End the torture and repression of minorities and the harassment of human rights defenders.

Javed Rahman addressed the Islamic Republic and said: "End the torture and repression of minorities and the harassment of human rights defenders."

Javed Rahman, a law professor, expert, and UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, expressed concern in his latest report about the increase in executions in 2023, the continued repression of women and harassment of human rights defenders and journalists, the torture of prisoners, and severe discrimination against minorities, including Christians, in Iran.

Javed Rahman has prepared a report for the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, in which, in addition to referring to reports by human rights organizations on human rights violations in Iran, he also referred to the repressive agents who, after the death of Mahsa Amini, severely suppressed the protesters and attempted to kill innocent people, including children and women, as well as using sexual violence against detainees.

To prepare the report, he spoke with civil society organizations, human rights organizations, victims of government repression, and families of Ukrainian victims shot down by a missile fired by the IRGC in various countries. He expressed regret that, despite repeated requests, he was never allowed access to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In his report, Mr. Rahman expressed concern about discrimination against minorities, including religious, ethnic, and linguistic minorities, including Baha'is and Christians, especially those who have converted from Islam to Christianity. He wrote: "Persons belonging to minorities are victims of structural discrimination and are often subjected to systematic persecution. In many cases, Christian Bibles are confiscated and used as evidence against these citizens in court. In the past year, many people have been imprisoned, tortured, or executed for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, belief, and peaceful activity."

Referring to the report by the "Article 18" organization and three global Christian organizations on the situation of Christians in Iran, which was published in February, Javed Rahman added: "According to the reports of these four Christian organizations, the government of the Islamic Republic has regularly violated international covenants and treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a signatory, and has violated the fundamental and basic rights of prisoners."

Referring to "Yousef Mehrdad" and "Seyed Sadrallah Fazeli Zare," two prisoners of conscience who were convicted of "insulting the Prophet" through posting content on social media and were executed in Ordibehesht 1402, the UN rapporteur wrote: "Given that apostasy is punishable by death in Iran, the Islamic Republic of Iran has never included the crime of apostasy in its law and instead, relying on the constitution of the Islamic Republic, the Islamic Penal Code, has issued permission for the implementation of religious punishments. Christian converts have been accused of apostasy many times, and Hossein Soudmand, the leader of the Jamaat Rabbani Church in Mashhad, is the only Christian convert who was officially executed on this charge."

"Since conversion from Islam is not permitted in Iran, Christian converts face the risk of apostasy and blasphemy, which carries the death penalty. Christian converts and many who are arrested and detained are persecuted."

Mr. Rahmani wrote in his report that the Christian detainees have been accused of "propaganda against the system," "propaganda of Zionist evangelical Christianity," or "administration and management of house churches," and that the right to freedom of thought or belief of these citizens, which is one of their fundamental rights, is being violated, even though Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees Iranians access to it, to which Iran is a signatory.

The law professor, in his recommendations to the Iranian government, called for equal rights for all citizens, an end to laws that discriminate against individuals on various grounds, including ethnicity, gender, and religion. He also called for an end to torture, the release of detainees, and arbitrary arrests, including of dual nationals, journalists, human rights defenders, and women's rights defenders. He called on the government to release all those detained for exercising their rights to freedom of opinion, expression, association, and peaceful assembly.