Original: English

75. For 45 per cent of interviewees who faced trial, the court allegedly did not permit the defendant to present a defence, or only allowed partial defence. In 43 per cent of cases, trials lasted only minutes. In 70 per cent of the trials, interviewees reported that coerced information or confessions had been reportedly used by the judge or made up at least part of the intelligence report presented by the prosecution. Some 65 per cent of interviewees reported that the judge had displayed signs of bias, such as by reproaching or interrogating defendants, and limiting their ability to speak and present a defence.

76. All interviewees reported that a court had found them guilty of most or all charges. Several interviewees stated that their lawyers had not been provided with copies of the verdict handed down by the revolutionary court; instead, they had been forced to copy the text of the verdict by hand, which was used to formulate their appeal. In some cases, appeals resulted in lighter sentences, but never acquittals. In all cases, final verdicts reportedly included a combination of prison sentence, suspended prison term, flogging, bans on professional activity or education, or fines.

77. One lawyer who has been practicing in the Islamic Republic of Iran for more than 10 years reported irregularities observed during the representation of the more than 40 individuals in the country’s revolutionary courts. The lawyer reported that a number of clients with “security” cases had been forced to confess to charges regardless of available evidence, and the lawyer had often not been permitted to review case files before trials, to meet with clients before and/or after trials, to present a full defence to the presiding judge or to be present in the courtroom throughout the pre-verdict trial proceedings, in accordance with the law.

78. The lawyer also further reported that individuals accused of drug offences were often severely mistreated while in detention, often deprived of access to hygienic facilities, handcuffed and shackled together in court, and that their trials “never last more than a few minutes”.

79. The lawyer recalled that Iranian law allows for women who report rape to be prosecuted of adultery in cases where they are unable to convince a judge of their charges, given that the allegations imply that the women had engaged in extra-marital relations. The lawyer also pointed out that rape cases were very difficult to prove and put women wishing to report the crime at risk of being prosecuted for a capital offence, which likely deterred women victims from coming forward. Moreover, women alleging rape must often subject themselves to intrusive “virginity” tests.

80. It has been estimated that some 1,539 individuals have been executed, including at least between 955 and 962 for drug trafficking, since the establishment of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in 2011 (see table 2 below).⁵⁹ Some 687 individuals are thought to have been executed in 2013 (369 of which were announced by official or semi-official government sources), an increase of 165 over the figures recorded for 2012, despite the fact that executions effectively ceased for several lengths of time that year: from 1 March to 15 April, during which only four persons were executed;⁶⁰ during the presidential elections between 23 May and 16 June, when only two were executed;⁶¹ and during Ramadan, from 8 July to 13 August 2013, when three people were executed.

Table 2.
Executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran: 2003 – 2013

81. In 2013, at least 57 individuals were hanged publicly (one of whom was pardoned after surviving the execution), including at least 28 women. A number of individuals were reportedly convicted in the absence of fair trial standards and executed for the crimes of moharebeh, efsad fil-arz or for “acting against national security”.

82. In late October and early November 2013, three Kurds were executed for moharebeh and for “attempting to overthrow the Government”. In November, four individuals from the Arab Ahwazi minority community were executed for “acting against national security”, moharebeh and efsad fil-arz.⁶²

83. Four additional Kurdish individuals – Jamshid and Jahanghir Dehgani, Hamed Ahmadi and Kamal Molayee – appear to be at imminent risk of execution for the “crimes” of moharebeh and efsad fil-arz.⁶³ Sources have reported that they were convicted in the absence of fair trial standards. The Special Rapporteur urges the authorities to halt these executions, commute their sentences and investigate complaints of violations of fair trial guarantees.⁶⁴

84. While the new Islamic Penal Code has excluded the possibility of execution for “security crimes” in which weapons were not used,⁶⁵ it retains the death penalty for certain crimes not meeting international standards for “most serious”, including recidivist alcohol consumption, adultery, consensual homosexual sex and drug possession or trafficking.⁶⁶

85. The drug problem faced by the Islamic Republic of Iran is both significant and complex. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimated in 2011 that some 1.2 million Iranians were opiate users, one of the highest rates globally. Drug trafficking and related crimes have posed major law enforcement and security challenges. Iranian officials have estimated that the fight against drug addiction and trafficking costs $1 billion a year.⁶⁷

86. The Islamic Republic of Iran prescribes the death penalty for a variety of drug-related activities, including drug manufacturing and trafficking, but it can also be applied to the personal possession of 30g of heroin, morphine or specified synthetic and non-medical psychotropic drugs, such as methamphetamines, without an effective right of appeal.⁶⁸ Drug offences continue to account for most cases of capital punishment in the country, resulting in the highest known per capita level of executions globally. It was estimated that at least 302 of the 624 executions held in 2013 were for alleged drug possession or trafficking,⁶⁹ although the actual number is possibly higher, given that the reasons for the execution of another 90 individuals remain unknown. This application of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran affects many of the most vulnerable in society, and accordingly has a disproportionate impact on minorities.

87. UNODC has been engaged in the Islamic Republic of Iran since 1999, providing the Government with significant technical assistance and capacity-building. In 2010, UNODC and the State concluded a multilateral programme of technical cooperation for the period 2011-2014.⁷⁰ Under the programme, UNODC and the State have worked together on sub-programmes that include a focus on law enforcement and on crime, justice and corruption. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Islamic Republic of Iran to take advantage of the support offered by UNODC to address the concerns identified above, in particular in the area of criminal justice reform.

88. According to Daftar Tahkim Vahdat, an Iranian student organization, from April 2005 to March 2013, at least 935 university students were deprived of continuing education for either one or more semesters for political activities, including publishing articles, organizing political events and engaging in student rights organizations perceived to be problematic by Iranian security forces. These individuals were routinely expelled or suspended during the period 2011-2013.⁷¹

89. The Ministry of Science, Research and Technology proposed the return of these students.⁷² According to the proposal, the students expelled after 2010 would be able to return to the schools previously attended, while those expelled between 2006 and 2010 would be required to retake national entrance exams, but they would not be subject to the gozinesh process upon acceptance.⁷³ It has been reported that, in most cases, expelled students have been able to return only after pledging to the Sanjesh Oorganization that they would abide by university rules and not participate in any anti-government activities.⁷⁴ On 23 December 2013, the Gozinesh Central Committee announced that 126 of the 400 students who had been deprived of education had been able to continue their education,⁷⁵ although some students maintain that their appeals against expulsion had been rejected.⁷⁶

90. A member of the Education and Research Committee of Parliament stated that the Ministry of Intelligence was currently vetting students that had returned to school, and that students with negative vetting results would be removed again. Another Committee member stated that the Committee would like the Ministry to vet the political background of the students that had returned to school; if no “acute” security issue was identified, they would be able to continue their education. The Committee member clarified that, if the vetting result was negative, it would be up to the Ministry of intelligence to propose a course of action to the Committee.⁷⁷

91. At least 41 professors have been reportedly expelled from their universities. A special committee has been reportedly created to investigate complaints concerning the forced retirement of professors deemed to hold views departing from those of the Government.⁷⁸ Reportedly, 18 of the professors have been invited to return to work, while the requests of 10 to 12 others are under review.⁷⁹ According to Mohammad Sharif, a university professor and lawyer who was reportedly expelled from university for his human rights activities, to date retired professors have returned as visiting professors without nullifying their retirement, while those expelled have not received any compensation.⁸⁰

B. Economic sanctions

92. The Special Rapporteur has repeatedly urged sanctions-imposing countries and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to take steps to ensure that sanctions do not undermine human rights, including by strengthening humanitarian safeguards that appear to be falling short of their intended purpose. Sanction relief measures reportedly embedded in the recent agreement on a joint plan of action reached between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the five plus one group, if properly administered, would likely have a positive impact on the enjoyment of economic and social rights in the country, which would be a welcome development. According to the agreement, the parties are to take tentative steps towards establishing a banking channel to facilitate humanitarian trade. The Special Rapporteur would welcome such an outcome, as it could alleviate some of the right-to-health challenges and other hardships identified in previous reports.⁸¹

93. The Special Rapporteur recalls his view that the Islamic Republic of Iran possesses the basic tools necessary to observe its international human rights obligations. They include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and various aspects of a number of national laws. He affirms that human rights could be better secured if the principles and regulations stipulated by these laws were consistently implemented.

94. The Special Rapporteur also stresses that, despite recent welcome amendments to the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure, and the proposal for a new charter of citizens’ rights, these documents do not appear to resolve fully the issues previously raised by United Nations human rights mechanisms and recommendations made during the universal periodic review of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2010. Certain national laws continue to undermine and/or contravene rights guaranteed by these legal instruments through extensive restrictions and discriminatory practices.

95. Reports received by the Special Rapporteur continue to detail cases of frequent infringement of the rule of law established by national laws and international standards, resulting in the arbitrary detention of hundreds of individuals peacefully exercising rights guaranteed by the above-mentioned treaties. The violation of the rights and guidelines enshrined in the Constitution, the Law on Respecting Legitimate Freedoms and Protecting Citizens’ Rights and the Criminal Procedure has also apparently resulted in the psychological and physical torture of persons for the purposes of extorting information that is reportedly used as evidence in court, the basis for convictions and the application of lengthy or capital sentences.