Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur reports on the dire Human Rights situation in Iran

Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur, published a report on the matter of human rights abuses in Iran. He was shocked beyond belief when he discovered the seriousness of injuries inflicted on those detained as a result of last November’s street protests. They were not only mistreated in custody but some were killed, others have had to live with serious injuries and a minor is involved too. Worse still the report said that detainees were often denied medical treatment for injuries caused by interrogation methods used by the security forces. It even appears that some people have disappeared completely.

When it comes to human rights abuses, it is not just the injuries and the lives that are lost but in this case families of victims have allegedly been silenced and told not to say anything about the deaths of their loved ones.

Unarmed citizens shot

Javaid Rehman reported that following the November uprising images were published showing how brutal the security forces were towards the protesters, many of which were unarmed and were shot at with no way of protecting themselves.

Breach of human rights followed arrests

According to Rehman’s report, on November 25, a parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Intelligence Committee member stated that at least 7,000 protesters were arrested. They were denied any access to their lawyers and the conditions where they were expected to live were far too overcrowded. They were both mistreated and tortured and they were forced to make confessions. As so often happens in these breaches of human rights the perpetrators threaten the media so the brutality of the regime is never truthfully exposed.

Minor subject to torture

It isn’t usual to put minors in the same part of a prison than adults but in the case of Abolfazl Maghsoudi who is detained in the Greater Tehran Penitentiary with adults for the relatively minor offense of disruption of public order, is there because his family can’t raise the money for his unaffordable bail. In fact, his father was the breadwinner but he is no longer alive. Before his arrest, 17-year-old Abolfazl was bringing in an income from working as a stonemason and he was also involved in night classes. Even while he is incarcerated he is working to pay his way. He was arrested only after authorities had studied footage stored on closed-circuit cameras. On arrest, the security forces subjected the minor to electric shockers. He still has scars on his neck to prove it.  The bail bond set for such a minor offense is a whopping 500 million tomans. There has been no effort made by the judicial authorities to lower this amount and despite the fact that it has been over 3 months since his arrest the Public and Revolutionary Court of Pardis still haven’t reached a conclusion about his future.

Report to be presented on March 9 at the UN Human Rights Council meeting

Javaid Rehman’s report has been assembled under the UN General Assembly (UNGA)’s Resolution 74/167 and will be heard on March 9 at the UN Human Rights Council meeting. He has requested, as a matter of urgency, that all of November 19 protesters be released by the clerical regime and families should be told exactly where their loved ones are being held as many haven’t been informed. There are many other issues in the UNSR report that are a matter of serious concern when it comes to breaching human rights and these are the execution of minors, the dire conditions in the detention centers, use of brute force to intimidate people, discrimination against religious, ethnic minorities and women, public executions, and slaughtering people for carrying fuel and goods on their shoulders near the borders of Kurdistan and Baluchestan.