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Iranian influence seeping into Iraq

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Iranian influence seeping into Iraq

 

Iran’s presence is already visible in Iraq, from the droves of pilgrims at Shiite holy sites to the brands of yoghurt and jams on grocery shelves. But now Iraqis are bracing for a potential escalation of Persian influence as the U.S. military leaves at the end of the year.

It’s a natural step, most agree, for the only two Shiite Muslim-led governments in the Sunni-dominated Mideast to expand their relationship. But it’s a fine line for Iraq to walk, with even many in Iraq’s Shiite majority wary of infringement of their country’s sovereignty and afraid of being overrun by the Iranian theocracy.

From politics and weapons to pilgrims and consumer products, Iraqis have for years stood by as Iranian influence seeped in. It’s been galling for many still bitter over the destruction that Iran heaped on their homes during the eight-year war in the 1980s that left a half-million people dead.

“We hated the Iranians. And there are still bad feelings,” said Fouad Karim, a 36-year-old sheep trader in the northeast town of Mandali, about six miles (10 kilometers) from the Iranian border. The town was all but destroyed during the Iraq-Iran war, and travelers entering Mandali are greeted by a monument to a young woman killed by Iranian shelling at her own wedding in 1983.

“The government should not tolerate any Iranian interference, as our anger against them only gets worse when we hear about their deeds,” said Karim, a Shiite.

Top Iranian officials maintain they are only strengthening diplomatic and economic ties with Iraq, as they have sought to do since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein.

American officials, however, have long feared what they describe as Iranian meddling in Iraq ─ and its potential to sow unrest across the Mideast. Those worries were a chief driver of failed efforts to leave at least several thousand American troops in Iraq beyond the Dec. 31 withdrawal deadline.

At least three Shiite militias backed by Iran ramped up attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq this year in a warning not to stay beyond the deadline. U.S. and Iraqi intelligence officials said Iran supplied the militiamen with weapons, training and millions of dollars in funding. Those militias’ strength will no doubt give them influence in Iraq after the withdrawal.

“Iran wants to make Iraq a weak state,” says Maj. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the U.S military spokesman in Iraq. “Iran is feeling increasingly isolated, and one of the ways it can avoid isolation is by co-opting Iraq.”

During a trip last week to Baghdad, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi described the neighborly relationship as “two branches belonging to one tree” and dismissed U.S. accusations of interference. “Iraqis know better than anyone else how to run their country.”

Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says U.S. fears about Iran’s influence are largely “overblown.”

Experts and diplomats note that Iraq has stood up to Iran in a number of ways, including competition in oil production and crackdowns on militias attacking U.S. forces last summer. Iraq also has adhered to many U.S. and international sanctions against Iran.

Still, Knights acknowledges, “the more you think about it, the more examples there are” of Iranian influence. “They’re circumstantial, but that’s how behind-the-scenes influence works.”

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki kept his job last year only after Iran pushed him to a detente with an old nemesis, anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Al-Sadr, who was then studying religion in Iran, provided the political support al-Maliki needed to stay in power.

Since then, al-Maliki has all but ignored Iranian military incursions on Kurdish lands in Iraq’s north. The government has delayed, and in al-Sadr’s case, quashed, arrest warrants on militants backed by Iranian forces and financiers.

Despite al-Maliki’s longtime anger at Syria for serving as a haven for Baathist and al-Qaeda extremists, Iraq now is backing embattled President Bashar Assad, an ally of Tehran. Iraq also has sided with Iran to support Bahrain’s Shiites under assault by the tiny kingdom’s Sunni monarchy.

In Mandali, a mixed Kurdish-Arab city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Baghdad, local officials complain Iran is taking advantage of the poorly marked 906-mile (1,458 kilometers) border to claim Iraqi territory with little to no resistance from Baghdad.

In the southern port city of Basra, a half-hour from the Iranian border and 340 miles (550 kilometers) from Baghdad, Iran is helping supply electricity and cheap goods to Iraqis who would otherwise go without.

Last summer, Iranian First Vice President Mohammed Reza Rahimi led a 170-firm business delegation to Baghdad, a visit Western diplomats in Baghdad saw as an Iranian move to muscle in on its economically stagnant neighbor.

But Sami al-Araji, chairman of the National Investment Commission of Iraq, downplayed the concerns.

“We are open for business and for trade with all those who desire to come into Iraq and to participate,” al-Araji said. “Let the politicians take care of the politics.”

Ghanim Abdul-Amir, a Basra provincial councilman, hopes one aspect of Iran’s role will wane once the Americans leave. He said he has long complained to Iranian officials about weapons being smuggled into Iraq. The Iranians replied that it won’t stop until U.S. troops are gone.

“The Iranians’ answer is that they cannot prevent people from fighting the occupier,” Abdul-Amir said.

Ironically, it was the U.S. who opened Iraq’s door to Iran by ousting Saddam’s Sunni-dominated regime, allowing Shiite parties with historic ties to Tehran to rise to power. Iraq’s Sunnis deeply fear Iranian domination and the potential they will be even further shut out of the political process.

Saudi Arabia has also sought influence in Iraq, in part to counterbalance Iran. Saudi Arabia is believed to have funded Iraqiya, the Sunni-dominated but secular political alliance that won the most seats in Iraq’s national election last year but was unable to form a government.

Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi, Iraq’s highest-ranking Sunni politician, warned last month that “if neighboring countries” see Iraq as weak, “there will be interference … This interference does exist now” ─ though he diplomatically avoided mentioning Iran directly.

In Mandali, Iran has left an indelible fingerprint on the city of 50,000.

“Iran has quit the idea of invading Iraq with its military,” said resident Bassem Mohammed, a 45-year-old Kurd, who lost a leg in the Iran-Iraq war. “Now they are trying to occupy Iraq’s politics.”

 

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Ebrahim Yazdi Offers No Defense to Protest Lack of Jurisdiction in Revolutionary Court

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Ebrahim Yazdi Offers No Defense to Protest Lack of Jurisdiction in Revolutionary Court

 

At his 2 November trial, Ebrahim Yazdi, the former Secretary General of the Iran Freedom Movement, did not offer any defense, choosing to remain silent. Mehdi Nourbakhsh, yazdi’s son-in-law, spoke with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about his trial. “He had a court session at 10 a.m. on 2 November, with Judge Salavati presiding.  But because he found the court unqualified for reviewing his charges, he did not defend himself, saying only, “This court is not qualified to review my charges,’” said Nourbakhsh.

Dr. Ebrahim Yazdi was arrested on 1 October 2010 at a memorial service in a private home in Isfahan on the charge of “participating in an illegal group prayer.” He was transferred to the Intelligence Ministry’s Ward 209 inside Evin Prison.  He was transferred to a “safe” house for several weeks, and then transferred to his house in March 2011 and placed under medical care.

“I do not believe the Revolutionary Court is qualified to review the charges leveled against me. According to Article 197 of the General and Revolutionary Courts Procedures Law, I can maintain silence and refrain from any speech or defense. I do not permit my lawyers to defend me, either.  As neither Sharia procedures, nor explicit laws are observed in this court, whatever decision or opinion announced and issued lacks legal legitimacy,” Yazdi wrote in his defense bill, a copy of was made available to the Campaign.

Yazdi’s charges were “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propagating against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and “establishing and leading the Iran Freedom Movement.”

“He was tried for establishing and leading ‘the illegal Freedom Movement party.’ According to Mr. Yazdi, the trial session lasted two hours and at his request, his lawyers did not offer any defense for him,” said Nourbakhsh.

“His physical condition is good, but he is 80 years old and has several medical problems that require a lot of care. He has prostate cancer and needs regular examinations. If he does not live in a completely clean and hygienic environment, he will contract infections,” he added.

 

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Political prisoners warn against participating in “illegal” elections

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Political prisoners warn against participating in “illegal” elections

 

Radio Zamaneh – Thirty-six Iranian political prisoners have issued a statement calling on “the Green Movement and the reformists” to support the elections only if they are “open and free” and in any other case to refrain from allowing their participation to “legitimize an illegal election process.”

In an announcement issued on Saturday November 5, the prisoners refer to the Iranian Parliament as a “sham” akin to the Egyptian Parliament during the rule of former president Hosni Mubarak.

“For a long time, the blatant interference of the government, and especially that of security and military forces, have turned elections into an elaborately staged show” the political prisoners write. “And the resulting Parliament has become a sham parliament, one that is even unable to defend its own rights and to ascertain the execution of its own legislation.”

The prisoners continue: “Parliament has been humiliated on several occasions by the executive branch, and the president and has remained silent in the face of all attacks against the rights of its representatives.”

The coming parliamentary elections in March have been cause for concern for the Islamic Republic establishment, because allegations of vote fraud in the presidential elections of 2009 led to widespread protests. The protests caused a deep rift in the establishment, and numerous reformists were arrested and sentenced to stiff prison terms. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s chief opponents in the presidential race, MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, have been under house arrest since last February

Most recently, the government announced that three major reformist organizations are banned from official participation in the parliamentary elections.

Reformists are poised to boycott the elections because the government has not met their conditions: free and open elections, allowing open political activity, and releasing political prisoners.

 

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Prisoner Keyvan Samimi in poor physical condition at Rajai Shahr prison

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Prisoner Keyvan Samimi in poor physical condition at Rajai Shahr prison

 

The children of incarcerated journalist Keyvan Samimi have expressed their concern for their father’s health in Rajai Shahr prison while the prison officials have ignored the issue.

Some time ago Keyvan Samimi’s children had announced that per prison physicians, a tumor had been detected in their father’s liver requiring immediate surgery and special care. However to date the prison administrators have not acknowledged this issue.

Per several reports in the past Keyvan Samimi’s family made requests that he be transferred to a hospital for immediate medical care. Keyvan Samimi’s children in a letter to the head of the judiciary asked that a needed medical furlough be granted for their father but they did not receive any response.

Journalist Keyvan Samimi was arrested on June 13, 2009 at his home. On November 29, 2010 he was transferred from Evin prison to Rajai Shahr prison. He has only been out on one short furlough since his incarceration and he has gone on numerous hunger strikes.

Kayvan Samimi is Editor-in-Chief of the banned newspaper Nameh, member of Freedom of the Press Society, member of the Committee to Pursue Arbitrary Arrests and The Right To Education Committee.

The denial of the legal right to receive medical attention has been one of the ongoing serious objections made by human rights activists and the families of political prisoners. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, Mehdi Mahmoudian, Abdollah Momeni are among scores of ailing political prisoners behind bars with no access to their medical needs and barred from medical furlough.

 

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Government crackdown on Iranian activists continues

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Government crackdown on Iranian activists continues

 

The Islamic Republic continues its crackdown on political activists with another arrest in Mashhad and three more in Tabriz.

Jaras reports that reformist activist Ali Razzaghi was summoned to the Revolutionary Court today and arrested.

Razzaghi had been arrested back in the post-election protests of 2009 and released on $100,000 bail. He is charged with “acting against national security, propaganda against the regime, insulting the leader and disturbing the public.”

The interrogator has reportedly told Razzaghi’s wife: “Your husband has not learned his lesson so we will send him back to prison so he will realize what it’s all about.”

Separately, the Human Rights Reporters Committee reported the arrest of three student activists in Tabriz.

Security forces reportedly arrested them at their homes on Thursday and transferred them to an unknown location.

The same report indicates that another student activist, Solmaz Alimoradi, received a confirmed sentence of one and a half years from the appellate court. She is charged with “acting against national security through membership in the Freedom Movement Organization and participating in the Ashura Day protests.”

Member of the Freedom Movement Party of Iran have been targeted for arrest in the crackdown on activists of the past two years.

 

Abdollah Momeni’s Wife: “We Are Prohibited from Visiting Him Because He Wrote the Truth”

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Abdollah Momeni’s Wife: “We Are Prohibited from Visiting Him Because He Wrote the Truth”

 

Fatemeh Adinehvand, wife of prisoner of conscience and student activist Abdollah Momeni, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that her husband is under interrogation in prison and is not in good spirits. “On Monday, 24 October, when I went to visit him in prison, he wasn’t in good spirits but he also didn’t say anything about his interrogation. I don’t know if he was being interrogated before our meeting or after it. But either way he was not in good spirits this week.”

Adinehvand also spoke about her husband’s physical problems. “Currently he is taking medication for his ear, which was torn, due to the beatings during his interrogation, hoping that the adhesion in his eardrum will be removed. But a day before this week’s visit, without telling us so we could at least find him a good doctor, they took him to the hospital for his skin disease and they tested him. I don’t even have the results for those tests. Abdollah said this only at the end of our visit.”

Adinehvand added that Momeni’s problems in prison have increased since he wrote a letter to the Supreme Leader. “Since he wrote that letter last year, they don’t give us any more in person visits. I don’t think the Prosecutor made that decision himself, because he also has children and he knows that children need to see their fathers. After that letter, I went every month to request an in-person visit and I haven’t been granted one; I don’t know how their conscience is content. My children are young and are forbidden from seeing their father, as am I. How I would love to embrace my husband. I don’t know what grudge they hold against Abdollah that no matter what they do, they are not satisfied. They don’t grant us visits, nor phone calls.”

“Because he wrote the truth, we were banned from visitations. Abdollah had written the truth in his letter, saying for example that they put his head in the toilet so that Abdollah would read the confessions they had written for him in his court. I can’t believe that a person could do those things with another human being.”

Momeni’s wife asked the authorities the reasons for heir refusal to grant her in-person visits. “Their answer was that he wrote a letter and that I give interviews. They said, ‘you yourself said in an interview last year that when your husband came home at Iranian New Year’s last year, he would wak up in the middle of the night and say: ‘don’t hit me!’  Well, I only said the truth; I didn’t lie,” said Adinehvand.

“I’ve had a very hard life. My first husband, Mr. Momeni’s brother was missing for thirteen years and I raised my five-month-old child by myself.  But I think these days are the hardest of my life. Either I go to prison and I see Abdollah in the cell there or I return home and I see my children alone. My home is lifeless. My home is dark. These days are very hard days,” continued Adinehvand.

Abdollah Momeni,  former spokesperson for the student alumni group Daftar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat, was arrested after the June 2009 presidential election and sentenced to four years and eleven months in prison. He is currently in Ward 350 of Evin Prison serving his sentence.

 

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Environmentalist Veria Khosravi Arrested

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Environmentalist Veria Khosravi Arrested

 

HRANA News Agency – On Sunday, October 23, 2011, the environmentalist Veria Khosravi was arrested in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Provience. Veria Khosravi is a member of Green Society of Kurdistan.

According to a report by Mukrian News Agency, security agents raided Veria Khosravi’s house and seized several items including a computer. It is not known why this environmentalist has been arrested, and the authorities in the city of Sanandaj have not released any information related to this arrest.

 

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UN Committee Says Iran Fails to Uphold the Majority of Civil and Political Rights

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UN Committee Says Iran Fails to Uphold the Majority of Civil and Political Rights

 

On 4 November 2011, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued its concluding observations regarding Iran’s record of upholding civil and political rights. The Committee, which is comprised of leading human rights experts, raised concerns that Iran fails to meet, what amounts to, the majority of protections mandated by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The Committee’s recommendations effectively require Iran to dramatically change its laws, including its constitution, penal code, election laws and family law. The Committee urged Iran to do away with laws that discriminate against women, to investigate allegations of torture, uphold the rights of trade unionists and to adopt a law to prevent human trafficking. The Committee went so far as to press Iran toestablish an independent commission to monitor elections and do away with long-standing Guardian Council vetting of candidates.

The full concluding observations can be read below.

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Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under article 40 of the Covenant

Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee

Islamic Republic of Iran

1.  The Committee considered the third periodic of the Islamic Republic of Iran (CCPR/C/IRN/3) at its 2834th, 2835th and 2836th meetings (CCPR/C/SR/2834, CCPR/C/SR/2835 and CCPR/C/SR/2836), held on 17 and 18 October 2011. At its 2857th and 2858th meetings (CCPR/C/SR/2853 and CCPR/C/SR/2858), held on 2 November 2011, it adopted the following concluding observations.

A. Introduction

2. The Committee welcomes the third periodic report of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the information presented therein. It expresses appreciation for the opportunity to renew its constructive dialogue with the State party’s delegation on the measures that the State party has taken during the reporting period to implement the provisions of the Covenant. The Committee is grateful to the State party for its written replies (CCPR/C/IRN/Q/3/Add.1) to the list of issues (CCPR/C/IRN/Q/3) which were supplemented by the oral responses provided by the delegation.

3. The Committee notes with regret, however, the 18-year period between the consideration of the second and third periodic reports and hopes that the constructive engagement by the State party with the Committee at its 103rdsession will be continued through effective  implementation of the current recommendations and timely submission of its fourth periodic report.

B. Positive aspects

4. The Committee welcomes:

(a) the signing of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict in September 2010;

(b) the accession to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in October 2009;

(c) the accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in September 2007;

(d) the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in July 1994

C. Principal matters of concern and recommendations

5. The Committee notes with concern that reference is made in the State party’s system to certain religious tenets as primary norms.

The State party should ensure that all the obligations of the Covenant are fully respected and that the provisions of its internal norms are not invoked as justification for its failure to fulfil its obligations under the Covenant.

6. The Committee is concerned that the status of international human rights treaties in domestic law is not specified in the legal system, which hinders the full implementation of the rights contained in the Covenant.

The State party should ensure effective implementation and application of Covenant provisions, irrespective of the place of the Covenant in the domestic legal system.  

7. The Committee is concerned that the State party has not yet established a consolidated national institution with competence in the field of human rights in accordance with the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134)  (art. 2).

The State party should consider establishing a national human rights institution with a broad human rights mandate, and provide it with adequate financial and human resources, in line with the Paris Principles (General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex).

8. Despite the development regarding the education of women, the Committee is concerned about the low number of women in decision-making positions in the public sector. It is also concerned that a number of public positions have never been filled by women, including in the Guardian Council or high positions in the Expediency Council and that women are excluded from certain public positions, such as the post of judge (articles 2, 26).

The State party should take steps to increase the number of women in decision-making and judicial bodies at all levels and in all areas. It should also organize special training programmes for women and regular awareness campaigns in this regard.

9. The Committee is concerned about the continuing inequality of women with regard to marriage, family and inheritance matters (articles 2, 26).

The State party should amend the Civil Code and further amend the draft Family Protection Act, to (a) abolish the requirement of a father’s or paternal grandfather’s approval to legalize a marriage; (b) grant women the equal power to divorce; (c) ensure equal custody rights to the mother, including after a child reaches the age of 7 or if she remarries; (d) accord guardianship over a child to the mother in the case of the father’s death; (e) grant women the same inheritance rights as men; (f) remove the legal obligation for a woman to be obedient to her husband; (g) remove the requirement of a husband’s approval when a woman intends to leave the country; (h) prohibit polygamy; and (i) remove the power of a man to prohibit his wife from entering employment. The State party should also adopt legislation giving Iranian women the right to transmit their nationality to their children.

10. The Committee is concerned that members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community face harassment, persecution, cruel punishment and even the death penalty. It is also concerned that these persons face discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation, including with respect to access to employment, housing, education and health care, as well as social exclusion within the community (articles 2, 26).

The State party should repeal or amend all legislation which provides for or could result in the discrimination, prosecution and punishment of people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. It should ensure that anyone held solely on account of freely and mutually agreed sexual activities or sexual orientation should be released immediately and unconditionally. The State party should also take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to eliminate and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, including with respect to access to employment, housing, education and health care, and to ensure that individuals of different sexual orientation or gender identity are protected from violence and social exclusion within the community. The Committee reaffirms that all of these matters fall entirely within the purview of the rights contained in the Covenant, and therefore within the Committee’s mandate. It urges the State party to include detailed information on the enjoyment of Covenant rights by members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community in its next periodic report.

11. The Committee is concerned about the absence of specific provisions on domestic violence within the Penal Code, as well as the lack of investigation, prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of domestic violence. It is also concerned that a husband is exempted from punishment for voluntary manslaughter in the event that he murders his wife on suspicion of adultery (articles. 2, 26).

The State party should adopt legislation criminalizing domestic violence and take steps to effectively combat domestic violence. It should ensure that victims have immediate access to means of redress and protection, including through the establishment of a sufficient number of safe houses for victims. The State party should ensure that acts of domestic violence are effectively investigated and that perpetrators are prosecuted and sanctioned. The State party should also ensure that a husband is not exempted from punishment for voluntary manslaughter, in the event that he murders his wife on suspicion of adultery.

12. The Committee continues to be deeply concerned about the extremely high, and increasing, number of death sentences pronounced and carried out in the State party, the wide range and often vague definition of offences for which the death penalty is applied, and the large number of capital crimes and execution methods. The Committee is also concerned about the continued use of public executions, as well as stoning, as a method of execution. It also notes with concern the high incidence of state executions in ethnic minority areas (articles 6, 7).

The State party should consider abolishing the death penalty or at least revise the Penal Code to restrict the imposition of the death penalty to only the “most serious crimes”, within the meaning of article 6, paragraph 2, of the Covenant and the Committee’s general comment No. 6 (1982) on the right to life. It should ensure that, whenever it is imposed, the requirements of articles 6 and 14 of the Covenant are fully met. It should also ensure that everyone sentenced to death, after exhaustion of all legal avenues of appeal, has an effective opportunity to exercise the right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence from the relevant authorities. The State party should furthermore prohibit the use of public executions, as well as stoning as a method of execution.

13. The Committee is gravely concerned about the continued execution of minors and the imposition of the death penalty for persons who were found to have committed a crime while under 18 years of age, which is prohibited by article 6, paragraph 5, of the Covenant (art.6).

The State party should immediately end the execution of minors, and further amend the draft juvenile crimes investigation act and the Bill of Islamic Criminal Code with the aim of abolishing the death penalty for persons having committed a crime while under the age of 18. The State party should also commute all existing death sentences for offenders on death row who had committed a crime while under the age of 18.

14. The Committee is deeply concerned about reports of the widespread use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention facilities, particularly of those accused of national security-related crimes or tried in Revolutionary Courts, some of which have resulted in the death of the detainee. The Committee is also concerned that coerced confessions have been used as the primary evidence to obtain convictions in court (art.7).

The State party should ensure that an inquiry is opened in each case of alleged torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment in detention facilities, and that the perpetrators of such acts are prosecuted and punished appropriately. It should ensure that effective reparation, including adequate compensation, is granted to every victim. The State party should also ensure that no one is coerced into testifying against themselves or others or to confess guilt and that no such “confession” is accepted as evidence in court, except against a person accused of torture or other ill-treatment as evidence that the “confession” or other statement was made.

15. The Committee is concerned that there has not been a full, impartial and independent investigation into allegations of killings, torture and other ill-treatment during and following the 12 June 2009 presidential elections, and that responsible high level officials have not been held accountable (articles 6, 7).

The State party should urgently establish a full, impartial and independent investigation into allegations of killings, torture and other ill-treatment during and following the 12 June 2009 presidential elections, and prosecute those officials found responsible.

16. The Committee is concerned about the continued imposition of corporal punishment by judicial and administrative authorities, in particular amputations and flogging for a range of crimes, including theft, enmity against God (mohareb) and certain sexual acts. It is also concerned that corporal punishment of children is lawful in the home, as a sentence of the courts and in alternative care settings (art. 7).

The State party should amend the Penal Code to abolish the imposition of corporal punishment by judicial and administrative authorities. The State party should also explicitly prohibit (all forms of) corporal punishment in childrearing and education, including by repealing the legal defences for its use in article 1179 of the Civil Code, articles 49 and 59 of the Penal Code and article 7 of the Law on the Protection of Children.

17. The Committee is concerned about reports of the use of general and blanket arrest warrants, which do not contain the names of the accused and are not based on a judge’s review of evidence (art. 9).

The State party should ensure that arrest warrants contain the names of the accused and are based on a judge’s review of material evidence. It should also release those persons that have been detained on the basis of general and blanket arrest warrant, in the absence of evidence.

18. The Committee is concerned about the average length of pre-trial detention periods, and the absence in article 33 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of a limit to the amount of time a court can order somebody to remain in detention by law enforcement officers. The Committee is also concerned about reports that individuals are held in incommunicado detention in unacknowledged detention centres (articles 7, 9).

The State party should take all necessary measures to ensure that pre-trial detention is not excessively long in law and in practice, particularly through independent judicial supervision and prompt access to lawyers, in full compliance with article 9 of the Covenant. The State party should also take immediate steps to eliminate incommunicado detention, taking due care to ensure compliance in practice.

19. The Committee is concerned about poor conditions in detention facilities, in particular in Evin Prison, sections 350, 2A, 209 and 240. It is also concerned about the use of solitary confinement, unreasonable limits on family visits, as well as the reported denial of medical treatment to many prisoners in Ward 350/Correctional Facility 3 of Evin Prison (articles 7, 10).

The State party should take immediate steps to establish a system of regular and genuinely independent monitoring of places of detention, and ensure that conditions of detention conform to articles 7 and 10 of the Covenant, as well as to the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners. It should also systematically include human rights training as a standard component of curricula, covering the topics of the prohibition of torture, effective interrogation techniques, conditions of detention and the treatment of detainees, in the training of law enforcement, prison and judicial officials. 

20. The Committee is concerned about the persistent trafficking in women and children, particularly young girls from rural areas, often facilitated by temporary marriages (“siqeh”)(art.8).

The State party should take steps to combat and prevent the trafficking and sale of persons under 18 years of age. The State party is also requested to provide the Committee in its next periodic report with statistics, on an annual basis, on the number of arrests and convictions under the 2004 law to combat trafficking.

21. The Committee is deeply concerned about the frequent violations of fair trial guarantees provided for under the Covenant, especially in the Revolutionary Courts and the Evin Prison Court. It is also concerned about the invocation by judicial officials of the “mahdoor-ol-dam” (deserving of death) definition in their rulings (articles 14, 6).

The State party should ensure that all legal proceedings are conducted in full accordance with article 14 of the Covenant, including guaranteeing (a) the right to legal assistance of one’s own choosing, including for pre-trial detainees; (b) the right to be informed promptly of the nature and cause of the criminal charges; (c) the intervention and presence of lawyers in all cases, including during the investigation stage; (d) the presumption of innocence; (e) the right to a public hearing; and (f) the right to appeal a ruling. The State party should remove the “mahdoor-ol-dam” (deserving of death) definition, applied to victims, so as to ensure that perpetrators are prosecuted and brought to justice for their crimes. The Committee reminds the State party of its General Comment No. 32 (2007) on the right to equality before courts and tribunals and to a fair trial.

22. The Committee is concerned that the independence of the judiciary is not fully guaranteed and is compromised by undue pressure from the Executive power, including the Office for Supervision and Evaluation of Judges, as well as senior clerics and high-ranking Government officials ahead of trials. The Committee is also concerned that judges have used Shari’a law and fatwas to reach a verdict that was in contravention to the rights and principles as laid down in the Covenant (art.14).

The State party should take immediate steps to ensure and protect the full independence and impartiality of the judiciary, and guarantee that its functioning is free from pressure and interference from the executive power and clergy. The State party should also ensure that judges, in interpreting legislation as well as in relying on religious principles, do not reach verdicts that are in contravention to the rights and principles as laid down in the Covenant.

23. The Committee is concerned about discrimination against members of the Christian minority, including arrests based on charges of proselytizing as well as a ban on conducting Christian services in the Farsi language. The Committee also notes with concern that individuals who have converted from Islam have been arrested, and that article 225 of the draft Penal Code aims at making the death penalty mandatory for convicted male apostates (art.18).

The State party should take steps to ensure full respect for the right to freedom of religion or belief, including ensuring that legislation and practices fully conform to article 18 of the Covenant. This also entails that the right of everyone to change his or her religion, if he or she so chooses, is unconditionally and fully guaranteed. The Committee also urges the State party to revoke article 225 of the draft Penal Code. The Committee recalls its general comment No. 22 (1993) on the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

24. The Committee is concerned that members of the Baha’i community continue to be denied their right to freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief. It is also concerned that members of the Baha’i community continue to be subjected to a range of violations of their rights, including arbitrary detention, false imprisonment, confiscation and destruction of property, denial of employment and Government benefits and denial of access to higher education (articles 18, 19, 20, 27).

The State party should ensure full respect for the freedom of everyone, including members of the Baha’i community, to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his or her choice, and the freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest this religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching. The State party should take immediate steps to ensure that members of the Baha’i community are protected against discrimination in every field, that violations of their rights are immediately investigated, that those found responsible are prosecuted and that they are provided with effective remedies.

25. The Committee is concerned that Sunni Muslims continue to face discrimination in law and in practice, and are prevented from fully exercising their right to freedom to manifest their religion (articles 18, 19).

The State party should guarantee the freedom to manifest a religion or belief and that it can be exercised either individually or in community with others and in public or private. The Committee reminds the State party that this right also entails the building of places of worship.

26. The Committee is concerned that the right to freedom of assembly and association is severely limited, and notes that the holding of public gatherings and marches as well as the establishment of associations are conditional upon compliance with “principles of Islam”, which are not defined under national legislation. The Committee is also concerned about continuing reports of harassment or intimidation, prohibition and forceful breaking up of demonstrations, and arrests and arbitrary detentions of human rights defenders. It notes with concern that human rights defenders and defence lawyers often serve prison sentences based on vaguely formulated crimes such as “mohareb” (enemy of God) or the spreading of propaganda against the establishment. The Committee also notes in particular the high number of women’s rights activists who have been arrested and detained, including volunteers and members of the One Million Signatures Campaign (articles 19, 21, 22).

The State party should ensure that the right to freedom of assembly and association is guaranteed to all individuals without discrimination and release immediately and unconditionally anyone held solely for the peaceful exercise of this right, including students, teachers, human rights defenders (including women’s rights activists), lawyers and trade unionists. The State party should also ensure the prompt, effective and impartial investigation of threats, harassment, and assault on members of these groups, and, when appropriate, prosecute perpetrators of such acts. The State party should also withdraw its draft Bill on the Establishment and Supervision of Non-Governmental Organisations, which would establish a Supreme Committee Supervising Non-Governmental Organisations’ Activities, chaired by the Interior Ministry, including representatives from the Intelligence Ministry, the police, the Basij and the Revolutionary Guards Corps.

27. The Committee is concerned that many newspapers, magazines, as well as the Journalists Association, have been closed by the authorities since 2008, and that many journalists, newspaper editors, film-makers and media workers have been arrested and detained since the 2009 presidential elections. The Committee is also concerned about the monitoring of Internet use and contents, blocking of websites that carry political news and analysis, slowing down internet speeds and jamming of foreign satellite broadcasts, in particular since the 2009 presidential elections (art.19).

The State party should fully guarantee the right to freedom of expression and opinion of independent media, and ensure that journalists can exercise their profession without fear of being brought before courts. The State party should release, rehabilitate and provide effective judicial redress and compensation for journalists that were imprisoned in contravention of articles 9 and 19 of the Covenant. The State party should also ensure that the monitoring of Internet use does not violate the rights to freedom of expression and privacy as defined in the Covenant. The Committee reminds the State party of its General Comment No.34 (2011) on article 19.

28. The Committee is concerned that the minimum age for marriage is too low and that it differentiates on the basis of sex. It is also concerned about the practice of forced, early and temporary marriages of young girls (articles 23, 24).

The State party should eliminate discrimination on the basis of sex in the minimum age of marriage. It should also ensure that the minimum age complies with international standards and should adopt active measures preventing forced, early and temporary marriage of girls.

29. The Committee is concerned about the requirements for registration in election campaigns (in particular article 28, sections 1 and 3, of the Majlis Elections Act), and the right of the Guardian Council to reject parliamentary candidates (as per article 3 of the Amendment to the Majlis Elections Act). The Committee notes with concern that with regard to the 10th presidential election in 2009: (1) only four candidates were approved out of more than 450 prospective candidates; (2) international observers were not allowed entry to monitor the election results; (3) cell phone signals and access to social networking and opposition websites were blocked; (4) political activists, members of the country’s religious and ethnic minority communities, students, trade unionists and women’s rights activists were harassed and arbitrarily detained; (5) election results were approved by Ayatollah Khamenei before certification by the Guardian Council; and (6) two provinces showed a turnout of more than 100 per cent. The Committee also notes with concern the arrest of dozens of political opposition members in February 2011 as well as the dissolving by court order of two pro-reform political parties (art.25).

The State party should introduce legislative amendments to ensure that articles 3 and 28, sections 1 and 3, of the Majlis Elections Act are in conformity with the rights guaranteed in article 25 of the Covenant. It should also take adequate steps to guarantee that elections are conducted in a free and transparent manner, in full conformity with the Covenant, including through the establishment of an independent electoral monitoring commission.

30. The Committee is concerned about the restrictions and conditions placed on the enjoyment of cultural, linguistic and religious freedoms of minorities in the State party, such as the Kurds, Arabs, Azeris and Baluch, including the use of minority languages in schools, and publication of journals and newspapers in minority languages (art.27).

The State party should ensure that all members of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities enjoy effective protection against discrimination and are able to enjoy their own culture and use their own language in media and schools, participate in public affairs and are provided with effective remedies against discrimination.

31. The State party should widely disseminate the Covenant, the text of the third periodic report, the written responses it has provided in response to the list of issues drawn up by the Committee, and the present concluding observations so as to increase awareness among the judicial, legislative and administrativeauthorities, civil society and non-governmental organizations operating in the country, as well as the general public. The Committee also suggests that the report and the concluding observations be translated into the official language of the State party. The Committee also requests the State party, when preparing its fourth periodic report, to broadly consult with civil society and non-governmental organizations.

32. In accordance with rule 71, paragraph 5, of the Committee’s rules of procedure, the State party should provide, within one year, relevant information on its implementation of the Committee’s recommendations made in paragraphs 9, 12, 13 and 22 above.

33. The Committee requests the State party, in its next periodic report, due to be submitted on 2 November 2014, to provide, specific, up-to-date information on all its recommendations and on the Covenant as a whole.

 

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Tensions between Israel and Iran reach new heights

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Tensions between Israel and Iran reach new heights

 

Vague threats, combined with Israeli army drills, may suggest that Israel is preparing for a strike on Iran. Some experts think it might be just be a show of tit-for-tat posturing, others believe a war is possible.

Tensions between Israel and Iran are rising again against the backdrop of rumors of a possible Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Even though those threats are not entirely new, the most recent posturing sounds more substantial than ever. Besides vague threats from the Israeli government, there are number of events which have made people wonder whether such a scenario could actually happen.

The first was the recent Israeli test of a long-range ballistic missile, while the Israeli air force also held a joint drill with its Italian counterparts over the island of Sardinia. The military exercise included refuelling air jets at high altitude.

The third event was another drill, this one to test the readiness of the Israeli public and rescue forces. It took place in Holon, a southern suburb of Tel Aviv, and simulated a situation of missiles being shot into urban areas. On top of that, the option of a military strike against Iran’s nuclear installations has become a hot topic in the Israeli media.

Not a coincidence

“It is very important to mention all the drills and the exercises were planned for months, they are not something you can pull out in a day’s notion,” Anshil Papper, a journalist with Haaretz newspaper, told Deutsche Welle. “On the other hand, the fact those three events happend in such a short period of time, might suggest it is not a coincidence. Especially if you consider Israel is trying to get all its anti-missile systems operative.”

In recent years, there has been considerable tension between the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and the government. The army’s top generals have consistantly opposed an attack on Iran. There are rumors that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak wanted to get rid of the former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenasi because he was against a military operation in Iran.

“Many people in the IDF oppose such an attack. Nevertheless, the IDF is not making decisions. The job of the army is simply to provide the optimal solutions for the decisions the government takes,” Papper said. “But then again Israel used those threats a couple of times in the past to force more sanctions against Iran. It might be the case again.”

Mutual retaliation

That’s an opinion shared by Dr. Yariv Ben Eliezer, a media researcher from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. “There is a mutual balance of fear. When Iran is making threats, Israel knows they have made progress with their nuclear plans. And in retaliation, Israel is threatening too,” he told Deutsche Welle.

Ben Eliezer describes the media as a key battleground for communication. “Israel and Iran are not communicating with each other, the heads of the state don’t talk over the phone or send e-mails. The way to deliver messages is through the media, it is clear the Iranian leadership is following the Israeli media and vice versa. But I don’t know what is going inside Netanyahu’s head, whether he really wants to attack or not.”

That uncertainty regarding Israel’s intentions is a key problem says Dr. Hani Zubeida, a political scientist from the Yezreel Valley College. “It is like in the movie ‘Wag the dog’ – the government is using the nuclear Iran issue to divert public opinion from social problems, but no one can guess how far will they go with those threats,” he told Deutsche Welle.

Unstoppable prime minister

According to Zubeida, even though the war is just a trick to manipulate the public, it could develop into a disturbing scenario. “Right now Netanyahu is very popular, because of the Shalit exchange deal. The coalition is very stable, since there is no real opposition in parliament. He feels invincible, he feels no one in Israel can stop him from doing whatever he wants.”

“Meir Dagan, the former head of the Mossad, made it clear publically that a war with Iran would be a mistake. How come Netanyahu is not accepting his opinion? When Dagan retired, Netanyahu gave him a lot of compliments for his professional work, so why are they against each other now? That shows Netanyahu must have another reason for a war than the security reasons.”

Zubeida thinks the reason why the threat of a military option against Iran has popped up again now is linked to domestic Israeli political issues. “After Netanyahu secured the return of Gilad Shalit, he needed a new agenda, so people would not go and talk about the social demonstrations again. During the summer hundreds of thousands of citizens said there is a problem with the economy, and blamed Netanyahu. The government doesn’t want that again.”

That theory, admitted Zubeida, makes him worry. “I really hope they know what they do, because our lives are at stake here. A war could lead to devastating results, which will be very difficult to recover from. This is not a war with Hezbollah, we could suffer from the outcome for many years. It is a very dangerous matter.”

Author: Adi Halfon

 

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Political activist arrested over public statement

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Political activist arrested over public statement

 

Iranian political activist Mohammad Tavassoli has been arrested and charged with allegedly forging signatures on a public statement.

The Fars News Agency reported today: “So far 30 people whose names and signatures were under this statement have denied it.” Fars claims Tavassoli, a member of the reformist Freedom Movement party, has been arrested for forging the signatures of prominent political figures on the public statement that criticizes election policies.

Last month, 143 of Iran’s prominent reformist political figures issued a statement addressed to former president Mohammad Khatami, saying: “There are no positive prospects that the people’s votes will be protected and that the elections will be open, healthy and fair” in Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections.

The letter has called into question the “unrelenting dominance and influence of military and security forces in all executive, judicial and legislative bodies, which has led to the people’s complete disappointment in making any change or improvement in their lives by participating in the elections.”

The letter was signed by Mohammad Tavasoli, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Abolfazl Bazargan, Alo Shakourirad, Azam Taleghani, Fakhrosadat Mohtashamipoor and Ebrahim Yazdi among many other prominent reform figures.

The letter reminds Khatami that the establishment has failed to heed his recommendations for the coming elections.

Khatami has called for the release of Iranian opposition leaders MirHosein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi and their wives as well as the release of all political prisoners, the freedom to participate in political and media activities, and open and healthy elections in order to secure reformist participation in the coming election.

Many reformists have expressed disappointment in the government’s reaction to Khatami’s conditions and have called for a complete boycott of the parliamentary election in March.

 

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