Petition by Lawyers and Political Prisoners to Revoke a National Security Council Resolution

A number of lawyers, former and current political prisoners, and families of political prisoners have submitted a letter to Ibrahim Raisi, the President and Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council, and the Head of the Judiciary, calling for the repeal of a “secret” resolution by the Supreme National Security Council concerning political prisoners.

The signatories of this letter state that when families and lawyers of these political prisoners repeatedly refer to the judiciary to follow up on the status of “security convicts,” judicial officials and judges condition the use of all legal facilities, electronic monitoring, the right to conditional release, and the granting of leave to political prisoners on the approval of case supervisors from security agencies such as the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards. They argue this is “contrary to the principle of judicial independence and has in many cases resulted in violations of the rights of political prisoners both inside and outside prison, and the application of psychological and mental pressure on their families.”

The authors of this letter further cited the correspondence of Amin-Vaziri, the prosecutor overseeing political prisoners, as an example. This judicial official wrote in a correspondence dated October 19, 2021, regarding the granting of medical leave to a political prisoner: “According to resolution 1331/100/D/85/M dated May 9, 2006, of the Supreme National Security Council, and also in accordance with circulars from the General Prosecutor of the Country, obtaining the expert opinion of the case supervisor (the Ministry of Intelligence or the Intelligence Organization of the Revolutionary Guards) is necessary for granting leave to security convicts (political prisoners).”

The signatories of this letter, identifying themselves as lawyers, former and current political prisoners, and families of political prisoners, state: “Like any fair citizen, we view the provisions of the resolution dated May 9, 2006, of the Supreme National Security Council and the General Prosecutor’s circular, which have served as a tool for security agencies to control the fate of political prisoners, as in obvious contradiction with the vital and extremely important principle of judicial independence, and consider it illegal.”

The authors of this letter have clarified: “The violation of Article 176 of the Constitution, which defines the duties of the Supreme National Security Council as determining the country’s defense and security policies and does not grant it legislative authority in the most minute judicial matters (affairs related to the prosecutor’s office), is among the reasons for the illegality of the aforementioned resolution.”

At the end of this letter, the Chairman of the Supreme National Security Council and the Head of the Judiciary are asked to “repeal the aforementioned resolution in the Supreme National Security Council, as well as repeal similar secret circulars issued by the General Prosecutor of the Country or any other official or body, and communicate it to the entire judiciary and security agencies; after years, implement the principle of judicial independence in the country’s judicial system in practice to achieve justice and respect for the rights of all political and non-political prisoners.”

The Judiciary is considered one of the three branches of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in the country’s Constitution, it is referred to as an “independent” institution that is tasked with being “the protector of individual and social rights and responsible for the realization of justice.”

This is while, based on the amendment to the Constitution approved in 1989, the head of this branch is appointed by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, and in practice is considered part of the apparatus under the supervision of the Supreme Leader.

The United Nations General Assembly last month condemned systematic and gross violations of human rights in Iran in a resolution.

This resolution pointed to an alarming number of death sentences, widespread and systematic arrests and arbitrary detentions, deliberate deprivation of prisoners from access to treatment and medical services, mistreatment of prisoners in Evin Prison, harassment, intimidation of opponents and human rights defenders, the use of torture to extract confessions, and suspicious deaths of prisoners.

Source: Radio Farda