Annual Report by Freedom House on the Status of Freedom in Iran

An overview and details from the annual report by Freedom House regarding the status of freedom in Iran have been translated by Jalil Roshandel, a professor of political science and international security at North Carolina State University, and provided to Radio Farda for dissemination and reflection of the organization's research. General Overview - Every year, Freedom House publishes an annual report on the status of freedom in countries around the world. This year's report indicates that 25% of the world's countries are not free, and 30% have relative freedom. Only 45% of the world's countries are considered free. When examining these data demographically, we arrive at different results. Based on population figures, only 39% of the world's population is free, and 24% enjoys relative freedom. The result is that 37% of the world's population is not free. In fact, the non-free population of the world is only 2% less than the free population. Freedom House's examination shows that in 2017, democracy was harmed globally, and the world faced a democracy crisis. The structures of freedom—including the enjoyment and guarantee of electoral freedom, minority rights, freedom of the press and media, and the rule of law—suffered serious damage. Seventy-one countries witnessed a decline in political and civil liberties; only 35 countries had positive achievements. This is the twelfth consecutive year that freedom has faced peril and decline globally. Last year, the United States retreated from its traditional role as a champion and symbol of democracy, which is seen as a kind of decline in individual rights and political freedoms in America. Over a 12-year period starting in 2006, 113 countries experienced a decrease in freedoms; only 62 countries saw an increase. Iran, in both respects, falls into the category of non-free countries. What follows is an interpretation of the special report on the status of freedom in Iran. A look at the complete country reports shows that trends in many countries that were previously free or had desirable degrees of freedom have moved towards unfreedom. Among these, Turkey is another country that has been added to the group of non-free countries. Overview of the Situation in Iran: Elections are regularly held in Iran but lack democratic standards because the Guardian Council, which is itself a non-democratic body, disqualifies all candidates who are not sufficiently loyal to the clerical establishment. Ultimate power rests with the country's religious leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and the institutions under his supervision, which have not been elected by the people. The institutions under the leadership include security and judicial forces that play a major role in suppressing and imposing restrictions on dissenters. Key Developments in 2017 • In 2017, Hassan Rouhani, who considers himself a moderate, was elected for another four-year term in the presidential election. • In August, the Islamic Consultative Assembly approved an amendment to the anti-drug trafficking law, which significantly reduced the number of executions for drug-related crimes. In October, this amendment was approved by the Guardian Council. • Every year, Iran executes several hundred people, including minors who were not of legal age at the time of the crime. • In the last month of 2017, the police announced that they would no longer arrest anyone (usually women) for violations of hijab, but they would be directed to mandatory training sessions; however, if they repeat the offense, they would be arrested. This decision apparently is limited to the capital. • At the end of the year, a wave of protests due to dissatisfaction with economic conditions spread to several cities and towns, with many people calling for the end of the Islamic Republic system. As a result of these protests, a number of people were killed, and hundreds were arrested. To suppress the protests, officials restricted access to social media. (Note that the date of the Freedom House report is the end of 2017, and therefore there are no accurate statistics on the number of detainees, missing persons, fatalities, or those whom security forces claim committed suicide in prison.) The past year - In May, Hassan Rouhani was re-elected as president with 57% of the votes. His rival, Ebrahim Raisi, received 38% of the votes. However, throughout the year, Rouhani was unable to effectively challenge the regime's repressive elements or achieve more freedom than in the 2013 elections. The appointment of Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi as Minister of Communications and Information Technology in Rouhani's cabinet was highly controversial. According to Freedom House, he, as a former intelligence official, has developed Iran's surveillance infrastructure and is also accused of having participated in the interrogation of opponents in the past. According to Freedom House, during Rouhani's tenure, the number of imprisoned journalists has slightly decreased, but restrictions on freedom of expression have not diminished. For example, throughout the year, the arrest and suppression of managers of reformist channels on the messaging app Telegram continued, and in response to the protests that swept many cities, officials restricted access to Telegram and Instagram, which are popular platforms in Iran. The end-of-year protests led to violent clashes with security forces, resulting in several deaths and widespread arrests. Rouhani urged protesters to avoid violence and called for addressing their legitimate grievances. In contrast, hardliners and security officials accused foreign powers of inciting unrest and threatened demonstrators with severe punishments. Throughout 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the international agreement on Iran's nuclear program. This agreement, endorsed by Rouhani's government, led to increased foreign investments in Iran, the lifting of many sanctions related to Iran's nuclear activities, and an improvement in the country's economy. Rouhani's hardline opponents criticized this agreement and considered any opening and improvement in relations with the West as a means of 'enemy infiltration' within. It is believed that the arrest and trial of foreigners, including American citizens in Iran on espionage charges, is an effort by security forces to avoid any opening of relations and rapprochement with the outside. Terrorism was one of the concerns throughout the year. In June, 18 people were killed in two terrorist attacks on the Islamic Consultative Assembly and the mausoleum of the founder of the Islamic Republic. The group known as the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks. Reformist leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and his wife Zahra Rahnavard, as well as Mehdi Karroubi, were kept under house arrest throughout 2017 without facing any charges or formal trial. According to their relatives, these three have been deprived of medical services in some cases. Iran under the scrutiny of Freedom House - To assess the status of freedom, Freedom House considers seven indicators and scores countries based on their performance against accepted international standards. In the next section, these indicators (numbers 1 to 7) and their subcategories are alphabetically categorized, each scoring between zero and four. Due to the length of the article, providing detailed findings is not feasible, and only the indicators and their subcategories with brief explanations are presented so that readers can become familiar with how Freedom House calculates scores. The total score for Iran reaches 18 out of 100. In this calculation, the closer the number is to zero, the lower the level of freedom, and the number 100 indicates the highest level of freedom. Summary of the results of the indicators and scores for Iran: • Civil liberties index: Political rights (total score 7 out of 40) a - Electoral process: (3 out of 12) a - 1 - Are the current head of state or other major government officials elected through free and fair elections? (1 out of 4) The leadership is lifelong and has unlimited powers. The leader is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces; he appoints the head of the judiciary, the head of state media, and the head of the Expediency Council; six members of the Guardian Council are appointed by him; six legal members of this council are appointed by the head of the judiciary (appointed by the leader) and serve for six years with the approval of the parliament. The leader is theoretically appointed by the Assembly of Experts, and his performance is monitored by that assembly, but in practice, his decisions are final and unchallenged. The president is the second person in the hierarchy of power, but his cabinet must be approved by the Islamic Consultative Assembly. In May 2017, out of 1,600 candidates, only six men were allowed to compete in the elections, and all 137 women who registered were disqualified by the Guardian Council. Ebrahim Raisi was Rouhani's only main rival. The role of Younesi in the mass executions of political opponents in the 1980s was one of the reasons for this lack of acceptance. During the elections, media suppression and the arrest of journalists and managers of Telegram channels were widespread. Almost 70% of eligible voters participated in the elections, and Rouhani received 57% of the votes. Other subcategories of this indicator: a - 2 - Are legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections? (1 out of 4) a - 3 - Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implemented impartially by the relevant organizations? (1 out of 4) 2 - Political pluralism and participation (total score: 2 out of 16) a - 1 - Do people have the right to form various political parties or groups, and does the system support and protect them by removing unexpected obstacles? (0 out of 4) Only political parties and factions loyal to the state ideology are allowed to operate; reformists, especially after 2009, have been under pressure and repression. b - 2 - Is it possible for the opposition to act to increase support or gain power through elections? (1 out of 4) b - 3 - Is the political choice of the people under the control of the military, foreign powers, religious hierarchies, unaccountable economic oligarchies, or other powerful groups? (0 out of 4) The choices of voters and politicians are severely limited by the influence of unelected institutions and organizations affiliated with the clergy that serve as overseers, and the results of elections can easily be annulled by them. b - 4 - Do various segments of the population (ethnic, religious, gender groups) enjoy full political rights and electoral opportunities? (1 out of 4) 3 - Government performance (total score 2 out of 12) p - 1 - Are government policies determined freely by the president and national assembly representatives? (1 out of 4) p - 2 - Is the fight against systemic corruption strong and effective? (0 out of 4) Corruption exists at all levels of the bureaucracy. Powerful economic actors like the Revolutionary Guards and foundations are not subject to oversight and control. Restrictions on media and civil society activists hinder their role in monitoring and exposing corruption. p - 3 - Does the government operate transparently? (1 out of 4) The political transparency law in Iran operates very limitedly, and powerful elements in the government are not held accountable. 4 - Civil liberties: (total score 11 out of 60 (1+)) t - Freedom of expression and belief: (3 out of 16) (1+) t - 1 - Are there free and independent media? (1 out of 4) (+1) Newspapers and publications face censorship, and officials usually prevent the dissemination of information through filtering topics and websites. Officials raid homes and confiscate satellite dishes; families of Iranian journalists collaborating with foreign news agencies are threatened. In summer 2017, the BBC reported that Iran's judiciary had blocked the assets of Iranian staff of the BBC Persian service and declared them 'prohibited from conducting transactions.' (Since under Rouhani's presidency, a few journalists were released from prison, this score increased from zero to 1). t - 2 - Are individuals free to openly and publicly act according to their religious beliefs? (0 out of 4) Iran is home to the majority of Shia Muslims, with a minority of Sunnis, Jews, Baha'is, Christians, and Zoroastrians. However, the constitution does not recognize the Baha'i minority. The regime severely opposes Baha'is and groups of Muslims. The construction of mosques by Sunnis in major cities is prohibited, pressure on Sufis and Baha'is has increased, and in addition to them, Sufis and Muslims who differ from the state religion are suppressed. For example, Mohammad Ali Taheri, who has been in prison since 2011 and has been sentenced to death for corruption on earth, is still in prison despite the Supreme Court's contrary ruling. t - 3 - Is there academic freedom, and is the educational system free from ideological indoctrination? (1 out of 4) Academic freedom is very limited, and Rouhani's efforts to reduce pressure on universities have been fruitless. Baha'i students are prevented from continuing their education at universities, and foreign students in Iran are highly vulnerable. Shiyue Wang, an American citizen and PhD student in history who was conducting research in Iran, was sentenced to ten years in prison on espionage charges according to judicial authorities. t - 4 - Are individuals free to express their personal opinions on political issues and other sensitive topics without fear of surveillance and punishment? (1 out of 4) Restrictions are vague. Heavy penalties are imposed on critical online and internet communications. Fear of punishment limits freedom of expression, although individuals express their dissatisfaction and opposition at the risk of punishment. 5 - The right and freedom of assembly and the right to organize: (total score 1 out of 12) th - 1 - Is there freedom of assembly? (0 out of 4) The law regarding assembly...