Congratulations on International Human Rights Day?

The seventy-first anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the United Nations coincides with the consequences of widespread protests in Iran, including positions on the killed and detained. In this regard, human rights defenders and Iranian officials have taken positions.

On December 10th (19 Azar), the “Iran Human Rights Defenders Society” wrote in an online statement: “Today is International Human Rights Day. Can this day be celebrated? Especially when hundreds of our compatriots have been killed in November’s protests against the spread of poverty and injustice, against unlimited political and economic corruption by government officials from all factions, against plundering and looting… and thousands more are captive and imprisoned.”

The statement continued that all high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic, “from Ayatollah Khamenei at the top to President Rouhani, cabinet ministers, the judiciary, parliament, and various political factions from conservatives to reformists” regarding the November unrest “either beat the drum of ‘pride in crime,’ remained silent, or at best expressed limited and fruitless protests here and there.”

The Iran Human Rights Defenders Society concluded its statement by asking the “international community” to “force the Islamic Republic regime to accept investigations by independent human rights experts into the November massacre, its planners and perpetrators, and hand them over to justice.”

“Together and for Each Other”

Shirin Ebadi, head of the Center for Defenders of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize winner, congratulated the Iranian people on International Human Rights Day. In a special message to the Center for Defenders of Human Rights in Iran, she wrote: “I know you have gone through difficult years, especially these days when you are still grieving the painful events of November. We all know that our country stands at a sensitive historical crossroads. On one hand, despotism with a loaded gun—as you saw in November—stands ready to kill and plunder national wealth, using religion as a weapon; the very religion you were once proud of. On the other hand, there is the abyss of chaos, unrest, and civil war. But certainly, with unity, we will pass through this crossroads. We will leave behind both the valley of despotism and civil war and reach the green plain of freedom and liberation. I know that day is not far off, and we will all strive to reach this goal; together and for each other.”

“Riots, Not Protest”

The secretary of the Human Rights Headquarters of Iran’s Judiciary made statements on International Human Rights Day regarding recent protests without addressing the human rights situation in Iran. Javad Larijani, responding to statements by Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, concerning the killing and detention of protesters, wrote: “To inform the High Commissioner, I emphasize that in recent events, individuals were not detained for participating in marches or peaceful collective protests.”

Larijani, while stating that the Islamic Republic faced “riots” not “protests,” claimed that protesters were not killed by government forces. He wrote: “Setting fire to more than 700 gas stations and destroying more than 200 bank branches and public service centers and mosques and gunning down people in streets and alleys, all in a very short period, would not be possible without terrorist preparations.”

Bachelet’s statement, released on 15 Azar (December 6), stated that based on released videos, “some security personnel shot directly from behind at unarmed individuals who were fleeing.”

Protesters “Were the Poor Masses of Society”

Contrary to Larijani’s and other Islamic Republic officials’ claims, Ali Motahari, a Tehran representative in the Islamic Consultative Assembly, says that December protesters were ordinary people.

He called blaming the Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization or monarchists for recent protests “incorrect analysis” and emphasized: “According to confessions by our own intelligence agencies, they were the poor masses of society who protested, and we must address their situation.”

Amnesty International reported the latest death toll from recent protests in Iran as 208 people. In these protests, thousands were injured and detained.

Source: DW