Access to Justice
Access to Justice |
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Back to Contents David Goggins Investigates
Background The 1979 revolution which resulted in the overthrow of the Shah was widely supported by all sections of the Iranian population. However, the revolutionary regime soon came to be dominated by the country’s conservative clergy, who drafted a new constitution reflecting Islamic values. This constitution allowed for an elected president and parliament[1], but all candidates had to be approved by the unelected Council of Guardians, who sought to ensure that elected officials would make all decisions in accordance with Islamic shari’a law. Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was chosen as Supreme Leader by a body of 86 government approved clerics known as the Assembly of Experts and invested with control over the security services, armed forces and the Judiciary. Ayatollah Khomeini held this position until his death in 1989, whereupon he was succeeded by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As a result of a change to the constitution Ayatollah Khamenei assumed final authority on all matters of foreign and domestic policy. Theocratic rule led to the curtailment of basic freedoms and an increase in corruption, which resulted in the growth of a reform movement. The reformist Mohammed Khatami was elected president in 1997 and reformist candidates won the vast majority of seats in parliamentary elections held in 2006. The success of the reformists provoked a backlash by the conservative clerics, who closed down reformist newspapers and jailed journalists. Attempts by parliament to introduce political and economic reforms were vetoed by the Council of Guardians. The reform movement collapsed when the parliamentary elections held in February 2004 were won by hard-liners after the Council of Guardians had disqualified almost all of the reformist candidates, including many incumbents. Civil and political liberties were further eroded following the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2005. Freedom of expression in Iran is now severely restricted, with the government controlling all television and radio broadcasting and frequently banning media coverage of certain events. The attitude of the Iranian government is described in a report from Freedom House which says: “The Ahmadinejad government holds that the duty of the media is to report and support government actions, not comment on them.”[2] The Freedom House report also commented on the closing of newspapers, saying: “In 2006 the Iranian government shut down a number of newspapers that it perceived to be insufficiently supportive of the leadership and Ahmadinjad. Papers such as Sharq, Hafez, Namah, and Karnameh have all recently been banned. They have been accused of ‘insulting religious, political, and national figures’ as well as ‘fomenting discord’.”[3] Apart from government imposed restrictions on political freedom there is also censorship of the internet, a limiting of academic freedom, interference with the judiciary, denial of women’s rights, restrictions on religious freedom and arbitrary arrest and detention. Arbitrary Arrest and detention On the issue of arbitrary arrest and detention Freedom House says: “Although the constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention, these practices are increasingly routine. Suspected dissidents are often held in unofficial, illegal detention centers run by a security apparatus consisting of the intelligence services, the Revolutionary Guard, judicial officials, and the police. Allegations of torture are common in such centers and in the notorious Evin prison.”[4] The detention of dissidents is also commented on in a report from Human Rights Watch which says: “Police and judiciary security forces often hold people under investigation for suspected violation of the Security Laws, in pretrial investigative detention, for weeks and months without any criminal charges being brought against them and without the opportunity to appear before a judge to challenge their detention. Detainees who are released without having been charged often fear being re-arrested as a form of harassment.”[5] Prison Conditions Iranian prisons have been criticised by human rights organisations, who allege that conditions are very poor and that prisoners are treated harshly. Human Rights Watch says: “Some prison facilities, including Tehran’s Evin Prison, were notorious for cruel and prolonged torture of political opponents of the government. Additionally, in recent years authorities have severely abused and tortured prisoners in a series of “unofficial” secret prisons and detention centers outside the national prison system. Common methods include prolonged solitary confinement with sensory deprivation, beatings, long confinement in contorted positions, kicking detainees with military boots, hanging detainees by the arms and legs, threats of execution if individuals refused to confess, burning with cigarettes, sleep deprivation, and severe and repeated beatings with cables or other instruments on the back and on the soles of the feet.”[6] Prison conditions are said to be particularly severe for political prisoners. Status of Religious Freedom The constitution states that the official religion of Iran is Islam, and that all laws and regulations must be consistent with the official interpretation of shari’a law. Of Iran’s population of 70 million people 89% are Shi’a Muslim, 9% are Sunni and 2% non-Muslim. The largest non-Muslim minority is the Bahá’i religious group, which has about 300,000 members. The 2007 religious freedom report published by the US Department of State describes the situation for members of minority religions as follows: “Although the Constitution gives Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians the status of ‘protected’ religious minorities, in practice non-Shi'a Muslims face substantial societal discrimination, and government actions continued to support elements of society who create a threatening atmosphere for some religious minorities.”[7] The US Department of State also says: “Government policy and practice contributed to severe restrictions on religious freedom. All non-Shi'a religious minorities suffer varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment, education, and housing.” [8] Iranian Muslims do not have the right to change their religion, and adherents of religious groups not recognised by the constitution do not have the freedom to practice their beliefs. This includes sects such as the Sufis, who despite being Muslims who adhere to sharia law have been subjected to harassment from the authorities on the grounds that they are heretics. Iranian lawyer Gholamreza Harsini says: “The crackdown on the Sufis must therefore be seen as part of a greater plan to suppress alternative reference groups in the society by the hard line government of Ahmadinejad. The hard line and traditionalist clerical establishment that has brought the man to power is increasingly in danger of loss of influence among the masses because of its intolerance.”[9] Baha’is A principal tenet of Islam is that Mohammed was God’s final prophet and that no other prophet can come after him. Because of this belief there can be no tolerance of the Baha’is, who adhere to the teachings of the nineteenth century prophet Baha'u'llah but who are regarded by the government as apostates of Islam. Baha’is are barred from government and military posts and are only permitted to enroll in schools if they do not identify themselves as Baha’is. The US Department of State says: “Broad restrictions on Bahá'ís severely undermined their ability to function as a community. The Government repeatedly offers Bahá'ís relief from mistreatment in exchange for recanting their faith.”[10] A document published on a web site maintained by the Office of Public Information of the Bahá’í International Community lists the names of 206 Baha’is allegedly killed in Iran during the period 1978 to 1998. Chapter III of this document describes the current situation of Baha’is as follows: “In contrast to its campaign of outright killing, imprisonment, and torture of Bahá’ís during the 1980s, the Iranian government has in recent years focused largely on economic and social efforts to drive Bahá’ís from Iran and destroy their cultural and community life. Such measures include ongoing efforts to prevent Bahá’ís from receiving higher education, to deny them the means of economic livelihood, and to deprive them of the inspiration provided by their sacred and historic sites. The government has also used arbitrary arrests and detentions, coupled with the confiscation of personal property, to terrorize, oppress and otherwise keep the community off balance — a stratagem that appears to be on the rise. Behind these techniques remains the implicit threat of long term imprisonment and execution.”[11] On 29 January 2008 Agence France Presse reported that the Iranian authorities had sentenced 54 Baha’is for what a judiciary spokesman described as “for propaganda against the regime”.[12] Executions Iran is second only to the People’s Republic of China in the number of executions recorded each year. The Amnesty International report on human rights in Iran during 2006 says: “At least 177 people were executed, at least four of whom were under 18 at the time of the alleged offence, including one who was under 18 at the time of execution. Two people were reportedly stoned to death. Sentences of flogging, amputation and eye-gouging continued to be passed. The true numbers of those executed or subjected to corporal punishment were probably considerably higher than those reported.”[13] Amnesty International has recently published a detailed report on the issue of death by stoning in Iran, which says: “Ja’far Kiani was stoned to death on 5 July 2007 in the village of Aghche-kand, near Takestan in Qazvin province. He had been convicted of committing adultery with Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, with whom he had two children and who was also sentenced to death by stoning. The stoning was carried out despite a stay of execution ordered in his case and in defiance of a moratorium on stonings reportedly issued in 2002 by the Head of the Judiciary. It was the first officially confirmed stoning since the moratorium, although a woman and a man are known to have been stoned to death in Mashhad in May 2006.”[14] A report from the Inter Press Service news agency suggests that this stoning was the action of an over-zealous local judge rather than deliberate government policy. This report quotes journalist and women’s rights activist Asieh Amini as saying “The judge, with help from a few policemen, took the prisoner from detention to a very small village, along with some of his colleagues from the judiciary office in Ghazvin province. Although none of the people in that small village were agreeable to the stoning, the judge and his accomplices stoned him to death,"[15] Women Women in Iran have access to education, are represented in parliament and are allowed to work outside the home. However, Iranian women do not have full equality with men and are suffer many forms of discrimination. Freedom House says: “Although Iranian women currently hold seats in Parliament, they do not enjoy the same political rights as men. Women are barred from serving as judges and are routinely excluded from running for public office. Women also face systematic discrimination in legal and social matters. A woman cannot obtain a passport without the permission of a male relative or her husband, and women do not enjoy equal rights under Sharia statutes governing divorce, inheritance, and child custody. A woman's testimony in court is given only half the weight of a man's. Women must conform to strict dress codes and are segregated from men in most public places.”[16] Women’s rights activists have been among the most prominent human rights workers in Iran in recent years, organising campaigns such as the One Million Signatures Campaign.[17] These activities have resulted in government measures to intimidate members of the women’s movement. An example of such intimidation occurred on June 12 2006 when a peaceful demonstration held in Tehran was disbanded, with many of the participants beaten or arrested. Dress Code Violations Women who infringe the strict dress code imposed by Iran’s conservative authorities run the risk of being detained by the police. In December 2007 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that: “This week in Tehran and other cities, officials began a fresh crackdown on women -- and men -- who violate rules for winter garb, such as sporting overcoats that are too short or hats instead of head scarves. Police in Tehran have set up mobile centers and stationed cars in busy areas, such as bustling Valiasr Street, to implement a new phase in the enforcement of the dress code.” Boots that are worn over pants, also hats worn without head scarves, body-hugging clothes, and coats that are shorter than knee-length will be targeted," General Ahmad Reza Radan, Tehran's police chief, told reporters at the launch of the winter campaign on December 9. ‘And these rules should also be obeyed when [women] are in their cars.’”[18] Other Human Rights Issues Other groups subjected to discriminatory laws and practices in Iran include minority ethnic groups such as Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Kurds and Baluchis, human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers, academics and students, homosexuals and members of trade unions. In regard to the treatment of trade union activists Human Rights Watch says: “The Iranian government has increasingly harassed and arbitrarily arrested members of the Iranian labor force who have spoken out and organized for improving the situation of workers in Iran. Authorities have detained independent labor leaders and ordinary workers in Evin 209, where they have treated them as security prisoners and denied them access to lawyers or family visits. The continuing persecution of labor union leader Mansour Ossanlu and a March 2007 crackdown on protesting teachers throughout the country stand out as indicators of labor’s increased persecution under the Ahmadinejad administration.”[19] In May 2007 Human Rights Watch reported that the Iranian authorities had arrested thousands of people on the grounds of “countering immoral behaviour”. According to Human Rights Watch: “Since early April 2007, Iranian police and militia known as basiji have launched a nationwide crackdown against people they accuse of deviating from official standards of dress or behavior. On April 14, Iran’s Supreme Court overturned murder sentences against six basiji who had killed five people in 2002 whom they considered “morally corrupt,” contributing to a climate of impunity for the militia forces.”[20] Perhaps the most unusual example of the Iranian authorities cracking down on what is perceived as un-Islamic behavior is the arrest and detention of pet dogs. In September 2007 Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that: “In the past, dog owners have received warnings or were forced to pay fines for having a pet dog. Despite such harassment, dog ownership has increased over the years, especially among young people in Tehran. One of them is 23-year-old Banafshe, whose dog was recently detained in Tehran for 48 hours and then released on bail. Banafshe says she was walking her young puppy, Jessica, when Iranian police snatched the dog and took her to a dog "jail." The dog's crime was ‘walking in public.’”[21] All reports and documents referred to in this article are available on request from the Refugee Documentation Centre. [1] The Iranian parliament is called the Majles |
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