Human rights in Iran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is about human rights in Iran. For more details on human rights in post-revolutionary Iran, see Human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. For more details on human rights under the Pahlavi dynasty, see Human rights in the Imperial State of Iran.

Islamic Republic of Iran
Emblem of Iran.svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Iran
Government of Islamic Republic of Iran

The state of human rights in Iran has been criticized both by Iranians and international human rights activists, writers, and NGOs since long before the formation of the current state of Iran. The United Nations General Assembly and the Human Rights Commission[1] have condemned prior and ongoing abuses in Iran in published critiques and several resolutions. The government of Iran is criticized both for restrictions and punishments that follow the Islamic Republic's constitution and law, and for actions that do not, such as the torture, rape, and killing of political prisoners, and the beatings and killings of dissidents and other civilians.[2]

While the monarchy under the rule of the shahs had a generally abysmal human rights record according to most Western watchdog organizations, the current Islamic Republic does not have a positive reputation either, with its human rights record under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad considered to have "deteriorated markedly," according to Human Rights Watch.[3] Following the 2009 election protests there were reports of killing of demonstrators, the torture, rape and killing of detained protesters,[4][5] and the arrest and publicized mass trials of dozens of prominent opposition figures in which defendants "read confessions that bore every sign of being coerced."[6][7][8] In October 2012 the United Nations human rights office stated Iranian authorities had engaged in a “severe clampdown” on journalists and human rights advocates.[9]

Restrictions and punishments in the Islamic Republic of Iran which violate international human rights norms include harsh penalties for crimes, punishment of "victimless crimes" such as fornication and homosexuality, execution of offenders under 18 years of age, restrictions on freedom of speech and the press (including the imprisonment of journalists and political cartoonists), and restrictions on freedom of religion and gender equality in the Islamic Republic's Constitution (especially attacks on members of the Bahá'í religion). Reported abuses falling outside of the laws of the Islamic Republic that have been condemned include the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988, and the widespread use of torture to extract repudiations by prisoners of their cause and comrades on video for propaganda purposes.[10] Also condemned has been firebombings of newspaper offices and attacks on political protesters by "quasi-official organs of repression," particularly "Hezbollah," and the murder of dozens of government opponents in the 1990s, allegedly by "rogue elements" of the government.

Officials of the Islamic Republic have responded to criticism by stating that Iran has "the best human rights record" in the Muslim world;[11] that it is not obliged to follow "the West's interpretation" of human rights;[12] and that the Islamic Republic is a victim of "biased propaganda of enemies" which is "part of a greater plan against the world of Islam".[13] According to Iranian officials, those who human rights activists say are peaceful political activists being denied due process rights are actually guilty of offenses against the national security of the country,[14] and those protesters claiming Ahmadinejad stole the 2009 election are actually part of a foreign-backed plot to topple Iran's leaders.[15]

In 2018, the US and European Union imposed sanctions on several Iranian groups and officials it accused of human rights abuses.[16][17]

Contents

Background[edit]

The Imperial State of Iran, the government of Iran during the Pahlavi dynasty, lasted from 1925 to 1979. During that time two monarchs – Reza Shah Pahlavi and his son Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi – employed secret police, torture, and executions to stifle political dissent.

The Pahlavi dynasty has sometimes been described as a "royal dictatorship".[18] or "one man rule".[19] According to one history of the use of torture by the state in Iran, abuse of prisoners varied at times during the Pahlavi reign.[20]

Reza Shah era[edit]

The reign of Reza Shah was authoritarian and dictatorial at a time when authoritarian governments and dictatorships were common in the region and the world and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was some years away.[21] Freedom of the press, workers' rights, and political freedoms were restricted under Reza Shah. Independent newspapers were closed down, political parties – even the loyal Revival party were banned. The government banned all trade unions in 1927, and arrested 150 labor organizers between 1927 and 1932.[22]

Physical force was used against some kinds of prisoners – common criminals, suspected spies, and those accused of plotting regicide. Burglars in particular were subjected to the bastinado (beating the soles of the feet), and the strappado (suspended in the air by means of a rope tied around the victims arms) to "reveal their hidden loot". Suspected spies and assassins were "beaten, deprived of sleep, and subjected to the qapani" (the binding of arms tightly behind the back) which sometimes caused a joint to crack. But for political prisoners – who were primarily Communists – there was a "conspicuous absence of torture" under Reza Shah's rule.[23] The main form of pressure was solitary confinement and the withholding of "books, newspapers, visitors, food packages, and proper medical care". While often threatened with the qapani, political prisoners "were rarely subjected to it."[24]

Mohammad Reza Shah era[edit]

Mohammad Reza became monarch after his father was deposed by Soviets and Americans in 1941. Political prisoners (mostly Communists) were released by the occupying powers, and the shah (crown prince at the time) no longer had control of the parliament.[25] But after an attempted assassination of the Shah in 1949, he was able to declare martial law, imprison communists and other opponents, and restrict criticism of the royal family in the press.[26]

Following the pro-Shah coup d'état that overthrew the Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953, the Shah again cracked down on his opponents, and political freedom waned. He outlawed Mosaddegh's political group the National Front, and arrested most of its leaders.[27] Over 4000 political activists of the Tudeh party were arrested,[28] (including 477 in the armed forces), forty were executed, another 14 died under torture and over 200 were sentenced to life imprisonment.[27][29][30]

1971–77[edit]

In 1971, a guerrilla attack on a gendarmerie post (where three police were killed and two guerrillas freed, known as the "Siahkal incident") sparked "an intense guerrilla struggle" against the government, and harsh government countermeasures.[31] Guerrillas embracing "armed struggle" to overthrow the Shah, and inspired by international Third World anti-imperialist revolutionaries (Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh, and Che Guevara), were quite active in the first half of the 1970s[32][33] when hundreds of them died in clashes with government forces and dozens of Iranians were executed.[34] According to Amnesty International, the Shah carried out at least 300 political executions.[35]

Torture was used to locate arms caches, safe houses and accomplices of the guerrillas, in addition to its possible ability to persuade enemies of the state to become supporters, instead.[36]

In 1975, the human rights group Amnesty International – whose membership and international influence grew greatly during the 1970s[37] – issued a report on treatment of political prisoners in Iran that was "extensively covered in the European and American Press".[38] By 1976, this repression was softened considerably thanks to publicity and scrutiny by "numerous international organizations and foreign newspapers" as well as the newly elected President of the United States, Jimmy Carter.[39][40]

Islamic Revolution[edit]

During the 1978-79 overthrow of the Pahlavi government, protestors were fired upon by troops and prisoners were executed. The real and imaginary human rights violations contributed directly to the Shah's demise,[41] (although some have argued so did his scruples in not violating human rights more as urged by his generals[42]).

The 1977 deaths of the popular and influential modernist Islamist leader Ali Shariati and the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's son Mostafa were believed to be assassinations perpetrated by SAVAK by many Iranians.[43][44] On 8 September 1978, (Black Friday) troops fired on religious demonstrators in Zhaleh (or Jaleh) Square. The clerical leadership announced that "thousands have been massacred by Zionist troops" (i.e. rumored Israel troops aiding the Shah),[45] Michel Foucault reported 4000 had been killed,[46] and another European journalist reported that the military left behind a `carnage`.[47]

Post-revolution[edit]

The Islamic revolution is thought to have a significantly worse human rights record than the Pahlavi Dynasty it overthrew. According to political historian Ervand Abrahamian, “whereas less than 100 political prisoners had been executed between 1971 and 1979, more than 7900 were executed between 1981 and 1985. ... the prison system was centralized and drastically expanded ... Prison life was drastically worse under the Islamic Republic than under the Pahlavis. One who survived both writes that four months under [warden] Ladjevardi took the toll of four years under SAVAK.[48] In the prison literature of the Pahlavi era, the recurring words had been ‘boredom’ and ‘monotony’. In that of the Islamic Republic, they were ‘fear’, ‘death’, ‘terror’, ‘horror’, and most frequent of all ‘nightmare’ (‘kabos’).”[34]

Dariush Forouhar, leader of Nation Party was one of the victims of Chain murders of Iran.

However, the vast majority of killings of political prisoners occurred in the first decade of the Islamic Republic, after which violent repression lessened.[49] With the rise of the Iranian reform movement and the election of moderate Iranian president Mohammad Khatami in 1997 numerous moves were made to modify the Iranian civil and penal codes in order to improve the human rights situation. The predominantly reformist parliament drafted several bills allowing increased freedom of speech, gender equality, and the banning of torture. These were all dismissed or significantly watered down by the Guardian Council and leading conservative figures in the Iranian government at the time.[citation needed]

According to The Economist magazine:

The Tehran spring of ten years ago has now given way to a bleak political winter. The new government continues to close down newspapers, silence dissenting voices and ban or censor books and websites. The peaceful demonstrations and protests of the Khatami era are no longer tolerated: in January 2007 security forces attacked striking bus drivers in Tehran and arrested hundreds of them. In March police beat hundreds of men and women who had assembled to commemorate International Women's Day.[50]

International criticism[edit]

Since the founding of the Islamic Republic, human rights violations of religious minorities have been the subject of resolutions and decisions by the United Nations and its human rights bodies, the Council of Europe, European Parliament and United States Congress.[51] According to The Minority Rights Group, in 1985 Iran became "the fourth country ever in the history of the United Nations" to be placed on the agenda of the General Assembly because of "the severity and the extent of this human rights record".[52] From 1984 to 2001, United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) passed resolutions about human rights violations against Iran's religious minorities especially the Bahá'ís.[51] The UNCHR did not pass such a resolution in 2002, when the government of Iran extended an invitation to the UN "Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression" to visit the country and investigate complaints. However, according to the organization Human Rights Watch, when these officials did visit the country, found human rights conditions wanting and issued reports critical of the Islamic government, not only did the government not implement their recommendations", it retaliated "against witnesses who testified to the experts."[53]

In 2003 the resolutions began again with Canada sponsoring a resolution criticizing Iran's "confirmed instances of torture, stoning as a method of execution and punishment such as flogging and amputations," following the death of an Iranian-born Canadian citizen, Zahra Kazemi, in an Iranian prison.[54][55] The resolution has passed in the UN General Assembly every year since.[54]

The European Union has also criticized the Islamic Republic's human rights record, expressing concern in 2005, 2007[56] and on 6 October 2008 presenting a message to Iran's ambassador in Paris expressing concern over the worsening human rights situation in Iran.[57] On 13 October 2005, the European Parliament voted to adopt a resolution condemning the Islamic government's disregard of the human rights of its citizens. Later that year, Iran's government announced it would suspend dialogue with the European Union concerning human rights in Iran.[58] On 9 February 2010, the European Union and United States issued a joint statement condemning "continuing human rights violations" in Iran.[59]

Relative openness[edit]

One observation made by non-governmental sources of the state of human rights in the Islamic Republic is that it is not so severe that the Iranian public is afraid to criticize its government publicly to strangers. In Syria "taxi driver[s] rarely talk politics; the Iranian[s] will talk of nothing else."[60]

A theory of why human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic are not as severe as Syria, Afghanistan (under the Taliban), or Iraq (under Saddam Hussein) comes from the American journalist Elaine Sciolino who speculated that

Shiite Islam thrives on debate and discussion ... So freedom of thought and expression is essential to the system, at least within the top circles of religious leadership. And if the mullahs can behave that way among themselves in places like the holy city of Qom, how can the rest of a modern-day society be told it cannot think and explore the world of experience for itself?[61]

Perspective of the Islamic Republic[edit]

Iranian officials have not always agreed on the state of human rights in Iran. In April 2004, reformist president Mohammad Khatami stated "we certainly have political prisoners [in Iran] and ... people who are in prison for their ideas." Two days later, however, he was contradicted by Judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, saying "we have no political prisoners in Iran" because Iranian law does not mention such offenses, ... "The world may consider certain cases, by their nature, political crimes, but because we do not have a law in this regard, these are considered ordinary offenses."[62]

Iran's president President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other government officials have compared Iran's human rights record favorably to other countries, particularly countries that have criticized Iran's record.[63] In a 2008 speech, he replied to a question about human rights by stating that Iran has fewer prisoners than America and that "the human rights situation in Iran is relatively a good one, when compared ... with some European countries and the United States."[64]

In a 2007 speech to the United Nations, he commented on human rights only to say "certain powers" (unnamed) were guilty of violating it, "setting up secret prisons, abducting persons, trials and secret punishments without any regard to due process, .... "[65] Islamic Republic officials have also attacked Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights.[63]

Constitutional and legal foundations[edit]

Explanations for violations[edit]

Among the explanations for violations of human rights in the Islamic Republic are:

Theological differences[edit]

The legal and governing principles upon which the Islamic Republic of Iran is based differ in some respects from the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Further information: Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
  • Sharia law, as interpreted in the Islamic Republic, calls for inequality of rights between genders, religions, sexual orientation, as well as for other internationally criticized practices such as stoning as a method of execution.[66] In 1984, Iran's representative to the United Nations, Sai Rajaie-Khorassani, declared the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to be representing a "secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims and did not "accord with the system of values recognized by the Islamic Republic of Iran" which would "therefore not hesitate to violate its provisions."[67]
  • According to scholar Ervand Abrahamian, in the eyes of Iranian officials, "the survival of the Islamic Republic – and therefore of Islam itself – justified the means used," and trumped any right of the individual.[68] In a fatwa issued by Ayatollah Khomeini in early 1988, he declared Iran's Islamic government "a branch of the absolute governance of the Prophet of God" and "among the primary ordinances of Islam," having "precedence over all secondary ordinances such as prayer, fasting, and pilgrimage."[69][70]

Rights under the constitution[edit]

The Iranian fundamental law or constitution calls for equal rights among races, ethnic groups (article 19).[71] It calls for gender equality (article 20), and protection of the rights of women (article 21); freedom of expression (article 23); freedom of press and communication (article 24) and freedom of association (article 27). Three recognized religious minorities "are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies."[72]

However, along with these guarantees the constitution includes what one scholar calls "ominous Catch-22s", such as “All laws and regulations must conform to the principles of Islam.”[73] The rights of women, of expression, of communication and association, of the press[74] – are followed by modifiers such as "within the limits of the law", "within the precepts of Islam", "unless they attack the principles of Islam", "unless the Law states otherwise", "as long as it does not interfere with the precepts of Islam."[75]

Provisions in violation of Human Rights[edit]

The Iranian penal code is derived from the Shari'a and is not always in compliance with international norms of human rights.

The Iranian penal code distinguishes two types of punishments: Hudud (fixed punishment) and the Qisas (retribution) or Diyya (Blood money or Talion Law). Punishments falling within the category of Hududs are applied to people committing offenses against the State, such as adultery, alcohol consumption, burglary or petty theft, rebellions against Islamic authority, apostasy and homosexual intercourse (considered contrary to the spirit of Islam).[76] Punishments include death by hanging, stoning[77] or decapitation, amputation or flagellation. Victims of private crimes, such as murder or rape, can exercise a right to retribution (Qisas) or decide to accept "blood money" (Diyyah or Talion Law).[78]

Harsh punishments[edit]

See also: Stoning § Iran
A revolutionary firing squad in 1979

Following traditional shariah punishment for thieves, courts in Iran have sometimes sentenced offenders to amputation of both "the right hand and left foot cut off, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the condemned to walk, even with a cane or crutches." This was the fate, for example, of five convicted robbers in the Sistan-Baluchistan Province in January 2008 according to the news agency ISNA.[79]

Shariah also includes stoning and explicitly states that stones used must be small enough to not kill instantly.[80][81][82] As of July 2010, the Iranian penal code authorizes stoning as a punishment.[83][84] However, Iran says a new draft of the penal code that has removed stoning is currently under review by the Iranian parliament and has yet to be ratified.[85]

The use of stoning as a punishment may be declining or banned altogether. In December 2002, Ayatollah Shahroudi, head of the judicial system, reportedly sent judges a memorandum requesting the suspension of stoning and asking them to choose other forms of sanctions. In 2005, Amnesty International reported that Iran was about to execute a woman by stoning for adultery. Amnesty urged Tehran to give reprieve to the woman. Her sentence is currently on hold pending "consideration by the pardons commission." According to the Iranian officials "Stoning has been dropped from the penal code for a long time, and in the Islamic Republic, we do not see such punishments being carried out", said judiciary spokesman Jamal Karimirad. He added that if stoning sentences were passed by lower courts, they were overruled by higher courts and "no such verdicts have been carried out."[86] According to Amnesty International, in July 2010, the Iranian parliament began considering a revision to its penal code that would ban stoning as a punishment.[85]

Gender issues[edit]

Main article: Women's rights in Iran

The Iranian legislation does not accord the same rights to women as to men in all areas of the law.[87]

  • In the section of the penal code devoted to blood money, or Diyya, the value of woman's life is half that of a man ("for instance, if a car hit both on the street, the cash compensation due to the woman's family was half that due the man's")[88]
  • The testimony of a male witness is equivalent to that of two female witnesses.[87][89][90]
  • A woman needs her husband's permission to work outside the home or leave the country.[87]
  • Post-pubescent women are required to cover their hair and body in Iran and can be arrested for failing to do so.[91]

In the inheritance law of the Islamic Republic there are several instances where the woman is entitled to half the inheritance of the man.[92] For example:

  • If a man dies without offspring, his estate is inherited by his parents. If both the parents are alive, the mother receives 1/3 and the father 2/3 of the inheritance, unless the mother has a hojab (relative who reduces her part, such as brothers and sisters of the deceased (article 886)), in which case she shall receive 1/6, and the father 5/6. (Article 906)
  • If the dead man's closest heirs are aunts and uncles, the part of the inheritance belonging to the uncle is twice that belonging to the aunt. (Article 920)[93]
  • When the heirs are children, the inheritance of the sons is twice that of the daughters. (Article 907)[93]
  • If the deceased leaves ancestors and brothers and sisters (kalaleh), 2/3s of the estate goes to the heirs which have relationship on the side of the father; and in dividing up this portion the males take twice the portion of the females; however, the 1/3 going to the heirs on the mother’s side is divided equally. (Article 924)[93]

According to Zahra Eshraghi, granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini,

"Discrimination here [in Iran] is not just in the constitution. As a woman, if I want to get a passport to leave the country, have surgery, even to breathe almost, I must have permission from my husband."[94]

Freedom of expression and media[edit]

The 1985 press law prohibits "discourse harmful to the principles of Islam" and "public interest", as referred to in Article 24 of the constitution, which according to Human Rights Watch provides "officials with ample opportunity to censor, restrict, and find offense."[74]

Human Rights Watch released a report about Iran's violation of human rights. The Iranian authorities have arrested and detained Shahnaz Karimbeigi whose son, Mostafa, was shot and killed during protests on December 27, 2009, linked to the disputed 2009 presidential election. Accordingly, Karimbeigi participated in many gatherings with the mothers of other victims of the 2009 crackdown to demand justice for their loved ones; she organized public support for the families of imprisoned activists; and she was one of several advocates using social media campaigns to support Arash Sadeghi, a human rights defender sentenced to a 15-year jail term. On the morning of January 25, she was arrested at her workplace and then denied access to a lawyer. The authorities searched her apartment and seized all her electronic devices, including her laptop as well as threatened Karimbeigi’s daughter and husband over the phone and summoned them for several hours of interrogation at the ministry's" Follow-Up Office".[95]

Freedom and equality of religion[edit]

Main article: Status of religious freedom in Iran

The constitution recognizes the freedom of Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and accords non-Shia Muslims "full respect" (article 12). However the Bahá'í Faith is banned.[96] The Islamic Republic has stated Baha'is or their leadership are "an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular," that threaten Iran.[97] The International Federation for Human Rights and others believe the government's policy of persecution of Bahá'ís stems from some Bahá'í teachings challenging traditional Islamic religious doctrines – particularly the finality of Muhammad's prophethood – and place Bahá'ís outside the Islamic faith.[98] Irreligious people are also not recognized and do not have basic rights such as education, becoming member of parliament etc.[99]

Hudud statutes grant different punishments to Muslims and non-Muslims for the same crime. In the case of adultery, for example, a Muslim man who is convicted of committing adultery with a Muslim woman receives 100 lashes; the sentence for a non-Muslim man convicted of adultery with a Muslim woman is death.[100] In 2004, inequality of "blood money" (diyeh) was eliminated, and the amount paid by a perpetrator for the death or wounding a Christian, Jew, or Zoroastrian man, was made the same as that for a Muslim. However, the International Religious Freedom Report reports that Baha'is were not included in the provision and their blood is considered Mobah, (i.e. it can be spilled with impunity).[101]

Freedom to convert from Islam to another religion (apostasy) is prohibited, and may be punishable by death. Article 23 of the constitution states, "the investigation of individuals' beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief." But another article, 167, gives judges the discretion "to deliver his judgment on the basis of authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwa (rulings issued by qualified clerical jurists)." The founder of the Islamic Republic, Islamic cleric Ruhollah Khomeini, who was a grand Ayatollah, ruled "that the penalty for conversion from Islam, or apostasy, is death."[100]

At least two Iranians – Hashem Aghajari and Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari – have been arrested and charged with apostasy (though not executed), not for converting to another faith but for statements and/or activities deemed by courts of the Islamic Republic to be in violation of Islam, but which appear to outsiders to be simply expressions of political/religious reformism.[102] Hashem Aghajari, was found guilty of apostasy for a speech urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics;[103] Hassan Youssefi Eshkevari was charged with apostasy for attending the reformist-oriented 'Iran After the Elections' Conference in Berlin Germany which was disrupted by anti-government demonstrators.[104]

The small Protestant Christian minority in Iran have been subject to Islamic "government suspicion and hostility" according to Human Rights Watch at least in part because of their "readiness to accept and even seek out Muslim converts" as well as their Western origins. In the 1990s, two Muslim converts to Christianity who had become ministers were sentenced to death for apostasy and other charges.[105]

Political freedom[edit]

In a 2008 report, the organization Human Rights Watch complained that "broadly worded `security laws`" in Iran are used to ”to arbitrarily suppress and punish individuals for peaceful political expression, association, and assembly, in breach of international human rights treaties to which Iran is party." For example, "connections to foreign institutions, persons, or sources of funding" are enough to bring criminal charges such as "undermining national security" against individuals.[14]

Ahmad Batebi, a demonstrator in the July 1999 Student demonstrations in Iran, was given a death sentence for "propaganda against the Islamic Republic System." (His sentence was later reduced to 15, and then ten years imprisonment.) A photograph of Batebi holding a bloody shirt aloft was printed on the cover of The Economist magazine.[citation needed]

Children's rights[edit]

See also: The Rights of the Child in Iran
When Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University a sign on campus noted a rally against child executions in Iran.

Despite signing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran, according to human rights groups, is the world's largest executioner of juvenile offenders.[106][107][108] As of May 2009, there were at least 137 known juvenile offenders awaiting execution in Iran, but the total number could be much higher as many death penalty cases in Iran are believed to go unreported. Of the 43 child offenders recorded as having been executed since 1990, 11 were still under the age of 18 at the time of their execution while the others were either kept on death row until they had reached 18 or were convicted and sentenced after reaching that age.[109] Including at least one 13-year-old[110] and 14-year-old.[111]

A bill to set the minimum age for the death penalty at 18 years was examined by the parliament in December 2003, but it was not ratified by the Guardian Council of the Constitution, the unelected body that has veto power over parliamentary bills.[112] In a September 2008 interview President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was asked about the execution of minors and replied that "the legal age in Iran is different from yours. It’s not eighteen ... it’s different in different countries."[64]

On 10 February 2012, Iran's parliament changed the controversial law of executing juveniles. In the new law, the age of 18 (solar year) would be for both genders considered and juvenile offenders will be sentenced on a separate law than of adults.”[113][114]

Extralegal violations of human rights[edit]

Shirin Ebadi, winner of 2003 Nobel Peace Prize

A 2005 Human Rights Watch document, criticizes "Parallel Institutions" (nahad-e movazi) in the Islamic Republic, "the quasi-official organs of repression that have become increasingly open in crushing student protests, detaining activists, writers, and journalists in secret prisons, and threatening pro-democracy speakers and audiences at public events." Under the control of the Office of the Supreme Leader, these groups set up arbitrary checkpoints around Tehran, uniformed police often refraining from directly confronting these plainclothes agents. "Illegal prisons, which are outside of the oversight of the National Prisons Office, are sites where political prisoners are abused, intimidated, and tortured with impunity."[115]

According to dissident Akbar Ganji, what might appear to be "extra-legal" killings in Iran are actually not outside the penal code of the Islamic Republic since the code "authorises a citizen to assassinate another if he is judged to be ‘impious’,"[116] Some widely condemned punishments issued by the Islamic Republic – the torture of prisoners and the execution of thousands of political prisoners in 1988 have been reported to follow at least some form of Islamic law and legal procedures, though they have also not been publicly acknowledged by the government.[117]

Extra-legal acts may work in tandem with official actions, such as in the case of the newsweekly Tamadone Hormozgan in Bandar Abbas, where authorities arrested seven journalists in 2007 for “insulting Ayatollah Khomeini,” while government organizations and Quranic schools organized vigilantes to "ransacked and set fire" to the paper's offices.[118]

Torture and mistreatment of prisoners[edit]

Article 38 of the constitution of the Islamic Republic forbids "all forms of torture for the purpose of extracting confession or acquiring information" and the "compulsion of individuals to testify, confess, or take an oath." It also states that "any testimony, confession, or oath obtained under duress is devoid of value and credence."[119][120]

Nonetheless human rights groups and observers have complained that torture is frequently used on political prisoners in Iran. In a study of torture in Iran published in 1999, Iranian-born political historian Ervand Abrahamian included Iran along with "Stalinist Russia, Maoist China, and early modern Europe" of the Inquisition and witch hunts, as societies that "can be considered to be in a league of their own" in the systematic use of torture.[121]

Torture techniques used in the Islamic Republic include:

whipping, sometimes of the back but most often of the feet with the body tied on an iron bed; the qapani; deprivation of sleep; suspension from ceiling and high walls; twisting of forearms until they broke; crushing of hands and fingers between metal presses; insertion of sharp instruments under the fingernails; cigarette burns; submersion under water; standing in one place for hours on end; mock executions; and physical threats against family members. Of these, the most prevalent was the whipping of soles, obviously because it was explicitly sanctioned by the sharia.[122]

Two "innovations" in torture not borrowed from the Shah's regime were:

the ‘coffin’, and compulsory watching of – and even participation in – executions. Some were placed in small cubicles, [50cm x 80cm x 140cm (20 inches x 31.5 inches x 55 inches)] blindfolded and in absolute silence, for 17-hour stretches with two 15-minute breaks for eating and going to the toilet. These stints could last months – until the prisoner agreed to the interview. Few avoided the interview and also remained sane. Others were forced to join firing squads and remove dead bodies. When they returned to their cells with blood dripping from their hands, Their roommates surmised what had transpired. ....[123]

According to Abrahamian, torture became commonly used in the Islamic Republic because of its effectiveness in inducing political prisoners to make public confessions.[124] Recorded and edited on videotape, the standard statements by prisoners included not only confessions to subversion and treason, but praise of the Islamic Revolution and denunciation or recantation of their former beliefs, former organization, former co-members, i.e. their life. These recantations served as powerful propaganda for both the Iranian public at large – who by the 1980s almost all had access to television and could watch prime time programs devoted to the taped confessions – and the recanters' former colleagues, for whom the denunciations were demoralizing and confusing.[125] From the moment they arrived in prison, through their interrogation prisoners were asked if they were willing to give an "interview." (mosahebah) "Some remained incarcerated even after serving their sentences simply because they declined the honor of being interviewed."[126]

Scholars disagree over whether at least some forms of torture have been made legal according to the Qanon-e Ta'zir (Discretionary Punishment Law) of the Islamic Republic. Abrahamian argues statutes forbidding ‘lying to the authorities’ and ability of clerics to be both interrogators and judges, applying an "indefinite series of 74 lashings until they obtain `honest answers`" without the delay of a trial, make this a legal form of torture.[127] Another scholar, Christoph Werner, claims he could find no Ta'zir law mentioning lying to authorities but did find one specifically banning torture in order to obtain confessions.[128]

Abrahamian also argues that a strong incentive to produce a confession by a defendant (and thus to pressure the defendant to confess) is the Islamic Republic's allowing of a defendant’s confession plus judges "reasoning" to constitute sufficient proof of guilt. He also states this is an innovation from the traditional sharia standard for (some) capital crimes of `two honest and righteous male witnesses`.[129]

Several bills passed the Iranian Parliament that would have had Iran joining the international convention on banning torture in 2003 when reformists controlled Parliament, but were rejected by the Guardian Council.[130][131]

Chronicle of Higher Education International, reports that the widespread practice of raping women imprisoned for engaging in political protest has been effective in keeping female college students "less outspoken and less likely to take part" in political demonstrations. The journal quotes an Iranian college student as saying, "most of the girls arrested are raped in jail. Families can't cope with that."[132]

In 2009, Human Rights charity Freedom from Torture produced a report outlining cases of torture in Iran, including incommunicado detention, blindfolding, and forcing prisoners to sign confessions.[133]

Notable issues concerning human rights[edit]

Extrajudicial killings[edit]

In the 1990s there were a number of unsolved murders and disappearances of intellectuals and political activists who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system in some way. In 1998 these complaints came to a head with the killing of three dissident writers (Mohammad Jafar Pouyandeh, Mohammad Mokhtari, Majid Sharif), a political leader (Dariush Forouhar) and his wife in the span of two months, in what became known as the Chain murders or 1998 Serial Murders of Iran.[134][135] of Iranians who had been critical of the Islamic Republic system in some way.[136] Altogether more than 80 writers, translators, poets, political activists, and ordinary citizens are thought to have been killed over the course of several years.[134] The deputy security official of the Ministry of Information, Saeed Emami was arrested for the killings and later committed suicide, many believe higher level officials were responsible for the killings. According to Iranterror.com, "it was widely assumed that [Emami] was murdered in order to prevent the leak of sensitive information about Ministry of Intelligence and Security operations, which would have compromised the entire leadership of the Islamic Republic."[137]

The attempted murder and serious crippling of Saeed Hajjarian, a Ministry of Intelligence operative-turned-journalist and reformer, is believed to be in retaliation for his help in uncovering the chain murders of Iran and his help to the Iranian reform movement in general. Hajjarian was shot in the head by Saeed Asgar, a member of the Basij in March 2000.[citation needed]

Main article: Chain murders of Iran

At the international level, a German court ordered the arrest of a standing minister of the Islamic Republic – Minister of Intelligence Ali Fallahian – in 1997 for directing the 1992 murder of three Iranian-Kurdish dissidents and their translator at a Berlin restaurant,[138][139] known as the Mykonos restaurant assassinations.

Two minority religious figures killed during this era were Protestant Christians Reverend Mehdi Dibaj, and Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr. On 16 January 1994, Rev. Mehdi, a convert to Christianity was released from prison after more than ten years of confinement, "apparently as a result of the international pressure." About six months later he disappeared after leaving a Christian conference in Karaj and his body was found 5 July 1994 in a forest West of Tehran. Six months earlier the man responsible for leading a campaign to free him, Bishop Haik Hovsepian Mehr, had met a similar end, disappearing on 19 January 1994. His body was found in the street in Shahr-e Rey, a Tehran suburb.[105]

Executions in Iran and Saudi Arabia (2010–2017)[140][141][142][143]
Year Saudi Arabia Iran
2010 27 552
2011 82 634
2012 79 544
2013 79 704
2014 90 743
2015 158 977
2016 154 567
2017 146 507

Capital punishment[edit]

Main article: Capital punishment in Iran

Iran retains the death penalty for a large number of offenses, among them cursing the Prophet, certain drug offenses, murder, and certain hadd crimes, including adultery, incest, rape, fornication, drinking alcohol, “sodomy”, same-sex sexual conduct between men without penetration, lesbianism, “being at enmity with God” (mohareb), and “corruption on earth” (Mofsed-e-filarz).[144] Drug offenses accounted for 58% of confirmed executions in Iran in 2016, but only 40% in 2017, a decrease that may reflect legislative reforms.[142][143]

Despite being a signatory to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which states that "[the] sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age,"[145] Iran continues to execute minors for various offenses: At least four individuals were executed in Iran in 2017 for offenses committed before the age of eighteen.[143]

Judicial executions in Iran are more common than in any other Middle Eastern state, surpassing Iran's nearest rival—Saudi Arabia—by nearly an order of magnitude according to Michael Rubin in 2017, although Iran's population is over twice as large as Saudi Arabia's.[140][146] In 2017, Iran accounted for 60% of all executions in the Middle East/North Africa while Saudi Arabia accounted for 17% and Iraq accounted for 15%.[143]

1988 massacre of political prisonners[edit]

Evin Prison

the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the UN Secretary General to the General Assembly highlighting the 1988 executions of Iranian political prisoners of political prisoners in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In her report, Special Rapporteur Asma Jahangir stated that “families of the victims have the right to a remedy, which includes the right to an effective investigation of the facts and public disclosure of the truth; and the right to reparation. The Special Rapporteur therefore calls on the Government to ensure that a thorough and independent investigation into these events is carried out.” International civil society and NGOs urged the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish a fact—finding mission to investigate the months-long 1988 massacre during which Iran’s government executed an estimated 30,000 political prisoners, mostly activists of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI / MEK).[147]

Political freedom[edit]

The Islamic government has not hesitated to crush peaceful political demonstrations. The Iran student riots, July 1999 were sparked by an attack by an estimated 400 paramilitary[148] Hezbollah vigilantes on a student dormitory in retaliation for a small, peaceful student demonstration against the closure of the reformist newspaper, Salam earlier that day. "At least 20 people were hospitalized and hundreds were arrested," in the attack.[149][150]

On 8 March 2004, the "parallel institution" of the Basij issued a violent crackdown on the activists celebrating International Women's Day in Tehran.[151]

LGBT issues[edit]

Main article: LGBT rights in Iran

Homosexual acts and adultery are criminal and punishable by life imprisonment or death after multiple offenses, and the same sentences apply to convictions for treason and apostasy. Those accused by the state of homosexual acts are routinely flogged and threatened with execution.[152][153][154][155][156][157][158] Iran is one of seven countries in the world that apply the death penalty for homosexual acts; all of them justify this punishment with Islamic law. The Judiciary does not recognize the concept of sexual orientation, and thus from a legal standpoint there are no homosexuals or bisexuals, only persons committing homosexual acts.[159]

For some years after the Iranian Revolution, transgender people were classified by the Judiciary as being homosexual and were thus subject to the same laws. However, in the mid-1980s, the Judiciary began changing this policy and classifying transgender individuals as a distinct group, separate from homosexuals, granting them legal rights. Gender dysphoria is officially recognized in Iran today, and the Judiciary permits sexual reassignment surgery for those who can afford it.[160] In the early 1960s, Ayatollah Khomeini had issued a ruling permitting gender reassignment, which has since been reconfirmed by Ayatollah Khamenei.[161] Currently, Iran has between 15,000 and 20,000 transsexuals, according to official statistics, although unofficial estimates put the figure at up to 150,000. Iran carries out more gender change operations than any country in the world besides Thailand. Sex changes have been legal since the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, spiritual leader of the 1979 Islamic revolution, passed a fatwa authorising them nearly 25 years ago. Whereas homosexuality is considered a sin, transsexuality is categorized as an illness subject to cure. While the government seeks to keep its approval quiet, state support has increased since Ahmadinejad took office in 2005. His government has begun providing grants of £2,250 for operations and further funding for hormone therapy. It is also proposing loans of up to £2,750 to allow those undergoing surgery to start their own businesses.[162]

Gender inequality[edit]

See also: Domestic violence in Iran and Women's rights in Iran

Unequal value for women's testimony compared to that of a man,[163] and traditional attitudes towards women's behavior and clothing as a way of explaining rape[164] have made conviction for rape of women difficult if not impossible in Iran. One widely criticized case was that of Atefah Sahaaleh, who was executed by the state for 'inappropriate sexual relations', despite evidence she was most probably a rape victim.[165][166]

Differences in blood money for men and women include victims and offenders. In 2003, the parents of Leila Fathi, an 11-year-old village girl from Sarghez who was raped and murdered, were asked to come up with the equivalent of thousands of US dollars to pay the blood money (diyya) for the execution of their daughter's killers because a woman's life is worth half that of a man's life.[167]

Religious freedom[edit]

Main article: Religious freedom in Iran

Bahá'í issues[edit]

Main article: Persecution of Bahá'ís


Amnesty International and others report that 202 Bahá’ís have been killed since the Islamic Revolution,[168] with many more imprisoned, expelled from schools and workplaces, denied various benefits or denied registration for their marriages.[51] Iranian Bahá'ís have also regularly had their homes ransacked or been banned from attending university or holding government jobs, and several hundred have received prison sentences for their religious beliefs, most recently for participating in study circles.[98] Bahá'í cemeteries have been desecrated and property seized and occasionally demolished, including the House of Mírzá Buzurg, Bahá'u'lláh's father.[51] The House of the Báb in Shiraz has been destroyed twice, and is one of three sites to which Bahá'ís perform pilgrimage.[51][169][170]

The Islamic Republic has often stated that arrested Baha'is are being detained for "security issues" and are members of "an organized establishment linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular."[97] Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, replies that "the best proof" that Bahais are being persecuted for their faith, not for anti-Iranian activity "is the fact that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam ..."[97]

Jewish issues[edit]

Main articles: Persian Jews and History of the Jews in Iran

Jews have lived in Iran for nearly 3,000 years and Iran is host to the largest Jewish community in the Middle East outside of Israel. An estimated 25,000 Jews remain in the country, although approximately 75% of Iran's Jewish population has emigrated during and since the Islamic revolution of 1979 and Iran-Iraq war[171] In the early days after the Islamic revolution in 1979, several Jews were executed on charges of Zionism and relations with Israel.[172] Jews in Iran have constitutional rights equal to other Iranians, although they may not hold government jobs or become army officers. They have freedom to follow their religion, but are not granted the freedom to proselytize. Despite their small numbers, Jews are allotted one representative in parliament.

Iran's official government-controlled media published the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in 1994 and 1999. Jewish children still attend Jewish schools where Hebrew and religious studies are taught, but Jewish principals have been replaced by Muslim ones, the curricula are government-supervised, and the Jewish Sabbath is no longer recognized.[172] According to Jewish journalist Roger Cohen:

Perhaps I have a bias toward facts over words, but I say the reality of Iranian civility toward Jews tells us more about Iran – its sophistication and culture – than all the inflammatory rhetoric. That may be because I'm a Jew and have seldom been treated with such consistent warmth as in Iran.[173]

Cohen's depiction of Jewish life in Iran sparked criticism from columnists and activists such as Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic Monthly[174] and Rafael Medoff, director of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies. In his Jerusalem Post op-ed, Medoff criticized Cohen for being "misled by the existence of synagogues" and further argued that Iranian Jews "are captives of the regime, and whatever they say is carefully calibrated not to get themselves into trouble."[175] The American Jewish Committee also criticized Cohen's articles. Dr. Eran Lerman, director of the group's Middle East directory, argued that "Cohen’s need to argue away an unpleasant reality thus gives rise to systematic denial".[176] Cohen responded on 2 March, defending his observations and further elaborating that "Iran’s Islamic Republic is no Third Reich redux. Nor is it a totalitarian state." He also stated that "life is more difficult for them [the Jews] than for Muslims, but to suggest they [Jews] inhabit a totalitarian hell is self-serving nonsense."[177]

Privately, many Jews complain to foreign reporters of "discrimination, much of it of a social or bureaucratic nature." The Islamic government appoints the officials who run Jewish schools, most of these being Muslims and requires that those schools must open on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath. (This has apparently been changed as of February 4, 2015.[178]) Criticism of this policy was the downfall of the last remaining newspaper of the Iranian Jewish community which was closed in 1991 after it criticized government control of Jewish schools. Instead of expelling Jews en masse like in Libya, Iraq, Egypt, and Yemen, the Iranians have adopted a policy of keeping Jews in Iran.[179]

Non-government Muslim Shia issues[edit]

Muslim clerical opponents of the Islamic Republic's political system have not been spared imprisonment. According to an analyst quoted by Iran Press Service, "hundreds of clerics have been arrested, some defrocked, other left the ranks of the religion on their own, but most of them, including some popular political or intellectual figures such as Hojjatoleslam Abdollah Noori, a former Interior Minister or Hojjatoleslam Yousefi Eshkevari, an intellectual, or Hojjatoleslam Mohsen Kadivar", are "middle rank clerics."[180]

Darvish issues[edit]

Iran's Darvish[181] are a persecuted minority. As late as the early 1900s, wandering darvish were a common sight in Iran.[182] They are now much fewer in number and suffer from official opposition to the Sufi religion.

Irreligious people[edit]

According to the official Iranian census of 2006, there are 205,317 irreligious people in Iran, including atheists, agnostics, and sceptics.[183] According to the Iranian constitution, an irreligious person can't become president of Iran.

Ethnic minorities[edit]

Iran is a signatory to the convention to the elimination of racism. UNHCR found several positive aspects in the conduct of the Islamic republic with regards to ethnic minorities, positively citing its agreement to absorb Afghan refugees and participation from mixed ethnicities. However, the committee while acknowledging that teaching of minority languages and literature in schools is permitted, requested that Iran include more information in its next periodic report concerning the measures it has adopted to enable persons belonging to minorities to have adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue and to have it used as a medium of instruction.[184]

Current situation[edit]

Number of executions in the Islamic Republic of Iran from 2003 to 2013 based on Ahmed Shaheed's report.[185]

Under the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, beginning in 2005, Iran's human rights record "has deteriorated markedly" according to the group Human Rights Watch. The number of offenders executed increased from 86 in 2005 to 317 in 2007. Months-long arbitrary detentions of "peaceful activists, journalists, students, and human rights defenders" and often charged with “acting against national security,” has intensified under President Ahmadineja[3] In December 2008, the United Nations General Assembly voted to expressed "deep concern" for Iran's human rights record[186] – particularly "cases of torture; the high incidence of executions and juvenile executions ... ; the persecution of women seeking their human rights; discrimination against minorities and attacks on minority groups like the Baha'is in state media ..."[187] Following the protests over the June 2009 presidential elections, dozens were killed,[188][189] hundreds arrested – including dozens of opposition leaders[7][8] – several journalists arrested or beaten, foreign media barred from leaving their offices to report on demonstrations, and Web sites and bloggers threatened.[188] Basij or Revolutionary Guard were reportedly responsible for at least some of the slain protesters.[190]

Freedom of the press[edit]

In Freedom House's 2013 press freedom survey, Iran was ranked "Not Free",[191] and among "The world’s eight worst-rated countries" (coming in 5th out of 196).[192][193] According to the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index for 2013, Iran ranked 174th out of 179 nations.[194] According to the International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders, the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Supreme National Security Council had imprisoned 50 journalists in 2007 and had all but eliminated press freedom.[195] RWB has dubbed Iran the "Middle East's biggest prison for journalists."[196][197] 85 newspapers, including 41 dailies, were shut down from 2000 to the end of 2002 following the passing of the "April 2000 press law."[198] In 2003, that number was nearly 100.[199] There are currently 45 journalists in prison a number surpassed only by Turkey with 49.[200] The "red lines" of press censorship in Iran are said to be questioning rule by clerics (velayat-e faqih) and direct attacks on the Supreme Leader. Red lines have also drawn against writing that "insults Islam, is sexually explicit, "politically subversive," or is allegedly "confusing public opinion."[201]

Journalists are frequently warned or summoned if they are perceived as critical of the government, and topics such as U.S. relations and the country's nuclear program are forbidden subjects for reporting.[202][203]

In February 2008, the journalist Yaghoob Mirnehad was sentenced to death on charges of "membership in the terrorist Jundallah group as well as crimes against national security."[204] Mirnehad was executed on 5 July 2008.[205]

In November 2007, freelance journalist Adnan Hassanpour received a death sentence for "undermining national security," "spying," "separatist propaganda" and being a mohareb (fighter against God).[206] He refused to sign a confessions, and it is theorized that he was arrested for his work with US-funded radio stations Radio Farda and Voice of America.[206] Hassanpour's sentence was overturned on 4 September 2008, by the Tehran Supreme Court.[207] Hassanpour still faces espionage charges.[208][209]

In June 2008, the Iranian Ministry of Labor stated that the 4,000 member journalists' union, founded in 1997, was "fit for dissolution."[210]

Human rights blogger and U.S. National Press Club honoree Kouhyar Goudarzi has twice been arrested for his reporting, most recently on 31 July 2011. He is currently in detention, and his whereabouts are unknown.[211] Following his second arrest, Amnesty International named him a prisoner of conscience.[212]

Artistic freedom[edit]

In 2003, Iranian expatriate director Babak Payami's film Silence Between Two Thoughts[213] was seized by Iranian authorities, and Payami smuggled a digital copy out of Iran which was subsequently screened in several film festivals.[214]

Arresting filmmakers[edit]

Jafar Panahi was arrested in 2010

On 1 March 2010, Jafar Panahi was arrested. He was taken from his home along with his wife Tahereh Saidi, daughter Solmaz Panahi, and 15 of his friends by plain-clothes officers to Evin Prison. Most were released 48 hours later, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mehdi Pourmoussa on 17 March 2010, but Panahi remained in section 209 inside Evin Prison. Panahi's arrest was confirmed by the government, but the charges were not specified.On April 14, 2010, Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said that Panahi was arrested because he "tried to make a documentary about the unrest that followed the disputed 2009 re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."On 18 May, Panahi sent a message to Abbas Baktiari, director of the Pouya Cultural Center, an Iranian-French cultural organization in Paris, stating that he was being mistreated in prison and his family threatened and as a result had begun a hunger strike. On 25 May, he was released on $200,000 bail while awaiting trial.On 20 December 2010, Panahi, after being convicted for "assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country’s national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic," the Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Panahi to six years imprisonment and a 20-year ban on making or directing any movies, writing screenplays, giving any form of interview with Iranian or foreign media as well as leaving the country except for Hajj holy pilgrimage to Mecca or medical treatment. Panahi's colleague, Mohammad Rasoulof also received six years imprisonment but was later reduced to one year on appeal.On October 15, 2011, a court in Tehran upheld Panahi's sentence and ban. Following the courts decision, Panahi was placed under house arrest. He has since been allowed to move more freely but he cannot travel outside Iran.

Hossein Rajabian, an Iranian independent filmmaker, After finishing his first feature film, was arrested by Iranian security forces on 5 October 2013 outside his office [in Sari] alongside two musicians, and was transferred to Ward 2-A of Evin Prison where all three of them were held in solitary confinement for more than two months and were threatened with televised confessions. He was released on bail (around $66,000) in mid-December, pending trial. Two years later, his case was heard at Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court which was presided over by Judge Moghisseh (Summer 2015). He was sentenced to six years in prison and fines for pursuing illegal cinematic activities, launching propaganda against the establishment and hurling insults at sanctities. On appeal, his sentence was changed to three years imprisonment and three years of suspended jail and Fines.Hossein Rajabian was sent to the ward 7 of Evin Prison in Tehran. After spending one third of his total period of imprisonment (that is 11 months), he went on hunger strike to protest against unjust trial, lack of medical facilities, and transfer of his brother to another ward called section 8 of the same prison. During the first hunger strike period, which lasted 14 days, he was transferred to hospital because of pulmonary infection and he could not continue his hunger strike because of the interference of the representative of the prosecutor who was sent as an intermediary. After some time, he sent an open letter to the judicial authorities of Iran and went again on strike which brought him the supports of international artists. After 36 days of hunger strike, he could convince the judicial authorities of Iran to review his case and grant him medical leave for the treatment of his left kidney suffered from infections and blood arising out of hunger strike. he, after a contentious struggle with the judicial officer of the prison was sent to the ward 8 for punishment.

Political freedom[edit]

Blogger and political activist Samiye Tohidlou was sentenced to 50 lashes for her activities during protests at the 2009 presidential campaign.[215] Activist Peyman Aref was sentenced to 74 lashes for writing an "insulting" open letter to President Ahmadinejad, in which he criticized the president's crackdown on politically active students. An unnamed Iranian journalist based in Tehran commented: "Lashing Aref for insulting Ahmadinejad is shocking and unprecedented."[216]

Freedom of movement[edit]

On 8 May 2007, Haleh Esfandiari an Iranian-American scholar in Iran visiting her 93-year-old mother, was detained in Evin Prison and kept in solitary confinement for more than 110 days. She was one of several visiting Iranian-Americans prohibited from leaving Iran in 2007.[217] In December 2008, the presidents of the American National Academy of Sciences issued a warning to "American scientists and academics" against traveling to Iran without "clear assurances" that their personal safety "will be guaranteed and that they will be treated with dignity and respect", after Glenn Schweitzer, who had coordinated the academies’ programs in Iran for the past decade, was detained and interrogated.[218]

Internet freedom[edit]

Main article: Internet Censorship in Iran

The Internet has grown faster in Iran than any other Middle Eastern country (aside from Israel)[219] since 2000 but the government has censored dozens of websites it considers "non-Islamic" and harassed and imprisoned online journalists.[220] In 2006 and again in 2010, the activist group Reporters Without Borders labeled Iran one of the 12 or 13 countries it designated "Enemies of the Internet" for stepped up efforts to censor the Internet and jail dissidents.[221][222][223] It also ranked worst in "Freedom on the Net 2013 Global Scores".[224] Reporters Without the Borders sent a letter to UN high Commissioner for human rights Navi Pillay to share its deep concern and ask for her intervention in the case of two netizens/free speech defenders, Vahid Asghari and Hossein Derakhshan.[225][226] Reporters Without Borders also believes that it is the Iranian "government’s desire to rid the Iranian Internet of all independent information concerning the political opposition, the women’s movement and human rights”.[227] Where the government cannot legally stop sites it uses advanced blocking software to prevent access to them.[228][229] Many major sites have been blocked entirely such as YouTube,[219][230] IMDB.com,[219] Voice of America,[231] BBC.[231]

According to Amnesty annual report 2015/2016, Iranian authorities continued its policy in restricting freedoms of expression, association and assembly. The report claimed that authorities blocked many of social media websites, including Twitter and Facebook. In June 2015, the authorities have arrested five people for using social media in "anti-revolutionary" activities. In other case, five people were arrested for "acts against decency in internet".[232] On July 8, 2018, Iran has arrested a number of users for posting videos on Instagram, including a young activist named Maedeh Hojabri.[233] As a result, Iranian women posted videos of themselves dancing to protest her arrest.[234]

Deaths in custody[edit]

Saeed Mortazavi, the judge who has rule in killing of prisoners at Kahrizak detention center. He was fined only 2,000,000 Rials

In the past several years many people have died in custody in the Islamic Republic, raising fears that "prisoners in the country are being denied medical treatment, possibly as an extra punishment." Two prisoners who died, allegedly after having "committed suicide" while in jail in northwestern Iran – but whose families reported no signs of behavior consistent with suicidal tendencies – are:

  • Zahra Bani Yaghoub, (aka Zahra Bani-Ameri), a 27-year-old female physician died in October 2007, while in custody in the town of Hamedan.
  • Ebrahim Lotfallahi, also 27, died in a detention center in the town of Sanandaj in January 2008. "On January 15, officials from the detention center contacted Lotfallahi’s parents and informed them that they had buried their son in a local cemetery."[235]

Political prisoners who recently died in prison under "suspicious circumstances" include:

  • Akbar Mohammadi, a student activist, died in Evin prison on 30 July 2006, after waging a hunger strike.[236] Originally sentenced to death for his participation in the pro-democracy July 1999 student riots, his sentence had been reduced to 15 years in prison. "Several sources told Human Rights Watch that after his arrest in 1999, Mohammadi was severely tortured and ill-treated, leading to serious health problems."[237]
  • Valiullah Faiz Mahdavi, also died after starting a hunger strike when his appeal for a temporary relief from prison was denied. His cause of death was officially listed as suicide.[236]
  • Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, a blogger, died in Evin Prison 18 March 2009, less than six weeks after starting a 30-month sentence.[238]
  • Amir Hossein Heshmat Saran, died "in suspicious circumstances" on 6 March 2009, after five years in prison for establishing the United National Front political party.
  • Abdolreza Rajabi (1962–2008) was a member of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), who died unexpectedly in Reja'i Shahr Prison on 30 October 2008.[239] He was transferred from Evin to Raja’i Shahr Prison before the news of his death was announced.[236]

Freedom of religion[edit]

Main article: Freedom of religion in Iran

Bahá'í issues[edit]

Around 2005 the situation of Bahá'ís is reported to have worsened;[240] the United Nations Commission on Human Rights revealed an October 2005 confidential letter from Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran to identify Bahá'ís and to monitor their activities[241] and in November 2005 the state-run and influential Kayhan[242] newspaper, whose managing editor is appointed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei,[243] ran nearly three dozen articles defaming the Bahá'í Faith.[244]

Due to these actions, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stated on 20 March 2006 that she "also expresses concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Bahá'í faith, in violation of international standards. … The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating."[241]

In March and in May 2008, "senior members" forming the leadership of the Bahá'í community in Iran were arrested by officers from the Ministry of Intelligence and taken to Evin prison.[240][245][246] They have not been charged, and they seem to be prisoners of conscience.[247] The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center has stated that they are concerned for the safety of the Bahá'ís, and that the recent events are similar to the disappearance of 25 Bahá'í leaders in the early 1980s.[246]

Muslim Shia issues[edit]

One opponent of theocracy, Ayatollah Hossein Kazemeyni Boroujerdi and many of his followers were arrested in Tehran on 8 October 2006. According to mardaninews website, judicial authorities have reportedly released no information concerning Boroujerdi's prosecution and “associates” of Ayatollah Boroujerdi have told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran “that his heart and kidney conditions are grave but he has had no access to specialist care.”

He only receives painkillers for his diseases inside prison. In addition to his physical health, his psychological well-being has also deteriorated due to ill-treatment and lengthy solitary confinement episodes. He has lost 30 kilograms in prison.[248]

Boroujerdi is not the only clergy facing violations in Iran. Ayatullah Shirazi and his followers are continuously arrested, tortured and even killed due to their disapproval of the Iran's policies. Although this family does not openly critique the government, they are the most powerful and internationally known for their freedom of religion for all minorities. Seyed Hussain Shirazi is the last clergy arrested on March 6th, 2018 after he advocated for the rights of minorities in his speech.

Ethnic issues[edit]

According to Amnesty International's 2007 report, "Ethnic and religious minorities" in the Islamic Republic "remained subject to discriminatory laws and practices which continued to be a source of social and political unrest".[249]

Gender inequality[edit]

Main article: Women's rights in Iran

In 2003, Iran elected not to become a member of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) since the convention contradicted the Islamic Sharia law in Clause A of its single article.[130]

In a report released 20 October 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called "discriminatory provisions" against women in criminal and civil laws in Iran "in urgent need of reform," and said gender-based violence was "widespread."[250]

Compulsory hijab[edit]

Main article: Women in Iran § Women's clothing

In Spring 2007, Iranian police launched a crackdown against women accused of not covering up enough, arresting hundreds of women, some for wearing too tight an overcoat or letting too much hair peek out from under their veil. The campaign in the streets of major cities is the toughest such crackdown since the Islamic revolution.[251][252] More than one million Iranians (mostly women) were arrested in a 12-month period (May 2007 – May 2008) for violating the state dress code, according to a May 2008 NBC Today Show report by Matt Lauer.[253]

"Guidance Patrols" (gasht-e ershâd) – often referred to as "religious police" in Western media – enforce Islamic moral values and dress codes. Reformist politicians have criticized the unpopular patrols but the patrols ‘interminable’ according to Iranian judicial authorities who have pointed out that in the Islamic Republic the president does not have control over the enforcement of dress codes.[254]

In May 2016, the Iranian government announced the arrest of eight women involved in online modeling without a mandatory head scarf. Mehdi Abutorabi, a blogger who managed a publishing tool called Persian Blog, was also detained.[255]

Alleged banning of women from universities[edit]

Main articles: Women's education in Iran and Women in Iran § Education

In August 2012, following years in which Iranian women students have outperformed Iranian male students, 36 universities announced that 77 BA and BSc courses would be "single gender" and not co-ed.[256] Under this policy, undergraduate women are excluded from a wide variety of studies in leading institutions, including English literature, English translation, hotel management, archaeology, nuclear physics, computer science, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, and business management. Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian Nobel laureate and human rights lawyer exiled in the United Kingdom, wrote to United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay over the move, saying that Iran's true agenda was to lower the proportion of female students from 65% to below 50%, which would weaken Iran's feminist movement in its campaign against discriminatory Islamic laws.[257] Some Iranian parliamentarians have also criticized the new policy.[258]

Executions of minors in Iran[edit]

Iran "leads the world in executing juvenile offenders – persons under 18 at the time of the crime" according to Human Rights Watch.[259] International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran states that of the 32 executions of juvenile offenders that have taken place in the world since January 2005, 26 occurred in Iran.[3] In 2007, Iran executed eight juvenile offenders.[144] In July of that year, Amnesty International issued a comprehensive 46-page report titled Iran: The last executioner of children noting Iran had executed more children between 1990 and 2005 than any other state.[260]

Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 6.5 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) declares: “Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age” and the article 37(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) provides that: “Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offenses committed by persons below eighteen years of age”.[261]

In January 2005, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, which monitors states' compliance with the CRC, urged Iran to immediately stay all executions of child offenders and to abolish the use of the death penalty in such cases. In the summer of 2006, the Iranian Parliament reportedly passed a bill establishing special courts for children and adolescents. However, it has not yet been approved by the Council of Guardians, which supervises Iran's legislation to ensure conformity with Islamic principles. During the past four years, the Iranian authorities have reportedly been considering legislation to ban the death penalty for child offenders. Recent comments by a judiciary spokesperson indicates that the proposed law would only prohibit the death penalty for certain crimes, and not all crimes committed by children.

In spite of these efforts, the number of child offenders executed in Iran has risen during the past two years. As of July 2008, Stop Child Executions Campaign has recorded over 130 minors facing executions in Iran.

In late 2007, Iranian authorities hanged Makwan Mouludzadeh in Kermanshah prison for crimes he is alleged to have committed when he was 13 years of age. According to Human Rights Watch, this was despite the fact that his accusers had recanted their statements and Mouladzadeh had repudiated his confession as being coerced by the police, and despite the fact that the head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Shahrudi, had ordered a unit of the Judiciary to investigate the case and refer it back to the Penal Court of Kermanshah, before any final decision on an execution.[262]

A 2004 case, that gained international attention was the hanging of 16-year-old schoolgirl Atefah Sahaaleh.[263][264]

16 February 2018, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr. Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein asked Iran to halt all executions of people sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were under eighteen.[265]

Significant activists[edit]

The following individuals represent a partial list of individuals who are currently, or have in the past, significantly attempted to improve the human rights situation in Iran.

Organizations[edit]

Iran has an Islamic Human Rights Commission, but it is "housed in a government building and headed by the chief of the judiciary," and is not considered to be particularly concerned with human rights abuses, according to Nobel peace prize laureate and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center Shirin Ebadi.[266]

See also[edit]

Time-specific human rights overviews[edit]

Notable prisons[edit]

Notable prisoners[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Iran rejects UN report on 'rights abuses' Archived 25 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine. aljazeera.net 20 October 2011.
  2. ^ Ehsan Zarrokh (Ehsan and Gaeini, M. Rahman). "Iranian Legal System and Human Rights Protection" The Islamic Law and Law of the Muslim World e-journal, New York law school 3.2 (2009).
  3. ^ a b c "Rights Crisis Escalates Faces and Cases from Ahmadinejad's Crackdown, 20 September 2008". Iranhumanrights.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  4. ^ "Iran reformer says he wants to present rape evidence". Reuters.com. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  5. ^ Worth, Robert F. (28 July 2009). "Reports of Prison Abuse and Deaths Anger Iranians" – via NYTimes.com. 
  6. ^ Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director (21 September 2009). "Iran: Appoint Special UN Envoy to Investigate Rights Crisis". Hrw.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  7. ^ a b Robert F. Worth; Nazila Fathi (14 June 2009). "Opposition Members Detained in a Tense Iran". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 June 2009. 
  8. ^ a b Iran reformists arrested after Tehran riots. London: Times Online. 14 June 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2009. 
  9. ^ Iran Engaged in ‘Severe Clampdown’ on Critics, U.N. Says. New York: nytimes.com. 2 October 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012. 
  10. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand, Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran, University of California Press, 1999, p. 4
  11. ^ "'Iran has best human rights record in the Muslim world' quoting Ali Akbar Salehi". Tehran Times. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 23 October 2016. 
  12. ^ "Islamic world urged to stand against Western-style human rights Tehran, May 15". .irna.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  13. ^ "Human rights fully respected in Iran: Judiciary chief Tehran, April 10". .irna.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  14. ^ a b "Iran: End Widespread Crackdown on Civil Society". Hrw.org. 7 January 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  15. ^ Thomas Erdbrink (17 August 2009). "Testimony in Iran Trial Ties Mousavi to Unrest". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  16. ^ Ian Talley (30 May 2018). "U.S. Sanctions Iran's Evin Prison, Broadcasting Chief and Others, Alleging Human Rights Abuses". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2 September 2018. 
  17. ^ Gabriela Baczynska and Robert-Jan Bartunek (12 April 2018). "EU hits Iran with renewed sanctions over human rights abuses in a possible move to court Trump". Business Insider. Retrieved 2 September 2018. 
  18. ^ Google search, Pahlavi royal dictatorship.
  19. ^ Pahlavi Dynasty: An Entry from Encyclopaedia of the World of Islam By (ed.) Gholamali Haddad Adel, Mohammad Jafar Elmi, Hassan Taromi-Rad, p. 15
  20. ^ Ervand Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran, (University of California), 1999
  21. ^ The Age of the Dictators: A Study of the European Dictatorships, 1918–53, D. G. Williamson.
  22. ^ Ervand Abrahamian, Iran Between Two Revolutions, (Princeton University Press), 1982, p. 138
  23. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 39
  24. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 41
  25. ^ Iran between two revolutions By Ervand Abrahamian, p. 186
  26. ^ The History of Iran By Elton L. Daniel, 2012
  27. ^ a b Iran in Revolution: The Opposition Forces by E Abrahamian – MERIP Reports
  28. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand, Tortured Confessions, (University of California), 1999, pp. 89–90
  29. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1999). Tortured Confessions. University of California Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-520-21866-6. Retrieved 18 March 2011. 
  30. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1999). Tortured Confessions. University of California Press. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-520-21866-6. Retrieved 18 March 2011. 
  31. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, p. 101
  32. ^ Kurzman, Charles, The Unthinkable Revolution in Iran, Harvard University Press, 2004, p.145–46
  33. ^ In the two and half years from mid 1973 through 1975, three United States colonels, an Iranian general, sergeant, and a Persian translator of the United States Embassy were all assassinated by guerrilla groups (source: Fischer, Michael M.J., Iran, From Religious Dispute to Revolution, Harvard University Press, 1980 p. 128
  34. ^ a b Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions (1999), pp. 135–36, 167, 169
  35. ^ Washington Post, 23 March 1980.
  36. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999 p. 114
  37. ^ Amnesty International's membership increased from 15,000 in 1969 to 200,000 by 1979.
    • Amnesty International Report 1968-69. Amnesty International. 1969. 
    • Amnesty International Report 1979. Amnesty International. 1980. 
  38. ^ The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 7, edited by W. William Bayne Fisher, P. Avery, G. R. G. Hambly, C. Melville, p. 286
  39. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, p. 119.
  40. ^ Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movements of Iran ... By Houchang E Chehabi, p. 225
  41. ^ A Persian-speaking British diplomat noted that the gulf between shah and public was now unbridgeable – both because of Black Friday and because of the Abadan fire. (source: D. Harney, The Priest and the King: An Eyewitness Account of the Iranian Revolution, (London: Turis, 1999), p. 25)
  42. ^ see Casualties of the Iranian Revolution#Explanation
  43. ^ Moin, Khomeini, (2000), pp. 184–85.
  44. ^ Taheri, The Spirit of Allah, (1985), pp. 182–83.
  45. ^ Taheri, The Spirit of Allah, (1985), p. 223.
  46. ^ E. Baqi, `Figures for the Dead in the Revolution`, Emruz, 30 July 2003 (quoted in A History of Modern Iran, p. 160–61)
  47. ^ J. Gueyras, `Liberalization is the Main Casualty,` The Guardian, 17 September 1978.
  48. ^ source: Anonymous "Prison and Imprisonment", Mojahed, 174–256 (20 October 1983 – 8 August 1985).
  49. ^ "The Latter-Day Sultan, Power and Politics in Iran" By Akbar Ganji From Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008.
  50. ^ "Men of principle", The Economist. London: 21 July 2007. Vol. 384, Iss. 8538; p. 5
  51. ^ a b c d e Affolter, Friedrich W. (2005). "The Specter of Ideological Genocide: The Bahá'ís of Iran" (PDF). War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity. 1 (1): 59–89. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2016. 
  52. ^ Cooper, R. (1995). The Bahá'ís of Iran: The Minority Rights Group Report 51. London, UK: The Minority Rights Group LTD. 
  53. ^ "Human Rights Overview 2005". Hrw.org. 31 December 2004. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  54. ^ a b "Canadian-sponsored human rights resolution against Iran passes". cbc.ca. CBC News. 
  55. ^ "U.N. Assembly Chides Iran on Human Rights By BENNY AVNI, Staff Reporter of the Sun | 21 November 2007". Nysun.com. 21 November 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  56. ^ "European Parliament reviews progress on human rights in the world in 2007". Tehran Times. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2016. 
  57. ^ EU chides Iran on human rights 8.10.2008 Archived 4 September 2012 at Archive.is
  58. ^ "Iran, events of 2006". Hrw.org. Archived from the original on 20 May 2010. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  59. ^ Obama, European Union combine to condemn Iran over human rights, USA Today 8 February 2010.
  60. ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, (2005), p. 296
  61. ^ Sciolino, Elaine, Persian Mirrors : the Elusive Face of Iran, Free Press, 2000, 2005, p. 247
  62. ^ John Pike (3 May 2004). "Iran Report, A Weekly Review of Developments in and Pertaining to Iran, 3 May 2004". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  63. ^ a b Tehran Times. Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki has criticized discrimination against Muslim minorities in Western countries. 6 March 2008.
  64. ^ a b "Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the Threat of US Attack and International Criticism of Iran's Human Rights Record". democracynow.org. 
  65. ^ cnn.com, Iran's leader slams 'arrogant' powers in U.N. address, 25 September 2007. This was seen as "a veiled but unmistakable criticism of the United States" extraordinary rendition and domestic surveillance under the USA PATRIOT Act:
  66. ^ Christian Moe. "Refah Revisited: Strasbourg's Construction of Islam" (PDF). Norwegian Institute of Human Rights. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 August 2008. 
  67. ^ United Nations General Assembly. 39th Session. Third Committee. 65th meeting, held on 7 December 1984 at 3 pm New York. A/C.3/39/SR.65. quoted by Luiza Maria Gontowska, Human Rights Violations Under the Sharia'a, A Comparative Study of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, May 2005, p. 4
  68. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions", 1999, p. 137
  69. ^ Hamid Algar, `Development of the Concept of velayat-i faqih since the Islamic Revolution in Iran,` paper presented at London Conference on wilayat al-faqih, in June 1988 [pp. 135–38]
  70. ^ Also Ressalat, Tehran, 7 January 1988, Khomeini on how Laws in Iran will strictly adhere to God's perfect and unchanging divine law
  71. ^ (in French) L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde Archived 14 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine., Jacques Leclerc, CIRAL (Centre international de recherche en aménagement linguistique), Université Laval
  72. ^ Iranian constitution Article 13 "Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians are the only recognized religious minorities, who, within the limits of the law, are free to perform their religious rites and ceremonies, and to act according to their own canon in matters of personal affairs and religious education."
  73. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand, History of Modern Iran, Columbia University Press, 2008, p. 167
  74. ^ a b "The Iranian Legal Framework And International Law". Hrw.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  75. ^ Prof. Dr. Axel Tschentscher, LL.M. "Iran – Constitution". Servat.unibe.ch. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  76. ^ `The Complete Text of the Retribution Law` Iran Times, 6 March 1981. see also: 22 May 1981, 15 October 1982. quoted in Tortured Confessions by Ervand Abrahamian, University of California Press, 1999, p. 133
  77. ^ 15 January 2008 (15 January 2008). "Iran: Death by stoning, a grotesque and unacceptable penalty. 15 January 2008". Amnesty.org. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  78. ^ (in English) Iranian Civil Code, NATLEX . Retrieved 21 August 2006.
  79. ^ Spate of Executions and Amputations in Iran by Nazila Fathi, 11 January 2008.
  80. ^ BBC article "Iran denies execution by stoning", which includes the statement "Iranian law specifies exactly how stoning should be carried out, saying stones must be small enough not to kill instantly".
  81. ^ "Iranian women escapes death penalty by stoning (which includes the statement "Stoning is part of Sharia Law that mandates that a stone not be too big to kill too soon, or too small to unnecessarily prolong the death)". Allvoices.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. 
  82. ^ Book title: Death defying: dismantling the execution machinery in 21st century, Author: Pam McAllister, p. 23
  83. ^ "The Global Campaign to Stop Killing and Stoning Women" (PDF). Stop-killing.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2010. 
  84. ^ "Mission for Establishment of Human Rights in Iran" (PDF). Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  85. ^ a b "Amnesty International". Amnesty.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  86. ^ "BBC: Iran denies execution by stoning". BBC News. 11 January 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  87. ^ a b c Human Rights in Iran 2007 MEHR.org pp. 4–5
  88. ^ Ebadi, Shirin, Iran Awakening : A Memoir of Revolution and Hope, by Shirin Ebadi with Azadeh Moaveni, Random House, 2006, p. 117
  89. ^ "Islamic Penal Code of Iran, article 300" (PDF). Mehr.org. 
  90. ^ "Women act against repression and intimidation in Iran". Amnesty.org. 28 February 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  91. ^ "Iran vows crackdown on 'inappropriately' dressed women". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 23 October 2016. 
  92. ^ (in French)"Iran (République islamique d') Assemblée générale: Rapport du Représentant spécial" [Report by the special UN envoy]. Archived from the original on 16 January 2008. Retrieved 24 October 2016. 
  93. ^ a b c "Analyses Private Relations in Iranian Civil Code by ehsan zarrokh". Legal-articles.deysot.com. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  94. ^ Daily Telegraph, 19 June 2005, "If I want to breathe I must have permission of my husband", by Colin Freeman quoted in http://mehr.org/HumanRightsinIran07.pdf
  95. ^ "Iran: Slain Protester's Mother Arrested". Human Rights Watch. 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2017-02-28. 
  96. ^ "Iran arrests Bahai 'leadership' 19 May 2008". BBC News. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  97. ^ a b c "22 May 2008. "Iran 'plans to destroy Baha'i community'"". Cnn.com. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  98. ^ a b "Discrimination against religious minorities in Iran" (PDF). International Federation of Human Rights. August 2003. Retrieved 7 October 2008. 
  99. ^ Kamguian, Azam (21 June 2005). "The Fate of Infidels and Apostates under Islam". International Humanist and Ethical Union. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2016. 
  100. ^ a b "hrw.org, Iran – The Legal Framework". Hrw.org. 22 May 1992. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  101. ^ "Iran. International Religious Freedom Report 2004. Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor". State.gov. 1 January 2004. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  102. ^ Iranian academic sentenced to death| bbc.co.uk| 7 November 2002.
  103. ^ "hrw.org, 9 November 2002 Iran: Academic's Death Sentence Condemned". Hrw.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  104. ^ "Iran: Trial for Conference Attendees". Hrw.org. 2 November 2000. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  105. ^ a b "Human Rights Watch: Religious minorities in Iran (1997)". Hrw.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  106. ^ "Iranian activists fight child executions - USATODAY.com". usatoday30.usatoday.com. 
  107. ^ CHILD EXECUTION IN IRAN AND ITS LEGALITY UNDER THE ISLAMIC LAW Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  108. ^ "John Howell MP". www.johnhowellmp.com. 
  109. ^ Child Executions in Iran Archived 22 April 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  110. ^ Iran: Execution of child offender Makwan Moloudazdeh is a mockery of justice Archived 11 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  111. ^ "Execution of Juveniles in Iran: prisoner executed for murder committed at age 14; another juvenile offender scheduled for execution Tomorrow". 23 September 2013. Archived from the original on 17 November 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2016. 
  112. ^ (in French)"Eléments sur le statut juridique des femmes et la peine de mort des mineurs en Iran" (PDF). SAFIR. 28 February 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 January 2010. Retrieved 24 October 2016. 
  113. ^ "Iran changes law for execution of juveniles". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 27 April 2014. 
  114. ^ "ghanoononline.ir". ghanoononline.ir. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  115. ^ Overview of human rights issues in Iran, hrw.org 31 December 2004.
  116. ^ Interview with Akbar Ganji, Le Monde, 6 June 2006.
  117. ^ Abrahamian, Ervand, Tortured Confessions, (1999), p. 209–28
  118. ^ RSF, Iran – Annual Report 2007 Archived 30 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  119. ^ Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran
  120. ^ Manou & Associates Inc. "3-The Rights of the People". Iranonline.com. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  121. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions 1999, p. 5
  122. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 139
  123. ^ Democratic Society of Iranians in France, Dar Rahruha-ye Khon: Yazdah Gozaresh (In the Labyrinth of Blood: Eleven Eyewitness Accounts) (Paris, 1984), p. 12 (p. 139)
  124. ^ Amnesty International document – Iran TV “confessions” breach suspects’ rights 10 September 2012 Archived 16 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  125. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 5
  126. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 138
  127. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 133
  128. ^ Review by Christoph Werner of Tortured Confessions: Prisons and Public Recantations in Modern Iran, in British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies 2000, pp.239–40.
  129. ^ Abrahamian, Tortured Confessions, 1999, p. 134
  130. ^ a b Iran: Guardian Council turns down Majlis bills on women's rights, torture ban, Payvand's Iran News, 13 August 2003
  131. ^ Iran: Ban on Torture Rejected, New York Times, 10 January 2003.
  132. ^ 1 August 2008, "Among Scholars, Resistance and Resilience in Iran, Tradition of dissent survives despite government pressure" By Aisha LabiI, Chronicle of Higher Education International
  133. ^ Freedom From Torture Iran report: http://www.freedomfromtorture.org/feature/iran_report/7204
  134. ^ a b "Killing of three rebel writers turns hope into fear in Iran", Douglas Jehl, New York Times, 14 December 1998 p. A6
  135. ^ John Pike (5 February 2001). "RFE/RL Iran Report. 5 February 2001". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  136. ^ Sciolino, Persian Mirrors, 2000, p. 241
  137. ^ "A Man Called Saeed Emani". Iranterror.com. Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  138. ^ Ebadi, Iran Awakening, 2006, p. 132
  139. ^ BERLIN COURT SAYS TOP IRAN LEADERS ORDERED KILLINGS, New York Times 11 April 1997.
  140. ^ a b Arnett, George (2016-01-04). "Executions in Saudi Arabia and Iran – the numbers". The Guardian. Retrieved 2017-06-25. 
  141. ^ "Death Sentences and Executions 2015" (PDF). Amnesty International. April 2016. pp. 49–51, 54–55. Retrieved 2018-07-16. 
  142. ^ a b "Death Sentences And Executions 2016" (PDF). Amnesty International. April 2017. pp. 30–33. Retrieved 2018-07-16. 
  143. ^ a b c d "Death Sentences And Executions 2017" (PDF). Amnesty International. April 2018. pp. 8–9, 30–33. Retrieved 2018-07-16. 
  144. ^ a b Iran and Saudi Arabia: Laws that Treat Children as Adults hrw.org
  145. ^ International Convention on Civil and Political Rights: Article 6, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Archived 12 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  146. ^ Rubin, Michael (2017-05-22). "Don't Be Optimistic About Saudi Reforms". Commentary. Retrieved 2017-06-25. 
  147. ^ Team, ODS. "ODS HOME PAGE" (PDF). documents-dds-ny.un.org. 
  148. ^ Ebadi, Iran Awakening, 2006, p. 149
  149. ^ Iran sacks police chiefs over student protest crackdown Archived 11 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  150. ^ Report 2001, Islamic Republic of Iran Archived 4 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine., Amnesty International
  151. ^ Confronting State Terrorism Archived 12 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine., Asian Centre for Human Rights Review, Special Issues for 60th Session of the UNHCR, 24 March 2004
  152. ^ Individuals executed for homosexual offences Archived 24 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine., Omid: A Memorial in Defense of Human Rights. Retrieved 30 September 2007.
  153. ^ Mixed reports on Iran hangings Archived 24 November 2005 at the Wayback Machine., Washington Blade, 29 July 2005, regarding the executions of Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni
  154. ^ "Country Information Report: Iran, 2004" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 September 2012.  (356 KB), Safra Project, 2004
  155. ^ Communication No.190/2001 Archived 2 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine., Decisions of the United Nations Committee Against Torture under article 22 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 26 May 2003
  156. ^ Netherlands: Asylum Rights Granted to Lesbian and Gay Iranians, Human Rights Watch, 19 October 2006
  157. ^ Iran's state murder of gays: Victims framed for kidnap and rape, Peter Tatchell's blog, 20 April 2006 Archived 23 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  158. ^ Saviz Shafaie: An Iranian gay activist leader, interview by Jack Nichols, Badpuppy Gay Today, 27 May 1997.
  159. ^ Ahmadinejad speaks; outrage and controversy follow, CNN.com, 24 September 2007.
  160. ^ "The story of Maryam Hatoon Molkara (Iran)". Ai.eecs.umich.edu. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  161. ^ Iran's sex-change operations, BBC Newsnight, 5 January 2005.
  162. ^ Sex change funding undermines no gays claim, The Guardian, 26 September 2007.
  163. ^ "Rape under a fundamentalist regime". Iran-bulletin.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  164. ^ Terzieff, Juliette (31 July 2003). "Women in Iran Deem Rape Laws Unfair, 12/21/03 By Shadi Sadr". Womensenews.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  165. ^ IRAN: Amnesty International outraged at reported execution of a 16 year old girl Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  166. ^ "Execution of a teenage girl". BBC News. 27 July 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  167. ^ "Why is Shirin Ebadi still risking her life?". Accessmylibrary.com. Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  168. ^ Amnesty International (October 1996). "Dhabihullah Mahrami: Prisoner of Conscience". AI INDEX: MDE 13/34/96. Archived from the original on 23 February 2003. Retrieved 20 October 2006. 
  169. ^ "Iran, Islamic Republic of". Netherlands Institute of Human Rights. 8 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2 May 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2006. 
  170. ^ "Bahá'í International Community dismayed at lack of Human Rights Resolution on Iran". Bahá'í International Community. Religion News Service. 14 April 2005. Archived from the original on 21 February 2006. Retrieved 8 March 2006. 
  171. ^ The Jews of Iran, Jewish Virtual Library
  172. ^ a b Iranian-Jews reject calls to leave Iran, The Jewish Daily Forward, 10 January 2007.
  173. ^ Jeffrey Goldberg (26 February 2009). "Roger Cohen's Very Happy Visit with Iran's Jews (February 2009)". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  174. ^ "Roger Cohen's Very Happy Visit with Iran's Jews. Jeffrey Goldberg's Atlantic Blog. Published 26 February 2009.
  175. ^ Medoff, Rafael (26 February 2009). "Don't turn Iran's Jews into a political football". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2009. 
  176. ^ AJC Responds to Roger Cohen Columns on Iran Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine.. By Dr. Eran Lerman. American Jewish Committee. Published 13 April 2009.
  177. ^ Cohen, Roger (1 March 2009). "Iran, the Jews and Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 May 2009. 
  178. ^ "Rouhani accommodates Iran's Jewish students - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 8 March 2016. 
  179. ^ Sciolino, Elaine, Persian Mirrors, Touchstone, (2000), p. 218
  180. ^ The Grand Ayatullah Shirazi family is a Shia clergy entity mostly affected by Iran's human rights violations. Clergies and followers of this entity have been arrested, tortured,killed and put under house arrest since the revolution. The government of Iran cannot stand this entity because they are one of the most powerful groups with international representation. Although Shirazis do not directly and publicly show opposition to the government, they do not approve the violations carried in Iran under the umbrella of Islam. "Arrest of a High Ranking Cleric is a Return to Revolutionary Times, 10 October 2006". Iran-press-service.com. 10 October 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  181. ^ Tom Thumb. (3 May 2011). "Dervishes in Iran and Sufis in Kurdistan". Roadjunky.com. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  182. ^ Ali Morteza Samsam Bakhtiari. The Last of the Khans: The life of Morteza Quli Khan Samsam Bakhtiari. iUniverse, New York, 2006. 215 pp.. ISBN 978-0-595-38248-4.
  183. ^ "Statistical Centre of Iran: 11. Population by sex and religion (2006)". Amar.sci.org.ir. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  184. ^ "United Nations Human Rights Website – Treaty Bodies Database – Document – Concluding Observations/Comments – Iran (Islamic Republic of)". Unhchr.ch. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  185. ^ Ahmad, Shaheed (13 March 2014). "Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran" (PDF). p. 18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2014. Retrieved 20 March 2014. 
  186. ^ REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN[dead link]
  187. ^ United Nations General Assembly “Deeply Concerned” about Human Rights Conditions Archived 22 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  188. ^ a b Iran accuses US of meddling after disputed vote. By ALI AKBAR DAREINI 17 June 2009 Archived 22 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  189. ^ Borzou Daragahi (29 July 2009). "Iran hard-liners warn Ahmadinejad he could be deposed". Latimes.com. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  190. ^ "16th June 2009, End Violence against Peaceful Protests". Iranhumanrights.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  191. ^ "2013 Freedom of the Press Report: Iran". November 2013. 
  192. ^ "Freedom of the Press 2013" (PDF). freedomhouse.org. 
  193. ^ "Overview Essay". www.freedomhouse.org. 
  194. ^ 2013 WORLD PRESS FREEDOM INDEX Archived 15 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  195. ^ nine journalists remain in prison at year’s end and the opposition press has all but been quashed through successive closure orders[dead link], International Press Institute region review.
  196. ^ IRAN - 2003 ANNUAL REPORT Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  197. ^ "Emadoldin Baghi freed, but Iran still Middle East's biggest prison for journalists - Reporters without borders". RSF. 
  198. ^ "Reporters without Borders, Iran – 2003 Annual report". Rsf.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  199. ^ THE INTERNET UNDER SURVEILLANCE OBSTACLES TO THE FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION ONLINE - REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS 2003 REPORT Archived 1 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  200. ^ "Journalists in prison reach record high: Turkey, Iran, and China among leading jailers". www.cpj.org. 
  201. ^ Molavi, Afshin, The Soul of Iran, Norton, (2005), p.130
  202. ^ The press in Iran, BBC country profile. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  203. ^ Gelb, Leslie H. "US". Topics.nytimes.com. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  204. ^ Journalist Sentenced to Death in Iran, Accused of Terrorism, Nazila Fathi, New York Times, 21 February 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  205. ^ "First executed Iranian blogger: Yaghoob Mehrnehad". Rottengods.com. 7 August 2008. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  206. ^ a b Iran – Annual report 2008, Reporters Without Borders. Archived 30 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  207. ^ "Quashing of the death sentence of Mr. Adnan Hassanpour – IRN 007 / 0807 / OBS 092.2". Fidh.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  208. ^ Adnan Hassanpour blog Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
  209. ^ "IRAN: Court overturns death sentence but journalist faces espionage charges". Cpj.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  210. ^ Iran journalists union to resist government pressure Archived 15 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine., Kuwait Times, 29 June 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2008.
  211. ^ Saeed Kamali Dehghan (4 October 2011). "Pressure on Iran over missing activist". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2012. 
  212. ^ "Urgent Action: Increasing concerns for safety of Goudarzi". Amnesty International. 30 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012. 
  213. ^ "Silence Between Two Thoughts". 11 June 2004 – via www.imdb.com. 
  214. ^ "Babak Payami - News". IMDb. 
  215. ^ Richard Hooker says:. "Young Political Activist Receives 50 Lashes for Blogging". Iranhumanrights.org. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  216. ^ Dehghan, Saeed Kamali (9 October 2011). "Iranian lashed 74 times for 'insult' to Ahmadinejad". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2011. Peyman Aref [...] has been lashed 74 times for insulting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. [...] In a letter to the president during his 2009 election campaign, Aref attacked Ahmadinejad for his crackdown on students who had been politically active at university and barred from continuing with their studies. [...] "Lashing people sentenced to various charges such as those caught drinking alcohol is common in Iran but political activists are usually lashed for ambiguous charges such as desecrating Islam or prophets," said an Iranian journalist based in Tehran who asked not to be named. "Lashing Aref for insulting Ahmadinejad is shocking and unprecedented." 
  217. ^ Menkes, Suzy (17 September 2013). ""Iranian-American academic held in notorious Iran prison", 9 May 2007". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  218. ^ [National Academies Presidents Issue Warning on Travel to Iran, 29 December 2008]
  219. ^ a b c Tait, Robert (4 December 2006). "Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top websites". the Guardian. 
  220. ^ "RSF Internet Iran". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 24 February 2008.  (circa 2004)
  221. ^ Tait, R. (2006.) "Censorship fears rise as Iran blocks access to top websites". The Guardian UK. Retrieved 9 December 2006.
  222. ^ Reporters Without Borders. (2010). "Web 2.0 versus Control 2.0 - The Enemies of the Internet 2010" Archived 21 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine.. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  223. ^ Report finds online censorship more sophisticated By ANICK JESDANUN, (AP) 11 March 2010 Archived 15 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  224. ^ http://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/resources/FOTN%202013_Full%20Report_0.pdf
  225. ^ "ابراز نگرانی گزارشگران بدون مرز برای وبلاگنویسان زندانی در ایران". BBC Persian. 
  226. ^ "Death sentence for netizen confirmed, new arrests - Reporters without borders". RSF. 
  227. ^ Independent news website closed, blog platform briefly blocked, Reporters Without Borders, 28 September 2006 Archived 19 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  228. ^ "Internet Filtering in Iran in 2004-2005: A Country Study - OpenNet Initiative". opennet.net. 
  229. ^ Torbati, Yeganeh. "Iran blocks use of tool to get around Internet filter". reuters.com. 
  230. ^ Staff, By the CNN Wire. "Iran blocks YouTube, Google over Mohammed video - CNN". cnn.com. 
  231. ^ a b المشارق. "المشارق". المشارق. 
  232. ^ "Iran 2015/2016". www.amnesty.org. Retrieved 17 August 2016. 
  233. ^ "Woman arrested in Iran for Instagram video of her dancing". July 8, 2018. 
  234. ^ Barron, Laignee (July 9, 2018). "Women in Iran Are Dancing to Protest the Arrest of a Teenage Instagrammer". Time. 
  235. ^ "Iran: Investigate Detention Deaths". Hrw.org. 18 January 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  236. ^ a b c IHRV. "Mysterious death of the Political prisoners in Iran. By IHRV | 25 March 2009". Ihrv.org. Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  237. ^ Iran: Imprisoned Dissident Dies in Custody.
  238. ^ Mother and Wife of Ailing, Imprisoned Labor Leader Plead for His Release. 18th May 2009 Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  239. ^ Deaths in custody in Iran highlight prison authorities' disregard for life. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  240. ^ a b CNN (16 May 2008). "Iran'sااتتنه arrest of Baha'is condemned". CNN. Retrieved 17 May 2008. 
  241. ^ a b Asma Jahangir (20 March 2006). "Special Rapporteur on Freedom of religion or belief concerned about treatment of followers of Bahá'í Faith in Iran". United Nations. Retrieved 1 June 2006. 
  242. ^ Michael Rubin (25 January 2006). "Iran Means What It Says". Middle East Forum. Retrieved 1 June 2006. 
  243. ^ The press in Iran, BBC News Online, 16 August 2005. Retrieved 1 June 2006.
  244. ^ "A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran" (PDF). Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007. 
  245. ^ Daragahi, Borzou (15 May 2008). "IRAN: Bahais rounded up". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 7 October 2008. 
  246. ^ a b Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (15 May 2008). "IHRDC Condemns the Arrest of Leading Bahá'ís" (PDF). Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Retrieved 7 October 2008. 
  247. ^ Amnesty International (15 May 2008). "Document – Iran: Arbitrary arrests / Prisoners of conscience". Amnesty International. Retrieved 7 October 2008. 
  248. ^ News/Imprisoned Cleric’s Life in Danger/Ayatollah Boroujerdi in need of urgent medical care[dead link]
  249. ^ Iran Human Rights | Reports, News Articles & Campaigns | Amnesty International Archived 12 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  250. ^ U.N. concerned on Iran human rights[dead link]
  251. ^ Iran Cracks Down on Women's Dress, Associated Press (ABC News), 23 April 2007 Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  252. ^ Criticism mounts over Iran headscarf crackdown, Agence France Presse, (Breitbart.com), 24 April 2007 Archived 13 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  253. ^ "YouTube, Matt Lauer in Tehran 1 of 4". Youtube.com. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  254. ^ "Too late for a reformist momentum? 19 April 2009 by Rasmus Christian Elling". Cuminet.blogs.ku.dk. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  255. ^ "Iran's Hard-Liners Crack Down on Models Not Wearing Head Scarves". The New York Times. Tehran. 17 May 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016. 
  256. ^ "Report: Women banned from Iranian university programs". Yedioth Ahronot. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012. 
  257. ^ Bennett-Smith, Meredith (21 August 2012). "Iran Universities Reportedly Ban Women". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 21 August 2012. 
  258. ^ Tait, Robert (20 August 2012). "Anger as Iran bans women from universities". The Telegraph. Retrieved 21 August 2012. 
  259. ^ "Iran: Prevent Execution of Juvenile Offender". Hrw.org. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  260. ^ "Iran: The last executioner of children". Amnesty.org. 27 June 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  261. ^ The Row – Minors on Death Row in Iran, StopChildExecutions.com Archived 27 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  262. ^ "Iran: Prevent Execution of Juvenile Offender". Hrw.org. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  263. ^ "Programmes | Execution of a teenage girl". BBC News. 27 July 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2013. 
  264. ^ "Execution of a teenage girl". Archived from the original on 18 June 2006. Retrieved 27 April 2014. 
  265. ^ Zeid urges Iran to stop violating international law by executing juvenile offendersZeid urges Iran to stop violating international law by executing juvenile offenders
  266. ^ Ebadi, Iran Awakening, (2006), p.133-4
  267. ^ "Qarchak Women's Prison: Iran's Largest Women's Prison". hra-news.org. 24 October 2016. 

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Human_rights_in_Iran&oldid=857694471"