Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions A/HRC/14/24/Add.1
para 397
Full recommendation:
We should also like to appeal to your Excellency’s Government to take all necessary steps to
secure the right to freedom of opinion and expression of the above mentioned persons (people
arrested following the 2009 elections), in accordance with fundamental principles as set forth in
article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reiterated in article 19 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provides that “ Everyone shall have
the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart
information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in
the form of art, or through any other media of his choice”.
Assessment using Impact Iran human rights indicators 1
In 2009, many individuals in Iran were subjected to arrest and detention, initiating concern from
multiple international bodies. On 27 December 2009, marking the Ashura holiday as well as the
seventh day of mourning for the cleric Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, mass
demonstrations in Iran were met with violent governmental crackdown.2 3 The Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions reported about 300 arrests were
made on that day4, but other reports estimated there were more than 1,000 arrests. 5 NGOs
reported a large number of arbitrary arrests against protestors following the demonstrations
during Ashura.67 By the end of the year 2009, over 5,000 people were reportedly detained after
the contested presidential elections in June.8 On 30 December 2009, then-UN Human Rights
High Commissioner expressed concern about reports of arrests of political activists, journalists
and human rights defenders.9 The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considered cases of
1
CCPR.19.1.S.1; CCPR.19.2.S.1 ; CCPR.19.2.S.2
CCPR.19.1.P.1
CCPR.19.1.O.1; CCPR.19.2.O.1 ; CCPR.19.2.O.2; CCPR.19.2.O.5; CCPR.19.2.O.6
2 Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-and-suppression-of-dissentin-iran/#_Toc252545048
3 UNGA report, September 2010, https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/1042102/1226_1291059004_n1053532.pdf
4 Report of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, June 2010, https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G10/145/06/pdf/G1014506.pdf?OpenElement
5 See more : Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, https://iranhrdc.org/violent-aftermath-the-2009-election-andsuppression-of-dissent-in-iran/#_Toc252545048
6
Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2009/12/release-arrested/
7 Amnesty International, https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/40000/mde130202010eng.pdf
8 Center for Human Rights in Iran, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/07/malek-mohammadi-nasim-ghanavi/
9 UN WGAD, https://www.unwgaddatabase.org/un/Document.aspx?id=2764
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