Grave Concerns Over Further State Violence Ahead of “Blood Friday” Anniversary, When 100+ Protesters Were Killed

September 29, 2023 – At least four children were among dozens of peaceful protesters who were injured when Iranian authorities opened fire on protests in the Iranian city of Zahedan today—one day before the anniversary of “Bloody Friday,” when some 100 protesters were shot and killed on one day there last year.

“This is a horrifying display of indiscriminate violence by the Islamic Republic as the state attempts to suppress peaceful demonstrations,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “They deserve unwavering international support.”

“Ethnic and religious minorities in Iran remain extraordinarily vulnerable to relentless oppression,” added Ghaemi.

“It is imperative for the international community to shine a spotlight on this violence and to hold Iranian officials accountable in international courts, invoking the principle of international jurisdiction,” he said.

Videos and photos shared on social media by the Haalvsh Baluchi news agency showed children being treated in hospitals and injured protesters being carried to safety, as well as protesters trying to flee amid heavy gunfire.

As the anniversary of the “Bloody Friday” massacre approaches, there is a heightened concern for further violence and potential bloodshed. The Iranian authorities have persistently resorted to indiscriminate force and arbitrary arrests despite widespread peaceful protests.

In a remarkable show of resilience, peaceful demonstrations have continued every Friday since the “Bloody Friday” massacre. Chants demanding the release of political prisoners and expressing discontent with the regime, such as “Free political prisoners” and “Death to the dictator,” have resounded throughout the protests.

Obstructed Investigations and Persecution of Sunni Religious Leaders

Efforts to investigate the massacre have faced obstruction by Iranian officials, as highlighted by Fadahossein Maleki, a Member of Parliament from Zahedan, in a recent interview on September 28.

In his sermon today, Mowlavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, reiterated the urgent need to hold those responsible for the “Bloody Friday” massacre accountable. He emphasized that the families of the victims seek the implementation of Islamic law concerning the perpetrators.

This condemnation comes amidst a prolonged campaign orchestrated by the Iranian government to suppress dissent among Sunni religious leaders, particularly in Sistan and Baluchestan province and Kurdish-populated provinces.

While religious and ethnic minorities in the Islamic Republic have long been oppressed, the state’s targeting of Sunni clerics intensified after anti-government protests swept across Iran in the wake of the September 2022 death in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini.

Many Sunni clerics spoke out strongly against the state’s violence against peaceful protesters. While state security forces killed over 500 protesters across the country and arrested approximately 20,000 people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, Baluchis and Kurds bore the brunt of the state’s lethal crackdown, with the highest number of casualties taking place in Sistan and Baluchistan province and in the Kurdish areas of the country, respectively.

Sunni clerics have also criticized the state’s disproportionate use of the death penalty against ethnic minority communities such as Baluchis and Kurds—including its heavy use for drug offenses, which violates international standards that allow capital punishment only for the “most serious” crimes, which do not include drug offenses.

In addition, the clerics have spoken out against the indiscriminate shooting by state border guards of couriers in both the Baluchi and Kurdish areas who sell goods over the border.

As a result, these religious leaders have become targets for heightened persecution by a government that sees any peaceful dissent as a potentially existential challenge to be crushed—especially when the criticism comes from highly respected figures in their respective communities.

Protesters also continue to be shot, beaten and detained for peacefully demanding justice.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Iran Human Rights (@centerforhumanrights)

The post Children Among Dozens Injured as Iranian Authorities Open Fire on Protests in Zahedan appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

New Law Requires Teachers To Be “Evaluated” with Ideological Questions Every Year

September 28, 2023 – A year-long state crackdown on civil society and dissent in Iran has been corroding the country’s education system, resulting in the arrests or detentions of at least 97 teachers over the past 12 months, as revealed by research conducted by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

Additionally, there have been at least 24 convictions of teachers on groundless national security charges, at least 20,000 school principals have been reportedly fired for allegedly allowing or supporting protests, and hundreds of teacher union members have been fired or arrested.

“The Iranian government’s deliberate obstruction of access to education is aimed at ensuring that no child is exposed to a teacher who’s critical of the state or supportive of the rights to freedom of speech and expression,” said Hadi Ghaemi, the executive director of CHRI.

“The Iranian government is striking at the heart of the country, the education system, to suppress dissent and this warrants strong international condemnation and action to prevent further harm to future generations in the country,” Ghaemi said.

CHRI urges international education organizations, including UNESCO and UNICEF, to demand an immediate cessation of the crackdown in schools and against teachers by the Iranian government, which not only violates students’ rights to free speech and expression, but also impedes access to education.

CHRI also echoes the demand of thousands of teachers and teachers’ unions in Iran for the Islamic Republic to be removed from the governing board of the International Labor Organization (ILO) for flagrantly violating the most Fundamental Principles of the ILO, including freedom of association, through the arbitrary arrests and firings of teachers.

Repression and Retaliation: The Ongoing Struggle of Iran’s Teachers and Principals

On September 27, 2023, three days after the official beginning of the academic year in Iran, parents and students of Tehran’s prestigious Farzanegan High School for Girls organized a protest rally in front of the Department of Education. The students also boycotted classes to express outrage over the firing of their principal, who was replaced with one who aligns with the state and has introduced stringent security measures designed to suppress students’ freedom of speech and expression.

Some 20,000 principals have been sacked and replaced in Iranian high schools since last year, according to Iran’s minister of education, Rezamorad Sahraei.

These cases involve female principals who rejected the compulsory hijab and religious programs, educators who openly criticized the government, and principals who refused to collaborate with security forces in reporting dissenting teachers or students, according to Abolfazl Rahimi-Shad, a teacher and political activist in Tehran who was fired in May 2023 in connection with the protests according to an order by the Ministry of Education.

“I believe the authorities are worried and want to prepare for [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei’s death in the near future,” Rahimi-Shad told CHRI. “They want to make sure all the government workers are loyal and ready to take orders in case there are more protests.”

Union Activists Arrested, Fired and Subjected to Other Punitive Actions

Since May 2022, teachers and their trade unions, particularly the Coordinating Council of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association (CCITTA), have been subjected to severe pressure by security agencies, noted Mohammad Habibi, a teachers’ rights advocate in Iran who has been imprisoned on sham charges for his peaceful advocacy of teachers rights.

“During this period, numerous union activists and teachers experienced arrests or faced administrative disciplinary actions such as forced retirement, exclusion from pay raises, or job termination,” he told CHRI.

On September 23, 2023, Habibi, the spokesman for the Iranian Teachers Trade Association (ITTA) in Tehran, announced he had been permanently fired for engaging in peaceful advocacy for teachers’ rights to fair pay and the ability to work without being fired for their political views.

He is a teacher with 21 years of service, but his appeal to the Ministry of Education was swiftly rejected. Habibi was released from prison in February 2023 after 10 months in prison on bogus national security charges.

Between June 2022 and September 2022, some 100-150 trade union teachers were detained, including those arrested during earlier protests, said Habibi, adding “Most were prosecuted, some sentenced, and others await verdicts. Following the Jina Movement [the Women Life Freedom protests of 2022], 15 to 20 more teachers were arrested for participating in related activities.”

Additionally, from January to September 2023, about 200 teachers received disciplinary orders and lost benefits, while around 100 union activists were compelled into retirement or suspended, and nearly 20 were terminated, said Habibi, noting that these figures are based on media reports, and many more cases may have gone unreported due to fear of consequences.

A new law that imposes further punishments on unveiled women in Iran also stipulates that teachers must be “evaluated  with ideological questions every year” to ensure they support the state’s repressive policies, according to Habibi. “In fact, the behavior of teachers during the year will also be monitored even outside the school environment, including on social media.”

“Apart from pressure on local media to encourage balanced reporting on the issue, activists and organizations should lean on international institutions such as UNICEF and the International Labor Organization, which the Islamic Republic is a member of, to gather support for teachers in Iran,” he said.

“These international institutions should hold the authorities of the Islamic Republic accountable and echo the voices of Iranian teachers and their problems,” added Habibi.

Educators Targeted to Stamp Out Youth Activism

Teachers have become a target of the Iranian government for multiple reasons. Not only do they represent one of the most organized union forces in the country, consistently advocating for improved pay and the release of teachers who are prisoners of conscience, but they have also faced government scrutiny due to their connection with the recent protests in Iran.

For the first time in history, elementary and high school students actively participated in anti-state protests that swept across the nation last autumn. These protests were ignited by the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini while in state custody, merely three days after her arrest on charges related to her attire.

Of particular note, high school girls played a prominent role in these demonstrations, bravely posting photos of themselves without the mandated hijab and boldly chanting “Death to the dictator” in videos that were widely shared on social media platforms.

Teachers also protested the government’s refusal to thoroughly investigate and halt a wave of poison gas attacks at mostly girls’ high schools between February and April.

In response to the student-led and teachers’ protests, the Iranian government has taken severe measures, including detaining, arresting, and dismissing teachers who have been accused of supporting demonstrations, allowing students to protest or holding memorials for students who were killed by state security forces at protests last year.

Mehdi Sheibani is one of these teachers. For filming himself lighting a birthday cake to mark what would have been the 18th birthday of his former student, Abolfazl Adinezadeh, who was shot and killed by state security forces at a street protest in September 2022, Sheibani was detained.

“As the new academic year begins, we find ourselves in a situation where numerous wise, responsible, and compassionate teachers are enduring unjust imprisonment, expulsion, forced retirement, exile, and other grossly unfair penalties. These reprisals stem from their rightful pursuit of demands, advocacy, or responsible critique encompassing cultural, political, social, and even educational matters,” said a statement by the Iranian Teachers’ 100,000 Signatures Campaign on the commencement of the academic year, September 24, 2023.

“Furthermore, many students and some young learners, who were educated by these dedicated educators in schools and universities, have suffered imprisonment or been deprived of their right to access education due to extrajudicial actions,” it added.

The egregious violations of teachers’ fundamental rights in Iran, especially in the past year, have been strongly condemned by Education International, one of the largest and most influential international organizations dedicated to education representing millions of educators worldwide.

In recent weeks, Iranian authorities cracked down on teachers and their union representatives to suppress a resurgence of last year’s rallies as the first anniversary of the extrajudicial killing of Jina Mahsa Amini will be marked on 16 September,” said the statement, which called for the immediate release of release jailed Iranian teacher unionists.

“The government recognizes that all facets of society in Iran want change, from high school students to the elderly,” said Ghaemi. “Instead of bowing to the will of the people, it’s trying to turn back this tide by eliminating anyone who may criticize state policies.”

The following teachers were convicted in the past 10 months after sham trials severely lacking in internationally recognized standards of due process, according to research by CHRI. Their only “crime” was engaging in some form of peaceful protest against repressive state policies.

1- Sara Siahpour, from Tehran, sentenced to six years in prison

2- Ahmad Alizadeh, from the city of Abdanan, Ilam province, sentenced to six years and seven months in prison

3- Shaban Mohammadi, from the city of Marivan, West Azerbaijan province, sentenced to five years in prison

4- Mojgan Bagheri, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to five years in prison

5- Asghar Amirzadegan, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to five years in prison

6- Gholamreza Gholami, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to five years in prison

7- Afshin Razmjooie, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to five years in prison

8- Iraj Rahnema, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to five years in prison

9- Mohammad Ali Razmkesh, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to five years in prison

10- Sarvar Mollaie, from the city of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, sentenced to three years and six months in prison

11- Hamid Jafari, from the city of Kashan, Isfahan province, sentenced to three years in prison

12- Zahra Esfandiari, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to two years in prison

13- Abdolrazzagh Amiri, from the city of Shiraz, Fars province, sentenced to two years in prison

14- Soleiman Abdi, from the city of Saqqez, Kurdistan province, sentenced to 16 months in prison and 70 lashes

15- Mehdi Dastani, from the city of Yazd, Yazd province, sentenced to one year in prison and 74 lashes

16- Salah Azadi, from the city of Marivan, West Azerbaijan province, sentenced to one year in prison

17- Tahereh Naghiee, from Tehran, sentenced to six months in prison

18- Hamid Jafari Nasrabadi, from Kashan, Isfahan province, sentenced to 15 months in prison

19- Rahim Sarkar, from Qazvin, Qazvin province, sentenced to one year in prison

20- Omid Shahmohammadi, from Divandareh, Kurdistan province, sentenced to five years in prison

21- Parviz Ahsani, from Divandareh, Kurdistan province, was given a suspended five-year prison sentence

22- Kaveh Mohammadzadeh, from Divandareh, Kurdistan province, was given a suspended five-year prison sentence

23- Hiwa Ghoreishi, from Divandareh, Kurdistan province, was given a suspended five-year prison sentence

24- Fatemeh Bahmani, from Divandareh, Kurdistan province, fined 10 million tomans ($243.00)

The post Academic Year in Iran Begins with Imprisonment of Teachers, Arbitrary Arrests appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

September 27, 2023 — The release of the five American hostages held in the Islamic Republic of Iran is a welcome development.  The imprisonment of these individuals, long-held unlawfully in the country, was a complete travesty of every international legal and ethical norm. Yet there are a number of concerns regarding the deal the Biden Administration struck with Iran to free them.

The first concerns the many dual nationals and foreign nationals who have been left behind and remain as hostages, imprisoned by the Iranian government (typically on manufactured espionage charges) to be used as political and financial bargaining chips.

The full number of detained foreign and dual nationals in Iran is unknown since many of the families of detained individuals avoid any publicity, fearing this will endanger their release. Research published in 2022 estimates that at least 66 foreign and dual nationals have been detained by Iran since 2010. These individuals are denied consular visits, which are required under international law, and to the dismay of their desperate families, remain behind bars.

Second, it is uncertain that the $6 billion in unfrozen funds will be used only for humanitarian purposes. The Biden administration says it will make sure the funds are used exclusively for humanitarian goods, but they have subcontracted direct monitoring to the Qatari government and banks. There needs to be full transparency; the Biden administration should publicly provide records of every expenditure from these funds and ensure that Qatari banks are fully following the requirements.

This money belongs to the Iranian people, not the government that has been killing and imprisoning them, and the Iranian people urgently need this money for food, medicines, and other humanitarian items. This is a citizenry in great economic distress, yet we do not see Iranian government policies focused on helping them. Instead, we see well-armed Islamic Republic security forces and regional clients. If the Iranian government has money it has made clear what its priorities are: violent repression and regional adventures.

Third, the deal does not effectively address the imperative to raise the costs to Iran of hostage-taking. Without this, more dual and foreign nationals will be abducted. The Biden Administration says it is going to work to put an end to the Islamic Republic’s continuous hostage-taking but the deal does not take any steps to do so. Coordinated multilateral action and policies that bring together many countries to impose meaningful costs on Iran for its hostage-taking is urgently needed, and the Biden administration should take a leadership role in this.

For example, the administration, along with the Canadian and European governments, should encourage more countries to sign the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations that Canada initiated in February 2021, which the US supported along with 69 other countries. This declaration should be highlighted at the UNGA. If 70 countries bring together their political muscle, and join in a united front against the Islamic Republic’s hostage-taking, the Iranian government would take note. If Iran continues its hostage-taking, countries could also commit to jointly pulling their ambassadors in protest. If dozens of countries recalled their ambassadors in protest, that would shake the Iranian government and make them realize it has a cost to pay.

If each government continues to negotiate over its prisoners individually, and never joins in a united front that significantly raises the costs to Iran of its hostage-taking, such deals are going to be relevant to these individual’s release, which is good news, but they will never address the Islamic Republic’s continuous use of hostage-taking as a foreign policy tool. Indeed, they will encourage more of it.

When I talk to people in all walks of life inside Iran, there is much bafflement over this deal—and its timing. The Biden administration handed the Islamic Republic a huge propaganda victory: on the very anniversary of the killing in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, days after she was arrested for an allegedly improper hijab, the Iranian government can tell its people that not only can it repress, maim, kill, and torture its own people, they can also manipulate international relations to get access to significant funds.

This deal also coincides with the UNGA, which is a very important moment in international relations. The Iranian people want to see Member States at the UN focused on the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran established in November 2022 to investigate the government’s crimes against peaceful protesters during the “Women Life Freedom” uprising, and directly question the Iranian government as to why it is not cooperating with the mission.

Meaningful support for and solidarity with the Iranian people must be a cornerstone of foreign policy toward Iran. The president of Iran is a perpetrator of crimes against humanity and the government has carried out widespread killings and atrocities against women, children, and peaceful protesters—every UN Member State should be taking note of this and condemning it.

Hadi Ghaemi is founder and executive director of the New York-based independent and nonprofit Center for Human Rights in Iran

The post Freeing Hostages is Good, Preventing Further Abductions by Iran Would Be Better appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

International Community Should Call for an End to Gender Apartheid in Iran

September 20, 2023 – On the anniversary week of the eruption of Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, sparked by the killing in state custody of a young women just three days after she was arrested for alleged inappropriate hijab, the Iranian parliament passed a bill that intensifies punishments against Iranian women and girls accused of wearing inappropriate hijabs. This legislation exposes them to heightened levels of violence.

“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is trampling the rights and freedoms of all women and girls in Iran by criminalizing freedom of expression,” said Jasmin Ramsey, deputy director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “This includes the countless brave women who continue to risk their lives in peaceful defiance against the state’s forced-hijab law by appearing unveiled in public.”

“One year after the killing in state custody of Mahsa Jina Amini soon after she was arrested for alleged improper hijab, not one Iranian official has been held accountable, not for her death nor the slaying of hundreds of protesters who rose up this past year,” Ramsey said. “Instead, all women in Iran are being subjected to collective punishment.”

“The Iranian parliament’s recent actions demonstrate once again that, like the entrenched old regime that governs Iran through force, they show no interest in or accountability for the rights and demands of the Iranian people,” she added.

CHRI has issued a stark warning that the “Chastity and Hijab Law” not only violates due process rights, denying women in Iran a fair trial before punishment, but also exacerbates discrimination and violence against women in the country.

Women in Iran Now Face More Violence, Discrimination

In June 2023, a woman in Tehran shared her experience of the law’s consequences with CHRI: “A few days ago, a man on the metro pushed me hard because I wasn’t wearing a hijab and I fell on the ground. Then he dragged me… If the police hadn’t arrived, the man wouldn’t have left me alone.”

This new law not only places undue burdens on ordinary citizens but also fosters vigilantism, compelling them to participate in the state’s enforcement of hijab regulations. Through a system of surveillance and reporting, it sows division and hostility among Iranians, leaving women even more susceptible to violence.

Already, judicial authorities have closed restaurants that allowed women without hijabs, and women have been denied access to banks for appearing unveiled.

Proposed in response to the growing number of women and girls appearing in public without compulsory hijabs over the past year, the bill passed with 152 votes in favor, 34 against, and seven abstentions.

Jasmin Ramsey, deputy director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), criticized the Iranian parliament, stating, “The parliament of the Islamic Republic has again displayed to the world that like the old men who rule over Iran through force, they are neither interested in nor accountable for the rights and demands of the people of Iran. Their only aim is to maintain their power.”

Hijabless Women Deemed “Prostitutes”

As the “Chastity and Hijab” bill, comprising over 70 articles, awaits review, its approval by the state’s “Guardian Council” seems likely. This council, composed of six clerics and six jurists, is headed by the 97-year-old ultra-conservative cleric, Ahmad Jannati.

Presently, women in Iran can face fines, arrests, or imprisonment for not adhering to hijab regulations. Article 638 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code stipulates penalties, stating, “Women who appear in public places and roads without wearing an Islamic hijab shall be sentenced to ten days to two months’ imprisonment or a fine of 50 thousand to five hundred rials.”

Moreover, women can be charged with prostitution or “promoting prostitution” if they resist wearing the veil or advocate for a woman’s right to dress as she chooses, as outlined in Article 639. This offense carries a punishment of one to ten years’ imprisonment.

The proposed “Chastity and Hijab” bill goes even further by equating the act of appearing in public without a hijab, whether in person or on social media, with harm to society, deeming it equivalent to “nudity.” The bill introduces a range of additional punishments, including fines, restrictions on accessing bank accounts, confiscation of personal vehicles, travel limitations, bans on online activity, and imprisonment.

Saeid Dehghan, an Iranian human rights lawyer, criticized the bill’s legality, citing a violation of Article 9 of the Constitution. This article explicitly states that “no authority has the right to abrogate legitimate freedoms, not even by enacting laws and regulations for that purpose, under the pretext of preserving the independence and territorial integrity of the country.”

Dehghan further emphasized the bill’s problematic nature by highlighting the lack of clear definitions for key terms such as “violations of social norms” and “hijab.” This absence of clarity not only opens avenues for manipulation and misuse of the law but also increases the risk of citizens’ rights being infringed upon due to the ambiguity.

Global Action Required to Unite Against Gender Apartheid in Iran

UN human rights experts have strongly denounced the Islamic Republic’s practice of “criminalizing the act of refusing to wear a hijab,” asserting that it constitutes a clear violation of women and girls’ freedom of expression. They emphasize that this violation can lead to potential infringements on other fundamental rights, spanning political, civil, cultural, and economic domains.

Simultaneously, women’s rights activists hae launched a campaign in March 2023 aimed at securing formal recognition of gender apartheid as a crime under international law. The campaign’s ultimate objective is to dismantle the structures perpetuating gender-based discrimination and inequality in the Islamic Republic of Iran and under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. By advocating for this recognition, activists seek to bring an end to existing systems of gender apartheid.

Despite facing immense adversity, Iranian women continue their peaceful defiance against the hijab law, even within the confines of prison.

Prominent human rights advocate Narges Mohammadi, from inside Iran’s Evin Prison, recently published a letter in the New York Times.

In it, she wrote, “The regime seems to be purposefully propagating a culture of violence against women. We are fueled by a will to survive, whether we are inside prison or outside. The government’s violent and brutal repression may sometimes keep people from the streets, but our struggle will continue until the day when light takes over darkness and the sun of freedom embraces the Iranian people.”

During his address to the UN General Assembly in New York, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi faced condemnation from UN human rights experts for his government’s violent repression of protests. They expressed ongoing concerns about the policies and practices in Iran, which, they argued, result in total impunity for grave crimes committed under international law in the year following Mahsa Jina Amini’s killing.

“The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran could have learned important lessons from the tragic death of Jina Mahsa Amini. But its response to the demonstrations that have led to the deaths of hundreds of protestors since September 2022 shows that authorities have chosen not to,” they stated.

CHRI urges the international community to demand an end to gender apartheid in Iran, beginning with the repeal of the state’s forced-hijab law.

“The hijab should be a choice, not a tool of state repression. Iranian women’s courageous stance against this government of old men deserves international support,” said Ramsey.

The post Iran’s Parliament Approves Harsh New Hijab Law, Escalating Repression of Women appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

• Child Soldiers Used to Assist State Security Forces
• Relatives of Victims of State Violence, Activists Threatened to Refrain from Protesting
• Prisoners of Conscience Launch Solidarity Strikes, Women’s Prison Comes Under Attack

September 16, 2023 – While Iranians around the world commemorated the anniversary of Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement with demonstrations, inside Iran, at least one civilian suffered a gunshot wound to the head as armed state security forces were deployed throughout the nation to suppress protests.

“One year after Jina Amini’s killing, not one Iranian official has been held accountable for her senseless death in state custody or for the killings of hundreds of peaceful protesters,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “Instead, the authorities deployed armed forces into the cities while shamelessly threatening activists and family members of slain protesters in a desperate attempt to quell more peaceful demonstrations.”

“World leaders must urgently call upon Iranian authorities to cease the use of force to suppress dissent and protests, and it’s our collective responsibility to amplify the voices of Iranians within the country who are bravely speaking out,” he added.

“Given the unchecked state violence and repression in Iran, the international community should hold state officials accountable for grave rights violations in international courts on the principle of universal jurisdiction,” said Ghaemi.

One Shot by State Security Forces, Child Soldiers Exploited to Assist State Forces

Fardin Jafari, 27, was hospitalized after sustaining a head injury from a gunshot fired by state security forces stationed at the Aichi Cemetery in the city of Saqqez. This cemetery serves as the final resting place of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, whose killing in state custody one year ago ignited months of anti-state protests.

The shooting occurred after local authorities had deployed armed forces to the cemetery in an attempt to deter memorials and protests commemorating Amini’s death, which served as the catalyst for the country’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement. There is currently no immediate information available regarding the precise circumstances of the shooting or the individual’s condition.

Video footage shared online showed tear gas being used to suppress protests in cities including Tehran, Karaj, and Mashhad, where a clip showed a group of people in the city fleeing amid sounds of gunfire.

Despite the heavy state security presence, at the time of this writing CHRI can confirm protests in several cities including Tehran, where two females stood on a platform waving their mandatory headscarves and others gathered elsewhere chanting slogans, in Karaj, where a group chanted, “We are a great nation, we will take Iran back,” Arak, where protesters chanted “Death to Khamenei” (referring to the supreme leader), as well as the cities of Lahijan, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Mashhad, Shiraz, Isfahan, Bukan, Izeh, and Rasht, where protesters chanted “Death to the dictator” and “Freedom, Freedom, Freedom!”

It is extremely difficult to confirm at this moment the actual number of cities that experienced protests or the extent of state violence due to the Iranian government’s restriction of the internet.

A clip shared online by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network shows child soldiers being used by Iranian authorities to quell protests.

Armed state forces had been stationed and were patrolling the streets of Iranian cities these past two days in an intimidating show of state power ahead of the September 16 anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in state custody.

Jarring footage shared online by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network also showed child soldiers being used by those forces to patrol the streets.

The network reported similar instances of child soldiers being used in other cities while safeguarding the anonymity of their sources. The recruitment and use of child soldiers constitute a war crime according to the International Criminal Court.

“Solidarity Strikes by Prisoners of Conscience; Women Prisoners Assaulted Amid Prison Fire

At least 20 women prisoners were reportedly injured after a fire broke out in the Qarchak prison for women, and security forces were rushed in to quell a protest, firing pellets and beating the women.

In other prisons, prominent women and male prisoners of conscience waged hunger strikes and sit-ins in solidarity with the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

“We call upon the people of Iran and the world to be the voice of protesters and dissenters and support us,” said a joint statement posted on rights activist Narges Mohammadi’s Instagram page. The sit-in was joined by fellow prominent imprisoned activists including Sepideh Qolian, Golrokh Iraee, Azadeh Abedini, Shakila Monfared, Mahboubeh Rezaee, and Vida Rabbani

Male prisoners of conscience on hunger strike issued a joint statement announcing their hunger strike “to show solidarity with all non-violent activists for an independent, free, and developed Iran without any discrimination.” The prominent activists include Mohammad Najafi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Saeid Madani, and Mehdi Mahmoudian.

Imprisoned university students Ali Younesi and Amir Hossein Moradi, held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, also announced that they were launching their hunger strike “in solidarity with the uprising of the people of Iran.”

Relatives of Victims of State Violence Threatened

On the heels of a weeks-long campaign of detaining and summoning relatives of victims of state violence, agents of Iran’s Intelligence Ministry today threatened family members of slain street protesters with arrests if they attended memorial ceremonies for their loved ones.

Mahsa Jina Amini’s father, Amjad Amini, whose daughter’s killing in Iranian state custody ignited months of anti-state protests, was briefly detained for the fourth time this month, and threatened not to visit his daughter’s grave or call for public mourning. At the time of this writing, he and his family were under house arrest, with their home surrounded by state security forces.

State forces also blocked access to Amini’s grave in the Aichi Cemetery in Saqqez city to prevent protests there. Additionally, the grave of Nika Shakarami, who was only 16 when killed during last year’s protests, was reportedly vandalized in Khorramabad city, Lorestan province.

Internet access was severely restricted or blocked in several Iranian cities, including Zahedan, where anti-state protests have been ongoing since last year. Iranian authorities have a documented history of curtailing internet access during protests, both to hinder protest coordination and to suppress the sharing of evidence of violence against peaceful protesters online.

Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported that shops in Kurdish-populated cities including Amini’s hometown of Saqqez had closed their doors in solidarity.

“The Iranian authorities’ deployment of armed forces, coupled with weeks-long detention and intimidation campaigns against activists and victims’ families, underscores the Iranian government’s deep fear of public dissent,” said Ghaemi.

“Protest and the right to mourn are fundamental rights consistently violated by Iranian authorities,” he added. “The excessive violence and unchecked impunity within the Iranian government continue to fuel Iranians’ demand for fundamental change.”

The post At Least One Shot as Iran Deploys Armed Forces to Suppress “Woman, Life, Freedom” Protests appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

At least 26 Professors Punished, Students Face Heightened Restrictions and Repression

September 13, 2023 – One year after the inception of Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, research conducted by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has revealed that dozens of university professors in Iran have been fired, suspended, or forced into retirement due to allegations of supporting the movement. Some have been replaced by individuals with well-established ties to the state.

This intensified crackdown is further compounded by the arbitrary detention of family members seeking justice for their loved ones who were killed by state security forces during the protests last year.

“These developments underscore the determination of the Iranian government to quash dissent across all potential avenues of protest, especially as the anniversary of the initial protests approaches on September 16, 2022,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.

“We urgently call upon the international community to remain vigilant and vigorously support the Iranian people’s right to peacefully voice their concerns, both in academic settings and in the streets, without the threat of persecution or state violence,” he said.

Spurred by the killing in state custody of Mahsa Jina Amini, 22, on September 16, 2022, just three days after she was arrested for her allegedly inappropriate hijab, universities across the country emerged as significant centers of protest.

According to CHRI’s research, a minimum of 26 university professors have accordingly faced consequences for their purported support of these protests (a list of confirmed names is included at the end of this report).

Additionally, a considerable number of students have been subjected to punitive measures issued by university disciplinary committees, as well as summoned to security agencies, where they faced threats aimed at coercing them to cease their protests.

The government has also implemented changes to university entrance exams and altered course availability to intimidate and deter students who may be inclined to continue protesting.

Protesting Professors Ousted and Replaced by Regime Supporters

Since Ebrahim Raisi assumed the presidency in 2021, the number of academics expelled from universities surged to at least 110, in contrast to the 85 during Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration (2005-2013), and 14 under Hassan Rouhani’s tenure (2013-2021), as reported by the Persian-language Etemad newspaper on August 31, 2023.

Simultaneously, individuals with established connections to state institutions, including those employed by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s (IRIB) state broadcasting organization—a body that aids state security agencies in stifling dissent through its programs, notably broadcasting forced false confessions by political prisoners—have been enlisted to replace the ousted academics.

According to an August 27, 2023 report by Fars, a news agency with close ties to the Islamic Republic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Amir Hossein Sabeti, the host of IRIB’s Jahanara news show who has personally aided intelligence agencies in obtaining forced confessions, as well as regularly expressing support for repressive state policies, has been hired to teach a course on the Islamic Revolution at the prestigious Sharif University.

Another IRIB television presenter, Abbas Mozoun, will teach “life principles” at Sharif as well.

In addition, Saeid Haddadian, a well-known Islamic singer close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has been appointed as a graduate-level literature professor by the University of Tehran.

At the same time, members of Al-Hashd Al-Sha’bi, an Iraqi militia linked to the IRGC, have been enrolling at Tehran University to keep an eye on student protesters, according to an August 9, 2023, report by the IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency.

Ousted Professors Speaks Out

At least 26 university professors have faced severe persecution by the government for their alleged backing of protesting students, with a minimum of 11 fired in the month of August 2023, just weeks before the September 16 anniversary of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

“Allow me to say sincerely: I am a teacher. I taught in schools for many years, and, for nearly 10 years, I have been teaching in the university. As teachers, we cannot, and should not, be subservient to governments. We earn our bread from the people and therefore we must act as their servants. The schools and universities are the home of the nation’s children, whose rights we support, and their home we shall protect.”

Ameneh Aali, a professor recently expelled from the College of Psychology at Allameh Tabatabai University in Tehran, for allegedly supporting the protests, penned those words in an open letter published on Persian social media on August 28, 2023.

She added, “I took a just stand, but these gentlemen didn’t like it. First, without following appropriate administrative procedures, they decided to remove me as the head of my academic group, and then barred me from the university itself so that they wouldn’t feel the full weight of this serious social responsibility on their brittle shoulders, and to be able to enjoy their thriving tyranny a little longer, unaware that ‘your oppression shall also pass,’ (as the saying goes).”

In addition to Aali, Hamideh Khademi, a fellow professor at the university’s College of Psychology, was fired via a phone call, according to a report by the University Students Trade Unions Council.

The council also confirmed the expulsion of seven professors from the University of Tehran’s College of Literature: Vahid Eidgah, assistant professor of Persian language and literature; Lili Varahram, professor of ancient cultures and languages; Javad Bashari, assistant professor of Persian literature; Ghasem Azizi, assistant professor of Arabic language and literature; Milad Azimi, assistant professor of Persian language and literature; Dariush Rahmanian, associate professor of history; and Hossein Mesbahian, assistant professor of philosophy.

Two days earlier, Ali Sharifi Zarchi, a faculty member of the Bioinformation and Artificial Intelligence Department at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, tweeted on August 26 that he had received an expulsion letter.

Also, on August 17, Mahdi Khoei, a sociology professor at Allameh Tabatabai University, announced his expulsion from the university on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) after seven years of teaching.

Reacting to the recent expulsions, Abtin Golkar, a professor at the Teacher Training University in Tehran, wrote on Instagram:

“Woe upon us for having a cabinet minister who can’t even react to the disgraceful actions taking place in the institutions under his authority. Woe upon us for having a primary university that doesn’t appreciate great people like Milad Azimi and Vahid Eidgah. And woe upon us for having officials with defective genes who consider Ali Sharifi Zarchi to be a thorn in their side.”

On August 21, music professor Azin Movahed said about her suspension by the University of Tehran, “How could I teach Mozart’s aesthetics in the classroom when the students were not feeling secure? It was impossible.”

State Changes Entrance Exams, Curricula, and Majors to Silence Dissent

To dampen the spirit of protest at Iranian universities, the government made changes to the national university entrance exams while reducing the availability of art majors by over 3,100 slots. Meanwhile, subjects like religion, mysticism, theology, Islamic law, and the Quran have witnessed significant increases in enrollment opportunities.

The booklet that lists available majors at universities has undergone two revisions within this year alone. Some universities have canceled subjects such as philosophy at Bahonar University in Kerman, as well as sculpture and cinema at the Arts University, which has multiple branches in different cities.

Soodeh, a female student from a small town in Golestan province who achieved a high score on the university entrance exams, shared with CHRI, “I was greatly drawn to the defiant atmosphere at the Art University because I witnessed how students in the sculpture department participated in last year’s protests. It was evident that this subject was discontinued due to student protests.”

She added, “My family has been involved in carpet and kilim design for generations. For many years, I had planned to study carpets at the Art University in Tehran. Unfortunately, everything is chaotic right now. The university has announced that dorm rooms will not be offered to new students until the quotas for scholarship students are filled… I might overcome gender discrimination, but what am I supposed to do without a dorm room? It’s absolutely impossible for my family to cover my living expenses in Tehran and rent a place for me.”

In a statement published on August 22, a group of Art University students disclosed that the removal of the sculpture major for new students was a response to several student performances and installations in support of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement and in honor of those killed by Islamic Republic forces.

Bardia, another student who has earned the grade to enroll in university, expressed his concerns to CHRI: “When I was preparing for the entrance exam, I wasn’t well-informed about the university’s expectations and campus environment. I simply wanted to go and study the subject I was passionate about. However, the situation has changed somewhat. Universities were significant centers of protest last year, and I no longer feel the sense of security and comfort that I thought might exist on campus.”

“I used to tell myself that I would go to university, study, enjoy my time, and eventually immigrate,” Bardia continued. “But now I anticipate unpleasant developments. I don’t have much hope that the university environment will have improved compared to last year.”

During the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, protests were held at more than 140 major universities throughout the country and more than 750 students were arrested.

Amirkabir University students’ news channel on the Telegram app, on August 16th published a list of 2,843 students who have been summoned to disciplinary committees.

Following is a list of names of academics who’ve been fired in Iran for allegedly supporting protests, as of September 12, 2023, according to research by CHRI:

1- Masoud Olia, Art University

2- Amir Maziar, Art University

3- Mohammad Reza Nazarinejad, University of Gilan

4- Roham Afghani, Sharif University

5- Ali Sharifi Zarchi, Sharif University

6- Hamideh Khademi, Allameh Tabatabai University

7- Ameneh Aali, Allameh Tabatabai University

8- Mahdi Khoie, Allameh Tabatabai University

9- Aziz Shafiei Zarghani, University of Shiraz

10- Baharak Akhtar Danesh, Bahonar University of Kerman

11- Mohammad Mehdi Oloumi, Bahonar University of Kerman

12- Raheleh Alimoradzadeh, Tehran Medical Science University

13- Dariush Rahmanian, University of Tehran

14- Vahid Eidgah, TUniversity of Tehran

15- Javad Bashari, University of Tehran

16- Milad Azimi, University of Tehran

17- Lili Varharam, University of Tehran

18- Ghasem Azizi, University of Tehran

19- Hossein Mesbahian, University of Tehran

20- Arash Bidallahkhani, Ferdowsi university of Mashhad

21- Shirzad Azad, Ferdowsi university of Mashhad

22- Azin Movahed, Tehran Art University

23- Maham Mighani, Tehran Art University

24- Mehdi Motee, University of Isfahan

25- Mohammad Soltani, University of Isfahan

26- Bahram Chamanara, University of Kurdistan

The post Iranian Government Replaces University Professors Accused of Backing “Woman, Life, Freedom’ Protests with Regime Loyalists appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

More State Violence Feared as Anniversary of “Woman Life Freedom” Uprising Nears

Intentional Killing of Unarmed Civilians Amounts to Crimes Against Humanity

September 5, 2023 – A new report just released by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) and the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reveals shocking state violence by Islamic Republic security forces against unarmed civilians in the predominantly Kurdish city of Javanrud, which occurred during the protests that shook Iran in the fall of 2022.

The 100-page report, “Massacre in Javanrud: State Atrocities Against Protesters in Iran’s Kurdish Regions,” is based on hundreds of photos, videos, and detailed interviews conducted with 38 individuals, all of whom were in Javanrud at the time of the atrocities and include eyewitnesses, protesters, family members, others close to the injured, detained, and killed, and doctors and nurses who tried to treat the wounded.

Key findings include:

• Security forces intentionally cornered and shot unarmed protesters, using military-grade machine guns at close range, killing eight civilians, including one child, and injuring at least 80 individuals, including children.
• The wounded were beaten in the streets by security forces and those who tried to help the wounded were shot. The injured could not seek help at the city’s hospitals without risking arrest as security forces were stationed at the medical centers to identify and arrest protesters.
• At least 89 people, including 26 children, were arbitrarily arrested and detained. Many were beaten and tortured while in state custody, including children. Families of the injured, killed, detained, and abused were pressured by the state to remain silent.

“The atrocities committed by Islamic Republic forces in the city of Javanrud, carried out with the full knowledge and direction of state officials and which involved the intentional and systematic murder, maiming, and abuse of unarmed civilians on a large scale, amount to crimes against humanity,” said Hadi Ghaemi, CHRI executive director.

The report also identifies some of the perpetrators responsible for the state’s atrocities in Javanrud. Not one state official has been held accountable for the deaths and injuries of the citizens of Javanrud.

The protests in Javanrud were part of the nationwide, anti-government protests in Iran that followed the killing in state custody of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, only days after her arrest in September 2022 for an allegedly improper hijab. In the course of those protests, which lasted for months, over 500 people were killed by state security forces and over 22,000 people were arrested.

Rebin Rahmani, a board member of KHRN, expressed concern about the increasing wave of arrests of Kurdish activists now taking place on the eve of the anniversary of the uprising, noting that “The Islamic Republic feels there are no repercussions for their crimes in marginalized regions such as Kurdistan and Baluchistan, so it is intensifying its violent and unlawful suppression in these areas.”

“As the one-year anniversary of the ‘Women Life Freedom’ protests approaches, the potential for renewed protest in Iran—and a violent state response aimed at crushing it—is high,” said Ghaemi.

“The international community must remain extraordinarily vigilant, warning the Iranian authorities of intense political and economic consequences at the first sign of state violence,” Ghaemi added.

In anticipation of the anniversary of the protests, the Islamic Republic has increased its repressive activities over the last month, detaining family members of slain protesters, locking up activists, targeting community leaders who have protested the state’s violence, and intensifying its persecution of minority groups.

The report provides recommendations for the international community, including:

• The UN Human Rights Council’s International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran should fully investigate the events in Javanrud from October 2022 – January 2023, report on the atrocities committed by the state, and preserve the evidence in view of subsequent cooperation in any legal proceedings.
• Human rights organizations, researchers, lawyers, and journalists should make every effort to obtain further testimonies, eyewitness accounts, and medical records pertaining to the state’s actions in Javanrud, and submit such evidence to the UNHRC’s Fact-Finding Mission.
• Islamic Republic officials found responsible—whether through issuing the orders or carrying out the acts—should be prosecuted through international courts or national judicial systems under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
• Governments should summon Iranian ambassadors to directly condemn these events and warn the consequences will intensify if such abuses continue; impose political and economic consequences on officials tied to these abuses; and form multilateral coalitions to impose further diplomatic costs on the Islamic Republic.

“Mass protests could erupt again at any time given the level of discontent amongst society in Iran, especially as the one-year anniversary of the start of the protests nears,” said Ghaemi. “Only by demanding accountability and imposing costs on the authorities in Iran for their atrocities can the international community hope to prevent such massacres from being repeated.”

The post Massacre in Kurdish City by Islamic Republic Forces Exposed in New Report appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

September 1, 2023 – The death of Javad Roohi, aged 35, in Iranian state custody, following his arrest during anti-state protests and subsequent torture during interrogations, demands a comprehensive investigation by the independent UN Fact-Finding Mission on Iran and a strong response from the international community, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said today.

“Javad Roohi remained incarcerated even after Iran’s own Supreme Court ruled the charges against him were unfounded,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi. “His death should be examined in the context of the Iranian government’s pattern of targeting and killing protesters who dare to speak out against the state in Iran.”

Ghaemi stressed the need for a thorough, independent investigation, including the involvement of the Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, stating, “In conjunction with the deaths of countless other protesters in Iran, and the lethal violence these individuals face once in state custody, this case underscores the urgency of holding Iranian authorities accountable for their ongoing campaign of violence against those who raise their voices against oppression.”

“If Iranian authorities are allowed to kill, maim, and torture people without meaningful consequences, we risk witnessing more political prisoners losing their lives and more protesters being subjected to extreme violence on the streets,” he added.

CHRI joins Amnesty International in appealing for states to consider the exercise of universal jurisdiction over any Iranian officials reasonably suspected of criminal involvement in severe human rights abuses, such as enforced disappearances, torture, and lethal violence against protesters.

Supreme Court Invalidates Charges Against Roohi

Roohi died on August 31, 2023, after being transferred from the Central Prison of the city of Nowshahr in Mazandaran province to a hospital.

Citing one of his relatives, a prominent Iranian activist said in a series of social media posts that he was “killed,” prompting rage among Persian speakers as many likened his death to the case of Mahsa Jina Amini, 22, whose killing in state custody on September 16, 2022, just three days after being arrested for her alleged inappropriate hijab, prompted months of anti-state protests which came to be known as Iran’s “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement.

Roohi was arrested on September 22, 2022, during those protests, and in December 2022 he was handed three death sentences on charges of “corruption on earth,” “destruction of property and setting fire to a traffic kiosk,” and “blasphemy and insulting the scared by setting fire to a Quran,” as well as a prison sentence of nine years and six months.

However, a video posted on social media showed Roohi only dancing in the street amid the protests. CHRI highlights the stark contrast between the charges against Roohi and the initially imposed punishment of three death sentences as further evidence of the political motivations and undue influence of state security forces in Iran’s judicial proceedings against protesters.

The activist with detailed knowledge of his case said he was severely tortured during the initial phase of his arrest, while he was being interrogated:

“He was tortured for more than 40 days. The tortures he endured in solitary confinement included locking him inside a storage freezer, freezing his testicles, giving him electric shocks, beating him up, flogging him, and threatening him with a gun. As a result, he had multiple physical problems.”

“As a result of the torture and other ill-treatment, Javad Rouhi suffered rotator cuff injuries, urinary incontinence, digestive complications and mobility and speech impairment for which he was denied access to adequate health care,” according to Amnesty International.

An aspiring lawyer, Roohi was denied access to a lawyer of his choosing, yet the lack of evidence against him resulted in Iran’s Supreme Court ultimately throwing out the death sentences. Still, he was kept in prison while awaiting a re-trial, only to suddenly die nearly a year after he was arrested.

Family Faces Intense Pressure from State Forces

Roohi’s body was returned to his family only after state security agents coerced them into committing not to disclose the details of his case. Pressure on the families of those killed by the state—either in the streets or in state custody—to remain silent is routine in the Islamic Republic.

He was laid to rest “in the presence of security agents in his father’s village of Kelikan near Amol [Mazandaran province, northern Iran],” as reported by the activist.

Similar to Mahsa Jina Amini’s family, Roohi’s family has been subjected to threats from Iranian intelligence agents, warning them of severe consequences if they publicly discuss the case. Nevertheless, a post on his brother’s Instagram account has called for a gathering at a local mosque in the village of Kelikan today and this weekend, as well as at Roohi’s gravesite on Monday.

CHRI expresses deep concern for the safety of Roohi’s family and the families of all individuals affected by state brutality in Iran, as Iranian authorities continue to carry out arbitrary arrests as a deterrent in the lead-up to the anniversary of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement on September 16.

“This case again demonstrates the Islamic Republic’s violent suppression of dissent and its lethal treatment of political prisoners,” stated Ghaemi. “Without a strong international reaction that imposes political and economic costs on the Islamic Republic, these tragic deaths will continue.”

The post Tortured Protester Dies in Iranian Prison After Death Sentences Thrown Out appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

The post Massacre in Javanrud: State Atrocities Against Protesters in Iran’s Kurdish Regions appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Rights and Revolt: Three Lawyers Analyze the Legal Terrain of Iran’s “Women Life Freedom” Movement

Join the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) for a virtual discussion moderated by Jasmin Ramsey on the legal issues surrounding Iran’s transformative “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, which emerged in the wake of widespread anti-state protests last year.

On Tuesday, September 12, from 1 pm – 2 pm EST, three accomplished Iranian human rights lawyers will delve into the evolving legal landscape Iranian civil society faces today.

To attend this Zoom event, email info@iranhumanrights.org with “registration” in the subject line to receive event login details.

Key Discussion Points:

1. Iran’s New Forced-Hijab Bill: A discussion on the implications of the Iranian parliament’s proposed hijab bill, designed to intensify penalties for unveiled women. Learn about the potential repercussions on women’s rights and societal dynamics.
2. Destroying Due Process: Uncover a state-driven campaign targeting activists and dissidents to deny due process. Discover how independent lawyers are being obstructed and persecuted, hindering their ability to work within the country’s legal framework.
3. Codifying Gender Apartheid: Delve into a new campaign seeking to enshrine the crime of gender apartheid into international law. Gain insights into its potential impact on Iran’s societal norms and international relations.

Speakers

Elham Youssefian is a blind human rights lawyer based in New York. Her journey in law began in Iran, where she dedicated herself to representing clients in a diverse range of cases, spanning criminal and family matters. Her advocacy wasn’t confined to the courtroom alone – she also wore the hats of a part-time journalist and an NGO activist who campaigned for the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by the government of Iran in 2008.

Elham further enriched her understanding of human rights by pursuing a Master’s in Human Rights Law from the London School of Economics. This path took her to various organizations, including the Danish Institute for Human Rights, Danish Refugee Council, Human Rights Watch, and the Center for Human Rights in Iran. Throughout her career, she has focused on issues ranging from violence against women to refugee rights, along with diligently documenting violations against individuals with disabilities.

Currently, Elham serves as a senior advisor in Humanitarian, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Climate Action with the International Disability Alliance (IDA). Her journey has not only been about professional accomplishments; it has also seen her actively engaging in the women’s rights movement in Iran.

Saeid Dehghan is an Iranian human rights lawyer and author who holds active memberships in both the Iranian Bar Association and the International Bar Association. Throughout his career, he has exemplified his commitment to justice by representing a multitude of Iranian citizens, dual nationals, and non-Iranians in high-profile political cases within the courts of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In response to mounting pressures and threats from authorities, he made the difficult decision to relocate to Toronto, Canada where he continues to champion human rights causes on an international scale as the founder and President of ParsiLaw Consultancy, CA.

Dehghan is also the founder and director of the Oral History Project of Human Rights in Iran, where he interviews prominent thinkers on the ClubHouse app every Friday to an audience of thousands. His books, “From the Heart of Society” and “Us and Ourselves,” cover topics including public law and citizenship. Dehghan has also directed numerous courses for activists as well as civil and professional associations, offering specialized training in human rights, civil rights, criminal procedure, case management, and negotiations.

Gissou Nia is the founder and director of the Strategic Litigation Project at the Atlantic Council. The Strategic Litigation Project works on prevention and accountability efforts for atrocity crimes, human rights violations, terrorism and corruption offenses around the world.

Nia is a human rights lawyer and non-profit leader. She serves as board chair of the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center where she helps oversee the group’s human rights advocacy and legal programs, which seek to promote accountability, respect for human rights and the rule of law in Iran. She previously served as the Executive Director for the group.

Nia started her career in The Hague, where she worked on war crimes and crimes against humanity trials at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court. She lectures and publishes widely on global human rights developments, as well as the rule of law in post-conflict and transitional societies.

The post Event Invite: Legal Challenges Facing Iran’s “Woman Life Freedom” Movement appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Authorities Seek to Quash Protest and Silence Justice-Seekers with Over 20 Arrests

August 29, 2023 – The arrests of numerous family members of protesters who were killed by state security forces in Iran, just weeks before the one-year anniversary of the outbreak of the nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement that was triggered by the killing in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, foreshadow another wave of state violence and intensified repression, warned the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

During the course of eight days—between August 11, 2023, and August 18—21 family members of victims of the Islamic Republic’s violence, including those who were executed in connection with the protests, as well as one lawyer representing a justice seeking-family, were either summoned to court or detained in Iran, according to research by CHRI.

“These individuals are parents whose children were gunned down in the streets by Islamic Republic security forces. Now, they face persecution for exercising their rights to mourn and seek justice,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.

The arrested family members include 15-year-old Farmarz Barahouie (Abil), who was detained by state agents in Torbat Heydarieh, northeast Iran, as he was traveling to visit the grave of his brother, Esmail, and Mashallah Karami, whose 22-year-old son Mehdi was executed without due process in January 2023.

“This renewed crackdown indicates a readiness by Iranian authorities to escalate their brutality,” said Ghaemi. “A strengthened international response, such that meaningful costs are imposed on the Islamic Republic for these abuses, is needed immediately,” Ghaemi added.

The current crackdown on justice-seeking families also encompasses intensified state persecution of women’s rights activists, religious minorities, religious minority leaders, human rights lawyers, and musicians, as the government seeks to deter further protests and stifle public dissent against its repressive policies.

Families of Killed Protesters Issue Joint Statement, Urging an End to Persecution

On August 25, a group of families of victims of state violence issued a joint statement on social media declaring their refusal to be silenced, which reads:

“In these times, when they are arresting and summoning justice-seeking families by the hour, we will keep our words brief and avoid unnecessary talk. Between us, carrying the lifeless bodies of our loved ones on our shoulders, and you with your prisons, whips, and threats, only one sentence remains: ‘Swearing by the blood of our comrades, we stand to the end.’”

Coordinated action by the international community that imposes severe diplomatic, political and economic costs on the authorities in Iran for the continuation of these violations is imperative, CHRI stated.

CHRI echoes Amnesty International in urging UN member states to invoke universal jurisdiction and issue arrest warrants for Iranian officials implicated in crimes under international law, both during and after the uprising.

List of Justice-Seeking Kin Detained or Summoned Since August 11

– August 28, 2023: Amirhossein Koohkan, the lawyer representing the family of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, was detained after being summoned to court in the city of Karaj, Alborz province, and transferred to the Ministry of Intelligence’s office in Tehran.

– August 27, 2023: Vahid Kia, Masoumeh Azari, Helia Kia, and Amir Kia, the father, mother, sister and fiancé of slain street protester Hannaneh Kia, were detained by security agents during a raid on their family home in the city of Nowshahr, Mazandaran province. Hananeh Kia, 23, was killed by Islamic Republic forces during protests on September 21, 2022.

– August 27, 2023: Shahrooz Hosseinpouri, the brother of Azad Hosseinpouri who was killed by Islamic Republic forces during a protest on November 17, 2022, was summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence’s office in the city of Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province and after several hours of questioning was warned not to engage in any protest activities or visit Azad’s grave.

– August 23, 2023: Leila Mahdavi, the mother of Siavash Mahmoudi, was detained in the capital of Tehran by security agents who searched her home and confiscated personal belongings, including her phone. She was also summoned to the court in Evin Prison. Siavash Mahmoudi, 16, was killed by Islamic Republic forces on September 21, 2022.

– August 23, 2023: Nasrin Alizadeh, the sister of Shirin Alizadeh, was detained in the city of Chalous, northern Iran. Shirin Alizadeh was killed inside her car when she was struck by a bullet fired by Islamic Republic forces near a protest rally in Salman Shahr, Mazandaran province, on September 22, 2022.

– August 23, 2023: Mahsa Yazdani, the mother of slain street protester Mohamad Javad Zahedi, was detained in the city of Sari, Mazandaran province, a few days before a memorial for his birthday. Mohamad Javad Zahedi, 20, was killed in a barrage of pellets fired by Islamic Republic forces on September 22, 2022.

– August 22, 2023: Abdollah Abubakri was summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence’s office in Mahabad and released after several hours of questioning. He was forced to pledge not to participate in any protest rallies. Abubakr’s son, 22-year-old Zanyar, was killed by Islamic Republic forces on October 27, 2022.

– August 22, 2023: Fifteen-year-old Farmarz Barahouie (Abil) was detained by security agents in the city of Torbat Heydarieh, northeast Iran, as he was traveling to visit the grave of his brother, Esmail, who was one of more than 100 protesters killed in the “Bloody Friday” massacre in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, on September 30, 2022.

– August 22, 2023: Father of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, Mashallah Karami, was detained by security agents in Tehran. The laptops and phones of all his relatives were also confiscated in a raid on the family home in Karaj, west of Tehran.

– August 22, 2023: Sharmin Habibi, wife of slain protester Fereydoun Mahmoudi, was detained by security agents in the city of Saqqez, Kurdistan province. Mahmoudi, 32, was killed by Islamic Republic forces during a protest on September 19, 2022.

– August 22, 2023: Hassan and Mardin Daroftadeh, the father and brother of slain 16-year-old protester Kumar Daroftadeh, were summoned and interrogated in the Ministry of Intelligence’s office in the city of Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province. Kumar was killed by Islamic Republic forces on October 30, 2022.

– August 19, 2023: The mother of slain street protester Abolfazl Mehdipour, known only by her first name of Fatemeh, was detained for several hours on his birthday. Abolfazl, 18, was killed by Islamic Republic forces in Babol, northern Iran, on September 21, 2022.

– August 17, 2023: Koorosh Vaziri, the husband of slain street protester Shirin Alizadeh, was detained in Isfahan, central Iran. Alizadeh was shot and killed by Islamic Republic forces on September 22, 2022.

– August 17, 2023: Mahsa Basir-Tavana, whose brother Mehran, 29, died on November 19, 2022, from injuries caused by bullets fired by Islamic Republic forces during a protest in the city of Somehsara, Gilan province, was detained by security agents.

– August 15, 2023: Amir Shahidi was summoned and threatened in the Ministry of Intelligence office in Arak, Arak province. Shahidi’s son, 18-year-old Mehrshad, was killed from injuries caused by blows to the head by batons during a protest on October 27, 2022.

– August 11, 2023: Reza Babrnejad, the brother of Mehdi Babrnejad, was detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization agents in Qoochan, North Khorasan province. Mehdi Babrnejad, 22, was killed by Islamic Republic forces during a protest on September 21, 2022.

– July 9, 2023: Zahra Saeidianjou, the sister of slain street protester Milad Saeidianjou, was detained in Izeh, Khuzestan province, and released on bail a month later. Milad, 26, was killed on November 16, 2022.

“These family members are shouldering profound risks as they seek solace in their grief and endeavor to honor the memory of their loved ones,” Ghaemi said. “This cruelty and lawlessness must not go unanswered. Failing to take action now encourages further abuses.”

The post Arrests of Slain Protesters’ Families Signals Looming State Violence as “Woman Life Freedom” Anniversary Nears appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

At Least 22 Activists Arrested in Last Three Weeks as State’s Repressive Capacity Gears Up 

International Community “Must Take Decisive Measures”

August 21, 2023 – The recent detention of at least 22 activists in Iran in less than a month, the majority of them women, signals the onset of intensified state repression in anticipation of the approaching anniversary of Iran’s “Woman Life Freedom” protest movement, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“Iranian authorities are rounding up activists around the country, especially women, to deliver a message of fear to the populace ahead of the one-year anniversary of the ‘Woman Life Freedom’ protest movement: stand up again, and we’ll crush you,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of CHRI.

“This surge in repression, after the state’s killing of hundreds of protesters over the last year, demands a global response that goes beyond amplifying the voices of these courageous women,” Ghaemi said.

“The international community must take decisive measures against political leaders and judiciary members in Iran who perpetuate this unlawful and violent repression,” he added.

The intensified crackdown on activists is happening against a backdrop of other repressive campaigns that are intensifying across the Islamic Republic. These campaigns include:

• The resurgence of the so-called morality police, who are arresting, jailing, and denying critical services to hijabless women;
• The arrest, imprisonment and defrocking of dozens of Sunni religious leaders who have publicly criticized the state’s violent repression of their communities;
• Increased arrests and imprisonments of members of the Baha’i minority faith simply for practicing their religion;
• A campaign of harassment and intimidation against the families of victims of state violence, in order to pressure them to remain silent.

This surge in state repression arrives on the cusp of the anniversary of the commencement of anti-government protests that erupted nationwide on September 16, 2022, after the killing in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, three days after her detention by the morality police for an allegedly improper hijab.

In a clear effort to deter potential protests, Iranian authorities have been publicly apprehending activists across the country to intimidate and thwart further street demonstrations.

Arrests and Detentions Accompanied by Severe Due Process and Other Rights Violations

At least 22 activists, mostly women, have been detained or arrested in Iran in the past 22 days, since July 30, 2023, according to research by CHRI. The majority were arrested in Gilan province and were “women’s rights and political activists,” according to a report by the Bidarzani Telegram app channel.

A statement issued on August 17, 2023, by the local branch of the Intelligence Ministry in Gilan indicates a concerted effort by Iranian authorities to construct a case against these activists in Gilan. Many of these individuals had recently visited families who have been seeking justice for victims of state violence, a group known in Iran as “justice-seeking” families.

Although the statement refrains from revealing the identities of those arrested, it alludes to the 12 activists dedicated to political and women’s rights causes, whose detentions were reported on August 16 and 17 (a comprehensive list of detentions and arrests is provided at the end of this report).

Of particular concern is the language employed by the Intelligence Ministry, which asserts that these activists were “preparing to incite disruptions and insecurity in Gilan as well as in parts of Kurdistan province,” considering the Ministry’s well-documented and unlawful history of employing unfounded allegations to tarnish the reputation of activists before their trials.

Furthermore, the dearth of information surrounding the detained individuals over the course of several days, their families’ inability to establish phone contact, the absence of the detainees’ access to impartial legal representation, and the occurrence of overnight and extended interrogations all underscore the political and unlawful nature of these detentions.

“More than a crackdown, this is a deliberate assault on civil society,” Ghaemi said. “Iran’s leadership continues to unveil its deep-seated fear of its citizens.”

Following is a list of detentions and arrests of activists in Iran between July 30, 2023 and August 21, 2023:

1) Masoud Mirzaei, Civil rights activist, Sanandaj, Kurdistan province

2) Ebrahim Mirzaei, Civil rights activist, Sanandaj, Kurdistan province

3) Hozan Babakarami, Civil rights activist, Sanandaj, Kurdistan province

4) Yasser Nouri, Environmentalist, Sanandaj, Kurdistan province

5) Ziba Ghelichkhani, Kurdish civil rights activist, Bijar, Kurdistan province

6) Elaheh Askari, Photographer, Tehran, Tehran province

7) Narges Sardari, Wife of detained actor Mehdi Etemad-Saeid, Tehran

8) Pouria Ahmadi, Civil rights activist, Sanandaj, Kurdistan province

9) Matin Yazdani, Women’s rights activist, Rasht, Gilan province

10) Forough Saminia, Women’s rights activist, Rasht, Gilan province

11) Yasmin Hashdari, Women’s rights activist, Bandar Anzali, Gilan province

12) Jelveh Javaheri, Women’s rights activist, Rasht, Gilan province

13) and 14) Zahra Dadras and Zohreh Dadras, Women’s rights activists (sisters), Rasht, Gilan province

15) Negin Rezai, Women’s rights activist, Fouman, Gilan province

16) Shiva Shahsiah, Women’s rights activist, Lahijan, Gilan province

17) Vahedeh Khoshsirat, Women’s rights activist, Lahijan, Gilan province

18) Azadeh Chavoshian, Women’s rights activist, Rasht, Gilan province

19) Sara Jahani, Women’s rights activist, Rasht, Gilan province

20) Hooman Taheri, Political activist, Rasht, Gilan province

21) Mahsa Basir-Tavana, Advocating for her killed brother, Mehran Basir Tavana, Fouman, Gilan province

22) Mojghan Ilanloo, Women’s rights activist and documentarian, Tehran, Tehran province

This report was made possible from donations by readers like you. Help us continue our mission by making a tax-deductible donation

The post Arrests of Women Activists Escalate Across Iran Ahead of “Woman Life Freedom” Anniversary appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

UN and International Community Must Spotlight Cases, Demand End to Escalating Oppression

180 Reports of Baha’is Targeted by State Security Forces in Last Year

August 17, 2023 –  The escalating surge of arrests, imprisonments, and ceaseless oppression of the Baha’i minority community in Iran demands resolute action from the UN and global leaders, especially those currently engaged in negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, declared the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“Given the rising wave of Baha’i arrests and detentions, even our homes are no refuge,” said Elham Shaygan, the wife of Payam Vali, a Baha’i citizen currently imprisoned on sham charges in Ghezalhesar prison in the city of Karaj after being violently arrested in his home.

Long one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran, CHRI calls on the international community to address the grave deterioration in the Baha’is’ status in Iran, in which unlawful arrests and imprisonments of members of this community have dramatically increased.

“For decades, Baha’is in Iran have endured imprisonment and intense discrimination in all walks of life, merely for practicing their faith. What we are witnessing now is a deeply concerning escalation of this repression,” stated Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director of CHRI.

“Global leaders must demand an end to the Islamic Republic’s severe oppression of this community and take measures against judges who unlawfully sentence Baha’is to prison,” said Ghaemi.

“International indifference to the Baha’is’ plight in Iran will ensure more women and men from this community will not only continue to be deprived of their most basic rights, but also spend decades behind bars,” he added.

The re-imprisonment on trumped-up charges last week of two prominent Baha’i women in Iran, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet—who were sentenced to 10 years in prison each for the second time in six years—was followed this week by an Appeals Court upholding of 3.5-year prison sentences against the married Baha’i couple Anisa Samieian and Vesal Momtazi.

These instances are among 180 reports of Baha’is being targeted by the state in Iran during the last year alone, according to the Baha’i International Community non-government organization.

“The treatment of Baha’is by the government stands in stark contrast to that of other religious minorities,” said Saeid Dehghan a human rights lawyer who has defended Baha’is in Iranian courts.

“While Christian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian communities in Iran face certain limitations, they are still granted the right to live, work, and even have representatives in Parliament,” he added. “In contrast, identifying as a Baha’i is effectively treated as a crime in the Islamic Republic of Iran, despite no explicit legal designation to that effect.”

Dehghan further highlighted that the Iranian judicial system not only engages in severe discrimination against Bahai’s but also goes as far as penalizing the lawyers who bravely stand up to defend them.

“Some of the judges within the Revolutionary Court openly denounce us for representing Baha’is, often referring to them with derogatory terms like ‘najes’ [impure],'” he said. “Astonishingly, they even subject us to a client tax, despite the fact that we voluntarily waive any traditional lawyer’s fee when advocating for Baha’is.”

Dehghan continued: “In response to these unjust actions, I confronted these judges with a thought-provoking question: If Baha’is are deemed impure, then accepting a fee from them would ostensibly be tainted as well, rendering the tax imposed on it equally impure. The logical extension of this would then cast doubt upon the legitimacy of the salaries that these judges receive, as they are inherently tied to these fees. Strikingly, they were rendered speechless, though regrettably, they did resort to issuing threats against us.”

Bearing Witness to Injustice: Baha’i Wife’s Call for Change

Payam Vali, whose manufacturing business was shuttered by the government in his hometown of Karaj in 2008 because of his religious beliefs, is among dozens of Baha’is who have been either imprisoned, arrested or prosecuted in the past 10 months.

When Vali was arrested in September 2022 without a valid arrest warrant, he was beaten in front of his children, his home was raided, and the children’s electronic devices, which they used for studying, were seized.

“This unjust process, which persecutes and imprisons people based on their beliefs … leads to a pervasive feeling of insecurity among all Baha’is and their loved ones,” said his wife Elham Shaygan.

Yet when asked if she felt similar discrimination by the general public in Iran, Shaygan was adamant that she felt the opposite.

“Not only does the public not practice these discriminations, but in the social interactions that we have through work and study, we have witnessed people’s compassion and sympathy,” she said

“Many people, when they become aware of these injustices and discriminations that happen to us, reject these actions by the government and acknowledge that belief and faith are personal matters and individuals should not be harassed and mistreated for them.”

Vali is currently serving a 9.9-year prison sentence simply for being a member of the faith, on unsubstantiated charges of “collaboration with enemy governments,” “inciting people to commit violence,” and “propaganda against the regime” in a sentence that was issued on May 18, 2023. He has also been denied contact with his family.

“The international community must not remain silent about these injustices,” she added. “They should not only highlight them but also, through legal channels, compel the Islamic Republic to respond and halt the systematic pressures and discriminations against Baha’is.”

Chronicle of Injustice: Recent Cases of Baha’i Discrimination in Iran (April-August 2023)

The following is a compilation by CHRI of just some of the other recent events connected to the state’s campaign of persecution against the Baha’is between April 2023 and August 2023. Prosecutions in these cases were carried out without any adherence to the most basic international norms of due process, and with a significant lack of any substantial evidence to support grave national security charges.

• The August 13, 2023, arrest of Jamaloddin Khanjani, a 90-year-old Baha’i in poor health who had already served 10 years in prison for his Baha’i beliefs, is the most recent occurrence in Iran amid a state campaign to eliminate prominent members of the faith and those accused of practicing their faith openly.
• On August 6, 2023, Baha’i citizen Sabin Yazdani was transferred to Kachuei Prison in Karaj, Alborz province, to begin a three-year prison term on charges of “acting against national security by promoting the Baha’i religion among children and adolescents,” and “propaganda against Islam through [life] coaching.”
• Negin Rezaie, Nakisa Sadeghi, Rameleh Tirgarnejad, Kamyar Habibi, Mahsa Tirgar Behnamiri, Elham Shareghi Arani, Sadaf Sheikhzadeh, Saman Ostovar and Shahrzad Mastouri reported to two prisons in Karaj, west of Tehran, on August 5, 2023, to begin sentences ranging from two to five years in connection with their Baha’i faith. They were charged with “acting against national security by promoting the Baha’i religion among children and adolescents,” and “propaganda against Islam through [life] coaching.”
• Persecuted for his Baha’i beliefs, Hami Bahadori must spend five years behind bars as Iran’s Appeals Court upheld his sentence on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the state” on July 31, 2023.
• On July 24, 2023, security agents arrested Shiva Kashaninejad Samieian, the mother of Anisa Samieian, who along with her husband Vesal Montazi were sentenced in June 2023 to 3.5 years in prison each for being followers of the Baha’i religion.
• Baha’i citizen and former prisoner of conscience Keyvan Rahimian was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents at his home in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison on July 18, 2023.
• Five followers of the Baha’i faith—Foad Shaker, Shahram Fallah, Behnam Pourahmadi, Yekta Fallah and Paridokht Shojaie—were arrested when security agents raided a home in Kerman on July 12, 2023.
• On July 5, 2023, 14 Baha’is were handed prison sentences by a Revolutionary Court in Ghaemshahr, Mazandaran province, for “deviant and anti-Islamic teaching activities.” Bita Haghighi and Hekmat Shoar were given 3-year prison sentences and 12 others—Mani Gholinejad, Negar Darabi, Sam Samimi, Mahsa Fathi, Samieh Gholinejad, Mojir Samimi, Anis Sanaie, Afnaneh Nematian, Basir Samimi, Hengameh Alipour, Golbon Fallah and Nazanin Goli—received 25-month sentences.
• Four Baha’is—Mansour Amini, Shadi Shahidzadeh, Valiollah Ghadamian and Attaollah Zafar—were sentenced on July 5, 2023, to five years in prison each by a Revolutionary Court in Tehran for “membership in a group acting against national security,” (meaning the Baha’i faith).
• Sepideh Keshavarz and Mahvash Edalati Aliabadi were transferred to Evin Prison on July 4, 2023, to start their one-year prison term on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security” and “propaganda against the state.”
• Anisa Samieian and her husband Vesal Momtazi, followers of the Baha’i faith, were sentenced on June 29, 2023, to 3.5 years in prison each for “propaganda against the state, insulting Islam, and teaching deviant beliefs contrary to Islam,” by a Revolutionary Court in Rasht, Gilan province.
• Sports instructor Houshidar Zarei must be incarcerated at his home for six years (five years mandatory) with an electronic ankle tag based on a ruling by the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shiraz on June 26, 2023, for “cultish propaganda for an opposition organization” (Baha’i community) and “propaganda against the state.”
• Roya Sabet Rasekh must endure five years behind bars as Iran’s Appeals Court upheld her sentence on bogus national security charges on June 25, 2023.
• Arrested in September 2022 in Karaj, Alborz province, Payam Vali was sentenced to nine years and nine months in prison (six years mandatory) for “collaboration with enemy governments,” “inciting people to commit violence,” and “propaganda against the regime,” on May 18, 2023.
• In April 2023, state authorities withheld the body of Maryam Moinipour, threatening to bury her in secret in Tehran’s Khavaran Cemetery if her family did not pay a ransom of 30 million tomans (nearly $580). Moinipour, a member of the Baha’i faith, died on April 11, 2023, but the authorities have refused to hand over her body to the family. That month, three other Baha’is were buried in Khavaran without their families’ consent.
• Nahaleh Shahidi Yazdi, a children’s rights activist and member of the banned Baha’i faith, has been in detention in Kerman since March 28, 2023, without access to a lawyer, the Committee to Follow the Status of Detainee reported on April 29, 2023.

The Iranian constitution does not recognize the Baha’i faith as an official religion (it only recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism). Although Article 23 states that “no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief,” followers of the Baha’i faith in Iran are routinely imprisoned for the practice of their religion and are denied many basic rights—including land and business ownership, equal access to employment, equal access to education (Baha’is are routinely denied the right to higher education in Iran, either by being banned from enrolling in a university or being expelled without a proper explanation once enrolled in the school), and equal burial rights.

The post “Our Homes are No Refuge” Baha’i Minority in Iran Facing Intensified State Assault appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Religious Leaders of Minority Communities Are Arrested, Imprisoned, Defrocked for Supporting Protesters

August 15, 2023 – Religious leaders of the Sunni Muslim communities in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan province and in the Kurdish provinces of the country are being increasingly targeted by Islamic Republic authorities for persecution, arrest, and imprisonment because of their peaceful criticism of the state’s violent repression.

“Iranian authorities are jailing and defrocking religious leaders of the Sunni communities for speaking out against the state’s killings and arrests of protesters,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“Sunni clerics in Iran have committed no illegal act other than speaking openly about the state’s violent repression of the people in their communities—and that is a crime in the Islamic Republic,” Ghaemi said.

While religious and ethnic minorities in the Islamic Republic have long been oppressed, the state’s targeting of Sunni clerics intensified after anti-government protests swept across Iran in the wake of the September 2022 death in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini.

Many Sunni clerics spoke out strongly against the state’s violence against peaceful protesters. While state security forces killed over 500 protesters across the country and arrested approximately 20,000 people from all ethnic and religious backgrounds, Baluchis and Kurds bore the brunt of the state’s lethal crackdown, with the highest number of casualties taking place in Sistan and Baluchistan province and in the Kurdish areas of the country, respectively.

Sunni clerics have also criticized the state’s disproportionate use of the death penalty against ethnic minority communities such as Baluchis and Kurds—including its heavy use for drug offenses, which violates international standards that allow capital punishment only for the “most serious” crimes, which do not include drug offenses. In addition, the clerics have spoken out against the indiscriminate shooting by state border guards of couriers in both the Baluchi and Kurdish areas who sell goods over the border.

As a result, these religious leaders have become targets for heightened persecution by a government that sees any peaceful dissent as a potentially existential challenge to be crushed—especially when the criticism comes from highly respected figures in their respective communities.

Iran is majority Shia Muslim, and is ruled by Shia clerics who have made Shiism the official religion of the state. Religious minorities in the country, which include not only Sunni Muslims, but also Christians, Baha’is, Zoroastrians, Jews, the Gonabadi Sufi community, and others have long been persecuted and discriminated against in the Islamic Republic.

Religious and ethnic identities in Iran overlap, intensifying the intersectional discrimination these communities face. Sistan and Baluchistan is predominantly Sunni Muslim, but also predominantly ethnic Baluchi, and Kurds, who are the largest ethnic minority in western Iran, are predominantly Sunni.

But in the wake of the most severe protests the Islamic Republic has faced in decades, the state’s repression and persecution has worsened. The government has moved to crush any significant dissent, and the Sunni clerics, who have openly criticized the state’s brutal tactics, are now in their crosshairs.

Wave of Arrests of Sunni Clerics in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchistan Province

The intensity of the state’s lethal crackdown against protests in Sistan and Baluchistan province was unmatched anywhere else in the country. As peaceful demonstrations broke out across the country in September 2022, protesters in Sistan and Baluchistan were essentially met by death squads—during the “Bloody Friday” massacre in Zahedan on September 30, 2022, Islamic Republic security forces killed more than 100 protesters.

Since that time, even as protests quieted in much of the rest of the country due to the state’s brutal assault on protesters, demonstrations after Friday prayers continued weekly in Zahedan for more than 40 weeks.

Baluchi Sunni clerics have also spoken out against the government’s executions, largely for drug-related crimes, which have disproportionally affected the Baluchi community. While the Baluchi ethnic minority comprises about five percent of Iran’s total population, it accounts for approximately 20 percent of the reported executions.

• Mowlana Abdolhamid: Mowlana Abdolhamid, the Friday prayer leader of Zahedan and de facto Sunni leader of the Baluchi community, has regularly criticized the state’s violent repression of protests in the province in his Friday sermons. For example, on April 11, 2023, he held a reception for the families of dozens of protesters killed by Islamic Republic forces on “Bloody Friday” in Zahedan, where he stated: “We’re proud of the injured, and the families of the martyrs of these incidents. Everyone has been patient after these incidents and we wanted to seek justice through legal means. If the law does not address our demands, at least there’s God and God will address our rights. The Almighty is fair and will seek justice for those who have been killed or injured unjustly.”
  • During Mowlana Abdolhamid’s sermon at Zahedan’s Friday prayers on April 21, 2023, he said: “Not only the perpetrators should be punished but also those who issued the orders [to kill protesters in Sistan and Baluchistan province since September 2022] … we will not retreat an inch in seeking justice.”
  • He has also criticized the wave of executions in Sistan and Baluchistan province. In his sermon on May 4, 2023, he said: “Where in Baluchistan have you created jobs that today you are executing people [for drug trafficking]? What has the government done for the people? Most people turn to drug trafficking because they’re hungry and don’t have jobs; why do you execute them? You neither created jobs in this province nor allowed them to study. Your only art is to execute people, nothing more.”
  • At Mowlana Abdolhamid’s sermon on June 2, 2023, he said: “The executions that took place in the 1980s are shocking,” in reaction to a recent confession by a former Evin Prison director regarding the mass executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988. He said: “Governments come and go, and no regime remains forever. You should stand by the people…. Everyone is thinking about plundering the country, and many have become rich while the majority of the people have become poor.”
  • On June 14, 2023, the Iranian authorities canceled Mowlana Abdolhamid’s planned pilgrimage to Mecca.
  • In June and July 2023, security forces detained at least seven close associates of Mowlana Abdolhamid, including his grandson. Those seven are still detained, even though charges have yet to be issued.
  • On July 9, 2023, the hardline Kayhan newspaper accused Mowlana Abdolhamid of “supporting the recognition of the Zionist regime (Israel) and negotiating with it, as well as supporting the Zionist Baha’is, which shows he is only a pawn.” On July 8, the paper accused the cleric of supporting Baluchi separatists. He had not yet been arrested as of early August, but such accusations may be laying the groundwork for future state persecution.
• Abdolalim Esmailzahi, son Mowlana Abdolhamid, was reportedly interrogated for several hours in the IRGC Intelligence Organization on August 2, 2023. He was ordered to return on August 5. Any charges against him have not been revealed.
• Mowlawi Abdolmajid Moradzahi: Baluchi Sunni cleric Mowlawi Abdolmajid Moradzahi has been in detention in a solitary cell since his arrest on January 30, 2023, and Haalvsh, a Baluchi news organization, reports that he has been subjected to torture in Vakilabad Prison in Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province. He is banned from visitations and phone contacts. He has been charged with “disturbing public opinion and speaking with foreign media” for giving interviews to foreign media about protests in Sistan and Baluchistan province. As of August 4, 2023, he was still in detention. There is no information regarding any lawyer or any trial set, and the case seems to be in limbo. The Sunni cleric’s family have written an open letter to international organizations seeking help in securing his release.
• Mowlawi Ebrahim Hassan-Zahi: Baluchi cleric Mowlawi Ebrahim Hassan-Zahi, 25, was arrested by security agents on his way home from Makki Mosque in Zahedan on February 25, 2023. He has been held illegally and reportedly subjected to torture. On May 20, 2023, an informed source told Haalvsh Baluchi news agency: “He is now in Zahedan Central Prison in solitary confinement, under such severe torture that his skin has been completely damaged…” He was still in detention as of August 9, 2023.
• Mowlawi Amanollah Saadi: An instructor at the Dar al-Oloum seminary school in Zahedan, Mowlawi Amanollah Saadi was arrested in early April 2023 by security agents, and remains in detention, with no further information regarding charges or other aspects of case status.
• Mowlawi Abdolaziz Omarzahi: A lecturer at the Makki seminary school in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan province, Mowlawi Abdolaziz Omarzahi, was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents on April 30, 2023. He is still in detention, and no charges have been reported as of yet.
• Mowlawi Mohammad Tayyeb Mollazahi: On June 16, 2023, authorities canceled the planned pilgrimage to Mecca of outspoken Sunni cleric Mowlawi Mohammad Tayyeb Mollazahi, the Friday prayer leader of Iranshahr, in Sistan and Baluchistan province.
• On June 23, 2023, state security agents arrested Hafez Kamran Salemizahi and Mowlawi Nazir Bakhshzahi, two teachers at the Mafatih al-Oloum Seminary in Rasak, Sistan and Baluchistan province. Farzad Dehghani, a student at the seminary, was also arrested. All three were still in detention as of August 9, 2023.
• Mowlana Mohammad Osman: In his sermon on August 11, Mowlana Mohammad Osman, Friday prayer leader of Khash, Sistan and Baluchestan province, said: “The executions will have irreparable consequences for society and many orphan children and women will be left without a guardian, which endangers the future of society and individuals. Instead of executing people, they should be given time to stop buying and selling drugs and find another job, and the government should provide the opportunity to create jobs and deal with the problems of unemployment and lack of livelihood.”
• Mowlana Mohammad Hossein Gorgij: Speaking out against the mounting executions of Baluchis, Mowlana Gorgij, Friday prayer leader of Galikesh, bordering Sistan and Baluchestan province, said in his sermon on August 11:  “It is our request that political prisoners and prisoners of conscience to be freed and the executions to be halted. [We] … hear slogans about unity but on the other hand see the spread of fear and terror in society.” Earlier, on January 15, 2023, supporters of Mowlana Mohammad Hossein Gorgij gathered in front of his home, preventing him from complying with a summons to appear in the Special Court for Clergy. So far, he has not appeared at the court.
• Mowlawi Abdollah Barahouie: Iran’s security agents on August 12 arrested Mowlawi Abdollah Barahouie, a scholar at the Madineh al-Oloum seminary in the city of Khash, as well as Safiollah Sharif, an Afghan national studying at the school.
• Mowlawi Fathi Mohammad Naghshbandi: On August 14, 2023, Mowlawi Fathi Mohammad Naghshbandi, the Friday prayer leader of the city of Rasak, in Sistan and Baluchestan province, was summoned to the local offices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization and the Ministry of Intelligence, as well as to the office of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Representative in the provincial capital, Zahedan, and threatened with arrest if he continued to deliver sermons critical of the Islamic Republic.

Kurdish Regions

The Kurdish regions of Iran were also disproportionally subjected to lethal state violence during the protests that erupted across Iran since September 2022. Massacres of unarmed protesters by Islamic Republic security forces took place in multiple cities in predominantly Kurdish provinces, including Mahabad, Sanandaj, Javanrud, Piranshahr, Dehgolan, Bukan, and others.

Its clerics (often referred to as “Mamostas,” which means religious teacher), who are highly respected in these communities, not only frequently spoke out in defense of the people’s right to peacefully protest and against the state’s violence against them, but also often tried to intervene directly during lethal clashes between protesters and Islamic Republic security forces, to implore the security forces to stop shooting at the unarmed protesters.

These Sunni Muslim clerics have also spoken out against Islamic Republic border guards’ indiscriminate shooting (and often killing) of couriers, known in these regions as “kulbars,” who trade goods illegally across the border due to a lack of economic opportunity in these impoverished and undeveloped regions.

For these “offenses,” these Kurdish religious leaders have been targeted for severe persecution and retribution by the Islamic Republic. For example:

Mamosta Seifollah Hosseini: On November 21, 2022, Mamosta Seifollah Hosseini, the prayer leader of Khatam al-Anbiya mosque in Javanrud county, and a member of the Quran School Leadership Council in Kurdistan province, gave a speech at the funerals for two protesters who were shot and killed in Javanrud by state security forces (one of whom was an unarmed 16-year-old boy).

The Sunni cleric was arrested and imprisoned for his speech that day. One of Mamosta Seifollah Hosseini’s close associates, described his arrest: “On the night of December 13, [2022], IRGC Intelligence Organization agents raided Mamosta Seifollah Hosseini’s home. They broke down doors and window panes and arrested him. During the arrest, the cleric’s wife, Khatun Ghaderi, was also assaulted by the security agents and her hand was injured. Following the news of [the cleric’s] arrest, hundreds of people gathered at night in front of the governorate and the Intelligence Ministry’s office in Javanrud, demanding his release. The agents took [the cleric] to the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization’s detention center in Kermanshah. After about two weeks of interrogation, they moved him to solitary confinement in Hamedan’s Central Prison. He was kept for nearly 40 days in a cold cell with no heating [in December] in Hamedan Central Prison.”

Deprived of the right to have a lawyer of his own choice, the Sunni cleric was defrocked by the Special Court for the Clergy in Hamedan and sentenced on January 25, 2023, to 17 years in prison, 74 lashes, and exile in Ardabil for two years (six years in prison for “acting against national security,” 15 months for “propaganda activities against the state,” six years for “inciting the people to disrupt the country’s security,” two and a half years for “insulting the founder and leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and 15 months along with 74 lashes for “disrupting public order”). The cleric has not appealed because he does not have a lawyer.

• Mamosta Jafar Parvini: The leader of Haj Shafie Mosque in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province, Mamosta Jafar Parvini was arrested by Intelligence Ministry agents on February 21, 2023. There have been no further public reports since his detention.
• Mamosta Hossein Alimoradi: The director of a Sunni seminary school in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, Mamosta Hossein Alimoradi, was handed a suspended two-year prison sentence by the Special Court for Clergy for “disturbing public opinion” on April 5, 2023.
• Mamosta Saber Khodamoradi: The prayer leader of a mosque near Saqqez, Kurdistan province, Mamosta Saber Khodamoradi, was sentenced on May 2, 2023, to 74 lashes and 7.5 months in prison by the Special Court for Clergy in connection with recent protests. No further information regarding his current status was publicly available as of early August.
• Mamosta Amin Gheisari: The prayer imam in the village of Zarwaw Olia, near Baneh in Kurdistan province, Mamosta Amin Gheisari was arrested on May 18, 2023, by Intelligence Ministry agents. There has been no further information made public since his arrest.
• Mamosta Madeh Karami: On May 23, 2023, a one-year suspended sentence was handed down against Mamosta Madeh Karami, the prayer imam of Howiyeh village near Sanandaj, in Kurdistan province, for his support of the people’s protests.
• Mamosta Abdoljabbar Lotfi: On May 24, 2023, the religious instructor and Friday prayer leader of Ershad Jame Mosque in Sanandaj, Mamosta Abdoljabbar Lotfi, was defrocked by the Special Court for Clergy and sentenced to 74 lashes and 7.5 months in prison in connection with protests in Kurdistan province. There are no further public reports regarding his current status.
• Mamosta Zana Khoshaman: On June 15, 2023, Mamosta Zana Khoshaman, a Kurdish Sunni cleric from Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province, was sentenced to 25 months in prison for being an alleged member of the Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran. There have been no further public reports regarding his status.
• Mamosta Ebrahim Karimi: In mid-June 2023 Mamosta Ebrahim Karimi, Friday prayer leader of the Jameh Mosque in the village of Nanleh was sentenced to 12 years in prison (5 years mandatory if upheld), in addition to being defrocked and banished to Bushehr for two years, by the Special Court for Clergy in Hamedan on various sham charges, including “possessing a handgun,” “propaganda against the state,” and “inciting riots and supporting protests.” There are no further public reports regarding his current status.
• Mamosta Loqman Amini: In mid-June 2023, the Special Court for Clergy in Hamedan sentenced Mamosta Loqman Amini, Friday prayer leader of the Jameh Mosque in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, to 11 years in prison (5 years mandatory if upheld) on the same baseless charges, in addition to being defrocked and banished to Ardabil for two years. There are no further public reports regarding his current status.
• Mamosta Mohammad Arman Sadeghi: The director of Dar al-Oloum seminary in Dehgolan, Kurdistan province, Mamosta Mohammad Arman Sadeghi, was defrocked by the Special Court for Clergy and sentenced to 74 lashes and 7 months in prison in May 2023, in connection with the protests, and on July 3, 2023, Iran’s Appeals Court upheld the sentence against Mamosta Mohammad Arman Sadeghi. There have been no new reports since his sentence was upheld.
• Mamosta Omar Ebrahimi: Kurdish Sunni cleric Mamosta Omar Ebrahimi was arrested on July 10, 2023, after being summoned to the Intelligence Ministry office in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province. Ebrahimi is the Friday prayer leader of Gargul Sofla village. There have been no further public reports since he was arrested.
• On July 13, 2023, Friday prayer imams, Mamosta Jamaleddin Vaji and Mamosta Sharif Mahmoudpour, were summoned and interrogated in the Intelligence Ministry office in Piranshahr, West Azerbaijan province.
• Mamosta Saber Khodamoradi: On July 23, 2023, Mamosta Saber Khodamoradi, a Sunni prayer leader of a mosque as well as a seminary instructor in a village near Saqqez, Kurdistan province, was resummoned  to the Special Court for Clergy in Hamedan, which on May 2, 2023, had sentenced him to 74 lashes and 7.5 months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state,” “supporting riots,” “insulting officials,” and “disturbing public opinion.” There have been no further public reports since then.

Islamic Republic Violates Both Iranian and International Law

The Islamic Republic’s persecution of the country’s Sunni clerics for speaking out peacefully against the state’s illegal acts–including its lethal repression of protesters, its indiscriminate killing of border couriers, and its targeting of minority communities for unlawful death sentences—profoundly violates Iranian law and multiple international treaties to which Iran is a signatory, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as the UN’s Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.

These clerics are typically prosecuted in trials severely lacking in due process, including the denial of independent legal counsel, and are largely defenseless against the state’s onslaught against them.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) urges the international community—including the UN Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) International Independent Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the UN’s special rapporteurs and experts—to highlight the plight of these persecuted clerics, especially those that are now behind bars, and to call upon the authorities in Iran forcefully and publicly to immediately release these individuals.

“Baluchi and Kurdish Sunni clerics are among the few voices peacefully speaking out against the state’s lethal violence toward these oppressed communities, and they are being locked up for it,” said Ghaemi. “The international community must forcefully raise its voice in their defense.”

The post Special Report: Sunni Clerics in the Crosshairs of Islamic Republic Repression appeared first on Center for Human Rights in Iran.

Young Men Are Hanged without Due Process or Fair Trials

August 2, 2023 – Politically motivated executions are increasing dramatically in Iran, with at least 17 mostly young men hung in blatantly unlawful prosecutions over the last 10 months. The Islamic Republic has executed individuals for political reasons since its inception—including for the peaceful expression of dissent, participation in peaceful protest, and membership in opposition groups—but its open use as a tactic of intimidation and retribution against those whom it feels are critics has intensified.

“The international community must be clear with Iranian authorities that continuing its killing spree will result in an extraordinary intensification of the Islamic Republic’s political and economic isolation,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“Without strong coordinated international action, the world is green-lighting this carnage,” Ghaemi said.

The increase has occurred in the wake of the protests that erupted across Iran after the September 2022 death in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini. During those protests, many Iranians peacefully expressed profound disapproval of the Islamic Republic’s repressive political order.

For participating in those protests, seven young men were hanged as of July 2023, and, since the outbreak of the nationwide protests in September 2022, at least another 10 people were hung for various political “crimes.”

Those executions were carried out after prosecutions and trials characterized by severe violations of due process and fair trial rights, which are guaranteed under Iranian law and international treaties to which Iran is a signatory. These violations included:

• Denial of the right to counsel
• Denial of the right to counsel of choice
• The use of torture to extract forced “confessions” that are then used as evidence to convict
• Denial of the ability to mount an effective defense in court, through the withholding of case files and other unlawful tactics
• None of the protesters sentenced to death were tried in civil courts for political crimes in front of juries

Death sentences were also carried out for convictions on charges that are vague, catch-all terms which are inherently subjective and facilitate the arbitrary application of the death penalty for political motives, such as “corruption on earth” and “enmity against God” (or “waging war against God”). Dozens of additional individuals have been charged with these “crimes” and thus face possible executions.

17 Men, Many Young, Hung on Sham Political Charges

The seven individuals who were arrested in connection with the protests and executed (during the period from September 2022 to the present) include:

• Mohsen Shekari (age 23)
• Mohammad Mehdi Karmi (age 22)
• Mohammad Hosseini (age 41)
• Majidreza Rahnavard (age 23)
• Saleh Mirhashmi (age 36)
• Majid Kazemi (age 30)
• Saeed Yagoubi (age 37)

During the same period, the following ten individuals were also executed for various political “crimes”:

• Yousef Mehrdad for “insulting the Prophet”
• Sadrollah Fazeli-Zare for “insulting the Prophet”
• Mohiyeddin Ebrahimi, for membership in, and cooperation with, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran
• Habib Farajollah Chaab, for allegedly leading an Arab separatist organization in southwest Iran
• Afghan citizen Mohammad Ramez Rashidi for the alleged attack on a shrine in Shiraz
• Afghan citizen Naim Hashem Ghetali for the alleged attack on a shrine in Shiraz
• Rashed Baluch for cooperating with the Jeish al-Adl separatist organization
• Eshagh Asekani for cooperating with the Jeish al-Adl separatist organization
• Hassan Abyat, accused of membership in Arab organizations opposed to the state
• Sarkut Ahmadi, former member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, charged with “waging war”

Executions Also Carried Out for Drug Offenses that Violate International Norms, Minorities Targeted

In addition to politically motivated executions, hundreds of other individuals were executed in Iran for alleged non-political crimes—primarily drug offenses—which violates the international requirement that capital punishment only be used for the “most serious” crimes, which do not include drug offenses.

Drug-related executions have disproportionately affected individuals from marginalized and economically disadvantaged backgrounds, as highlighted by Amnesty International. Notably, the Baluchi ethnic minority in Iran, which is both persecuted and impoverished, constitutes about 20 percent of the reported executions, despite comprising only five percent of Iran’s total population.

As of August 2, 2023, there have been at least 423 recorded executions in Iran since January 1, 2023, according to Iran Human Rights. This data suggests that the number of executions this year is on track to surpass last year’s figure of 582 hangings. Due to the lack of governmental transparency in the Islamic Republic, the precise tally of executions remains uncertain and is likely higher than reported.

“The aim of these unlawful executions is to eradicate dissent and sow fear among the population,” said Ghaemi. “Governments and international organizations have a crucial role in exerting pressure on the Iranian government to put a stop to this state-sanctioned murder,” he added.

Saman Yasin: Latest Victim of Iran’s Use of Forced Psychiatric Care to Punish Political Prisoners

July 24, 2023 – The forced psychiatric hospitalization of jailed rapper Saman Yasin in Iran shortly after he demanded due process and justice for his case highlights the Iranian government’s continued weaponization of medical treatment in order to suppress dissent, in flagrant violation of international and Iranian law.

Yasin was also previously tortured to force him to confess to a crime, according to information obtained by the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

These major rights violations should be documented by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran. The UN and world leaders should meanwhile institute measures to demand the Islamic Republic stop using violence, torture, forced medical treatment and arbitrary detention to muzzle dissent.

“The government in Iran has a history of using torture and involuntary psychiatric hospitalization to coerce political prisoners into making false ‘confessions’ and punish them over and beyond their unjust detention,” said CHRI Executive Director Hadi Ghaemi.

“The authorities’ aim is to crush dissent,” he added. “Yet Iranians are refusing to give up; their calls for justice should be amplified around the world as forcefully as the government’s rights violations should be punished and condemned.”

Tortured, Denied Access to Counsel, Unlawfully Hospitalized without Consent

After 10 months of being detained, Saman Yasin, a 27-year-old rapper of Kurdish descent, broke his silence to describe his case, which has not only included torture and forced confessions, but also the forced use of a state-appointed lawyer who has been denied access to his case files, and now forced psychiatric hospitalization without cause or consent.

Yasin’s torture during the first two weeks of his 10-month detention, according to information sent to CHRI on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, included:

• Being subjected to a mock execution, including having a noose put around his neck
• A pencil being forced into his nose, which broke his nose
• Being pushed down the stairs twice
• Being forced to sit in a walk-in freezer intermittently over the course of two days
• Being told his family would be tortured if he did not confess to a crime

At the time of Yasin’s mock execution, he was sharing a cell with Mohsen Shekari, a 23-year-old protester who was executed in December 2022 in Rajaee Shahr prison in Karaj, located 20 miles west of Tehran.

CHRI is deeply concerned that Yasin, who was initially sentenced to death under “moharabeh” (enmity against God) on the unsubstantiated charge of murdering a state security force member, is now having his retrial handled by Judge Abolqasem Salavati, who is notorious in Iran for issuing harsh sentences against individuals accused of engaging in dissent or activism.

Before his first court session with Salavati, Yasin was ordered to shave his beard, but keep a mustache, according to the information received by CHRI. In Iran, one stereotypical and disparaging belief is that men with mustaches are criminals; the order was issued by Salavati, which suggests his intent to treat Yasin as guilty from the beginning.

Yasin was also pressured to make statements on camera alleging that he had joined street protests at the behest of foreign news stations and activists, which he refused to do.

Currently held in Evin Prison, Yasin was “attacked and arrested by security forces in the middle of the night at my home” on September 30, 2022, he said, amid state security forces’ violent repression of major anti-state protests that had erupted across Iran in September 2022 after the death in state custody of Jina Mahsa Amini for her allegedly improper hijab.

Yasin was accused of killing a state security force member and, while being denied access to independent counsel and a fair trial, initially sentenced to death a few weeks later. Under appeal, the Supreme Court accepted his request for a re-trial, and referred his case back to the Islamic Revolutionary Court, but the case has remained in limbo since then.

Yasin, Under Pressure, Breaks Silence and Is Quickly Punished

“I don’t know what crime I’ve committed that even the state-appointed lawyer doesn’t have the right to work on my case,” he said in an audio message that was shared online on July 21, 2023, referring to the fact that his assigned lawyer, Hossein Sartipi, told him Judge Salavati wouldn’t allow him to review and investigate his case. That was the first time Yasin had been heard from since his arrest.

“If I’ve committed a crime and you have evidence, reveal it, and give me a sentence,” he added. “If I’m innocent, then release me. Why are you leaving me in uncertainty?”

Two days later, Yasin was hospitalized at the Aminabad Hospital, also referred to as the Razi psychiatric hospital in Shahr-e-Rey in southern Tehran. This is the same hospital where political prisoner Behnam Mahjoubi was tortured before dying at a different hospital in Iranian state custody.

Yasin did not provide consent to the hospitalization, a source with detailed knowledge of his case told CHRI. This form of arbitrary detention is a violation of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Iran is a signatory.

Article 9 states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”

Iran’s own Guidelines for Special Situations in Rehabilitation and Treatment Centers for Psychiatric Patients also stipulate that if a person with acute mental health conditions has not been declared “incapacitated” by medical or judicial authorities, her/his personal consent is necessary to carry out any medical treatment.

“No one informed us about this [transfer to the psychiatric hospital],” Yasin’s mother, Fozieh Kurani, told the Shargh newspaper. “We are not powerless. We plan to go from Kermanshah to Tehran to see what has happened.”

“At the moment, we have no news about Saman’s condition,” she added. “The last call from Saman was three to four days ago. I have heard no news from him since then. He said he was very upset and confused about his situation, but he did not mention that they were going to transfer him…”

Pattern of Sending Political Prisoners to Psychiatric Hospitals without Cause or Consent

Numerous political prisoners and dissidents—as well as detained children—in Iran have been unlawfully forced into psychiatric hospitals without cause or their consent, as well as forced to undergo so-called psychiatric evaluations, according to research by CHRI.

So prevalent has been the practice in Iran that four mental health associations there recently condemned the practice in a joint letter to Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei.

“The diagnosis of mental disorders is the responsibility of a psychiatrist, not a judge; just as the diagnosis of other diseases is the responsibility of doctors, not judges,” said the letter, which was signed by the presidents of the following associations: the Scientific Association of Psychiatrists of Iran, the Scientific Association of Psychosomatic Medicine of Iran, the Scientific Association of Psychotherapy of Iran, and the Iranian Psychological Association.

“The application of psychiatric diagnosis to punish individuals is a form of misuse and has irreparable consequences, both in terms of violating human dignity, with the aim of humiliation, and damaging the social status of many people suffering from mental health problems, complicating mental health services to those in need, and tarnishing the face of psychiatry and psychology in the world,” added the associations, which published the letter in July 2023.

The associations specifically referenced the case of Afsaneh Bayegan, who was sentenced to bi-weekly therapy sessions for refusing to wear the hijab in public, for what the court referred to as “anti-family personality.” She was also issued a two-year “suspended” prison sentence, which means she could be imprisoned at any time, and banned from using social media or leaving the country for two years.

Children accused of engaging in anti-state protests have also been sent to psychological centers in Iran, for “reforming and educating them” according to the Iranian government’s dictates, Education Minister Yousef Nouri told the Shargh Daily when the protests were at their height in October 2022.

This practice was strongly condemned in by group of doctors in a correspondence published by the influential peer-reviewed medical journal, The Lancet.

“As a group of psychiatrists, we strongly condemn the use of psychiatric and psychological services as a corrective measure in political conflicts,” said the doctors. “This approach leads to arbitrary psychiatric confinement, especially in a country that has no mental health laws.

“Such practices are clear violations of human rights and are concerning for many other reasons, including wrongly pathologizing opinions and values that differ from that of a ruling regime,” they added.

Other political prisoners and detainees who’ve been subjected to unlawful and involuntary medical treatment in Iranian state custody—in addition to children protesters, Yasin, and the actress Afsaneh Bayegan  mentioned in this report—include:

• University student Melika Gharegozlou
• Human rights lawyer Payam Derafshan
• Teachers’ rights activist Hashem Khastar
• Political activist Leila Mirghafari
• Journalist Kianoush Sanjari
• Political activist Sakineh Parvaneh
• Political activist Farzin Rezaie-Roshan
• Political activist Ali Nouri 
• Baha’i faith member Meysam Bahramabadi
• Political activist Amir Mehdi Tabasi
• Journalist and activist Hengameh Shahidi
• Political activist Zahra Jabari

Fact-Finding Mission on Iran Must Vigilantly Monitor, Document Associated Abuses

UN Should Call on Islamic Republic to Repeal Compulsory Hijab Law

July 18, 2023 – Women and girls in Iran face increased violence, arbitrary arrests and heightened discrimination as the Islamic Republic re-activates its forced-veiling police patrols, said the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) in a statement today. The UN and broader international community should explicitly call for the repeal of this repressive, dangerous, and discriminatory law, CHRI stressed.

“For the past nine months, the Iranian authorities have witnessed countless girls and women peacefully defying the Islamic Republic’s forced-hijab law,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI). “In response, they are resuming their failing strategy of enforcing repressive policies against Iranian women while trampling the right to freedom of expression.”

“It is essential for the international community to stand with the women and girls of Iran and advocate strenuously for their safety, dignity, and fundamental human rights,” Ghaemi said.

On July 16, Saeid Montazer al-Mahdi, Deputy Police Chief for Cultural and Social Affairs, announced that “vehicle and foot patrols” would be deployed across the country to “deal with” women accused of not complying with the state’s forced-hijab law. The announcement  was followed by reported instances of white van patrols in Iranian cities, with at least one video showing a hijab-less woman being assaulted by a veil-clad woman trying to force her into a white van.

Although there has been no official confirmation that the government has redeployed its so-called “morality police”—which has a documented history of harassing, assaulting and arresting women accused of defying the state’s forced-hijab law—several government, police, and judicial officials have announced that increased enforcement of forced-veiling in Iran though “police actions” has resumed.

CHRI urges UN human rights experts and Member States to demand the repeal of the compulsory hijab law by the Iranian government. The UN Human Rights Council’s independent, international Fact-Finding Mission on Iran should also vigilantly monitor the situation on the ground in Iran to document any instances of escalated violence against women by the patrols.

Anti-Forced-Hijab Advocate Arrested, Actress Sentenced to Prison

The announcement of increased forced-hijab enforcement in Iran this past weekend was followed on July 17 by the unlawful arrest of actor Mohammad Sadeghi, as he was livestreaming peaceful commentary against the abusive policy.

Sadeghi tried to livestream his arrest, which included state security agents entering and raiding his home without a warrant. The Fars News Agency in Iran, which is associated with the Iranian military’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, subsequently accused Sadeghi of being a “homosexuality advocate.”

CHRI calls for the immediate release of Sadeghi and all prisoners of conscience.

Since Iran’s nationwide anti-state protests began in September 2022—which were initially triggered by the killing in state custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Jina Amini, who was arrested for an allegedly improper hijab—Iranian authorities have targeted anti-forced-hijab advocates, especially actresses and others with large social media followings.

On July 18, 2023, actress Leila Bolukat became the latest individual to be sentenced to prison for allegedly not wearing a hijab; she was ordered to serve four months in prison and banned from working for two years, as well as banned from social media activity for five years.

The Iranian government has also promised to pass legislation that would further punish and persecute women for choosing what to wear in public through a range of additional punishments, including monetary fines, restrictions on accessing bank accounts and denial of other essential services, confiscation of personal vehicles, travel limitations, bans on online activity, and imprisonment.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf promised the “Chastity and Hijab Law” would be ratified by mid-August, which would be a month before the one-year anniversary of Amini’s killing.

Resurgence of Forced-Veiling Enforcement Fuels Violence Against Women in Iran

The Iranian government’s intensified enforcement of forced-hijab regulations in July 2022, mandated by President Ebrahim Raisi and signed into a decree the following month, had devastating consequences. It was just a month later, on September 16, 2022, when Amini died after beatings she reportedly received in state custody.

Amini’s killing sparked the “Woman Life Freedom” movement, which erupted in September 2022 across Iran with protests, and still continues, albeit in smaller acts of civil disobedience.

During this period, the “morality police” (also referred to as “guidance patrol”) largely vanished from the streets—although there was always ambiguity regarding official state confirmation of the disbandment of the morality police.

Despite facing violent repression by the government during street protests—in which hundreds of peaceful demonstrators were killed by state security forces and over 20,000 arrested—countless Iranian women have sustained the movement by publicly appearing without veils. Many have documented their peaceful resistance through photos and videos shared online.

CHRI stresses that the resumption of forced-veiling patrols significantly raises the potential for a surge in violence against women, not only by the police patrols, but also by vigilante violence. Rigorous and continuous vigilance and support from the international community are vital.

“The hijab should be a choice, not a tool of state repression,” said Ghaemi. “Through coordinated actions, we can all play a pivotal role in pressuring the Iranian government to stop perpetuating violence against women.”

The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on the Islamic Republic of Iran today provided its first oral report to the UN Human Rights Council, in which it called on the Iranian authorities to “stop the executions of individuals convicted and sentenced to death in connection with the protests” and “release all those detained for exercising their legitimate right to peaceful assembly and for reporting on the protests.”

In response to the Iranian government’s refusal to cooperate with the independent investigation, the FFM also reiterated its requests “to make available to us the judicial files, evidence, and judgments regarding each of these persons,” added Sara Hossain, chair of the FFM.

The fact-finding mission was established by the UN Human Rights Council in November 2022 to investigate the Islamic Republic’s gunning down of more than 500 men and women participating in the street protests that erupted across Iran after the September 2022 killing in state custody of 22-year-old Jina Mahsa Amini, as well as other crimes and rights violations committed by the Iranian authorities since then.

It will present a comprehensive report on its findings to the Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue at its 55th session in March 2024.

Watch the FFM’s interactive dialogue at the UN Human Rights Council, as well its press conference.

A press release on the FFM’s first oral report (including a Persian-language version) can be accessed here.

Iranian Officials Commit Rights Violations with Impunity While Parliament Votes to Further Persecute Human Rights Defenders

June 28, 2023 – Bolstering a state campaign aimed at crushing dissent, the Iranian Parliament has voted to “investigate” the Iranian Bar Association in a bid to further persecute human rights lawyers who serve as the last remaining lifeline for defendants facing politically motivated charges in the judicial system.

“Iranian officials commit blatant human rights violations with impunity, while mechanisms to scrutinize publicly funded state institutions don’t exist in Iran,” said Hadi Ghaemi, Executive Director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

“Meanwhile the Iranian Bar Association, an independent body that does not receive public funding, is being subjected to a bogus ‘investigation’ that also happens to be unlawful,” he added. “This is essentially state-sponsored persecution under the guise of a legal process.”

According to the Iranian Parliament’s internal regulations, the legislative branch can only investigate government bodies or organizations that receive funding from the national budget.

“This assault on justice in Iran should be strongly condemned by bar associations and international human rights organizations around the world, as well as by government and UN officials,” said Ghaemi.

CHRI also urges bar associations to highlight individual cases of imprisoned and detained human rights lawyers, condemn their persecution, especially in international forums such as legal conferences, and call attention to the systematic denial of due process in the Islamic Republic—including in death penalty cases where lives are at stake.

The Iranian Bar Association is one of the oldest professional institutions in Iran. According to the 1954 Bar Association Independence Law, the association has its own special self-regulating structure. The independence of the Bar Association is thus legally recognized, and its affairs are managed based on self-disciplinary principles and without reliance on public funds.

However, the Iranian government has been working to block access to internationally recognized standards of due process in the judicial system for decades, including by arbitrarily arresting independent lawyers, some of whom have been blocked from working, and/or forced to leave the country.

The government has also been trying to destroy the independence of the Bar Association through other means, including through Article 48 of the Criminal Code of Procedure, which enables courts to force defendants held in cases involving politically motivated charges to choose lawyers from a list approved by the judiciary chief, currently Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, himself a known human rights violator.

Parliament Grants State Extraordinary Powers Over Legal Profession

A motion titled “The Request to Investigate the Operations of Bar Associations and their Union” was passed in Iran’s parliament by 158 votes in favor, 20 against and 3 abstentions on June 27, 2023.

The investigation will enable the judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni Ejei, and state security agencies including the Intelligence Ministry and the intelligence organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops, to scrutinize bar associations throughout the country as well as their central union in Tehran.

The state security apparatus will also be empowered with “reviewing the legal qualification” of lawyers who are members of the bar, which will enable it to pick and choose which lawyers are allowed to officially work in the country.

Bogus ‘Investigation’ Gives Security Agencies Full Access and Control

According to “The Request to Investigate the Operations of Bar Associations and their Union,” members of Parliament and state security agencies will pursue 10 avenues in their inquiry, including by:

• Assessing how the bar association determines membership, accepts law interns, conducts entrance exams, and carries out trainee assessments;
• Collecting bar association membership lists under the pretense of evaluating the lawyers’ legal competence;
• Examining the association’s budget, the income of the bar association and its associated offices around the country, its union, and how its income is spent;
• Examining how elections are held for the board of directors of the bar associations and the union.

These measures are intended to strip the association of its independence, while enabling the state to control its internal affairs.

Since the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, 22, in Iranian state custody days after she was arrested for her allegedly improper hijab in September 2022, which sparked nationwide protests across the country, at least 44 lawyers have been arbitrarily arrested, some violently, and more than 100 have been summoned to court, according to research by CHRI.

Independent lawyers who have managed to secure representation for detained activists, protesters, dissidents. and journalists during this time have meanwhile been denied access to case files and the ability to meet their clients to prepare a proper defense.

“This isn’t an investigation, it’s a blatant attack designed to instill fear and despair among protesters and justice-seekers who rely on independent lawyers in the hope of gaining justice,” said Ghaemi.

“It is a unlawful and transparent attempt to block civil society’s access to due process under the guise of the law,” he added.

Read this article in Persian 

This report was made possible from donations by readers like you. Help us continue our mission by making a tax-deductible donation.

Denied Access to Counsel and Held in Prolonged Solitary, Health Deteriorating 

A family of three and a friend of the family jailed in Iran since November 2022 are facing charges that could carry the death penalty in a case shrouded in secrecy, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned.

Nasrollah Fallahi, 66, his son Ardavan, 24, and their family friend Parvin Mirasan have been held in Evin Prison in the capital of Tehran for the past seven months after a raid on the home of Parvin Mirasan in Isfahan at an unspecified date in early November 2022.

The next day, Fallahi’s daughter, Arghavan, 22, was arrested at her family’s home in Shiraz.

“Nasrollah Fallahi and his son Ardavan are in indefinite detention in Evin Prison’s Ward 4,” their lawyer Erfan Karam-Veisi told CHRI. “Arghavan is in the Women’s Ward.”

“I managed to have a meeting with them on one occasion after declaring my representation in their case, but unfortunately, I’ve not been given the chance for a second meeting or allowed to review the case files,” he added.

Mirasan is represented by a different lawyer which CHRI was unable to reach.

The exact reason the four were arrested has not been specified by the judiciary nor revealed to Karam-Veisi, who is struggling to provide counsel in a case involving charges that could be punished with the death penalty. However, national security charges are involved, which the Islamic Republic’s judiciary typically levels against political critics.

“The Fallahi family were read the charges at Branch 6 of the Evin Prison Prosecutor’s Office by the investigator, a Mr. Jabbarian (first name unknown),” a source with detailed knowledge of the case told CHRI on the condition of anonymity.

“The charges are ‘waging war,’ ‘corruption on earth through extensive acts against national security,’ and ‘assembly and collusion against national security,’” added the source. “However, the details are unclear as the case has not been reviewed by the lawyer.”

Denial of Medical Care

The source also told CHRI that the three are in deteriorating health, physically and mentally. It is unclear whether they have been allowed access to proper medical treatment.

“Ardavan is constantly going to the prison clinic or hospitals,” said the source. “Parvin Mirasan and Nasrollah Falahi had illnesses before they went to prison and now, due to lack of access to appropriate treatments, are in poor condition,” added the source.

Political prisoners in Iran are singled out for harsh treatment, which often includes denial of medical care. The threat of withheld medical care has also been used as an intimidation tool against prisoners who have challenged the authorities or filed complaints.

UN experts have repeatedly expressed serious concerns over Iran’s continuous denial of appropriate healthcare to detainees, despite repeated calls.

While being denied access to counsel, the Fallahi family has been transported from one intelligence agency to the next.

Shuttled Between Prisons and Wards Controlled by IRGC and Intelligence Ministry

They were initially taken to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) detention center in Shiraz and after 25 days, transferred to the city’s Adelabad Prison and interrogated for 10 days.

Subsequently, the three were taken to the Intelligence Ministry’s office in a building known as “Plaque #100.” After two weeks of interrogation, they were transferred to Evin’s Ward 209 and a month later to Ward 2-A, under the control of the IRGC.

Nasrollah and his son Ardavan were transferred to the Evin Public Ward 4 and Arghavan to the Women’s Ward on March 20.

On April 11, Karam-Veisi wrote on Instagram that the Fallahis had been held in solitary confinement for more than two months.

Evin Prison’s Prosecutor’s Office initially objected to Karam-Veisi’s representation of the family, until finally approving it. However, judicial authorities have continued to conceal information about the case to Karam-Veisi, undermining his ability to provide effective legal defense.

The Iranian judiciary has a documented history of denying due process to individuals held in politically sensitive cases in various ways, including by forcing defendants to choose a lawyer from a list approved by the court, and by denying the defendant and his or her counsel enough time or information to prepare a proper defense.

Tens of thousands of people were detained in Iran between September 2022 and January 2023 during widespread anti-state protests, which came to be known as the “Woman Life Freedom” movement.

The vast majority were held without access to counsel and in locations unknown to their family members for months.

Many were ultimately released after being forced to sign “apology” statements, however, an unspecified number of people remain jailed while some high-profile political prisoners have since been summoned to court or sent back to prison.