42 Human Rights Organizations Request Extension of UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran

In a statement, 42 human rights organizations referred to what they called "systematic human rights violations in Iran" and urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran. These organizations emphasized that "serious, chronic, and systematic violations of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights" in Iran have become "more severe compared to last year." The UN Human Rights Council had extended the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran on March 23, but due to the death of Asma Jahangir, the council introduced Javid Rahman as the new rapporteur on July 6. Asma Jahangir had begun her work in November 2016, succeeding Ahmed Shaheed, a Maldivian diplomat and human rights activist who held the position for five years starting in 2011. The human rights groups stated that in 2018, at least five individuals died in Iranian government prisons, and Iranian officials have not conducted any transparent investigations regarding these deaths. Vahid Sayadi Nasiri, Kavous Seyed Emami, Sina Ghanbari, Vahid Heydari, Shahab Abtahi Zadeh, and Taleb Basati are among the prisoners who died in Iranian prisons last year. Javid Rahman, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, accused the Islamic Republic on March 12 of intensifying the repression of human rights activists, lawyers, and union activists. Meanwhile, these 42 human rights organizations pointed to the suppression of protesters in the protests of December last year and this year's economic protests, stating that "government repression, especially against marginalized communities and ethnic minorities, has intensified." The statement noted that in 2018, at least 63 environmental activists were arrested, including eight environmental activists who may face long-term imprisonment and death sentences in "unfair judicial processes." After a year, Sam Rajabi, Amir Hossein Khalighi, Hooman Jokar, Sepideh Kashani, Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghaderian, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, and Morad Tahbaz are still in "temporary detention" by the IRGC Intelligence Organization. Four of these environmental activists are facing charges of "corruption on earth," which can lead to the death penalty in some cases. These human rights organizations emphasized that the Islamic Republic continues to enact laws and policies that contradict the rights of women, children's rights, the rights of national and ethnic minorities, the rights of official and unofficial religious minorities, the rights of LGBTQ individuals, bisexuals, transgender individuals, and intersex individuals. Amnesty International, the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, the Center for Human Rights Supporters, the International Child Rights Network, all against the death penalty, the Iranian Human Rights Activists Collective, Human Rights Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights, the International Lesbian and Gay Association, the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, Justice for Iran, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, the Siamak Pourzand Foundation, and the Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network are among the organizations that signed this statement. The statement also emphasized that the appointment of Ebrahim Raisi as head of the judiciary highlights that "impunity for criminals in the Iranian judiciary remains prevalent." Ebrahim Raisi, appointed by the Supreme Leader as head of the judiciary on March 7, is subject to EU human rights sanctions and was a member of a four-person committee that decided on the execution of political prisoners in 1988. Over 100 political and civil activists have described Raisi's appointment as "salting the wounds of the survivors of the 1988 massacre," "rewarding criminals," and "another clear example of the Supreme Leader's disregard and obstinacy" towards domestic and international public opinion.