Human Rights Defenders Center: Iranians Must Continue to Strive for 'Justice House'

The Human Rights Defenders Center, in its latest report, referred to the hunger strike of Mehdi Karroubi, one of the leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election results, stating that this strike demonstrated that Iranians must continue to strive for the establishment of a 'Justice House.' Last month, Mr. Karroubi went on a hunger strike with two demands: the removal of security agents from his home and the holding of a public trial. According to some reports, his first demand was met, although Gholamhossein Mohseni Eje'i, the spokesperson for the judiciary, denied it. Mehdi Karroubi, along with Mir Hossein Mousavi, another protest leader, and his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, has been under house arrest since February 2011 'without trial or formal charges.' Over the years, Mr. Karroubi has repeatedly called for a public trial, but the judiciary has ignored these requests. Meanwhile, some political and military figures supportive of the Supreme Leader and conservative media have claimed that if the trials of the protesters were held, they would face the death penalty. The Human Rights Defenders Center also criticized the continued house arrest of Mr. Karroubi, Mr. Mousavi, and Ms. Rahnavard, protesting the judiciary's 'disregard for the law.' The report also stated that 77 individuals were arrested in July of this year, and at least seven were executed. This human rights organization, founded by Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, noted that the news of these executions 'has not been confirmed or denied by judicial authorities or government-affiliated media in Iran.' In another section of the report, the organization mentioned the hunger strikes of several political and ideological prisoners in prisons, including Rajai Shahr Prison, to achieve what they consider their legal rights as prisoners. The cancellation of several concerts in various cities of Iran by judicial order, the prevention of memorial ceremonies for the late Ahmad Shamloo, and the prohibition of transactions for 152 current and former employees of the Persian section of the BBC were also highlighted in the report. The organization described the economic and social situation in Iran as 'unsatisfactory' and identified the employment and legal status of workers in various cities as examples of this 'unsatisfactory' situation. The unemployment of dozens of workers and the closure of at least 11 businesses belonging to Bahá'ís in Iran were also mentioned as human rights violations in the report. The final section of the report stated that 'news published about the environment in July continues to indicate the unsatisfactory state of this area, to the extent that the Lapu wetland has completely dried up due to excessive water extraction.' The Human Rights Defenders Center publishes a monthly report on the human rights situation in Iran in both Persian and English. This center is among the human rights organizations monitoring the human rights situation in Iran and has repeatedly criticized human rights violations in the Islamic Republic through various reports and statements in recent years.