstrated and went on strike to protest unpaid wages, poor working conditions, and other problems. Authorities arrested hundreds of them, and sentenced many to prison and flogging. Amnesty International also reported on the arrest of dozens of striking workers at the Haft Tappeh Sugar Company and the violent arrest of dozens of Ahvaz Steel workers following a weeks-long strike.

At the end of this report, Amnesty International, while pointing out the continued "death sentences following unfair trials and executions, sometimes even in public," noted that despite the amendment to the Anti-Narcotics Law, several people who were under 18 years old at the time of the crime were executed, and many other child criminals remained on death row.

The report also states that the Islamic Penal Code “continued to recognize stoning as a method of capital punishment. Certain consensual homosexual sexual acts that should not be defined as crimes in principle, and vague crimes such as “insulting the Prophet,” “moharebeh,” and “corruption on earth,” were still subject to the death penalty.”

Source: DW