Concern over executions and crackdown on dissent in Iran

Iran’s human rights record has deteriorated over the past year with a rise in the number of public executions coupled with ever…

Iran’s human rights record has deteriorated over the past year with a rise in the number of public executions coupled with ever-shrinking space for political dissent, a UN special investigator has said during a visit to Dublin.

Last month Ahmed Shaheed, who was appointed UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran in 2011, published his most recent report. It claimed that the Islamic republic had failed to investigate “widespread, systemic and systematic violations” of human rights.

The report also raised concerns about Iran’s high rate of executions and stated that Iranian authorities should stop imposing the death penalty on juveniles, a practice banned under international law.

“Because of the very high number of people being executed, the number of public executions, and the very poor trials that precede them, this issue is my number-one concern,” Shaheed told The Irish Times.

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“I have counted almost 500 executions over the past 12 months. In 2011, it was some 600. If you look at the past six or seven years, there has been a rise [each year] except for this year. Even with [this year’s] decrease, it is still an exceptionally high figure, coupled with the fact that 80 per cent of executions are for drug offences, which under international law do not warrant the death penalty.”

Shaheed said his office had recorded 57 public executions over the past year in Iran. Most took place at dawn in front of crowds. He said the practice constituted a “serious violation” of human rights norms.

“I am hoping that countries will move towards the abolition of the death penalty but even where they are implementing it, they should at least meet basic safeguards.”

Shaheed, a former foreign minister of the Maldives, has not been permitted to visit Iran since he took up the UN post. His latest report was based on 169 interviews conducted electronically with people in Iran and in person with those who had recently left. “I believe I have a bigger reach by allowing people to speak to me confidentially rather than going into the country and meeting them out in the open.”

Political prisoners

Shaheed is concerned the situation in Iran could worsen ahead of presidential elections scheduled for June.

Opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who are currently detained, are among hundreds of dissidents arrested during protests over the disputed re-election of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2009. Last month Shaheed called for the immediate release of Mousavi, Karroubi and the other political prisoners.

According to Shaheed, dozens of journalists, bloggers and activists have been arrested in recent months. Lawyers representing such figures had been targeted, including Abdolfatah Soltani who was arrested in 2011 and is now serving a 13-year sentence.

In a high-profile case, blogger Sattar Beheshti was arrested last October after receiving death threats and died shortly afterwards in prison.

Decline in rights

“I have been observing Iran for two years now and I have seen in that time a sharp decline in the space for political dissent and opposition and political rights,” Shaheed said.

“If you look at statements being made by senior functionaries in the government, there are always references to what happened [in 2009] and the need to prevent that from happening again.”

Tehran has dismissed the UN’s recent report. A series of Iranian officials have described Shaheed’s work as unsubstantiated and biased.

“I am the fourth rapporteur on Iran and I have seen how they have dealt with previous rapporteurs – there is a similar pattern,” Shaheed said.

“They first go through a phase of denying the legality of the mandate, saying the mandate is politicised and Iran is being unfairly singled out. Then they attack the mandate holder as not being neutral or competent, and then they go through a third phase in which they try to block the mandate altogether.”

Shaheed will raise Iran’s human rights record in meetings with officials and NGOs during his visit to Ireland. He said he hoped Ireland, which took up a seat on the UN Human Rights Council this year, would take a “very active stance” on the council regarding the reports on Iran. “I am urging all countries to talk to Iran and highlight their concerns.”