Amnesty International: Torture, Executions, and Severe Restrictions Continue in Iran

Amnesty International states in its annual report that Iran continues to severely restrict freedoms, imprison activists, torture, and engage in inhumane treatment, including amputations and public flogging, as well as executions, including of minors. The report emphasizes that the human rights situation in the world has deteriorated in 2015. Amnesty International refers to the UN report from November regarding the human rights situation in Iran and the proposed reforms that Iran has not accepted, such as stopping the execution of individuals under 18 or ratifying the UN Convention Against Torture. Ahmad Shahid, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, criticized the increasing number of executions, ongoing restrictions on freedom of expression, and pressure on religious minorities and ethnic groups, as well as discrimination against women in a report to the UN General Assembly on November 5. Recently, UN member states have made 291 reform proposals to Iran, of which Iran accepted 130 according to Ahmad Shahid's report. According to Amnesty International, Iranian authorities continue to impose severe restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly, filter social media, confiscate or shut down publications, and arrest and imprison journalists and bloggers. The organization criticized the filtering in Iran and noted instances of arrests for online activities. Many prisoners of conscience are imprisoned solely for peacefully expressing their human rights: journalists, artists, writers, lawyers, minority rights activists, women's rights advocates, and others. Amnesty International also mentioned Mir Hossein Mousavi, Zahra Rahnavard, and Mehdi Karroubi, stating that they remain under house arrest without trial or conviction; 'Many prisoners of conscience are imprisoned solely for peacefully expressing their human rights: journalists, artists, writers, lawyers, minority rights activists, women's rights advocates, and others.' The organization also referred to instances of arrests, such as the detention of teachers' rights activists last summer. Amnesty International states that a newly introduced law in Iran, including for the electronic registration of detainees, provides some protections, but it still does not impact the process of torture and does not align Iranian laws with international laws. This law does not grant detainees the right to access a lawyer from the very first moment. Despite the fact that confessions obtained under torture have no legal validity, details regarding this have not been addressed, and torture has not been elaborated as a crime. The human rights organization criticized the authorities' refusal to provide medical and pharmaceutical assistance to prisoners or to reject doctors' requests to treat prisoners outside of prison. In another part of Amnesty International's report on Iran, it referred to sentences of amputations, blinding, or carrying out retribution in public: the amputation of two men's fingers in Mashhad or blinding one eye of another person in Karaj. Flogging is another issue that Amnesty International addressed as inhumane treatment in the laws of the Islamic Republic, stating that in recent Ramadan days '500 people were arrested in Shiraz, 480 of whom were tried and convicted within 24 hours for eating during fasting. The majority of their sentences were flogging, with some cases executed in public.' Amnesty International, like many other non-governmental human rights organizations, considers executions in Iran to be 'widespread' and has noted instances of this punishment being carried out on minors. According to this organization, many death sentences have been issued through an unfair process; 'Most death sentences relate to drug offenses. Some others have been executed for murder, and some for the charge of moharebeh (waging war against God).' The organization states that the shadow of execution looms over a group of juvenile prisoners and confirms the execution of at least three of them last year: Fatemeh Salabih, Samad Zahabi, and Javad Saberi. According to Amnesty International, an Afghan minor named Wazir Amraldin was also executed in June or July. 'Discrimination against women, ethnic groups, minorities' The neglect of women's rights, ethnic minorities, unfair trials, and the imposition of restrictions on various religious and ideological groups are other issues that Amnesty International has mentioned in its annual report. The organization referred to instances of discrimination against Baha'is, dervishes, Sunni Muslims, newly converted Christians, ethnic and tribal groups in Iran, and women. Women remain vulnerable to sexual violence, such as early and forced marriages, and the law still cannot ensure their safety against rape and domestic violence. Amnesty International states that some newly passed laws in Iran, such as those aimed at increasing the population, lead to further restrictions and discrimination against women. According to this organization, women remain vulnerable to sexual violence, such as early and forced marriages, and the law still cannot ensure their safety against rape and domestic violence. The organization states that even in cases such as women's attendance at stadiums to watch volleyball matches, despite internal and external pressures, official authorities succumbed to the demands of groups like Ansar Hezbollah, and ultimately girls were not allowed into the stadiums. The human rights organization states that the human rights situation in the world has deteriorated in the shadow of the emergence and empowerment of groups like ISIS and Boko Haram. The organization states that what was rare in 2015 is our concern that many countries that support human rights are now at risk and under threat. According to this organization, at least 113 countries arbitrarily and legally restrict freedom of expression and media freedom. More than 60 million people have been displaced. Torture is practiced in at least 122 countries. War crimes have occurred in at least 19 countries, and militia groups have violated human rights in 36 countries worldwide.