Human rights situation in Iran, the topic of a meeting in the German capital

On Thursday, September 29, the “Karamat Center” and the “International Society for the Defense of Human Rights” based in Frankfurt, Germany, held a meeting on the human rights situation in Iran. The special guest of the meeting was Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi.

The opening session of the session on the human rights situation in Iran was dedicated to short speeches and answers to journalists' questions. In addition to Shirin Ebadi, Martin Lesnentin, spokesperson for the Executive Board of the International Society for the Defense of Human Rights, was also present.

According to Helmut Gobel, press spokesman for the Karamat Center and moderator of the meeting, Seyyed Mustafa Ezmet, a Gonabadi Dervish activist abroad, was also scheduled to attend the meeting, but since he has received death threats, French police have advised him to refrain from attending the Berlin meeting.

In his short speech, Martin Lesnten expressed regret that Mr. Ozem was unable to participate in the program and said: "Despite the fact that the Iranian government has taken away the right to freely choose religion from Iranian citizens and has restricted the rights of women and religious and ethnic minorities, a large number of human rights activists do not give up defending civil rights, people who are admirable."

He further emphasized that the international human rights community "has not turned a blind eye to human rights violations in Iran and is doing its part to respect civil rights in Iran through programs like this Berlin meeting and through contacts with German politicians" and encouraging them to pay attention to the human rights situation in Iran.

Text sent to the meeting

Following the press conference, Helmut Gobel read a text that Mustafa Ezmez had sent to the Berlin meeting. In this text, Ezmez introduced the Gonabadi Dervishes, the arrest and house arrest of Noor Ali Tabandeh, the leader of the Gonabadi Dervishes, the situation of the imprisoned Dervishes, and their protests in prison.

He also provided explanations about the reason for the Islamic Republic's hostility towards the Dervishes, recalling that Saeed Emami called the Gonabadi Dervishes among the worst opponents of the Islamic Republic, and that Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, during his time as head of the judiciary, had issued orders to seriously confront the Dervishes.

Shirin Ebadi's speech

In his short speech, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, while emphasizing that the Islamic Republic has been violating human rights for decades, expressed regret over the absence of the experiment and said that he himself has been threatened with death many times, but he believes that such threats should not be used to withdraw from the field of struggle for human rights. He stated: "Participating in this meeting could also be associated with a risk to my life, but I am not afraid. Although I am not a dervish, I have come to defend the rights of dervishes."

Ebadi then addressed the situation of the Dervishes, saying that they are also Shiites, but their interpretation of Islam is contrary to the official interpretation of the government, and "for this reason they have been the object of government wrath."

According to Ms. Ebadi, the Islamic Republic has forced Noor Ali Tabandeh, under house arrest, to appoint five people who are in contact with security agencies to handle the affairs of his followers.

Ebadi called on the Islamic Republic to allow Tabandeh to meet with his followers to determine whether the selection of these people was voluntary or under government pressure.

Shirin Ebadi also referred to the precarious situation of Gonabadi dervishes who have been sentenced to long-term imprisonment, saying: "Seven of them are in Qarchak Prison in Varamin, a prison that does not even have safe drinking water."

The special guest of the session to review the human rights situation in Iran said that the Islamic Republic was informed of this plan and "this morning (September 28), security forces went to visit Noor Ali Tabandeh to take a photo with him and publish it if necessary, and to pretend that he is not under house arrest and under pressure."

Questions and Answers

An AFP correspondent asked Shirin Ebadi about the new US sanctions, the protests of recent months, and the prospects for the pro-democracy movement in Iran.

Ebadi responded that he opposed economic sanctions because they both impoverished the Iranian nation and paved the way for further abuse by government affiliates.

He called for a political and media boycott of the Islamic Republic, meaning that Europeans should boycott the heads of government and the Revolutionary Guard Corps and prevent them and their capital from entering foreign countries.

In his opinion, European countries can also "prevent government propaganda and hatred in the region" by preventing the Islamic Republic from using satellites.

In response to another question from an AFP correspondent, Ms. Ebadi emphasized: "The pro-democracy movement in Iran has existed for years but has always been suppressed. Now people are tired, they take to the streets and protest, but they do not resort to violence. I am sure that democracy will soon prevail in Iran."

In this regard, he said: "There are people within the government who have more sense and know that continuing these conditions is not in anyone's interest."

Part two of the program

In the second part of the session to review the human rights situation in Iran, in addition to Shirin Ebadi and Martin Lesnten, Soheila Hadipour, a representative of Erfan Halge, Kamal Seydou from the Society for the Defense of Threatened Peoples, Jasha Noltenius from the Baha'i Community of Germany, Pastor Gottfried Martens from the Iranian Protestant delegation in the Steglitz area of ​​Berlin, and two Iranian Christian converts who have taken refuge in Germany participated.

This part of the program, which resembled a roundtable discussion, began with a symbolic action. Each participant held up small posters for one minute, each with a picture of a political prisoner, including Narges Mohammadi, Nasrin Sotoudeh, and Abdolfattah Soltani, and called for their release and that of all political and ideological prisoners.

The participants then went on to cite specific examples of human rights violations in Iran, including the ban on university education for Baha'is and the prevention of their business in various cities, the trial and treatment of Taheri, the founder of the Halgheh mysticism, the Islamic Republic's violent efforts to prevent the activities of Christian converts, and Iran's interference in the region, especially in Syria.

At the end of the program, an opportunity for questions and answers was provided, and participants answered questions from attendees regarding human rights violations in Iran.

Program Innovators

The meeting to review the human rights situation in Iran on September 28 in Berlin is just one of the activities of the international human rights community based in Frankfurt and the Hannover Center for Dignity.

The International Society for the Defense of Human Rights was founded in 1972 with the aim of defending human rights in the socialist countries of the so-called “Eastern Bloc.” Today, the organization specifically defends individual and social freedoms, especially for religious minorities.

The Karamat Center also consistently works to shed light on human rights violations in the Islamic Republic. The center's statute states that its main goal is to strive to establish a democratic government in Iran, a government that accepts diverse and incompatible cultures, religions, and viewpoints and serves the peaceful coexistence of all social classes.

In recent months, the two institutions have held several joint meetings regarding the human rights situation in Iran.

Source: DW