Aadel Collection
The Islamic Republic at 31: Post-election abuses show serious human rights crisis
HUMAN
RIGHTS
WATCH
The Islamic Republic at 31
Post-election Abuses Show Serious Human Rights Crisis
Copyright © 2010 Human Rights Watch
ALL rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN: 1-56432-601-2
Cover design by RafaeL Jim enez
Human Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th fLoor
New York, NY 10118-3299 USA
TeL: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +i 212 736 1300
hrwnyc©h rw.org
Poststral3e 4-5
10178 BerLin, Germany
TeL: +49 30 2593 o6-io, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629
berLin©hrw.org
Avenue des Gau Lois, 7
1040 BrusseLs, BeLgium
TeL: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471
hrwbe©hrw.org
64-66 Rue de Lausanne
1202 Geneva, SwitzerLand
TeL: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791
h rwgva©h rworg
2-12 PentonviLLe Road, 2nd FLoor
London Ni 9HF, UK
TeL: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 i8 00
hrwuk©hrw.org
27 Rue de Lisbonne
75008 Paris, France
TeL: (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (i) 4 3 59 55 22
paris®hrw.org
1630 Connecticut Avenue, NW., Suite oo
Washington, DC 20009 USA
TeL: i-i 202 612 4321, Fax: +i 202 612 4333
hrwdc hrw.org
Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org
HUMAN
RIGHTS
WATCH
1-56432-601-2
The Islamic Republic at 31
Post-election Abuses Show Serious Human Rights Crisis
Executive Summary i
Methodology 4
Violence against Peaceful Protestors Following the Election 4
Raids in Residential Areas 7
Abuse of Detainees: Beatings, Forced Confessions, and Rape S
Major Attacks on Peaceful Protestors since August 14
Conclusion i8
Recommendations to the Government of Iran iS
Recommendations to members ofthe United Nations includingthe Human Rights
Council 19
FEBRUARY 2010
Executive Summary
The nearly nine months since Iran's presidential election sparked widespread popular
demonstrations against alleged vote-rigging have been among the most tumultuous in the
history of the Islamic Republic, which marks the 31st anniversary of the revolution that
paved the way for its establishment on February 11,2010. This has been a period of repeated
serious human rights abuses that include extra-judicial killings, violations of the rights to
freedom of assembly and expression, and the prohibition of torture, not to mention arbitrary
arrest and detention and countless due process violations.
In the two months immediately following the June 12 election, the government carried out a
major campaign of repression that included mass detentions of protestors, political reform
figures, and rights activists, culminating in public trials in August. November and December
saw renewed attacks on protestors as large demonstrations commemorated significant
dates in the history of the Islamic revolution and the Shia Muslim religious calendar.
This report brings together testimonies and information reflecting the continuing human
rights crisis since the election and its sharply disputed results. Over the course of 5 months,
Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with over two dozen individuals, including
ordinary protestors, journalists, political figure and their families, and human rights
defenders. The report's findings indicate a widespread governmental crackdown across
various sectors of Iranian society. Although the government has acknowledged some abuses
and even named responsible individuals, no one has been prosecuted for committing major
human rights violations.
On June 12, 2009, Iran's incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, stood for re-election
against challengers Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi, and Mohsen Rezaii. Although the
one-month campaign period produced some notable transparency, such as live televised
presidential debates forthe first time, the government mobilized its institutions and media
resources to promote President Ahmadinejad and harass his opponents. The authorities
closed reformist publications, blocked opposition websites, and disrupted SMS services
prior to the eLection. RivaL candidates' accusations of officiaL favoritism and eLectoraL
meddling by the government came to a head on election day. After the announcement of
preliminary results on election day, the three opposition candidates quickly charged that the
authorities had rigged the voting in favor of President Ahmadinejad and later filed
complaints with the Guardian Council. (The Guardian CounciL is an unelected body of six
i HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
clerics and six jurists whose range of powers includes supervisory authority over presidential
elections).
On June 13, following the government's announcement the previous afternoon that
preliminary election results showed Ahmadinejad to be the winner, large numbers of
protestors took to the streets. They gathered throughout Tehran and other major cities for
the next several days. The demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful. However, police
and security forces confronted protestors, including those who played no part in the
occasional acts of vandalism that occurred, with batons, clubs, and in some cases live
ammunition. State violence extended beyond demonstrations, with plainclothes and Basij
paramilitary forces attacking student dormitories and staging nighttime raids in residential
areas. Security forces arrested thousands of protestors in the course of these governmental
crackdowns during the first week following the election.
In addition to massive detentions of ordinary protestors and peaceful activists, as early as
the day after the election, authorities rounded up scores of well-known writers and political
figures affiliated with the reform movement. (The reform movement is a term dating to the
1997 election of President Mohammad Khatami, who planned to bring about greater social
and political freedoms. Since that time, the term is often broadly applied to include political
figures and activists who advocate for change within the framework of the current
governmental system.)
The worst abuses against ordinary protestors have taken place at police stations and
detention centers, most notoriously at the Kahrizak detention center outside of Tehran. At
least three detainees have died due to injuries sustained in Kahrizak. In August, authorities
dismissed the director of Kahrizak and said that three guards would be prosecuted for
prisoner abuse. In January 2010, a parliamentary panel investigated the deaths and
allegations of torture and named former Tehran Prosecutor-General Saeed Mortazavi as the
person responsible. Although the panel dismissed allegations of sexual abuse, it found that
widespread violations had taken place in the detention center. However, neither Mortazavi
nor anyone else implicated in the abuse has yet been prosecuted.
Authorities also abused detainees in Evin, a large prison complex where Human Rights
Watch has previously documented systematic abuses. In Evin, authorities held prominent
political figures and activists, who gave confessions that appeared to have been coerced
incriminating themselves and others of vaguely-worded political offenses. In August, the
government held the first mass trial for over ioo reform ists, with defendants confessing to
having colluded to promote a “velvet revolution.” After the first day of the trial, state
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 2
television showed two of the defendants, Moham mad Ali Abtahi and Mohammad Atrian far,
denying that their confessions were coerced and claiming to have “changed” their opinions
since they were detained. Testimonies collected by Human Rights Watch indicate that
authorities coerced the detainees into providingthese confessions. Families of detainees
told Human Rights Watch that their relatives were put under severe physical and
psychological pressure to produce self-incriminating statem ents.
Despite widespread repression in the weeks following the election, peaceful demonstrations
and expressions of opposition continued. Former candidates and their supporters, primarily
depending on the internet, have spoken out against human rights violations and called on
the government to hold abusers accountable. In response, the government harassed and
intimidated activists, journalists, and human rights defenders, detaining many, subjecting
some to trials that did not meet international fair trial standards, and convicting others
solely for exercising their right to peaceful dissent.
During the fall and winter of 2009, government harassment of peaceful protestors in
response to major demonstrations such as those held on November 4 (the anniversary of the
takeover of the US embassy in 1979), December 7 (National Student Day), and in conjunction
with the Shia religious holiday ofAshura on December27 continued unabated. Attacks by
security forces acting alongside the Basij injured many and killed at least 8. Authorities also
arrested scores of additional activists and protestors, and threatened to try some on charges
that carry the death penalty. As of February io, the government had executed 2 persons who
had in fact been detained prior to the elections on charges of moharebe (enmity with God).
In January, the government sentenced 9 others to the death penalty on the same charges
and put on trial i6 others on charges that carry the death penalty upon conviction.
Key Recommendations to the Government of Iran
• Establish an independent and impartial fact-finding commission to identify those
who ordered the crackdown on post-election protesters and those responsible for
serious human rights violations.
• Investigate promptly and impartially all allegations of torture or ill-treatment in
detention.
• Ensure that victims of torture or ill-treatment receive appropriate compensation from
the government.
• Release all detainees held for exercising their right to free expression, assembly, and
association
3 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
Methodology
The Iranian government does not allow independent organizations such as Human Rights
Watch to enter the country for the purposes of unimpeded investigations into human rights
abuses. Due to such restrictions, Human Rights Watch collected information forthis report
through extensive telephone and internet based interviews with over two dozen individuals
including ordinary protestors, journalists, human rights defenders, as well as political figure
and their families. Human Rights Watch relied on a network of trusted human rights
defenders to identify and verify the identity of individuals who provided testimonies for this
report. Their names, locations and dates of interview have been kept confidential to protect
their security.
Violence against Peaceful Protestors Following the Election
Tehran was the locus of the largest post-election demonstrations, and there protestors faced
the biggest show of governmental force. On June 15, three days after the vote, hundreds of
thousands of supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the main opposition candidate, turned out
for a mass rally at Azadi Square. 1 Although some protestors engaged in acts of vandalism,
the demonstrators were overwhelmingly peaceful. 2 Making no distinction between the two,
security forces attacked demonstrators aided by motorcyclist in plainclothes, believed to be
Basij members. In an account typical of many, a journalist living in Tehran, told Human
Rights Watch:
I've seen the Basij when they come through on their motorcycles. There are two guys, one in
front and one in the back, and they beat and harass people. People know that they are
Basiji. They have batons most of the time. They are in various parts of the city, like in Vanak
Square, where there were probably twenty motorcycles. People were walking through
peacefully chanting, not provoking the Basijis, but they came and started beating people.
One witness to the June i events told Human Rights Watch:
I walked toward Vanak Square. By the time I arrived, crowds were gathering
but no one was shouting slogans. People were afraid because there were
“Protesters Rally for Mousavi in Election Dispute,” MSNBC, June i , 2009, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31365o97,
(accessed August 3, 2009).
2 “Iran: End Violence Against Peaceful Protests,” Human Rights Watch News Release, June i , 2010,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/ 2oo 9/o6/ 1 5/ iran-end-violence-against-peaceful-protests.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 4
hundreds of riot police standing around. I started walking north from Vanak
Square towards Mirdamad. I saw riot police on motorcycles suddenly come
up on the sidewalk in pairs. They were hitting people with batons and hoses.
They passed me on the sidewalk and hit me for no reason. They also
accidentally hit some Basijis as well, not recognizing friend from foe. This
resulted in a small skirmish that was quickly resolved as the Basijis warned
the riot police to pay attention not to hit them.
People on the scene implicated individuals in plainclothes, believed to be Basij, in attacks
that killed peaceful demonstrators. The shooting of Neda Agha-Soltan was one of the first
such incidents. On June 20, Sultan, 26, was on her way to join demonstrations at Azadi
Square. She was shot after she and two companions got out of their car on Karegar Street. 3
Some officials blamed her death on protestors, opposition groups, and foreign powers. 4
Authorities forced the familyto buryAgha-Soltan without conducting an autopsy or
investigation. A relative told Human Rights Watch that authorities told the family they would
face terrible consequences if they challenged the government's version of her death. They
also prohibited the family from holding a public funeral. The government has not carried out
any investigation into the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan.
Sohrab Aarabi, 19, another young protestor, died, apparently after being shot on the day of a
protest. Aarabi disappeared on June 15, the day of one of the largest demonstrations in
Tehran. According to statements she made to the press, Aarabi's mother said that she
searched for her son and authorities at Evin Prison told her he was being held inside. Nearly
a month after his disappearance, authorities summoned his mother to identify her son and
showed her a coroner's report stating the cause of death as a bullet to the heart. 5
At least 40 others died during the post-election crackdown in the month ofJune. Due to the
government's lack of transparency, the actual number of casualties — both those killed and
injured — remains unknown. 6 Among the confirmed dead, it is not clear how many died as a
“Iranian Authorities Scramble to Negate Neda Soltan ‘martyrdom,” Newsweek, June 23, 2009,
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/artic1e6561253.ece (accessed August 6, 2009).
““Iranian Leaders Blaming CIA, Protestors, for Killing Neda,” ABCNews B logs, June 26, 2009,
(accessed
August 6, 2009).
“Slain Iranian Teenager Becomes Symbol of Protests,” The LosAngeles Times, July 14, 2009,
http://articles.latimes.coni/2009/jul/14/world/fg-iran-sohrab l4 (Accessed February i, 2010).
6 In August, Iran's deputy police chief, Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan, said that the police was standing by numbers given in June by
the provincial governor of Tehran, who had claimed that 19 were killed that month. In September, a senior commander in the
Revolutionary Guards, Abdollah Araghi, placed the number at 36. The Iranian opposition has claimed more than twice those
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
result of wounds sustained during demonstrations or while in detention. As documented in
the discussion below of police raids on university dormitories, unprovoked attacks not
related to demonstrations caused other casualties.
On the night ofJune 14, two days after the election, police and Basij forces attacked Tehran
University dormitories, injuring students and damaging buildings. Some students were
asleep when the attack occurred. Police arrested a num ber of students at the dormitory that
night and transferred them to different police stations. They took a few dozen students to a
basement room four levels below ground at the Ministry of Interior. There, the students said,
Basij and police physically and verbally abused them.
One student who spent 48 hours in the ministry basement told Human Rights Watch:
During the attack the plainclothes forces grabbed me and some other
students randomly, although we were not chanting or anything. I was
blindfolded and could not recognize where we were headed. On the way,
they cursed and beat me. In the 48 hours in that place, which I learned from
the conversations of the guards was the basement of the Ministry of Interior,
they put food in our hands and forced us to eat, and if any food fell on the
ground they would beat us with batons. They made harsh noises to terrify
us. We had to beg to go to the toilet. Some of the detainees had open
wounds and needed medical attention, but they were treated the same way.
On June i , ALi Larijani, the speaker of the parliament, appointed a six-member panel to
investigate the attacks on the dormitories. 7 Although parliamentarian Ham id-Reza Katouzian
and other members of the panel gave statements to the press confirming that the panel had
found extensive damage to the dormitories, the government has not made available final
findings of the panel or held anyone accountable forthe attacks. 8
numbers, but the claims have been difficult to verify, see, “Iran Election Unrest Killed 69: Opposition,” CBCNews, August 11,
2009, http://www.cbc.ca/wortd/story/2009/o8/11/iran-opposition-protest-election-death482.html (accessed February 9,
2010) and “Iran Official says 36 Killed in Post-Vote Unrest,” AFP September 9, 2009,
http://www.google.com/hostednews/af p/article/ALeqM5j8GPoWmrf2qerPWQN Hb8Z9eGjT3Q (accessed February 9, 2010).
“Larflani Orders Inquiry into the Attacks on the Dormitories,” BBC Persian, June i , 2009,
http://www.bbc.co. uk/persian/iran/2009/o6/o9o615_mm_larijani_courtorder_tuniversity.shtm I, (accessed February 3,
2010).
B “Katouzian: the Fact-finding Panel has Not Issued its Report,” Parliament News, September 28, 2009,
http://www. parlemann ews.ir/index.aspx?n=4o17, (accessed February 3, 2010).
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 6
Raids in Residential Areas
In addition to marching through major streets and gathering in city squares, demonstrators
took to their rooftops nightly in some residential areas throughout the country, chanting
Allah-oakbar(God is greatest), recalling one of the emblematic forms of protests during the
1979 revolution that toppled the Pah lavi monarchy. Opposition leaders encouraged
supporters to chant such slogans as a form of peaceful protest. With the severe crackdown
making street protests increasingly difficult, nightly chanting became one of the remaining
forms of mass public protests against the disputed election results. 9
Plainclothes individuals, believed to be Basij, forcefully disrupted these nighttime chanting
sessions by raiding buildings, damaging private property, and intimidating residents.
Several witnesses told Human Rights Watch that they received threatening, anonymous
phone calls from persons saying that they have seen them chanting on the rooftops.
An eyewitness to one raid by plainclothes officers on a residential home told Human Rights
Watch:
On July 30, at 9:00 a.m., several plainclothes officers repeatedly knocked on
our door, yelling for us to open it. They were trying to gain the attention
of our neighbors, too. My father opened the door to them. They entered our
house without any warrants. They said they had identified our address as
one of the homes from which the chant of Allah-o-akbar had been heard.
Then they showed us that our entry door had been marked on the outside the
night before. First, they threatened to arrest my father. They did not have a
search warrant, but they went to our rooftop and broke our satellite dish and
neighbors' dishes on adjoining properties; as many as they could reach.
They also confiscated our satellite receiver. They also threatened my father
that if the chant of Allah-o-akbar was heard from our house again, they would
arrest his children. Then they left and went to our other neighbors' homes
where the doors had also been marked the night before.
9 'Iran: Night Raids Terrorize civilians,” Human Rights Watch News Release, June 26, 2009.
7 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
Abuse of Detainees: Beatings, Forced Confessions, and Rape
On August 13, Judiciary spokesman All Reza Jam shidi acknowledged that the authorities
detained some 4,000 people in the post-election protests. 1 ° This number included more than
one hundred journalists, prominent political figures, and human rights defenders. Both
ordinary and well-known individuals faced harsh treatment and were denied any semblance
of due process.
In June and July, Human Rights Watch spoke with 22 protestors from Tehran who reported
the circumstances of their arrests and detention. Many said they were beaten once they were
taken to detention centers or police stations. Authorities refused to provide information on
the number of arrests made, the condition of detainees, or where protesters were kept.
Some were released in the middle of the night, far from where they were detained.
A woman who was apprehended near Baharestan Square on June17 and later taken to
Shapour police station described the conditions of her detention:
There was a fluorescent lamp that didn't really help us to distinguish day
from night. There was no soap. They confiscated all our personal belongings.
It was hard to Lay down or sleep. We were not allowed to use restrooms when
we needed to. In Teh ran's hot weather, we were deprived of a fan or water.
They interrogated us. If anyone had a green scarf, shawl, or bracelet
indicating that they were Mousavi supporters, their situation was worse. On
the last day, I was feeling sick and a female guard came and kicked me a few
times to stop me from crying.
Protesters sent to Evin prison faced similar situation. Three released detainees told Human
Rights Watch that due to lack of space, every small solitary confinement celL held five
prisoners. One detainee who spent nine days in Evin told Human Rights Watch:
I was interrogated three times ... and most of the questions related to my
personal and political beLiefs. During the interrogation I was beaten by baton
and insuLted verbally. Once the interrogator told me, “If you die here nobody
will know because no-one knows that you have been arrested.”
10 “Iran admits 4,000 June detentions,” BBC, August ii, 2009, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middIe_east/8195586.stm
(accessed August 13, 2009).
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 8
A journalist who was detained a few days after the election and held for 35 days described
his situation to Human Rights Watch:
Six officers entered our house and collected all of my work and personal
items. We then went to my office, and they collected all my belongings there,
too. They transferred me to a military base in southeastern Tehran. It was
like hell. For the first three days they didn't feed us. They said they had
“forgotten.” I asked why they hadn't forgotten to beat us. I was blindfolded
even in solitary confinement. It was so hot I couldn't move. The
interrogators kept coming in and cursing me. On the second night they came
and started beating and cursing me. They hit my body, my back, and my feet
with kicks and wire cables, telling me that I wouldn't survive. On the [ third]
day, they brought me my meal and told me to eat with my hands. I said I
hadn't washed my hands in three days, having had to wipe my butt with my
hands. “This is your problem,” they said.
After four days the authorities transferred him to Evin prison:
While arguing with my interrogator over his questions, they hit me with
cables several times. They also put pens between my fingers [ and squeezed
my hands] several times. In solitary confinement, I kept thinking that they
would come and take me to interrogation any minute. Several times they
came and woke me up violently in the middle of the night and took me to the
interrogation room. I was going crazy.
Some of the worst violations documented by Human Rights Watch occurred at Kahrizak
Prison, a detention center outside of Tehran. At least three detainees died due to injuries
sustained in Kahrizak.” The severity of abuses reported at Kahrizak prompted Supreme
Leader ALi Khamenei to order the center's closing on July 27.12 The government also carried
out two separate inquiries involving the center, one of which found Tehran's former
“Iran: Prosecute Mortazavi for Detention Deaths,” Human Rights Watch News Release, January 13, 2010,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2o lo/o1/13/iran-prosecute-mortazavi-detention-deaths.
12 .
Reports of Prison Abuse and Deaths Anger Iranians, New York Times, July 28, 2009,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/o7/29/wortd/middleeast/29iran.html, (accessed February 3, 2010). Iran's Judiciary
authorities had ordered the Kahrizak detention facilities closed two years ago, citing “nonconformance to standards,” but it
remained open until the end of July, when Ayatollah Khamenei ordered it to be closed.
9 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
prosecutor general, Saeed Mortazavi, directly responsible for the ill treatment of detainees
there. 13
One former Kahrizak detainee, Ebrahim Sharifi, had to flee the country after publicly
revealing abuses he had suffered in the detention center. He spoke with Human Rights
Watch about his experiences:
On June 23, three men in a car arrested me near my father's house and took
me to an unknown location blindfolded and in handcuffs. On June 24, guards
beat me violently with something that felt thicker than a whip, possibly a
hose. I was not given any food or water. On June 25, fake execution sessions
started. They gave us a piece of bread and water that tasted foul. We were
randomly selected and beaten. On June 26, prison guards one more time set
up fake executions, cursing and randomly beating people who asked for
water or to use the toilet.
I said, “Execute me if you want and get it over with.” I received a kick to my
stomach and when I fell to the ground more kicks in the stomach, until I
started throwing up blood. Another man said, “Take this faggot and make
him pregnant, so he won't be a smartass again.” That man grabbed me
violently and pulled me to another location. He tied my hands and feet and
pulled down my underwear and [ ...] while he was raping me he said, “I was
so wrong to enjoy 12 and 13-year-old girls before. You little faggots are so
much better. You can't even defend your own ass, how do you want to start a
velvet revolution?” I threw up blood and passed out.
When I regained consciousness I found myself in what looked like a clinic. I
was throwing up blood and I was bleeding with excruciating pain in my anus.
It took i6 or 17 hours until someone came and said to the doctor, “Doctor, is
he going to die by himself or should we waste him ourselves?” That guy
replied, “He is in a very bad shape. Let him go or he will become trouble for
us, like the other two did.” They transferred me to a location, which I believe
13 The first inquiry was carried out by a six member parliamentary panel tasked by the Parliament Speaker All Larliani for
investigating the June attacks on university dormitories. The second inquiry was compLeted by another Larliani appointed
panel, the Special Parliamentary committee to Investigate the Status of Post-Election Arrestees. Further information about
both can be found at “Iran: Prosecute Mortazavi for Detention Deaths,” Human Rights Watch News Release, January 13, 2010,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2o1o/o1/13/iran-prosecute-mortazavi-detention-deaths.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 10
was the same room as the one I had been in before. On June 30 they left me
on Sabalan highway after driving me around blindfolded for a few hours.
At Evin prison the most serious abuses Human Rights Watch documented were directed
against well-known political figures and human rights defenders. As early as June 13, the day
after the election, authorities set out to arrest scores of leading figures in the reform
movement. Mostafa Tajzadeh, former deputy at the Ministry of Interior under President
Mohamed Khatami, was among them. Saeed Hajarian, former editor of the banned daily
Sobh-e Emroozand a well-known theoretician of the reform movement who was gravely
wounded in an assassination attempt in 2000, was arrested and detained without charge on
June 16.14 Also on June i6, authorities arrested Mohammad ALi Abtahi, a formervice
president under President Khatami and advisor to reformist presidential candidate Mehdi
Karroubi. In statements to Human Rights Watch, the families of all three detainees said that
the authorities were severely pressuring the detainees to make false confessions.
The families' fears were realized on August i, when the government started public trials of
over ioo of those detained after the election. A visibly thinner Abtahi recited statements
implicating key reformist figures, including former president Khatami and leading
presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, as being involved in behind-the-scenes plots to
foment unrest after the election. 15 Prior to this court session, Abtahi's wife told Human Rights
Watch that in her last prison visit he looked very agitated and had lost more than 30 pounds.
“He told me he is taking pills which help him forget everything, and stop him from thinking
good or bad thoughts,” she said. A released political prisoner told Human Rights Watch that
during his interrogations he could hear Abtahi being interrogated in the next cell and
practicing his confession with his interrogators: “During the few days that I was interrogated
in that room, sometimes I could hear the voices ofAbtahi and his interrogators,” this person
said. “Most of the discussion was around his personal life and his professional relations
with others.” He also told Human Rights Watch that he had been briefly in the same room
with Abtahi, who told him that he had been brought to the court to practice his confessions.
On September 20, during his Eid-e Fetr sermon, Supreme LeaderAli Khamenei stated that
confessions of one detainee against others were not admissible in court or permissible from
a Sharia point of view. However, he noted that confessions against oneself in court or in
14 “Iran: Release Disabled Reformist,” Human Rights Watch News Release, July i, 2009,
http://www.hrw.org/ en/news/2009/o7/o l/iran-release-disabted-reformist.
“The Details of Abtahi's couft confession,” Fars [ “Farsi” ?] News, August i, 2009,
http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.ph p?nn=88o5100778, (Accessed February 2, 2010).
1 1 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
“front of cameras and an audience of millions” are “admissible, sufficient, and acceptable.”
i6
In addition to detaining ordinary protestors and well-known political reform figures, the
government targeted prominent human rights activists. On June i6, security officers claiming
to be clients entered the law offices of Abdolfatah Soltani, confiscated his computer and
documents, and arrested him. 17 Soltani, along with Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and others,
co-founded the Tehran-based Center for Defense of Human Rights, which defends victims of
human rights abuses.1 3 At the time of his arrest, Soltani was serving as the senior member
of the legal team representing seven Baha'i leaders imprisoned since May 2008.19 He was
released on August 28, after 72 days of confinement. In an interview with Human Rights
Watch, Soltani listed the human rights violations he endured in the course of his arrest and
detention:
I was in solitary confinement for iS days with no access to my lawyer orto my
family, no shower, and harsh physical conditions. I had no access to books,
television, radio, or a pen...According to Article 32 of Iranian Constitution, a
detainee is entitled to two things within 24 hours: the reading of the charges
against him, and the reasons for those charges. After 27 hours in solitary
confinement, I was charged with things that weren't even crimes. They told
me, “You have raised doubts about the election.” They regarded this as a
crime. I had not shared an opinion about the elections with anyone. They
told me to separate myself from the Center for Defenders of Human Rights
and from other civil society groups. They told me I was pursuing a velvet
revolution and a soft overthrow and as such I wasn't allowed to continue my
activities. They said I couldn't have an organization.
ló44Sunday Eid-e Fetr Prayers carried Out by Ayatollah Khamenei,” BBCPersian Service, September 20, 2009,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/world/ 2009/o9/o9o92o_ba-khamenei-eid-fitr.shtml, (accessed February 4, 2010).
17 “Iran's Human Rights Activists Being Arrested, Nobel Prize Winner Tells NPR,” NPR, June i6, 2009,
http://www.npr.org/btogs/thetwo-way/2009/o6/ebadi.html (accessed August 17, 2009).
18 “Iran: Harassment of Rights Defenders Escalates,” Human Rights Watch News Release, August 2, 2005,
http://www.hrw.org/ en/news/2005/oB/o2/iran-harassm ent-rights-defenders-escalates. The center for Defense of Human
Rights, based in Tehran, has a record of taking up high profile cases involving serious human rights violations, such as the
case of Iranian-canadian Zahra Kazemi who died in detention in 2003, the serial murders of inteLlectuats in the 199os, and the
imprisonment of the Baha'i leadership.
19 “Trial of Seven Imprisoned Baha'i Leaders Postponed,” Baba'i World News Service, August 17, 2009,
http://news.bahai.org/story/727 (accessed August 17, 2009).
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 12
Soltani said that his interrogators threatened to flog and beat him if he didn't answer them.
The security forces also threatened to re-arrest him if he spoke publicly about his
imprisonment.
On July 15, plainclothes security forces seized human rights lawyer and women's rights
advocate Shadi Sadr while she was walking to attend Friday prayers. According to a friend
who witnessed her arrest, two men in civilian clothes approached them on motorcycles as a
green Peugeot with three passengers stopped in front of them; the men pushed Sadr into the
car. When Sadr managed to get out, after her friend opened the car door, one of the men
beat herwith a cable and threw her back into the car. 2 °
After authorities released Sadr nearly two weeks later, on July 28, she told Human Rights
Watch:
I was in jail for 12 days without a warrant. On the second day, they took me
to the office ofJudge Haddad's representative at Unit 209 [ in Evin prison].
Mr. Sobhani,Judge of 2nd Branch was there and he issued the 50 million
Tom an bail order [ approximately $ o,ooo USD]. By noon, all steps were
completed for my freedom. Later I realized this all was a psychological game
because they never informed my family to post my bail.
Theytook away my glasses and only gave them back to me during
interrogations. I am almost blind without my glasses. I refrained from eating
for two days to get my glasses back. [ I also experienced] what others have
also said about [ Unit] 209: solitary confinement, blindfolds, forced chadors,
personal questions, questions unrelated to charges, questions about my
beliefs. Since my release, the intelligence service keeps calling. They must
have called a thousand times, saying they want to interview me, and that
unless I show up in person to answer their questions they will not return my
personal belongings.
On July 6, 2009, security forces arrested Moham mad Ali Dadkhah, a prominent human rights
lawyer and founding member of the Center for Defense of Human Rights, in his law office.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, Dadkhah's attorney, after meeting him on August 28, told Human Rights
Watch:
20 “Iran: Stop Arresting, Intimidating Rights Lawyers,” Human Rights Watch News Retease, Juty 27, 2009,
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/o7/27/iran-stop-arresting-intimidating-rights-tawyers.
13 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
He has been under pressure in prison to confess. For example, they kept him
on top of a high staircase and pushed him, catching him just before he went
tumbling down. When he was arrested, he wasnt fed for 48 hours. They
wouldn't let him use a bathroom. They told him to denounce Shirin Ebadi
and other attorneys with Center for the Defense of Human Rights as traitors.
On September 14, authorities released Dadkhah on a bail of 500 million Toman
[ approximately oo,ooo USD].
Major Attacks on Peaceful Protestors since August
After August, authorities did not let up on their campaign to silence peaceful critics of the
Ahmadinejad government and its policies. Security forces and Basij militias continue to
detain, and courts continue to convict activists, journalists, and human rights defenders
following unfair trials. The harshest crackdowns in the months since the mass summer
protests have been in response to large street demonstrations or efforts to organize them.
On November 4, protestors in Tehran and other cities such as Shiraz and Tabriz, gathered to
hold alternative demonstrations in response to officially sanctioned demonstrations
commemorating the take-over of the US embassy in 1979. The alternative demonstrations
were the largest opposition street protests since those that immediately followed the June
election. 21 Riot police and members of the Basij attacked protestors, attempting to disperse
crowds by beating demonstrators and firing tear gas. 22
One month later, students used the occasion of National Student Day on December 7 to
stage protests throughout the country. 23 Students on the campuses of major universities in
Tehran, Mashad, Tabriz, Isfahan and other cities participated. Police and Basij forces
clashed with protestors, with major confrontations occurring on the campus of Tehran
University, where security forces blocked all entrances to the university. 24 According to press
21 “Dissidents Mass in Tehran to Subvert an Anti-U.s. Rally,” New York Times, November 4, 2009,
http://www. nytim es. com/2009/11/o5/world/middleeast/o5iran.html (accessed January 29, 2010).
22 “Protesters Injured and Arrested During Peaceful Demonstrations,” International Campaign for Human Rights in/ran,
November 4, 2009. http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2oo9/11/4novprotests/, (accessed January 29, 2010).
23 National Student Day commemorates the December 7, 1953 killing of 3 Tehran University students during demonstrations
against Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and his recent return to power after a coup d'etat.
24 “Students Day Protests Sweep cam puses Across Iran,” Tehran Bureau, December 8, 2009,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/ pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/12/student-protests-mark-16-azar-all-over-iran.htm I,
(accessed January 29, 2010).
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 14
reports, confrontations with students extended beyond the campuses to streets where
police tear-gassed demonstrators. 25
One witness to the clashes near Teh ran's Amir Kabir University told Radio Farda:
As soon as the crowd begins to gain momentum the police attack, and the
Basijis, or security forces, or plainclothesmen — or whatever they are —
disperse them. At the moment I am close to the Vali Asr gate at Amir Kabir
University. Students have broken down the door and people are going in and
out. Some people have entered the university. The situation is very tense at
the moment. Those students who are tryingto get out of the [ university] are
encountering difficulty because they could be arrested. It looks as if they've
arrested several people who have exited ... There are clashes all the way from
the intersection ofVali Asr to the side streets and people are running toward
Enqelab Square.2 6
On December 20, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the highest-ranking clerical critic of
the government, died. His death occurred one week before the day of public mourning on
the Shia calendar known as Ashura. In Shia Muslim mourning rituals, the seventh day after a
death is a significant day of commemoration. Demonstrators used the occasion of
Montazeri's death, and its proximity to the Ashura rituals, to mourn him publicly and show
their opposition to the government's policies afterthe election. On December27,
demonstrators gathered in major cities throughout the country, including Tehran, Q.om,
Isfahan, and Mashhad. Clashes between demonstrators and riot police plus Basij resulted in
the death of at least S demonstrators. 27 Ali Habibi Mousavi, a nephew of former presidential
candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, was among those killed. 28
25 “Protests and confrontations on student Day,” Deutsche Welle Persian Website, December 7, 2009, http://www.dw-
worLd.de/dw/article/o, ,4972852, oo. html (accessed January 29, 2009).
26,, Eyewitness to clashes on vali Asr Street, the Breaking of the Door of Amir Kabir University, and People Entering the
campus,” Interviewon Radio Farda, December 7, 2009, audio file available at
http://www.radiofarda.com/content/f2_Iran_postetection..Azar_Student_Day/1896864.html, (accessed February 3, 2010).
27 “Iran tries i6 people over Ashura Day protests,” BBCNewsSen'ice, January 30, 2010,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8489o12.stm (accessed February s, 2010).
28 “Iran clamps Down on Protests,” The LosAngeles Times, December 29, 2009,
http:// articles. latimes.com/2009/dec/29/world/la-fg-iran-protests29-2009dec29 (accessed February i, 2010).
1 5 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
One witness in Tehran reported to the BBC that a police car deliberately ran over a protestor:
We entered from Palestine Street, and we headed east toward the Vali Asr
intersection. Plainclothes forces were waiting for us at the Vali Asr
intersection. They forced the crowd to disperse in different directions and
prevented us from gathering ... When the crowd reached Vali Asr Square it
split apart. One group headed toward Haft-e Tir, and the other toward
Keshavarz Boulevard ... I was standing at the corner of [ Vali Asr] Square.
From Keshavarz Boulevard, [ we witnessed] a Law Enforcement Forces pickup
truck that had the word “police” written on it run over [ one of the protesters].
The man had walked past me only 2 to 3 minutes earlier. He was a 40-year-
old guy with long hair. He lost a lot of blood. When the crowd reached him he
no longer had a pulse. The truck was speeding around as if it wanted to run
over the whole crowd.
Over the following week authorities arrested hundreds of demonstrators and activists in
conjunction with the Ashura gatherings. 29 Authorities claimed once again that foreign
governments and media outlets were fomenting unrest in the country. Ten members of the
Baha'i community were among those the government arrested in connection with the Ashura
protests. On January 12, 2010, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, the General Prosecutor of Tehran,
told the Iranian press that the ten Baha'is detained on January 3 faced charges of
“organizing the unrest on Ashura [ December 27] and sending photos of the unrest abroad.”
He also claimed that authorities had found arms and ammunition in the homes of some of
the ten detainees. 30
On January28, the Iranian government hanged Mohammad-Reza Ali-Zamani, 3 7, and Arash
Rahmanipour, 20.31 Although both men had been arrested prior to the presidential election,
they were tried as part of the mass trials in August, where they reportedly confessed to
membership in the illegal Kingdom Assembly Party and to having planned a deadly 2008
bombing of a mosque in Shiraz. 32 The lawyer for Rahmanipour, well-known human rights
29 “Eight killed and hundreds detained in fresh clashes in Tehran,” Deutsche Welle Persian Website, Deutsche Weile Persian
Website, December 28, 2009, http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/o,,5o6o4o6,00.html(accessed February i, 2010).
30 “Baha'i Arrested in connection With Ashura to be Tried Next Week,” Fars NewsAgency, January 9, 2010,
http://www.farsnews.com/newstext. ph p?nn=881o19o44o, (accessed February i, 2010).
31 “Shocking Execution of Iran Protesters condemned,” Amnesty international, January 28, 2010.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/document. php?id=ENGPRE0 I02820 I0 (accessed February 4, 2 oio).
32 “Iran Executes 2 Alleged Government Opponents,” LosAngeles Times, January 29, 2010,
http://www.lati mes. com/news/nation-and-world/ la-fg-iran-executions29-2olojan29, o, 6488228.story (accessed February 4,
2010).
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 16
defender Nasrin Soutoudeh, has said that her client's conviction was based on a coerced
confession and that authorities prevented her from adequately defending him. 33
It appeared that the government was attempting to associate those detained in connection
with peaceful post-election protests with persons accused of armed terrorist attacks. On the
same day, the government sentenced nine people to death on charges of “enmity with God”
and accused them of “counterrevolutionary and norm-breaking acts and rioting” during
demonstrations linked to Ashura and other post-election protests. 34
In the context of Iranian Laws, the vaguely defined charge of “being at enmity with God” can
be applied to membership in or support for an organization that seeks to overthrow the
Islamic Republic.
On January 30, the trial of i6 individuals arrested in connection with the Ashura protests
began in a branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran, with Judge Abul Qasim Salavati
presiding; the prosecutor claimed in court that the defendants were working to achieve the
“regime change” interests of foreign states — a charge that can also result in death
sentences. 35
“Iran Lawyer Haunted by Young Man's Execution,” The LosAngeles Times, February 8, 2010.
http://www.tati mes. com/news/nation-and-wortd/la-fg-iran-lawyer8-2o lofebo8,o,195127o. story (accessed February 9, 2010).
“Iran Executes 2, Sentences 9 Protesters to Die,” San Francisco Chronicle, January 29, 2010,
http://artictes.sfgate.com/2olo-ol-29/news/1784o912_1_iranian-cities-protesters- president-mah moud-ahmadinejad
(accessed February 4, 2010).
s “Trial of i6 Ashura Riot Detainees Begins in Iran,” Tehran Times,
http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp? code=213354, (accessed February i, 2010).
17 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
Conclusion
As the rulers of the Islamic Republic commemorate the 3 ft anniversary of the overthrow of
the Shah, they confront the results of their continuing efforts to suppress the extensive
peaceful protests provoked by alleged official vote-rigging in the June 12 presidential
election. Their attacks have left scores dead, untold hundreds injured, and thousands
arbitrarily arrested. Show trials of ordinary protestors and prominent reformist figures have
displayed to Iranians and the worLd a flagrant disregard for the rule of law. NearLy 9 months
afterthe disputed election, the government has not acted to investigate and hoLd
accountable those responsible for ordering or carrying out these serious human rights
abuses. Instead, authorities continue their campaigns of intimidating, arresting, and
convicting individuals for peacefully exercising their opposition to the government and
protesting its policies.
Recommendations to the Government of Iran
• Establish an independent and impartial fact-finding commission to identify those
who ordered the crackdown on post-eLection protesters and those responsible for
serious human rights violations.
• Investigate promptly and impartially all allegations of torture or ill-treatment in
detention.
• Ensure that victims of torture or ill-treatment receive appropriate compensation from
the government.
• In accordance with the findings of the SpeciaL ParLiamentary Committee to
Investigate the Status of Post-Election Arrestees, prosecute former Teh ran Prosecutor
General Saeed Mortazavi for abuses at Kahrizak prison, including the deaths of three
detainees.
• Investigate and hold accountable all persons impLicated in abuses in prisons and
detention facilities, including Evin and Kahrizak prisons and police detention
centers.
• Re-open investigations into allegations of rape and sexuaL abuse at Kahrizak
detention center.
• Close down all illegal detention centers, includingward 209 of Evin prison.
• Release aLl detainees held for exercising their right to free expression, assembly, and
association.
THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AT 31 18
Recommendations to members of the United Nations including the Human
Rights Council
• Urge the Iranian government to carry out transparent and comprehensive
investigations into the killings of peaceful protestors and arbitrary detentions of
thousands of demonstrators and civil society advocates following the disputed June
12 presidential election.
• Call on the Iranian government to investigate, prosecute, and punish government
and security officials as well as Basij members implicated in unlawful killings,
arbitrary arrests and detention, and other serious human rights abuses in connection
with events since the disputed presidential election.
• Call on the Iranian government to release immediately persons who have not been
charged with a recognizable criminal offense, and provide due process protections
for persons charged with recognizable crimes.
• Urge the Iranian government to fulfill its previous invitations to the Office of the High
Commissioner of Human Rights and special rapporteurs to visit Iran.
19 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH I FEBRUARY 2010
