Human Rights Defenders: Human Rights Violations Continued in Iran in 1396

In the past year, the performance of Iranian officials regarding human rights continued to be criticized by the United Nations and human rights organizations. This includes a resolution passed on December 19 in the UN General Assembly with 81 votes in favor, which the Islamic Republic of Iran described as 'invalid and political.' In addition to this resolution, several non-governmental organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, have criticized the Islamic Republic on multiple occasions through statements. The last report by Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, was published in March 2018 and reviewed by the Human Rights Council. In this report, she accused Iranian officials of 'human rights violations' by citing numerous instances. In the final days of 1396, the annual report of the Iran Human Rights Organization on execution statistics was published, which announced the number of executions in Iran in the previous year as 517 individuals. Radio Farda has conducted an overview with experts and human rights defenders on the state of human rights in Iran during the year 1396.