UNITED
NATIONS
E
Distr.
Economic and Social GENERAL
Council
E/CN.4/l998/59
28 January 1998
Original: ENGLISH
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Fifty-fourth session
Item 10 of the provisional agenda
QUESTION OF THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND
FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD,
WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO COLONIAL AND OTHER
DEPENDENT COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
Report on the situation of human rights in the
Islamic Republic of Iran, prepared by the Special
Representative of the Commission on Human Rights,
Mr. Maurice Danby Copithorne, pursuant to Commission
resolution 1997/54
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction . 1 - 5 4
I. THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE'S ACTIVITIES
AND SOURCES
II. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
III. THE STATUS OF WOMEN
IV. LEGAL SUBJECTS . . .
A. Executions . .
6- 8 4
9-11 5
12 - 17 6
18 - 23 7
18-20 7
21 - 23 7
8
B. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
V. THE FATWA AGAINST SALMAN RUSHDIE 24
VI. THE SITUATION OF THE BAHA'IS
25-28 8
GE.98-l0330 (E)
E/CN. 4/1998/59
page 2
CONTENTS ( continued)
Paragraphs Page
VII. OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS . . 29 - 37 8
A. The Islamic Human Rights Commission . . . 29 - 31 8
B. The situation of certain religious
minorities . . 32 - 35 9
C. Religious dissidents 36 - 37 10
VIII. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF THE
ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN . . 38 - 39 10
IX. CONCLUSIONS 40 - 43 11
Annexes
I. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION 12
II. INFORMATION ON THE SITUATION OF THE BAHA'IS 14
III. CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAJ4IC
REPUBLIC OF IRAN AND THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE 16
E/CN.4/1998/ 59
page 3
Summary
In his earlier reports to both the Commission on Human Rights and the
General Assembly, the Special Representative has stated his objective which is
to bring the status of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran into
clearer focus. He strives to note areas in which progress is being made as
well as those in which it is not.
In this report, the Special Representative notes, as he has in the past,
that Iran, being a complex and dynamic society, cannot be readily captured in
20 or 30 pages, particularly when the observer is unable to visit the country.
In the period under review, this difficulty is if anything more pronounced.
Clearly a very open discourse is under way in Iran and a major theme is human
rights.
The area in which this is perhaps most evident is that of freedom of
expression. The new Government of President Khatami is clearly attempting to
move towards a more liberal view of dissent and has announced the objective of
developing an Islamic civil society. This important and positive step is
being met with resistance. Reports continue of human rights violations.
With regard to the status of women, all the indicators, including
presidential statements, seem to point to change, indeed to accelerated
change. Given the remarkably popular mandate of the President, there is no
evident reason for delay.
The legal/judicial sector is perhaps the one showing the least signs of
change at the present time. The number of executions continues to grow
sharply; the use of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
continues unabated. The treatment of religious dissidents and the activities
of extrajudicial groups remains of serious concern.
There is little, if any, apparent progress on the matter of the Fatwa
against Salman Rushdie. The situation of the Baha'is continues to violate
accepted international norms.
The prospecting improvement of the human rights situation in Iran has
certainly grown stronger since the Government of President Khatami took
office. Some observers believe they will, in time, be both substantiated and
broadly based.
‘ Human rights are what make us human. They are the principles by which
we create the sacred home for human dignity . . . Human rights are the
expression of those traditions of tolerance in all cultures that are the
basis of peace and progress. Human rights, properly understood and
justly interpreted, are foreign to no culture and native to all
nations.”
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan
University of Tehran, 10 December 1997
E/CN. 4/1998/59
page 4
Introduction
1. The most striking development in the Islamic Republic of Iran in the
period under review (September-December 1997) are the efforts of the new
Government of President Khatami to give substance to his pre- and
post-election commitments to develop a society that cherishes the rule of law
and personal freedoms. The Government has begun to take measures to this end
and to its credit is encouraging a wide-ranging public discussion. The
objective, an ‘ Islamic Civil Society”, is being described as ‘ a space for
intellectual, political and cultural expression free from State interference”.
This is obviously an important and positive step.
2. Meanwhile, parallel to this development and perhaps to some degree as a
reflection of it, there continue to be violations of human rights. This
report seeks to highlight some of the positive as well as the negative
developments. It is not and cannot be an exhaustive commentary on the state
of human rights in the country.
3. The Special Representative wishes to state that he has not been invited
to Iran in the period under review and has thus not been in the country since
February 1996 when he spent six days there as an introduction to his mandate.
Notwithstanding the absence of an invitation, the terms of the mandate require
him to submit reports twice a year. There are of course many sources of
information located outside of Iran but it is clear that actual visits to the
country are very important for the fullest discharge of the mandate. Efforts
to organize consultations outside the country with relevant government
officials have proven to be in no sense an alternative to a country visit.
4. One of the direct results of this situation is that the Special
Representative has not been able to report on some of the subjects he has
identified in his reports as priority ones. There has simply not been
sufficient information available outside the country to address such subjects
with the attention they deserve, particularly where they should involve
discussion with government ministers and officials as well as aggrieved
individuals. There is now a substantial list of such subjects, many of which
are mentioned in this and earlier reports.
5. The Special Representative urges the Government to resume its full
cooperation with his mandate in the course of 1998 and, for his part, the
Special Representative has indicated to Iranian officials a number of windows
of opportunity.
I. THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE'S ACTIVITIES AND SOURCES
6. On 17 November 1997, the Special Representative introduced his third
report to the Third Committee of the General Assembly (A/52/472) . While in
New York, he held consultations with representatives of the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Iran and representatives of several non-governmental
organizations based in North America. On the way from New York, the Special
Representative made a stopover visit to Boston, a city with an important
Iranian constituency, from 20 to 23 November 1997. The Special Representative
came to Geneva from S to 9 January 1998 in order to conduct a number of
E/CN.4/1998/ 59
page 5
consultations and to draft the present report. While in Geneva, he also
received representations from interested persons concerning alleged human
rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
7. In seeking to fulfil his mandate, the Special Representative has looked
to many sources for information, including the Government of the Islamic
Republic of Iran, other Governments, individuals, non-governmental
organizations and the Iranian and international media. Both in New York and
in Geneva, the Special Representative held interviews with representatives of
several non-governmental organizations, among them Amnesty International, the
Baha'i International Community, Human Rights Watch/Middle East, Lawyers
Committee for Human Rights and the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
8. During the period covered by the present report (September-
December 1997) , the Special Representative also received written
communications from the following non-governmental organizations: About Iran;
Amnesty International; Baha'i International Community; Centre for Arab and
Iranian Studies; Committee for Defence of Liberty in Iran; Committee for
Humanitarian Assistance to Iranian Refugees (CHAIR); Democratic Party of
Iranian Kurdistan; Human Rights Watch/Middle East; the International
Federation of Iranian Refugees and Immigrants Councils; International PEN
Writers in Prison Committee; Iranian People Fedaii Guerrillas; Ligue pour la
defense des droits de l'homme en Iran; National Council of Resistance of Iran;
Organization for Defending Victims of Violence; Supporters of the Iranian
Muslim Nation; World Council for Imamiah Affairs; and World Organization
against Torture.
II. FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
9. In the Special Representative's most recent interim report to the
General Assembly (A/52/472), he devoted some attention to this subject and on
the basis of the information available to him, concluded that the need for
change was urgent. Indeed, some Iranian sources were saying that at no time
since the Revolution had the atmosphere been more repressive. Now, as the
Government begins to move towards a more open society, it is encountering
significant opposition.
10. On the positive side, information reaching the Special Representative
suggests that the executive branch at least is making concrete efforts to
create a secure context for freedom of expression in Iran. Selected evidence
of this is set out in annex I. That problems remain and, in particular, that
the executive's recent measures as well as its objectives are being resisted
is also clear. Selected evidence of this is also set out in annex I.
11. The Special Representative believes it is difficult and probably
premature to properly weigh these various trends and incidents but he is
prepared to share an apparently widely held view that fundamental change could
be under way. In the Special Representative's view the most serious current
problem is the need to bring into line with announced government policy on
freedom of expression the activities of various elements in the judiciary and
the security services, as well as extrajudicial groups such as the
Arisar-e Hezbollah, which are resisting change and consequently the
E/CN. 4/1998/59
page 6
strengthening of human rights in Iran. According to information received,
the Government may now have begun efforts to curb the extrajudicial groups.
III. THE STATUS OF WOMEN
12. The status of women is one of those areas in which significant change
was expected to be seen of the new Government. It was certainly one in which
a lively and generally tolerated debate had grown up within Iran in recent
years.
13. The dominant theme of scholarly and popular articles seems to be that
change is necessary and, importantly, that it is possible within the context
of Iran's Islamic system of governance. In this regard, note is taken in
particular of the views of the prominent scholar Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad
Bojnourdi, as expressed in an interview in a scholarly journal, that ‘ many of
the laws referred to in fegh and specific laws for men and women which seem to
be discriminatory in nature, can be revised” . He mentions in particular such
matters as the value of women's evidence of witness, inheritance, retribution,
dieh , judgement in civil and penal codes, and the arranged marriage by fathers
or grandfathers of young girls. There are, to be sure, some clerics as well
as others who speak against change in the status of women.
14. As for the Government, President Khatami was quoted in a foreign wire
service report in early December 1997 as calling for a re-evaluation of
religious attitudes towards women. ‘ We must look at religion anew and purge
practices that are considered religious but are not” . A senior official in
the former Government, Shahla Habibi, was quoted in the Iranian press in
October 1997 as declaring that ‘tin spite of the Islamic revolution's
achievements to restitute the identity of Moslem women in Iran, there is a
long way to go towards reviving personal and social rights of women in the
country” .
15. With regard to the Majilis (Parliament), generally considered to be
dominated by conservative elements, it is to be noted that some new
legislation is being passed. Most recently, a law was approved allowing a
woman to be accorded custody of her children if she could show her spouse to
be an unfit father.
16. The Special Representative would also note the showing of the film
‘ Leila” in Tehran and the healthy debate it has reportedly generated about the
status of married women and multiple marriage in particular. Nevertheless,
the system remains discriminatory and incidents do continue to occur, perhaps
at a reduced frequency, that clearly offend the plain meaning of equality, as
well as the international standards involved.
17. It is not the Special Representative's mandate to suggest why change is
not occurring more quickly in Iran in this area; it is his mandate to state
again that it is urgently needed, and to recommend to the Government that it
attach high priority to introducing change that, along the road to equality,
would accord women enhanced status.
E/CN.4/1998/59
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IV. LEGAL SUBJECTS
A. Executions
18. In his last several reports the Special Representative has noted the
continuing sharp growth in the number of executions in Iran as reported in the
Iranian press. This trend has continued through the end of 1997 with the
total reportedly reaching 199, with 95 of these taking place in public. Some
observers believe the actual figures to be higher. The Government does not
seem to publish such figures and requests by the Special Representative for
such information have gone unanswered.
19. It has been stated to the Special Representative that many of the
executions relate to drug trafficking and are a reasonable response to the
threat faced by Iran in protecting itself as well as the other countries to
which the drugs are also consigned. The Special Representative would welcome
statistics in this regard as well as more precise information on the
protection of human rights within Iran's drug interdiction policies.
20. In his last interim report to the General Assembly, the Special
Representative referred to the pertinent 1997 resolution of the Commission on
capital punishment (resolution 1997/12) and urged the Government to bring
Iran's policy into line with those recommendations (A/52/472, paras. 18
and 19) . With the situation continuing to worsen, the Special Representative
calls upon the new Government to recognize the importance and the urgency of
reversing the present trend, and to put in place policies that will bring Iran
into compliance with the Commission's recommendations.
B. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment
21. In his last interim report to the General Assembly (A/52/472,
paras. 31-34), the Special Representative focused on the use of stoning in the
Islamic Republic. Since then, it has been brought to his attention that,
based on press accounts, the figures used by the Special Representative in
that earlier report understate the real number of deaths and secondly, that
many of the stonings have in fact taken place in larger cities including
Tehran, Hamedan, Isfahan and Kermanshah. It is also asserted that all such
punishments have to be endorsed by the Supreme Court and that accordingly, the
incidents concerned are not random acts of excess. The Special Representative
declares his condemnation of such punishment.
22. In the current report, the Special Representative focuses on a second
punishment, amputation, that is widely accepted as violating international
norms as set out in article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, article 1 of the Declaration on the Protection of All
Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, and in article 1 of the Convention on this subject.
Two such recent cases have come to the Special Representative's attention.
(Government representatives point out that amputation would only be carried
out for repeat offences.)
E/CN. 4/1998/59
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(a) In September 1997, Salaarn reported that Branch 12 of Tehran's
General Court had condemned one Gholam - Hossein to have four fingers
amputated for having stolen 28 cameras and camera equipment;
(b) Also in September 1997, JonIIouri-Islarni reported that Gotvand
General Court had condemned Asghar Ghasemi and Farhad Haydari to have their
hands amputated for robbery and forgery.
23. The Special Representative recommends that the Government of Iran commit
itself to the abolition of this form of punishment.
V. THE FATWA AGAINST SALMAN RUSHDIE
24. The Special Representative notes with regret the recent statement to the
Spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that contrary to press reports,
the Government would not provide a written guarantee that it would not seek to
carry out the death threat. Once again, the Special Representative would
record his condemnation of this threat, and his calls upon the Government to
address this matter constructively.
VI. THE SITUATION OF THE BAHA'IS
25. Reports of cases in which the human rights of Baha'is have been breached
and of situations of discrimination and even of persecution, including
extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, refusal of entry to
universities, confiscation of property and dismissal from employment,
continued to be received by the Special Representative (see annex II ) .
26. The Special Representative was informed that two Baha'is were killed in
July 1997, and those responsible for the deaths were enjoying impunity.
Fifteen Baha'is continue to be held in Iranian prisons. As reported earlier,
four Baha'is remain subject to the death sentence.
27. Information was received asserting that being active in the Baha'i
community and gathering for Baha'is meetings are in practice considered
offences. Short-term detention of Baha'is, disregard of their private
ownership of property, eviction from and confiscation of their houses and
destruction of their holy places continue to be reported (see annex II ) .
28. The Special Representative reiterates his opinion that the
implementation of the recommendations contained in the report submitted to the
Commission on Human Rights at its fifty-second session by the Special
Rapporteur on the question of religious intolerance on his visit to the
Islamic Republic of Iran (E/CN.4/1996/95/Add.2) would constitute an important
first step in the improvement of the situation of Iranian Baha'is.
VII. OTHER IMPORTANT MATTERS
A. The Islamic Human Rights Commission
29. In the period under review, one initiative of the Islamic Human Rights
Commission came to the Special Representative's attention. The Iranian press
carried a story on 22 December that the Commission is investigating the arrest
E/CN.4/1998/59
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of Ibrahim Yazdi (a former Cabinet minister and well-known political figure
who was subsequently released on bail) , the recent developments in Qum (an
apparent reference to recent tension among major clerical figures) and
attacks, allegedly by Ansar-e Hezbollah groups, on movie theatres in Isfahan
and Amol.
30. In his last report (A/52/472, para. 52), the Special Representative made
certain recommendations with regard to the activities of the Islamic Human
Rights Commission. On this occasion, the Special Representative would draw
attention to the latest resolution of the Commission on national institutions
for the promotion and protection of human rights which, among other
provisions, reaffirms the importance of the development of ‘ effective,
independent, pluralistic national institutions for the promotion and
protection of human rights” in keeping with the 1993 Paris Principles
(resolution 1997/40, para. 1) . The Paris Principles establish benchmarks for
the competence of national institutions as well as their composition, the
appointment of members, the guarantee of independence and pluralism, and on
methods of operation. The Special Representative also notes that
representatives of national human rights institutions now meet among
themselves to consider matters of mutual concern, most recently in
Mexico City.
31. The Special Representative views the further development of the Islamic
Human Rights Commission to be an important step in the strengthening of human
rights in Iran and to that end recommends that the Islamic Commission and the
Government embark on a process to gradually bring the Commission within the
ambit of the Paris Principles. The Government might also wish to request
technical assistance of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights to assist in meeting this objective.
B. The situation of certain religious minorities
32. In his interim report to the General Assembly (A/52/472, paras. 61-63),
the Special Representative raised the subject of certain religious minorities
in Iran. He should perhaps have addressed at that time the question of what
constitutes a minority. The Special Representative understands that there is
no one generally accepted definition of this term within the glossary of
United Nations terminology. The one most widely quoted is apparently that of
the then Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Francesco Capotorti. For the
purposes of article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, he defined a minority as ‘ a group numerically inferior to the rest of
the population of a State, in a non dominant position, whose members being
nationals of the State possess ethnic, religious or linguistic characteristics
differing from those of the rest of the population and show, if only
implicitly, a sense of solidarity, directed towards preserving their culture,
traditions, religion or language” (E/CN.4/Sub.2/384/Rev.1, para. 568). This
definition clearly encompasses two elements: differences in ethnic, religious
or linguistic characteristics, and a sense of self-definition as well as a
commitment to the preservation of the defining characteristics.
33. The definition apparently used by the Government of Iran differs
materially, at least with regard to religious minorities; the Government
E/CN. 4/1998/59
page 10
recognizes as minorities only those groups defined as such in the Iranian
Constitution. The Government appears to be saying that substantial groups who
define themselves as minorities are not religious minorities because the
Constitution does not recognize them as such. It seems to the Special
Representative that such an approach can be inimical to the recognition of the
human rights of persons belonging to such groups. Minority groups are very
often vulnerable and in many cases require the protection of the State to
ensure they enjoy all the liberties and rights enjoyed by the majority. In
addition, it is now recognized that beyond the rights enjoyed by the majority,
the minority may have special rights related to the protection of its defining
characteristics. See, for example, the United Nations Declaration of the
Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic
Minorities, General Assembly resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992.
34. The use of the term ‘ minority” is an important aid to defining types of
discrimination faced by such a group and the measures necessary to overcome
it. In the end, what counts is surely the enjoyment of human rights rather
than a particular constitutional definition.
35. The Special Representative has reason to believe that in Iran groups
fitting the Capotorti definition may face discrimination, in some cases
religious and in others ethnic or linguistic, and he will be pursuing his
inquiry, preferably in the context of his next visit to Iran.
C. Religious dissidents
36. In previous reports (E/CN.4/1996/59, paras. 86, 87 and annex VII;
A/51/479, paras. 32 and 33; E/CN.4/1997/63, paras. 32-34), the Special
Representative has referred to the treatment of certain dissident Shia
clerics, mainly in Qum. The Special Representative has recently received
information that two further supporters of Grand Ayatollah Shirazi, Syed Aref
Nasrollah and Theqatol Islam Bagirzadeh, were forcibly arrested in Qum on
15 October 1997 by agents of the Clergy Courts. The other persons referred to
in earlier reports, or most of them, apparently remain under detention.
37. The Special Representative renews his recommendation that as the
Government declares the charges against those concerned to be of an
essentially ordinary criminal nature, they should be transferred to the
general courts to be heard in public session with the accused being accorded
the right to independent counsel.
VIII. CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
38. The correspondence between the Special Representative and the
Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations
Office at Geneva during the period from September to December 1997 is set out
in annex III to the present report. It consists in part of requests for
information on individual cases. Also during the period, the Special
Representative sent to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, either
in his own name or jointly with Special Rapporteurs, a number of urgent
communications referring to individual cases. The Special Representative
appealed to the Iranian Government to ensure that those affected benefited
E/CN.4/1998/59
page 11
fully from all the internationally recognized safeguards, particularly those
provided for in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the Protection
of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly by its
resolution 3452 (XXX) of 9 December 1975.
39. The Special Representative is concerned at the low rate of response by
the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He plans to discuss the
problem with the Iranian authorities in the context of improving cooperation.
IX. CONCLUSIONS
40. The Islamic Republic may be viewed as being in the early stages of a
transition. The areas of acceptable public discourse have been broadening;
some of the verities of the Revolution are now being openly debated. The
Government's declared objectives of an Islamic civil society offers the
prospect of a brighter future for individual human rights in the country. The
courage of the new Government in setting this course must be recognized.
41. However, despite its apparent overwhelming mandate from the people of
Iran, the Government will face many challenges, the immediate one being the
significant resistance to its declared policies that seems to exist in some
powerful quarters. The result is that at the moment of writing (January 1998)
progress is more uncertain and slower than should be the case.
42. Human rights do continue to be violated in Iran. Some of the areas most
in need of attention have been identified in this report. Others have been
mentioned in earlier reports.
43. In the past the Special Representative has identified the need for
Iran - the people and the Government - to embrace a commitment to a society
that is more tolerant of diversity, that is more respectful of human dignity
and of the law. Such a goal need not be interpreted as necessarily opening
the door to either rampant individualism or secularism. Rather, it can be
seen simply as reflecting the high ideals which, as recalled recently in
Tehran by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, are shared by all great
traditions.
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Annex I
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Positive trends
The existing bans on a number of publications have been lifted.
The number of licences for new publications has nearly doubled.
The ‘Touncil on Exhibition Arts and Plays” has been abolished.
A press syndicate or association of some 2,000 members has been established
and at least one editor of a liberal newspaper is on the executive.
A permit was issued for the film ‘ Snowman” which is reportedly considered by
some to be contrary to Islamic values and which had been banned by the
Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance before Minister Mohajerani took
office.
The Minister of the Interior defended in the Majilis the granting of
permission to the Union of Islamic University Students to hold a rally on
21 October 1997 to discuss the issues facing the country, including the civil
society concept as well as some academic issues. The rally apparently heard
speeches that some considered anti-Constitution and anti-Velavat. The
Minister used the occasion of his defence to express dismay at some of the
unlawful measures resorted to by some groups against newspaper publishers,
university organizations and seminaries.
Condemnation by the Government of violence intended to curtail freedom of
expression is being heard more often.
Negative incidents
The mysterious death earlier in the year of an Iranian editor, Ebrahim Zal
Zadah, allegedly while in custody, has apparently yet to be explained or made
the subject of an open inquiry.
In September 1997, it was confirmed that an editor, Morteza Firouzi, who
disappeared in June, had been charged with spying for a foreign Government.
In August 1997, assailants vandalized the office of a monthly, Iran Farda ; in
November the Isfahan office of a Tehran daily, Salaani 1 was also attacked after
it had received a number of threats. The Government states that an active
investigation is under way.
In September, it was reported that Kalimollah Tohid, a well-known Kurdish
scientist and writer, had been arrested in Mashhad and that nothing further
had been heard of him.
E/CN.4/1998/ 59
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The beating and abduction of officials of the Union of Islamic Students and
the vandalizing of the organization's offices, apparently in retaliation for
statements made at the 21 October student meeting at the University of Tehran.
The recent attacks on patrons and the vandalizing of movie theatres in Tehran,
Isfahan, Babol and Shiraz which were showing the film ‘ Snowman”. The
Government states that 70 persons have been arested in connection with these
incidents.
Recent successful efforts by members of Ansar-e Hezbollah to prevent
individuals holding dissident views such as JIIdol-Karim Soroush and
Habibollah Peyman from delivering speeches at universities in Tehran.
E/CN. 4/1998/59
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Annex II
INFORMATION ON THE SITUATION OF THE BAHA'IS
1. According to information received by the Special Representative, two
Baha'is were killed in July 1997. Masha'llah Enayati, a 63-year-old Iranian
Baha'i, died on 4 July 1997 after being severely beaten while in custody in
prison in Isfahan. He was arrested under circumstances that are not clear
during a visit to his native village of Ardistan to attend a Baha'i meeting.
Another Baha'i, Shahram Reza'i, a conscript in the army, was shot in the head
on 6 July 1997 by his superior officer on a military base close to Rasht. The
officer concerned, who reportedly was responsible for weapons training,
maintained that the bullets were fired in error and was released after a few
days. It was asserted that because the dead soldier was a Baha'i, the court
excused the officer from paying the blood money normally required in such
cases.
2. With regard to imprisonment of Iranian Baha'is, the Special
Representative was recently informed that 15 Baha'is continued to be held in
Iranian prisons. Among them are Bihnam Mithaqi and Kayvan Khalajabad, who
were visited by the Special Representative in Evin prison in February 1996.
As he reported, the Supreme Court subsequently confirmed the death sentences
against them. Death sentences remain in effect against Musa Talibi and
Zabihullah Mahrami, reportedly for charges that include apostasy. Since
Mr. Mahrami's heirs are also Baha'is, his assets and properties were
reportedly confiscated.
3. Information was also received concerning Arman Damishqi and
Kurush Dhabihi, who were arrested for misconduct in early 1996 and reportedly
told that they must recant their faith in order to be freed. They refused to
recant and were reportedly sentenced to eight years' imprisonment.
4. Two Baha'is who were serving a three-year sentence, Mansur Haddadan and
Kamyar Ruhi, have been convicted of being active in the Baha'i community, of
gathering for Baha'i meetings in a private house and of working against the
security of the country .
5. Other Baha'is being held in Iranian prisons are Jamal Hajipur and
Mansur Mihrabkhani, arrested on 19 May 1997 in Bujnurd; Hushang Mazlumian,
arrested in August 1997 in Aliabad Gorgan; Sirus Dhabihi-Muqaddam,
Hidayat-Kashifi Najafabadi and Ataullah Hamid Nasirizadih, arrested in Mashhad
in the fall of 1997; Ruhu'llah Rawhani, arrested also in Mashhad on
20 September 1997, and Nasir Qadiri, arrested in Birjand on 5 November 1997
after persisting in holding a monthly gathering of a few Baha'i families.
Nasir Iqani, who was arrested in Simnan in August 1997, was later released.
6. The Special Representative was recently informed that a Baha'i holy
place in Orumiyeh was demolished in December 1996 in order to construct a new
building. This property belonged to a Baha'i organization, all of whose
properties had been confiscated. It was in the possession of the
Revolutionary Guards. In Kashan, a mosque was built on land confiscated from
Baha'is. It was said that a number of complaints supported by proper
ownership documents produced no redress.
E/CN.4/1998/ 59
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7. The Special Representative was also informed that the private ownership
of property by Baha'is continued to be generally disregarded. In a recent
attack on two houses owned by Baha'is, they were evicted and had their
furniture and belongings put out on the street. Actions to confiscate the
property of 10 other families were also reported. The Special Representative
received recently a verdict issued by Branch 16 of the Revolutionary Court of
Tehran at the end of 1996 according to which the Court establishes that the
house and property of an Iranian Baha'i woman, that had been confiscated and
later sold to a colonel of the Revolutionary Guards, had been officially
transferred although it should be agreed to give her another property having a
value equivalent to the property in question.
8. Seizure of personal properties, denial of access to higher education and
employment, deprivation of the means to earn a living, denial of pensions and
other benefits, and denial of civil rights and liberties were also reported.
9. The Special Representative received a document according to which a
former member of the Iranian army was informed that his government pension had
been discontinued because he was a Baha'i.
E/CN. 4/1998/59
page 16
Annex III
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
OF IRAN AND THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE. SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 1997
1. On 9 October 1997, the Special Representative sent to the Minister for
Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran a letter requesting he be
informed of the results of the official investigation on the allegations of
bad conditions of detention, ill-treatment and torture in the prisons of
Ahvaz, Isfahan, Shiraz and Tehran that had been transmitted by the
Special Rapporteur on torture by letter dated 18 August 1997. In that letter,
the Special Rapporteur had expressed his concern with regard to a hunger
strike initiated on 7 June 1997, as a consequence of which six prisoners had
died. The Special Representative joined the appeal by the Special Rapporteur
and requested also to be informed on the current situation in the prisons
mentioned above. The Government has not responded yet.
2. On 10 October 1997, the Special Representative and the Special
Rapporteur on torture transmitted to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the
Islamic Republic of Iran a joint urgent appeal requesting the authorities to
ensure that the right to physical and mental integrity of Mohammad Ali
Ghasemi, a Tehran district mayor, was protected. He had been sentenced to
170 lashes, 7 years' imprisonment, 5 years of exile, a fine of 400 million
rials and exclusion from any government position after having being found
guilty of illegitimate relationships with three women and illegal drug use.
The Government has not responded yet to this communication.
3. By letters dated 8, 16 and 26 September 1997, 26 November 1997
and 30 December 1997, the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to
the United Nations Office at Geneva provided the Special Representative with
the text of several articles on various subjects published in Iranian
newspapers.
4. By letter dated 24 December 1997, the Deputy Permanent Representative of
the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva
transmitted the following information to the Special Representative:
I would like to provide you with the following information
received from the competent authorities:
‘ Ms. Ashrafosadat MIR-HOSSAINY was arrested on 9 April 1996 on
charge of establishing a corruption center, where she was serving
alcohol and drugs. In conformity with due process of law, she was tried
by a competent court. The court found her guilty of the charge and
sentenced her to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine of 80,000 rials. The
imprisonment was further suspended and she was released.
‘ Sheikh MAKY AKHOND was arrested on 7 May 1994 on charges of
disinformation and falsification, organizing illegal meetings and
disturbing public order. In conformity with due process of law, he was
tried by a competent court. The court found him guilty of the charges
E/CN.4/1998/ 59
page 17
and in accordance with Islamic Penal Code articles 87, 88 and 141
sentenced him to 3 years' imprisonment. He was further pardoned and
released.
‘ Mr. Abbas MAROUFY was tried by a competent court on charges of
disinformation and falsification, insulting religious sanctities and
encouraging corruptions. The court found him guilty of the charges and
in accordance with Islamic Penal Code articles 141, 86 and 48 sentenced
him to 20 lashes. Furthermore, according to Press Law article 28 and
the Islamic Penal Code article 19, he was sentenced to 2 years'
prohibition of press activities and ban of his GARDOIJN publications.
However, he was exonerated of charges of encouraging corruptions. He
and his lawyers appealed. The court of appeal by verdict No. 205 dated
24 October 1996 commuted his lashing sentence to a fine.”
