Annual Report by Human Rights Watch; Iran's Situation Worsened in 2024

Human Rights Watch, in its annual report on the status of various countries, announced that the human rights situation in Iran worsened in 2024. This civil organization published its report on Thursday, January 17, examining the human rights situation in Iran across eight axes. The human rights organization emphasized that since the beginning of Masoud Pezeshkian's presidency following the death of Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash, the human rights situation in Iran has not only not improved but has worsened in some areas. According to this report, in 2024, the organized repression of women's rights activists, ethnic and religious minorities, and family members of victims and detainees from anti-government protests has continued, particularly with a significant increase in executions during this period. Human Rights Watch, while reminding that Iran still has one of the highest rates of execution in the world, especially concerning child offenders and those ambiguously accused of actions against national security, has issued a warning. The United Nations reported that over 900 people were executed in Iran in 2024. This report, citing a United Nations statement, stated that more than 400 people were executed in Iran in the first half of 2024 alone. The report mentions the execution of 29 individuals on August 8 in Ghezel Hesar and Karaj prisons. The Human Rights Watch report also refers to the detention of dozens of human rights activists, lawyers, students, and family members of victims of previous anti-government protests over the past year. It also highlights the efforts of university officials to deprive students of their right to freedom of expression, including through suspension or expulsion from university, stating that it has the names and documents of at least 30 expelled students. The report reminds that Masoud Pezeshkian, almost a month after taking office, asked Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, to review the rulings against all professors and students who were suspended or expelled after the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests and to reinstate them to the university. Human Rights Watch simultaneously expressed concern over the ongoing discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities, emphasizing the increasing pressure on Baha'is, noting that two-thirds of imprisoned Baha'is are women. The report also points to structural discrimination against Sunni Muslims and ethnic minorities such as Azerbaijanis, Kurds, Arabs, and Baluchis, criticizing the use of lethal force by government forces against Kurdish porters. The report criticizes the government's efforts to force women and girls to comply with mandatory dress codes, referencing the approval of the so-called 'Hijab and Chastity' law by the Guardian Council in October of this year. The 'Hijab and Chastity' law includes 71 articles that impose penalties such as fines, imprisonment, and mandatory participation in special training courses. This law also allows security and intelligence agencies to intervene in the area of hijab enforcement and increase pressure on women. The report criticizes patriarchal laws regarding divorce, inheritance, child custody, and the prohibition of women traveling without the permission of their husbands or fathers, as well as the increase in femicides and so-called 'honor killings' in Iran. Human Rights Watch emphasizes that many human rights defenders, particularly women, remain imprisoned, and government officials continue to harass, pursue, and detain activists and claimants. The organization has expressed serious concern over the worsening situation in Iran, citing the imprisonment of eleven political and women's rights activists in late April and the prosecution of several journalists. The report criticizes the lack of fair trials in Iranian courts, especially revolutionary courts, and the reliance on forced confessions obtained under duress. It states that depriving detainees of access to lawyers and fair trials, along with the use of torture and mistreatment of detainees, has become an inseparable part of the judicial process in the Islamic Republic. Human Rights Watch also emphasizes that judicial authorities refuse to investigate allegations of misconduct against prisoners and torture, and the prolonged solitary confinement of detainees. The report simultaneously criticizes the ongoing discrimination against sexual minorities and homosexuals, including the continuation of the death penalty for gay men. The report emphasizes that although gender reassignment surgery is legal in Iran and even subsidized, there are no laws to combat discrimination against transgender individuals.