HRANA's annual report on human rights violations in Iran: 7 million child laborers and 20,000 cases of child marriage

The news agency of the Human Rights Activists Association of Iran, HRANA, published a comprehensive report on human rights violations in Iran during 1400.

The report states that the statistics presented in this report "cannot be considered a complete mirror of the human rights situation in Iran" because the Islamic Republic does not allow independent human rights organizations to operate freely.

VOA cannot independently verify these statistics.

Some of the statistics presented in this report are as follows:

• Dissenters

The general and revolutionary courts have issued a total of 310 cases of ideological or security defendants, totaling more than 1,110 years in prison, and fines of more than 6.6 billion rials for dissidents in Iran.

• Children

During the year 1400: more than 20,000 child marriages were registered; at least 7,780 cases of child abuse, rape, and sexual abuse of children occurred; 92 children committed suicide and three children committed self-immolation; more than three million children were deprived of education; and there were more than seven million child laborers in Iran.

• Whipping sentences

Last year, at least 4,000 lashes were issued and nearly 400 were carried out.

• Women, culture, tradition and laws

Over the past year, there were more than 21,500 cases of domestic violence, at least 12 women were subjected to acid attacks, 10 women committed self-immolation, and 20 others were victims of honor killings.

• Civilian casualties

In 1400, 203 Iranian citizens were targeted by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic, 26 colporteurs were killed and 86 colporteurs were injured, 13 fuel tankers were killed and 12 fuel tankers were injured, and as a result of a mine explosion, 25 citizens were killed and 65 others were injured.

• Death sentences

According to HRANA, during the past year, at least 333 Iranians, including three child offenders (people who were under the legal age at the time of committing the crime), were executed by the Islamic Republic, and 105 others were issued death sentences.

• Workers' situation

During the year 1400, at least 10,669 workers were fired or unemployed, 764 workers were killed in work accidents, 9,441 others were injured, and nearly 32,000 workers reported wage arrears.

• Protest rallies

Last year, at least 2,769 protest rallies were recorded, of which 610 were labor rallies, 1,769 were union rallies, 48 ​​were student rallies, and 262 were property-losers' rallies.

• Prisoner status

According to this report, in 1400 AH, 193 prisoners went on hunger strike, 317 prisoners were exiled, threatened, and tortured, and 27 prisoners lost their lives due to “illness, murder by officers, and suicide.”

The United States has repeatedly and on various occasions condemned the Islamic Republic of Iran for various human rights violations.

The United States imposed sanctions on Iranian security officials and entities a few months ago for “serious human rights abuses,” the suppression of protests, and the undermining of democracy. The State Department, in a statement, quoted Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying that the United States uses a wide range of tools to expose and stop human rights abuses.

Iran has also been listed as a “Country of Particular Concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 since 1999 due to severe violations of religious freedom. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has emphasized, based on the latest State of Religious Freedom Report, that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran continues to intimidate, harass, abuse, and detain members of religious minorities, including Baha’is, Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, Sunni Muslims, and Dervishes.

Source: Voice of America