UN Rapporteurs Call for the Release of Women's Rights Defenders in Iran

Five UN human rights rapporteurs and experts issued a statement on Thursday, December 8, urging the Iranian government to guarantee the rights of human rights defenders and lawyers who have been arrested in connection with protests against mandatory hijab. The UN rapporteurs stated: "We call on the government (of Iran) to immediately release those who have been detained for supporting and defending women's rights." Amnesty International has called for the immediate release of Farhad Moshimi. Michelle Forst: UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Diego Garcia-Sayan: UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Seong Phil Hong, Chair of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Ivana Rajić, Director of the UN Working Group on Discrimination Against Women, and Javaid Rehman, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, have signed this statement. The statement emphasizes the particularly dire health situation of Farhad Moshimi, a physician who was arrested for supporting women's rights in protests against mandatory hijab. Moshimi was detained on July 30 for supporting the campaign against mandatory hijab. It is reported that he has been on a hunger strike since September 8 in protest of the lack of access to a lawyer. He has been violently transferred from Ward 4 to the medical facility of Evin Prison and has been forcibly connected to an IV against his will. The charges against Moshimi include "assembly and collusion against national security," "propaganda against the regime," and "promoting and disseminating non-hijab." The UN rapporteurs expressed deep concern over the lack of fair trial for Moshimi and called for guarantees of his rights to continue his hunger strike. They stated that the best way to end Moshimi's hunger strike is to respond to his demands and engage in good faith dialogue on this matter. The rapporteurs also expressed concern over the imprisonment of Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights activist and lawyer representing several women protesting against mandatory hijab. Sotoudeh was arrested on June 13 and reportedly sentenced to five years in prison in a case where the verdict was issued in absentia on October 5, 2016. The UN rapporteurs also protested the arbitrary detention of Reza Khandan, Sotoudeh's husband, who was arrested on the morning of September 4. Sources: Statement from UN rapporteurs and reports from Radio Farda.