UN Rapporteur: Freedom of expression has become more restricted in Iran
Javed Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, says freedom of expression in Iran has become more restricted. In his second report in six months, he expressed concern about the impact of sanctions on “food and medicine security” in Iran.
Javed Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, has submitted his second report to the UN General Assembly.
The report, the full text of which was published on the official UN website on Friday, August 16, emphasizes that freedom of expression in Iran has been further restricted and human rights violations have continued over the past year. The first report by Javed Rahman was published on February 27, 2019.
In his second report, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran reiterated his request to the authorities of the Islamic Republic to travel to Iran and stated that in order to prepare his report on the human rights situation in Iran, he reviewed information provided by various sources, including non-governmental organizations, human rights defenders, and the media, in accordance with the regulations of the Human Rights Council. He has also contacted representatives of the Islamic Republic of Iran for this purpose.
The first part of the UN report on the human rights situation in Iran highlights the devastating impact of natural disasters over the past 12 months, particularly flooding across a significant part of Iran, on the lives of ordinary people in Iran. At the same time, concerns are expressed about the impact of sanctions on “food security, availability and affordability of medicines and medical equipment” in Iran. The UN report emphasizes that sanctions have had the greatest impact on the lives of ordinary people in Iran.
Javed Rahman then reviewed the human rights situation in Iran over the past six months, emphasizing that the right to freedom of expression, the right to liberty, and the right to a fair trial have been further restricted in Iran. He also reported on the harassment of human rights activists, minorities, especially Baha'i citizens of Iran, lawyers, journalists, including journalists from the BBC Persian service, labor activists, as well as women protesting against the compulsory hijab, and emphasized that the Iranian authorities continue to try to intimidate them.
Still at the top of the list of countries with the highest number of executions
The UN report, referring to the decrease in the number of executions in Iran - 253 executions in 2018 - emphasizes that Iran remains at the top of the list of countries with the highest number of executions.
The report refers to the execution of the death penalty in cases of criminals who were children at the time of committing the crime: In 2018, seven criminals who committed crimes as children were executed, and about 90 others face the risk of execution.
The UN report emphasizes that, according to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran has also signed, the execution of these individuals is completely prohibited and Iran must immediately end the execution of such sentences.
Increasing pressure on human rights activists
Another section of the report mentions the intimidation of human rights lawyers, including Nasrin Sotoudeh. Nasrin Sotoudeh defended women protesting against the compulsory hijab in Iran. She was sentenced to 148 lashes and a long prison sentence. It also mentions the arrest of eight prominent human rights lawyers for defending political prisoners and human rights activists, including Amir Salar Davoudi, who was sentenced to prison and 111 lashes.
The report continues by mentioning the increasing pressure on labor activists, including teachers, workers, and truck drivers, and specifically mentioning prisoners such as Sepideh Gholian, journalist and editor of the Telegram channel Gam, Amirhossein Mohammadifard, Sanaz Alhayari, Ali Amirgholi and Asal Mohammadi, Esmaeil Bakhshi, and Ali Nejati.
Oppression of women
The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran has dedicated a section to the activities of Iranian women opposing the compulsory hijab and has mentioned in his report the cases of Yasman Ariani, Monireh Arabshahi, and Mojgan Keshavarz. These three civil society activists have been sentenced to a total of 55 years and six months in prison. The arrest and sentencing of these women to prison has been called a clear example of the repression of women who are peacefully seeking their rights.
Persecution of religious minorities
The UN report goes on to address the situation of ethnic and religious minorities, with particular reference to the Baha'is. The UN rapporteur stressed that the Baha'is are the largest non-Muslim minority that the Islamic Republic does not recognize and that their population of about 350,000 in Iran is severely persecuted. Since the beginning of the Islamic Republic, more than 200 Baha'is have been executed for their religious beliefs.
The UN Special Rapporteur also states that the execution of Baha'is for their religious beliefs has been halted, but the risk of their arrest and imprisonment is always present, and since August 2005, more than 1,168 Baha'is have been arrested and sentenced to prison on vague and ambiguous charges. He goes on to mention violations of the rights of Sunni Muslims, Gonabadi Dervishes, Ahl al-Haqq, and members of the Halgheh sect.
Finally, the UN rapporteur, while reiterating his request for permission to travel to Iran, called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic to end the intimidation of human rights defenders, release dual-nationality prisoners, and end the persecution of official and unofficial religious minorities.
Source: DW
