Human Rights
Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the regime in Iran has imposed a rigid, fundamentalist form of Islamic law on its people and solidified its hold on power by denying Iranians basic rights of individual liberty. Iran is routinely cited for its abuse of human rights: in December 2007, the UN General Assembly even took the unusual step of passing a resolution expressing its “deep concern at the ongoing systemic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” Iran repeatedly has ignored recommendations made by various UN human rights entities, and is one of six countries in the world who refuse to allow independent international human rights organizations access to their country. The ones who suffer most as a result of all of this are the Iranian people.
Iran Restricts Freedom of Expression. Iran uses its “security laws” to prohibit a wide range of free expression. According to Human Rights Watch, “Iranian authorities systematically suppress freedom of expression and opinion by imprisoning journalists and editors and strictly controlling publishing and academic freedom.” The independent dailies that do continue to exist heavily self-censor themselves. The Iranian government also systematically blocks access to websites containing political news, whether they originate abroad or from inside Iran. Journalists and human rights activists are frequently prevented from traveling abroad to discuss their work. In many cases, their passports are confiscated, and journalists have been imprisoned on trumped up charges such as Parnaz Azima of Radio Farda. Those activists who do manage to leave the country are sometimes detained and interrogated upon their return.
Iran Restricts Freedom of Assembly. The Iranian government routinely arrests peaceful political activists, often without a warrant or any legal basis. Among those detained have been teachers calling for better wages and benefits, students working for political reform, and dozens of members of the Iranian women’s movement. For instance, after the Student's Day demonstrations in December 2007, more than 40 members of Students Seeking Freedom and Equality were rounded up; four of its leaders are still in jail where they have been subject to torture. In general, detainees are often held in solitary confinement for extended periods, denied contact with counsel and their families, and placed under intense physical and psychological pressure to confess.
Cruel and Inhumane Treatment in Iran’s Criminal Justice System. Iran continues to sentence convicted adulterers to death by stoning. At least ten women and two men currently await that brutal punishment. According to both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, sentences of flogging and amputation continue to be handed down by Iranian authorities. Torture is common in Iranian prisons -- many Iranians imprisoned for peacefully expressing their political views have reported beatings, sleep deprivation, and prolonged solitary confinement.
Iran Executes Juveniles. Iran executes more juvenile offenders than any other country in the world and has ignored calls to stop the practice from the United Nations and leading international human rights organizations. Only five countries in the world are known to have executed juvenile offenders in the last three years, and Iran has executed more than twice as many as the other four states combined. In 2007, at least eight juveniles were executed and at least four children have been executed this year. 132 juvenile offenders remain on death row.
Iran Persecutes Ethnic and Religious Minorities. Iran’s ethnic and religious minorities face widespread discrimination at the hands of the Iranian government. Iran’s Bahais cannot publicly practice their religion. Since 1979, Iranian authorities have killed more than 2,000 Bahai leaders, arrested and imprisoned thousands more, and dismissed more than 10,000 Bahais from government and university jobs. Ethnic minorities are also targeted. Kurds, Azeris, Baluchis, and ethnic Arabs are subject to limits on cultural and political activities, to capricious arrest and executions, and widespread discrimination.
Unequal Treatment of Women. Iranian women do not enjoy equal rights under the law. Men have greater rights in marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance. Girls younger than 13 can be married off to much older men. Women cannot serve as judges or run for president. Crimes against women are punished less severely than similar crimes committed against men. On top of this fundamental unfairness, thousands of women are arrested every year for violating stringent dress codes. Since August 2005, Iranian security forces have detained at least 35 members of the Iranian women’s movement in Evin.
Persecution of Homosexuals. Consensual homosexual conduct is a crime in Iran; homosexuals are subject to surveillance and harassment by the police. In June of 2007, 24 men were tried for “facilitating immorality and sexual misconduct” after police raided a private party in Esfahan. Most were sentenced to 80 lashes and a substantial fine, but Iranian law authorizes much worse: the death penalty may be meted out for consensual homosexual conduct in some cases and death sentences were handed down as recently as 2005.
No Rights for Workers. Iranian workers have few legal rights. Even though Iran is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which guarantees the right to association, independent labor unions are banned in Iran and according to Amnesty International “union activists are regularly beaten, arrested, jailed and tortured.” Recently, Mansour Ossanlu, the leader of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, was arrested for trying to organize bus drivers in the Iranian capital and remains in prison. And in March 2007, teachers throughout Iran protested for better pay. In response, dozens were arrested and imprisoned, and many more were transferred to jobs in other cities or suspended from their jobs.
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