Impact Iran

The Special Rapporteur is grateful to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its responses concerning Mr. Arzhang Davoodi and Mrs. Yeganeh Salehi. He is following closely further developments on the cases mentioned in the communication. Therefore, the Special Rapporteur would appreciate receiving information on the proceedings against Mr. Arzhang Davoodi and Mr. Jason Rezaian, as well as additional details on the case of Mrs. Yeganeh Salehi, who according to the information provided by the Government was released on bail on 1 October 2014. The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government did not provide information on the allegations regarding the detention of the other two journalists on the evening of 22 July 2014. He urges authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran that all proceedings fully comply with international law standards.

Restrictions on the rights of religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran remain deeply concerning. Adherents of recognized and unrecognized religions continue to report arrests and prosecution for worship and participation in religious community affairs, including in private. Measures that exclude religious minorities from legal protections for civil, political, social or economic rights, or that impose special restrictions on the practices or manifestations of religious beliefs continue to violate the obligations of the Islamic Republic of Iran under the Covenant and should be addressed.

Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur would like to refer to General Assembly resolution 63/181, in which the Assembly urges States to step up their efforts to protect and promote freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, and to this end, to exert the utmost efforts, in accordance with their national legislation and in conformity with international human rights law, to ensure that religious places, sites, shrines and symbols are fully respected and protected and to take additional measures in cases where they are vulnerable to desecration and destruction. As mentioned, inter alia, in paragraph 4 of the Human Rights Committee's general comment no. 22, places of worship are an essential element of the manifestation of the right to freedom of religion or belief to the extent that the great majority of religious communities or communities of belief need the existence of a place of worship where their members can manifest their faith. Moreover, unlike other forms of violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief, attacks or other forms of restriction on places of worship or other religious sites and shrines in many cases violate the right not only of a single individual, but the rights of a group of individuals forming the community that is attached to the place in question

The Special Rapporteur regrets that she has so far not received a reply from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the above mentioned allegations. She would like to recall that the Human Rights Council in resolution 6/37 urges States to take all necessary and appropriate action, in conformity with international standards of human rights, to combat hatred, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion or belief, as well as incitement to hostility and violence, with particular regard to religious minorities.

The Special Rapporteur is grateful that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran replied to the joint communication of 17 October 2008. She would like to reiterate the observations and concerns in her previous report (see A/HRC/10/8/Add.1, paras. 94 and paras. 111-112). The Special Rapporteur again urges the Government to ensure that the Baha'i members, who have been detained for more than 20 months so far, receive a fair trial and in this regard she would like to recommend the presence of independent observers during the trials. Reportedly, the trial of Ms. Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm and Ms. Mahvash Sabet began on 12 January 2010 in Tehran, however, no observers were allowed inside the court at that session

Furthermore, she would like to recall that the General Assembly resolution 63/181 urges States to step up their efforts to eliminate intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief, notably by taking all necessary and appropriate action, in conformity with international standards of human rights, to combat hatred, discrimination, intolerance and acts of violence, intimidation and coercion motivated by intolerance based on religion or belief, as well as incitement to hostility or violence, with particular regard to members of religious minorities in all parts of the world. In this regard, the Special Rapporteur is very concerned by the continued violations of freedom of religion or belief suffered by members of the Baha'i community. She urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure that the Baha'i members who are currently detained receive a fair trial and she would like to recommend the presence of independent observers during the trials.

The Special Rapporteur urged the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of Mr. Mahmoud Mohammad Matin-Azad, Mr. Arash Ahmad-Ali Basirat and Mr. Ramtin Soodmand are respected. She also requested that the Government ensures the compatibility of any new legislation adopted by the Iranian Parliament with international human rights law.

He encourages the Government to amend laws that continue to undermine women’s full enjoyment of civil political, social, and economic rights, including rights in family law, the right to equal access to education and the right to work. Draft legislation currently under consideration that appears to infringe on these rights raises serious concern, and should be reconsidered.

The Special Rapporteur regrets that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not responded to seven communications sent during the reporting period. In the absence of a response and clarification on the cases addressed there in and given the irreversible nature of capital punishment, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government to take all necessary measures to prevent the execution of the subjects of these communications.

The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government for its response, in which it is indicated that the case was under reconsideration and the final verdict had to be issued. Therefore, he would like to urge the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran not to execute Ms. Razieh Ebrahimi.

The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran for its response to this communication. In its response, the Government indicated that Mr. Ali Chibshat and Mr. Seyyed Khaled Mousavi were arrested on charge of conducting terrorist acts. According to the information provided by the Government, their file was considered in a Court in the city of Ahvaz and the verdict was appealed. The appeal Court reconsidered the case and reaffirmed the verdict. In interpreting article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has consistently rejected the imposition of a death sentence for offences that do not result in the loss of life, finding that only cases involving murder meet the threshold of the most serious crimes provision. The Special Rapporteur urges the Iranian authorities to bring its domestic legislation into conformity with the most serious crimes provision under international law, and refrain from any further death sentence or execution in violation of these standards.

The Special Rapporteur notes that 17 communications were sent to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the period under review. He thanks the Government for the responses received to five communications. At the same time, he regrets that the Government did not provide replies to 12 communications, and encourages it to respond substantively to all of them. The Special Rapporteur is particularly concerned about the high number of cases regarding the imposition of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran in contravention of international human rights law, namely of the most serious crimes provision and the standards on fair trial and due process safeguards. Should these allegations be corroborated, he strongly encourages the Government to stay all executions and commute without delay the death sentences. He also calls upon the Government to bring its domestic legislation and practice in conformity with the international law requirements regarding the imposition of the death penalty in the countries which have not yet abolished it.

He calls upon the authorities to ensure a thorough, prompt and impartial criminal investigation of the death of Mr. Satar Beheshti, as well as to criminally prosecute and punish all those responsible.

He calls upon the authorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran to ensure the highest level of respect of the rights and freedoms of Mr. Younos/Yunes Aghayan.

Should any of the alleged violations of procedural safeguards in the proceedings conducted against him be confirmed, the Special Rapporteur calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran not to execute Mr. Behrooz Alkhani Aghbarzeh (Mr. Behrouz Alakhani), and commute without delay his sentence.

As a consequence, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government to commute without delay the death sentence against Mr. Aref Hamediyan (Aref Hamidian).

In a press release issued on 22 September 2011, the Special Rapporteur, jointly with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, issued a press statement in which they condemned the public execution of the juvenile Alizera Molla-Soltani, expressed concern at the high frequency of drug related executions (see above JUA 20/09/2011 Case No. IRN 12/2011) and reiterated their call for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty particularly in drug related and juvenile cases

The Special Rapporteur deeply regrets that the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has not responded to any of the seven communications sent during the reporting period. In the absence of a response and clarification on the cases addressed therein and given the irreversible nature of capital punishment, the Special Rapporteur urges the Government to take all necessary measures to prevent the execution of the subjects of these communications.

International law, in particular Article 6(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, guarantees the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence from the State authorities. Where the diyah pardon is available, it must be supplemented by a separate, public system for seeking an official pardon or commutation.

Merely taking gradual measures to decrease the carrying out of death sentences against offenders who were juveniles is an utterly inadequate approach to complying with your Excellency's Government's obligations under international law, which can only be fulfilled by immediately stopping all executions for crimes committed by persons who were not aged 18 at the time of the offence. Laws permitting the death sentence to be imposed on juvenile offenders are inherently inconsistent with the international legal obligations assumed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and should be promptly repealed.

We urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the rights under international law of Sareimeh Ebadi and Bu-Ali Janfeshani are respected. Considering the irremediable nature of capital punishment and the fact that the death sentence for adultery is incompatible with your Government's obligations under international law, this can only mean suspension of the executions and eventually commutation of the death sentences.

I therefore urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that no one is executed on the basis of a judgment finding him or her guilty of moharebeh, that all death sentences imposed on charges of moharebeh are reviewed, and that the death penalty is no longer imposed on charges of moharebeh.

In view of the urgency of the matter, we would appreciate a response on the initial steps taken by your Government to safeguard the rights of the above-mentioned persons in compliance with the above international instruments.

Finally, without expressing at this stage an opinion on whether the arrests of protestors on 27 December 2009 are arbitrary or not, we would like to appeal to your Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee their right not to be deprived arbitrarily of their liberty and to fair proceedings before an independent and impartial tribunal, in accordance with articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

I would therefore respectfully request your Government to take all necessary steps to ensure that Mohammad Reza Haddadi is not executed tomorrow. Moreover, in order to ensure compliance with the absolute ban of the death sentence against juvenile offenders in international human rights law, the death sentence will have to be commuted.

In view of the urgency of the matter, we would appreciate a response on the initial steps taken by your Excellency's Government to safeguard the rights of the seven men mentioned herein in compliance with your Excellency's Government's international legal obligations

Only the full respect for stringent due process guarantees distinguishes capital punishment as still allowed under international law from a summary execution, which violates the most fundamental human right. We therefore urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights under international law of Messrs Ali Saedi, Walid Naisi, Majid Fardipour (Majid Mahawi), Doayr Mahawi, Maher Mahawi, Ahmad Saedi, and Yousuf Leftehpour are respected. Considering the irreversible nature of capital punishment, this can only mean suspension of the death sentence against the seven men until the question of whether fair trial guarantees were respected has been clarified and the allegations of torture have been thoroughly investigated and all doubts in this respect dispelled.

I therefore urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that Habibollah Latifi, Ehsan (Esma'il) Fattahian and Sherko Moarefi are not deprived of their lives in violation of the obligations your Excellency's Government has entered into under international law. Considering the irreversible nature of capital punishment, this can only mean suspension of the death sentence against them until the question whether the acts they were found guilty of satisfy the international criteria as to what constitutes "most serious crimes" has been clarified.

In view of the urgency of this matter and of the irreversibility of the punishment of the death penalty, it is imperative that your Excellency's Government should take all steps necessary to prevent the execution of Mr Behnood Shoojaee and Mr Safar Angooti. I therefore again urge your Excellency's Government to suspend the executions reportedly already scheduled and expeditiously lift or commute the death sentences imposed against Mr Safar Angooti and Mr. Behnood Shoojaee, as well as all other persons awaiting execution for offences committed before they reached age 18.

In view of the urgency of this matter and of the irreversibility of the punishment of the death penalty, it is imperative that your Excellency's Government should take all steps necessary to prevent the execution of Mr Abbas Hosseini, which if carried out will be inconsistent with acceptable standards of international law. Further, the unsuccessful negotiations so far, for compensation (diyeh) to the victim's family should not form the basis for carrying out the execution of the death penalty. I therefore urge your Excellency's Government to lift or commute the death sentence imposed against Mr Abbas Hosseini.

I respectfully urge your Excellency's Government to take all measures necessary to comply with the commitments it has undertaken under international law. These measures were, in my view, accurately reflected in the recommendations issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, which called on the Islamic Republic of Iran in January 2005 (See CRC/C/15/Add. 254, 28 January 2005, at par. 30)

I would respectfully reiterate my appeal to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to take all necessary steps to avoid executions that would be inconsistent with accepted standards of international human rights law and to take steps to bring its legislation in compliance with Article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political, to which it is a party.

I wish to thank your Excellency for your letter dated 15 July 2009 in response to my letter of 23 August 2007, in respect to another case in which the accused juvenile offender had been sentenced to qesas. Your letter indicates that through efforts of the Judiciary, the case had entered the reconciliation case and that as a result of the victim's guardians giving their consent the execution had been stopped and the accused released. While I welcome this outcome, I remain concerned that such efforts to decrease the carrying out of death sentences against offenders who were juveniles is an utterly inadequate approach to complying with your Excellency's Government's obligations under international law. These can only be fulfilled by immediately stopping all executions for crimes committed by persons who were not aged 18 at the time of the offence. Laws permitting the death sentence to be imposed on juvenile offenders are inherently inconsistent with the international legal obligations assumed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and should be promptly repealed.

I would therefore respectfully request Your Excellency's Government to take all necessary steps to commute the sentence of execution [of Mohammad Reza Haddadi] in order to ensure compliance with the applicable standards of international human rights law.

Although the death penalty is not, per se, prohibited under international law, I would like to remind your Excellency's Government that it must be regarded as an extreme exception to the fundamental right to life, and must as such be interpreted in the most restrictive manner. It is crucial that all restrictions and fair trial standards pertaining to capital punishment contained in international human rights law are fully respected in proceedings relating to capital offences. As Article 14(5) of the ICCPR provides, "Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law." Since the Head of the Judiciary has ordered a review of Mr. Haddadi's case, no execution should be carried out before the completion of the review

In view of the urgency of the matter, we would appreciate a response on the initial steps taken by your Excellency's Government to safeguard the rights of the above-mentioned persons in compliance with the above international instruments

In the event that your investigations support or suggest the above allegations to be correct, we urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights and freedoms of the aforementioned person(s) (ensure the right of peaceful assembly) are respected and accountability of any person guilty of the alleged violations is ensured. We also request that your Excellency's Government adopt effective measures to prevent the recurrence of these acts.

(Iran: Post-election violence killings of 5 students and 7 others Violation alleged: Deaths due to the use of force by law enforcement officials or persons acting in direct or indirect compliance with the State, when the use of force is inconsistent with the criteria of absolute necessity and proportionality )

In this context, we would further like to appeal to your Excellency's Government to take all necessary steps to ensure the right of peaceful assembly as recognized in article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which provides that "The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interest of national security of public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals of the protection of the rights and freedoms of others".

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‚".

(Regarding post-election violence killings of 5 students and 7 others. killing of students Fatemeh Barati, Kasra Sharafi, Mobina Ehterami, Kambiz Sho'a'i and Mohsen Imani along with at least seven other protesters and the arbitrary detention of dozens of opposition activists following recent elections in Iran.) Without expressing at this stage an opinion on the facts of the case and on whether the detention of the abovementioned persons is arbitrary or not, we would like to appeal to your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee their right not to be deprived arbitrarily of their liberty and to fair proceedings before an independent and impartial tribunal, in accordance with articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Without in any way implying any conclusion as to the facts of the case, we should like to appeal to your Excellency's Government to seek clarification of the circumstances regarding the cases of the persons named above. We would like to stress that each Government has the obligation to protect the right to physical and mental integrity of all persons. This right is set forth inter alia in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

I would respectfully reiterate my appeal to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to take all necessary steps to avoid executions that would be inconsistent with accepted standards of international human rights law and to take steps to bring its legislation in compliance with Article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political, to which it is a party. In particular, I urge your Government to expeditiously lift or commute the death sentences imposed against Amir Khaleghi and Safar Angooti as well as all other persons awaiting executions for offences committed before they reached age 18. All other efforts undertaken by your Government to prevent these executions are insufficient to meet its obligations under international treaties it is a Party to.

I therefore again urge your Excellency's Government to expeditiously lift or commute the death sentences imposed against Mr. Abu Moslem Sohrabi, as well as all other persons awaiting execution for offences committed before they reached age 18. All other efforts undertaken by your Government to prevent these executions are insufficient to meet its obligations under international treaties it is a Party to.

We would also like to appeal to your Excellency's Government to ensure the right to freedom of religion or belief in accordance with the principles set forth in the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination based on Religion or Belief and article 18 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights as well as of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

We therefore urge your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that Yunes Aghayan is not deprived of his life in violation of the obligations your Excellency's Government has entered into under international law. Considering the irremediable nature of capital punishment, this can only mean suspension of the death sentence against him until the question whether the acts he was found guilty of satisfy international criteria for what constitutes 'most serious crimes' has been clarified.

As we have explained in previous communications to your Excellency's Government, the imposition of the death sentence on charges of 'mohareb' is highly problematic. We are concerned that this charge, which according to our information in Iran is directed mainly against political dissidents, critics of the Government and persons accused of espionage, might not be sufficiently well defined to satisfy the very strict standards of legality set by Article 6(2) of the Covenant for the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty. In order for the sentence of death to be imposed "in accordance with the law‚" the law in question must be sufficiently precise to clearly allow distinction between conduct punishable with the capital sentence and conduct not so punishable. (See the communications of 31 August 2006 concerning the imposition of the death penalty against Ali Motirijejad and others (reproduced in A/HRC/4/20/Add.1, pages 165f), of 26 July 2007 concerning the imposition of the death penalty against Abdolwahed (Hiwa) Butimar and Adnan Hassanpour (reproduced in A/HRC/8/3/Add.1, pages 210f), and of 18 July 2008 in the cases of Farzad Kamangar, Ali Heydariyan and Farhad Vakil

I therefore again urge your Excellency's Government to expeditiously lift or commute the death sentences imposed against Mr. Abu Moslem Sohrabi, as well as all other persons awaiting execution for offences committed before they reached age 18. All other efforts undertaken by your Government to prevent these executions are insufficient to meet its obligations under international treaties it is a Party to.

Improve transparency on the impact of sanctions and report on measures it has taken to protect its inhabitants from the potential and actual negative impacts of such sanctions.

Consider a moratorium on capital punishment until the efficacy of judicial safeguards can be meaningfully demonstrated, and stay the execution of individuals who have alleged violations of their due process rights.

Ensure that deaths in custody and allegations of violations of due process and of ill-treatment are promptly, independently, impartially and effectively investigated by an independent competent authority with a view to holding perpetrators accountable and in compliance with the right to a fair trial.

Respect and fulfil the duty to conduct prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigations into all reports of torture or other ill-treatment, and hold perpetrators accountable;

Ensure furlough and family visitation rights to all prisoners

Ensure that prisoners are provided with food of appropriate nutritional value, quantity and quality and that drinking water is made readily available to all prisoners;

Make substantial investments in all prisons to reduce overcrowding, provide adequate sleeping facilities to prisoners and ensure that the essential personal hygiene of prisoners is maintained;

Pending its abolishment, ensure that solitary confinement is used only in exceptional cases, as a last resort and for as short a time as possible, following authorization by a competent authority and subject to independent review;

Pass the parliamentary bill introduced in September 2019 aimed at ending the recording and broadcasting of confessions on State-funded media prior to trial and ensure punishments for those involved in recording and broadcasting such confessions

Ensure that medical care for detainees is never made conditional upon their making confessions and that officials who deny medical care to prisoners and detainees or who withhold medication as a form of coercion, as punishment or to elicit confessions are punished;

adopt regulations restricting the use of restraints in accordance with international laws and standards, including by ensuring that restraints are never used in a degrading, humiliating or painful manner or as a form of punishment and that they are used only when strictly necessary;

Ensure that medical decisions that relate to ongoing care and observation of the prisoners outside prison and the necessity of their release on medical grounds are only taken by the relevant, responsible health-care professionals;

End the unlawful practice of requiring prisoners to pay for medical treatment, which violates both international and Iranian law;