Original: English
|
|  Yüklə 1.34 Mb.
|
Human rights defenders currently detained, by category  B. Journalists and netizens 34. Of 39 bloggers and journalists currently detained in the Islamic Republic of Iran (including the recent arrest of seven computer technology workers),26 at least 12 were charged with “assembly and collusion”, 10 with “propaganda against the system” and at least six with “insulting the Supreme Leader”.27 The number of persons concerned in each case is probably higher owing to the unknown circumstances surrounding the cases against some journalists and bloggers currently detained. C. Religious minorities 35. As at 3 January 2014, at least 307 members of religious minorities were in detention, of whom 136 were Baha’is, 90 Sunni Muslims, 50 Christians, 19 Dervish Muslims (four Dervish human rights lawyers were also reportedly detained), four were Yarasan, two were Zoroastrians and six were from other groups. A few were members of more newly formed spiritual groups, such as Inter-universalism, founded by Mohammad Ali Taheri. Additionally members of the official state religion Shia Islam, such as Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi, have at times been imprisoned for their expression of theological beliefs that challenge those endorsed by the Government. 36. Former detainees often report being subjected to torture or cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment and prolonged solitary confinement to coerce confessions to accusations or admissions about other people. Many detainees also reported being held largely incommunicado, without access to a lawyer. Some prosecutions reportedly failed to meet international standards, marked by limited access to case files and the right to present a defence. Under the law, religious minorities, including recognized Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, also face discrimination in the judicial system, such as hasher punishments than Muslims for certain crimes, and are barred from serving as judges.
37. At least 734 Baha’is have reportedly been arrested since 2004, and 136 are currently detained. Another 289 have been arrested, released on bail and awaiting trial, while another 150 have been sentenced but are awaiting appeals or summons to serve.28 38. It appears that Baha’is are almost exclusively prosecuted for participation in their community affairs, including by facilitating educational services and publicly engaging in religious practices, such as attending devotional gatherings. The violations appear to be rooted in the unrecognized status of the faith, as well as a pervasive view held within the Government that Baha’is represent a heretical sect with ties to foreign enemies.29 They are typically charged with political and security crimes, such as espionage or “propaganda against the ruling system”. According to an unpublished submission from the Baha’i International Community, multiple revolutionary courts recently held that membership of “the misguided Baha’i sect” constituted a criminal offence. The same publication noted that, in a 1993 case involving the murder of two Baha’is, the Constitutional exclusion of Baha’is made them “unprotected infidels” within the justice system. Other sources report that judges are often openly hostile towards Baha’i defendants.
39. In recent years, Christians, many of whom are converts from Muslim backgrounds, have faced a similar pattern of persecution. At least 49 Christians were reportedly being detained in the Islamic Republic of Iran as at January 2014. In 2013 alone, the authorities reportedly arrested at least 42 Christians, of whom 35 were convicted for participation in informal “house churches”, association with churches outside the Islamic Republic of Iran, perceived or real evangelical activity, and other standard Christian activities. Sentences range from one to 10 years of imprisonment. 40. The Christians most commonly prosecuted appear to be converts from Muslim backgrounds or those that proselytize or minister to Iranian Muslims. Iranian authorities at the highest levels have designated house churches and evangelical Christians as threats to national security.30 41. While most cases involving Christians are tried in revolutionary courts for national security crimes, some Christians face charges in public criminal courts for manifestation of religious beliefs; for example, a court sentenced four Christians to 80 lashes each for drinking wine during communion in October 2013.31 Sources also reported that, although prosecutions for the capital offence of apostasy are very rare, officials routinely threaten to prosecute Christian converts for apostasy, which, while not found in any Iranian criminal law, has been prosecuted based on an Islamic law interpretation commonly used by Iranian courts.32 3. Dervish and Sunni Muslims 42. Muslims are not immune from arrest, prosecution and judicial harassment in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In recent years, authorities have targeted Dervish (namely, Sufi) Muslims, including members of the Nematollahi Gonabadi order. According to information submitted to the Special Rapporteur, since 2008, 90 Gonabadi Dervishes have been summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence for questioning, 391 have been summoned to public and revolutionary courts, and at least 238 Gonabadi Dervishes have been arrested. Altogether, these actions have resulted in at least 970 prosecutions since 2008, with some cases still open. 43. Human rights groups have reported numerous cases of detention of Sunni Muslims, the majority being imams or religious leaders. They often hail from ethnic minority communities, and routinely face multiple levels of discrimination and limits on their religious practices. Some Sunnis appear to be prosecuted for crimes that involve alleged acts of political violence, including capital crimes such as moharebeh (see para. 33 above). Human rights groups and a former political prisoner told the Special Rapporteur that the majority of Sunnis are detained for peaceful religious activism or theologically-based opposition to the political system in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Some have alleged that their convictions were based on confessions made under torture.
44. As at January 2014, at least 50 ethnic rights defenders, 28 civic and cultural activists and 200 ethnic political activists were reported detained or imprisoned, many convicted of association with armed opposition groups. Sources challenge the legality of these detentions and convictions, alleging torture and denial of fair trial standards for a majority of these individuals. 45. The Special Rapporteur remains deeply concerned about the five Arab Ahwazi members of the Al-Hiwar cultural institute, who were arrested by the security forces in early 2011 and sentenced to death in July 2012. Their sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court on 9 January 2013. They were reportedly prosecuted for protected activities and convicted of moharebeh, efsad fil-arz (“corruption on earth”) and “spreading propaganda against the system”, reportedly in the absence of fair trial standards.33 46. According to reports submitted to the Special Rapporteur, five Azeri political and cultural activists, arrested between 31 December 2012 and 6 February 2013, were convicted and sentenced by branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Tabriz to nine years in prison for “founding an illegal group” and “propaganda against the State”. The five Azeri activists reportedly promoted the right to self-determination and the cultural and linguistic identity of Azeris in the Islamic Republic of Iran.On 16 June 2013, the Court of Appeals upheld the sentence.34 On 13 July 2013, the five activists embarked on a hunger strike to protest their alleged unfair trial and detention conditions.35 47. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the alleged reprisal for the killing of Iranian border forces, with the execution of 16 prisoners in the Sistan and Baluchistan province, the execution of four Ahwazi Arabs and the execution of two Kurdish political prisoners. In his statement on the executions, the Zahedan Revolutionary and Public Prosecutor maintained that the “wicked forces and opposition grouplets” had been warned that “we will retaliate against any action that harms innocent people and security and police forces. This morning, in response to the martyrdom of border forces in the City of Saravan, we executed 16 bandits that were connected to State opposition groups.”36 48. The head of the judiciary in Sistan and Baluchistan province reported that eight of the 16 individuals executed were charged with moharebeh and efsad fil-arz owing to their membership and cooperation with the Soldiers of Satan group and “participation in terrorist events in the province in recent years”, while the other eight were reportedly executed on drug-related charges.37 According to a number of reports, at least one juvenile offender was among the 16 persons executed.38 49. The Special Rapporteur remains concerned at reports of the extrajudicial killing of Kulbars by border forces39 and the injury or death of civilians as a result of land mines; 17 such cases were reported from March to October 2013.40 50. The Special Rapporteur is also concerned about the prosecution of cultural and labour activists. According to reports, labour activists were prosecuted for being members of the Coordination Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations in the Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan provinces and for participating in its general assembly.41 51. Officials have reportedly mandated management of Internet cafes in Paveh city (Kurdistan province) to record information on the citizens entering their venues. On 13 December 2013, seven Kurdish cultural activists from Kurdistan province were sentenced to seven months of imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court of Paveh for reportedly promoting propaganda for Kurdish opposition political parties through social websites.42
52. The Government accepted seven recommendations related to the treatment of detained persons during its universal periodic review in 2010, including to improve human rights education and training for judicial and law enforcement officials, to eliminate torture and other forms of ill treatment, to ensure an effective and impartial judicial system in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is guaranteed, and to take measures to ensure that government and security officials implicated in human rights abuses relating to extrajudicial and arbitrary detention and the possible use of torture are investigated, prosecuted and punished.43 53. Although the prison system in the Islamic Republic of Iran has an official capacity of 113,000, in 2010 there were more than 204,000 inmates, an occupancy rate of 192 per cent, namely, nearly twice its maximum physical capacity (and a sharp increase over the 101,801 prisoners registered in 1993). The International Center for Prison Studies estimated that the rate of prisoners per population at 276 per 100,000 persons (2010), the 39th highest rate in the world.44 In 2011, the head of the national prison organization stated that the rising number of prisoners had thrown the penitentiary systems into crisis, and that the system faced a two-month budget shortfall every year.45 Living conditions for inmates are routinely reported to range from poor to inhumane. Access to medical services is often limited, and hygiene and nutrition are poor.46 54. A total of 69 per cent of the 133 interviewees reported having been held in solitary confinement for periods ranging from a few days to nine months. Solitary cells typically measure 2 to 2.5 m2 and contain little more than a blanket and a sleeping mat. They reported that they had been refused access to fresh air, books or a pen and paper, and had no human contact other than with guards and interrogators. In some cases, interviewees stated that they had been allowed to make brief telephone calls to their families in the presence of prison officials to report they were “fine”. 55. Almost all former detainees claimed that authorities had blindfolded them during transfers from cells to interrogation rooms or bathrooms. Nearly all reported having been made to face a wall or a corner during interrogation and being interrogated from behind by one to three interrogators. Interrogations allegedly lasted several hours, during which time interrogators usually attempted to coerce detainees to confess in writing to certain activities, and/or to sign other documents. In nearly all cases, former detainees reported having been subjected to torture or ill-treatment during interrogation and detention. 56. In 90 per cent of cases, former detainees claimed that their interrogators had subjected them to psychological abuse, including prolonged solitary confinement, mock executions, threats to life, sexual harassment, threats to family members, harsh verbal abuse and threats of rape and other torture. Some 76 per cent also alleged that their interrogators physically abused them in the form of severe beatings to the head and body, often with a baton-like object. Some reported having been subjected to suspension and pressure positions, sexual molestation, electric shocks or burning. Some also reported having been transferred to general prison wards and shared cells after the investigation period, after which interrogations largely concluded. Some interviewees stated they were released shortly thereafter on bail. 57. In total, only 18 interviewees (34 per cent) stated that they had faced actual prosecution. Such persons were mainly charged with national security offences, while a few faced additional morality charges in public criminal courts. All interviewees reported various deviations from fair trial standards.
58. In 2003, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommended the abolition of revolutionary and religious courts; the establishment of safeguards for legal counsel against intimidation; and the involvement of legal counsel from the beginning of a case, regardless of the nature of the allegations against the accused.47 59. In 2011, the Human Rights Committee recommended that the Islamic Republic of Iran should take immediate steps to ensure and protect the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and guarantee that its functioning is free from pressure and interference from the executive power and clergy. The Committee also recommended that the State should also ensure that judges, in interpreting legislation as well as in relying on religious principles, do not reach verdicts that are in contravention to the rights and principles laid down in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.48
60. The independence of the judiciary is provided for in article 156 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The judiciary comprises multiple district courts, the jurisdiction of which is governed by the nature of the allegations against the accused. The revolutionary courts, before which most individuals identified as “prisoners of conscience” are prosecuted, preside over cases involving offences against “internal or external security”, drug offences and activities aimed at “fortifying the Pahlavi regime, suppressing the struggles of the Iranian people by giving orders or acting as agents, plundering the public treasury, and profiteering and forestalling the market of public commodities.”49 61. According to article 157 of the Constitution, the Head of the Judiciary is required to be a “doctor of religious law” and to possess knowledge of judicial matters. He has the power to appoint and dismiss judges, to define their jobs, to issue judicial promotions and transfers (arts. 158 and 164), and to appoint the Prosecutor General and the President of the Supreme Court (art. 162), which are therefore subject to the whims of the head of the judiciary.50 Under the Law on the Qualifications for the Appointment of Judges of 1982, Shia Muslim women may be appointed as advisory judges but may not preside over a court.51 62. The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader, who is responsible for, inter alia, supervision of general policies governing the system, the command of the armed forces, and “signing the decree formalizing the election of the President of the Republic by the people”.52 The Supreme Leader’s influence over the judiciary was already noted with concern in 2001 by both the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Representative on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran following a statement reportedly made by the First Deputy to the head of the judiciary that “judges must obey the Supreme Leader and have no independence in judgement”.53 63. Judges are called upon to adjudicate cases on the basis of codified law and, when the law is silent, to issue judgements on the basis of authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwas.54 Candidates for judgeship or prosecutorial positions are required to “have faith, be just and possess a practical commitment to Islamic principles and loyalty to the system of the Islamic Republic”.55 64. The above-mentioned qualifications are vetted through the gozinesh process, which involves investigations conducted by the Supreme Selection Council and the Ministry of Intelligence into the acceptability of an applicant’s beliefs, previous political opinions and affiliations, and repentance of any former political opinions and affiliations set forth in the Selection Law based on Religious and Ethical Standards of 1995.56 65. Lawyers reported that they believed that judges, particularly those in revolutionary courts, made their decisions almost exclusively on the basis of reports submitted by arresting and investigating intelligence officials (and confessions, if available). This approach was indeed reflected in the revolutionary court verdicts reviewed by the Special Rapporteur, which made extensive reference to the reports of the Ministry of Intelligence. Lawyers also reported that, in their experience, judges rarely considered evidence provided by the defence, and frequently chose to ignore allegations that confessions had been obtained under torture.
66. As found by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2003,57 the Special Rapporteur notes that lawyers are intimidated, detained and prosecuted for carrying out their professional responsibilities in defence of their clients. 67. More than 42 lawyers have reportedly faced detention, prosecution or harassment by security forces since 2009. Several have been stripped of their professional licences by the courts. Several lawyers also reported that they and their colleagues were often harassed or intimidated by judicial and/or intelligence authorities for carrying out their work, including for their defence of political (“security”) detainees. They also reported that, in more serious cases, judges threatened lawyers with prosecution for their work and that they were charged and/or had been sentenced for “insulting” judges or “disrupting the court” in apparent retaliation for their professional defence of individuals accused of political or “security” crimes.58 68. Mohammad Olyaei Fard, a human rights lawyer, reported that, in one of his cases, a judge ordered a prosecutor to file charges against him for publicizing false information about the Ministry of Intelligence, and requested that the bar association revoke his license in response to his assertion that his client’s confession had been obtained under duress and was therefore inadmissible. Mr. Olyaei Fard also reported that he also had to represent a lawyer colleague, Abdol Fatta Soltani, who is currently imprisoned, when Mr. Soltani was prosecuted for submitting allegations of torture on his client’s behalf. 69. Lawyers also reported that judicial and/or intelligence authorities intimidated lawyers or otherwise prevented them from carrying out their work by, for example, withholding necessary and relevant case documents or preventing timely face-to-face client meetings. One lawyer reported that, on several occasions, judges had refused entry to the courtroom when the lawyer attempted to make procedural requests, and had been threatened, in many cases by the judges themselves. The same lawyer also reported that, when attempting to present his/her defence in a “security” case, a presiding judge told the lawyer to “save it for your own trial”. The lawyer further reported that, in another trial where a group of women alleged having been raped by members of a criminal gang, a judge commented at the end of the trial that the plaintiffs certainly “also had something to do with it”, despite the conviction of the men. When the lawyer requested a record of the judge’s statement for the purposes of filing an official complaint, the judge threatened to charge the lawyer instead. The lawyer also claimed having witnessed judges denigrate female lawyers by, for example, ignoring procedural objections or requests made by the lawyers and, in turn, demanding that they adjust the positioning of their head covering or by having courtroom security guards do it. 70. According to sources, incidents against lawyers such as those mentioned above have led to a decline in the number of those willing to take on sensitive cases. The lawyers that do accept such cases are either in prison, have fled the country or in constant fear of arrest or other negative repercussions. 71. Lawyers also reported that this culture of intimidation deters them from raising reports of torture in their clients’ defence for fear that judiciary and security forces might retaliate, including through prosecution or the revocation of their professional license, and often deters individuals from hiring legal counsel in order to avoid the accusation that hiring a lawyer is an admission of guilt.
72. Article 35 of the Constitution recognizes the right to elect an attorney in all courts, and clearly requires the courts to provide opportunities for the realization of this right. Article 3 of the Citizenship Rights Law of 2004 requires courts and prosecution offices to respect the right of the accused to a defence, and to provide the accused with the services of a defence attorney. Similar protections have been prescribed by the Criminal Procedure, as noted above. 73. All persons interviewed for the present report stated that they had had no access to a lawyer during the initial investigation stage of their case, which is precisely the period when most violations of fair trial standards occur. Some 56 per cent of interviewees who were prosecuted reported that they did not have a lawyer during their trial. In three cases, judges reportedly refused to allow the defendants to retain a lawyer of their choice. 74. In one case, the judge reportedly informed the defendant that if he did not bring his lawyer with him to trial, he would be given a lighter sentence. In several cases, a lawyer was actually present at trial, although the defendant did not have contact with the lawyer until a few days or just hours before trial. Some 27 per cent of interviewees stated that their lawyer did not have access to their case files, or obtained access only a few days earlier (or even just on the day of trial). |