Human Rights Watch: Pashakian Must Address Widespread Human Rights Violations

Human Rights Watch has called on Masoud Pashakian to confront widespread human rights violations by government institutions, including the security and judicial forces of the Islamic Republic. Nahid Naghashbandi, head of research in the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch, stated on Friday, July 13, that Masoud Pashakian, the President of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic, "must address the egregious violations of human rights, including the alarming number of executions, systematic pressure on women, and the brutal repression of ethnic and religious minorities." Naghashbandi added that "Pashakian must end the impunity for these injustices to demonstrate the government's ability to address the legitimate and widespread grievances of citizens and respond to demands for fundamental changes." Human Rights Watch noted that Masoud Pashakian should remove the extensive legal and social barriers in women's lives and facilitate their access to equal economic opportunities. This international organization has identified the regulations regarding mandatory hijab as systematic violations of women's rights. Human Rights Watch described the "use of lethal and excessive force against protesters in predominantly Kurdish and Baloch areas and the use of rape and torture in detention centers in Azerbaijani, Kurdish, and Baloch regions" as signs of the brutal repression of ethnic and religious minorities in Iran, adding that "in the two previous governments of the Islamic Republic, led by Hassan Rouhani and Ebrahim Raisi, the repression of religious and ethnic minorities has continued unabated." Nahid Naghashbandi emphasized: "Rebuilding the trust of the Iranian people, beyond the unfulfilled promises of past years, requires urgent and tangible action to improve the human rights situation of citizens nationwide." The head of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch added: "Pashakian must meaningfully first release all imprisoned activists, detainees from peaceful protests, and human rights defenders who should never have been imprisoned in the first place." The voting to determine Ebrahim Raisi's successor in July faced a lack of widespread citizen participation, with many boycotters citing the inability of the Islamic Republic's government leaders to solve the country's problems as reasons for their non-participation. Human Rights Watch has deemed the decision-making power of the President of the Islamic Republic and his Foreign Minister in foreign policy to be limited, attributing this limitation to the control of the Supreme Leader and powerful actors such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps over Iran's foreign policies. Masoud Pashakian's inauguration as President of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic is scheduled for August 1. Jaber Sokhrawi, a political prisoner, suffered a "stroke." Four protesters were arrested on charges of "sloganeering and vandalizing advertising banners" in Bushehr province. Amnesty International has called for the abolition of the death sentence and the immediate release of Sharifeh Mohammadi. Mahvash Sabet, a Baha'i prisoner, has been deprived of phone contact and family visits "by court order."