Details from UN Secretary General’s Report on Human Rights Situation in Iran; High Execution Statistics and ‘Violent Suppression’ of Protests

Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, presented a report on the human rights situation in Iran at the seventy-fifth session of the General Assembly of the organization.

The information in this report was prepared through the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, non-governmental organizations, media, and based on interviews by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights with individuals including victims of human rights violations, their families and their lawyers.

This report covers information obtained from September 30, 2019 to June 10, 2020 and includes matters some of which are referenced here:

Death Penalty and Right to Fair Trial

The UN Secretary General expressed concern in this report about the issuance of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran for a wide range of offenses, some of which include legitimate human rights activities, as well as the high rate of executions in Iran.

The report states that according to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the death penalty can only be imposed for “most serious” crimes, while in the Islamic Republic of Iran, consensual sexual relations, drug-related offenses and crimes such as “spreading corruption on earth” which have ambiguous definitions face the death penalty.

This section of the report also references an increase in execution rates.

In 2019, at least 280 people were executed, 13 of which were public executions. At least 30 executions were for drug-related charges, compared to 24 in 2018. At least 84 executions took place between December 31, 2019 and April 20, 2020.

The UN Secretary General’s report references deficiencies in criminal justice in the Islamic Republic of Iran including judicial independence, jurisdiction of courts, inequality before the law, and access to legal counsel.

The UN Secretary General expressed concern in this report about the high number of death sentences for child offenders and states that as of June 21, 2020, at least 90 child offenders were awaiting execution.

Also in 2019, at least four child offenders were executed, all of whom were between 15 and 17 years old at the time of the alleged murder.

The report references the execution of Majid Esmaeilzadeh in Ardabil Prison following forced confession under torture, and the execution of Shayan Saeidpour—a child offender who had escaped from Saghez Prison—without considering his psychological issues in issuing the sentence.

It also references the death of Danial Zein-alabdin, an accused person who was under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, in Miandoab Prison, which the government declared as “suicide.” Mr. Zein-alabdin had been transferred to Miandoab Prison along with several other prisoners following his protest against conditions in Mahabad Prison during the coronavirus crisis.

The UN Secretary General emphasized in his report that the government’s responsibility for deaths in custody is only rebutted if an independent body conducts a transparent, impartial and accurate investigation.

Mr. Guterres expressed regret that the Islamic Republic of Iran has only partially accepted two of 39 recommendations from the organization regarding abolishing the death penalty or limiting it to most serious crimes and one of 23 recommendations regarding the death penalty for child offenders.

Situation of Dual Nationals and Imprisoned Environmental Activists in Iran

The UN Secretary General also expressed concern about the situation of dual nationals who were still imprisoned in Iran as of June 10, 2020, including Ahmadreza Jalali, Masoud Mousavi, Morad Tahbaz, Kamran Qaderi, Siamak Namazi and Baquer Namazi who is undergoing medical treatment and is not allowed to travel.

The report states that the Islamic Republic of Iran only partially accepted one of three recommendations regarding the situation of imprisoned dual nationals.

The UN Secretary General also addressed the situation of arrested environmental activists including Niloufar Bayani and states: “Ms. Bayani was convicted for activities she conducted for the United Nations and part of her punishment is paying a fine equivalent to income she received from this organization.”

Right to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly

In a section of the UN Secretary General’s report, he references the violent suppression of November protests and the lethal use of force by security forces.

The UN Secretary General states that the root of the protests was public discontent with the political system and economic conditions, but the government described the protesters as “thugs separate from ordinary people.”

This report references the killing of at least 304 people including 23 children (22 boys and 1 girl) and 10 women between November 15-19 (November 24-28, 2019) in 37 Iranian cities.

The UN Secretary General in his report also references the response of the Interior Minister to a representative who had raised the issue of shooting at the heads of slain protesters by saying “they were also shot in the feet.”

In another section of this report, he addresses the acknowledgment of the Qods Township Governor regarding orders to shoot at protesters and statements by a parliamentary representative who said at least seven thousand people were arrested during the protests.

The UN Secretary General referenced reports about deprived arrested protesters of medical care, torture and mistreatment and forced false confessions.

Mr. Guterres expressed grave concern about the detention of children (under 18) during the protests and states that only from Khuzestan Province, one thousand cases of child detention were reported.

A section of this report addresses the detention of protesters in January 2020 following the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps missile attack on a Ukrainian passenger plane, and references mistreatment of them in prison and issuance of sentences ranging from six months to five years imprisonment for at least 13 people for participating in protests or taking photos and videos of candlelit ceremonies to commemorate the victims.

Right to Freedom of Expression and Opinion

In this section of the UN Secretary General’s report, while referencing the incompatibility of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s constitution with the right to freedom of expression, he addressed the expansion of government control over information in cyberspace and internet censorship.

Among the cases referenced in this report are the widespread internet shutdown from November 25, 2019 in response to protests and government censorship and harassment of journalists in attempts to limit information about these events.

The UN Secretary General also expressed concern about harassment of families of journalists from Persian-language foreign media and states that the Islamic Republic of Iran has only accepted 4 of 25 recommendations on the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

Situation of Detainees During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The UN Secretary General expressed concern about the lack of sanitation facilities in Iranian prisons and failure to address the situation of prisoners to prevent coronavirus infection including overcrowding in cells and failure to quarantine those infected with coronavirus.

Mr. Guterres states that Iran has accepted all UN recommendations to prevent virus spread in prisons and requires immediate implementation including releasing those eligible for temporary release during this period, as many could not benefit from this right due to high bail, and according to reports, temporary release has not included many political and ideological prisoners.

The UN Secretary General also referenced the deprivation of some prisoners such as Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer, and dual national prisoners such as Siamak Namazi, Masoud Mousavi, Morad Tahbaz and Kamran Qaderi of medical facilities while some of them were exposed to the coronavirus.

Situation of Women and Girls

The UN Secretary General referenced the continuation of legal and practical gender-based discrimination including in matters of family affairs, freedom of movement, employment, culture and sports and access to political and judicial positions.

The report states that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has fully or partially accepted only 19 of 85 UN recommendations regarding the situation of women and girls.

Situation of Minorities

The UN Secretary General in a section of his report expressed concern about the failure to take action to review the constitution and abolish religious discrimination including against Bahais and states that he regrets that the Iranian government has only fully or partially accepted 9 of 25 recommendations regarding freedom of religion.

Economic Challenges

In the final section of the UN Secretary General’s report, he referenced dire economic conditions in Iran and government failure to control coronavirus spread in the country.

Mr. Guterres emphasized the importance of assessing the human rights situation in relation to severe economic crisis including deteriorating living conditions, high inflation, unemployment, corruption and mismanagement in public budget that has led to public discontent since December 2017.

Source: Voice of America