Issuance of Directive on Respecting 'Human Rights' by Mahmoud Shahroudi Reminds of the Cry 'Thief, Thief'

The issuance of a directive regarding the observance of 'human rights' by Mahmoud Shahroudi, the head of the judiciary, recalls the cry 'Thief, Thief'. Mahmoud Shahroudi, the head of the judiciary and one of the leaders of the repression of journalists, writers, and freedom seekers in Iran, has issued a directive to judicial and security officials, interrogators, and torturers under his command, instructing them to 'refrain from mistreatment, torture, and humiliation of prisoners' henceforth. One of these 'judicial officials' addressed by Shahroudi is Saeed Mortazavi, the Tehran prosecutor, who has recently been selected as a 'model manager' by the head of the judiciary. He himself has been responsible for the closure of dozens of publications and the arrest of journalists, and his name has also come up in the case of the murder of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian journalist. The problem (!!) is that Shahroudi has not explained in this directive how the repressive apparatus, which is mainly in the hands of the judiciary, will maintain the foundations of this government if it sets aside these crimes. In this directive, Shahroudi has informed his executioners, who until the day before (!!!) the issuance of this directive were busy torturing and harassing freedom seekers, that henceforth 'any torture of a suspect to obtain a confession or compel them to other matters' is illegal!! The head of the judiciary has also instructed his subordinates that from the date of issuance of this directive, which was Tuesday, April 27, they must 'avoid causing harm to individuals, such as blindfolding and humiliating them, during arrest, interrogation, or investigation.' Shahroudi does not mention how many political prisoners have faced these crimes since he took office as head of the judiciary. The reality is that the leaders of the regime ruling our homeland have used repression from day one as a basis for maintaining the system. They have chosen the repression of freedom seekers, the massacre of 30,000 political prisoners in 1988, and the execution of over 100,000 political prisoners since the establishment of the Islamic Republic as a necessary condition for their survival. Experience has shown that this claim by the head of the judiciary is a deception to escape international pressures. Therefore, as long as this regime refuses to accept international delegations with the presence of the families of political prisoners and representatives of the opposition to meet with their political prisoners, keeps the case of Zahra Kazemi's murder unresolved, and continues to imprison free students and journalists or summons them to court every day... any claim regarding the alleviation of pressure against political prisoners and the free people of Iran will be hollow and baseless, and will not solve any of the regime's issues. The National Coalition of Pro-Democracy Advocates urgently calls on human rights communities around the world to continue to expose the crimes of this regime against all political prisoners, women, and religious and ethnic minorities, and not to give this regime the opportunity to organize a broader war against humanity that has been ongoing for 25 years.