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Iran: Conviction of Former Iranian Official over Involvement in 1988 Prison Massacres Landmark Step Towards Justice

by IAC-FL on

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL     |     July 14, 2022

Responding to today’s landmark decision of Stockholm’s District Court sentencing a former Iranian official, Hamid Nouri, to life in prison over crimes related to Iran’s 1988 prison massacres, following a trial carried out under the principle of universal judication, Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“Hamid Nouri’s conviction and sentence today in Sweden for crimes related to Iran’s 1988 prison massacres is an unprecedented step towards justice for crimes committed in Iran and sends an unequivocal, and long overdue, message to the Iranian authorities that those responsible for crimes against humanity in Iran will not escape justice.

“For more than three decades, survivors and relatives of thousands of political dissidents extrajudicially killed and forcibly disappeared in Iran’s 1988 prison massacres, have struggled for truth and justice. With this first ever ruling against an Iranian official, albeit in a European court, they have finally witnessed an Iranian official held to account for these crimes. This must be followed by all states exercising universal jurisdiction to criminally investigate all other former and current officials in Iran against whom there is evidence of involvement in past and ongoing crimes against humanity, including Ebrahim Raisi, the country’s President.

“This critical ruling must serve as a wake-up call to the international community to tackle the crisis of impunity that prevails in Iran. To address this, members of the UN Human Rights Council must urgently establish an international investigative and accountability mechanism into the most serious crimes committed in the country, including the thousands of cases of enforced disappearances which remain unresolved more than 30 years after the 1988 prison massacres.”

Background

Consistent with their long-standing pattern of denial and distortion, the Iranian authorities have reacted to the trial of Hamid Nouri by describing it as a “plot” concocted by “terrorists” that relied on “fake documentation and witnesses”.

In a 2018 report Iran: Blood-soaked secrets: Why Iran’s 1988 prison massacres are ongoing crimes against humanity, Amnesty International concluded that, in addition to committing the crime against humanity of murder in 1988 by extrajudicially executing thousands of political dissidents in secret, the Iranian authorities are committing the ongoing crimes against humanity of enforced disappearance, persecution, torture and other inhumane acts, including by systematically concealing the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their remains.

In 2021, the UN Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances called for an international investigation into enforced disappearances arising from the 1988 prison massacres.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/07/iran-conviction-of-former-iranian-official-over-involvement-in-1988-prison-massacres-landmark-step-towards-justice/

 

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Human Rights

Iran: Ailing prisoners left to die amid crisis of impunity 

by IAC-FL on

Amnesty International     |     April 12, 2022

Iran: Ailing prisoners left to die amid crisis of impunity for fatal denial of medical care

Iranian prison officials are committing shocking violations of the right to life by deliberately denying ailing prisoners lifesaving healthcare and refusing to investigate and ensure accountability for unlawful deaths in custody, Amnesty International said today. In a new briefing, In death’s waiting room: Deaths in custody following deliberate denial of medical care in Iran’s prisons, the organization documents how prison authorities routinely cause or contribute to deaths in custody, including by blocking or delaying prisoners’ access to emergency hospitalization.

Consistent with entrenched patterns of systematic impunity in Iran, to date, the authorities have refused to conduct any independent and transparent investigations into deaths in custody involving reports of denial of medical care and have failed to ensure that those suspected of criminal responsibility are prosecuted and punished.

“The Iranian authorities’ chilling disregard for human life has effectively turned Iran’s prisons into a waiting room of death for ill prisoners, where treatable conditions tragically become fatal,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. 

“Deaths in custody resulting from the deliberate denial of healthcare amount to arbitrary deprivation of life, which is a serious human rights violation under international law. A prisoner’s death in custody also constitutes an extrajudicial execution, a crime under international law, if those responsible either intended to cause the death or knew with a sufficient degree of certainty that death would be the necessary consequence of their unlawful actions, yet persisted.”

The briefing, which details the circumstances surrounding the death in custody of 92 men and four women in 30 prisons in 18 provinces across Iran since January 2010, is based on Amnesty International’s documentation of a selection of illustrative cases, long-term findings on deliberate denial of access to adequate healthcare in Iran’s prisons, and a comprehensive review of reporting by independent human rights group. 

The 96 cases reviewed are illustrative, rather than exhaustive, since the true number of deaths in custody is likely far higher. This is because human rights violations in Iran often go unreported due to well-founded fears of reprisals.

The list of cases excludes deaths in custody involving credible reports of physical torture or the use of firearms, which Amnesty International addressed in a separate output in September 2021. 

Ailing prisoners left to die 

Amnesty International documented the fatal consequences resulting from prison officials’ common practice of denying or delaying hospital transfers for critically ill prisoners. 

The organization also documented how prison officials frequently deny prisoners access to adequate healthcare, including diagnostic tests, regular check-ups, and post-operative care, throughout their imprisonment, which leads to worsening health problems, inflicts additional pain and suffering on sick prisoners, and ultimately causes or contributes to their untimely deaths. 

In Iran, prison clinics are not equipped with the facilities required for addressing complex health problems. Nor are they staffed by an adequate number of qualified general practitioners, let alone medical specialists, who are only required to visit for one or several hours during the week “as needed”. As a result, prisoners who experience medical emergencies and need specialized medical care must always be immediately transferred to outside medical facilities. 

Abdolvahed Gomshadzehi died in the main prison in Zahedan in May 2016. Prison doctors had warned that he needed hospitalization, but officials had refused. Human rights groups said the 19-year-old, who was a child at the time of arrest, died of neglected blood clots in his brain which had resulted from beatings sustained during his arrest and/or interrogations two years earlier. During his imprisonment, his multiple requests for treatment had been denied.

The Iranian authorities’ chilling disregard for human life has effectively turned Iran’s prisons into a waiting room of death for ill prisoners, where treatable conditions tragically become fatal.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

Sixty-four out of the 96 prisoners, whose cases Amnesty International reviewed, died in prison. Many died in their prison cells which means they were not given basic medical supervision in their final hours. Some died while held in poorly equipped and staffed prison clinics. 

At least 26 prisoners died during transfer or shortly after admission to hospital, following deliberate delays by prison medical staff and/or prison officials, which proved fatal. 

In at least six cases, critically ill prisoners were moved to solitary confinement, punishment wards, or quarantine sections; four of them died alone in prison while two were eventually authorized for hospital transfers, but it proved too late. 

In many cases, both prison clinic medical staff and prison officials accused prisoners experiencing medical emergencies of “faking” or “exaggerating” their symptoms.

For example, Nader Alizehi was accused of “faking” his illness by the head of the clinic at the main prison in Zahedan. He died in November 2017, at the age of 22. According to human rights groups, Nader was refused specialist medical care for his heart disease and sent away by clinic staff with gastrointestinal medication.

Lives cut short 

In the vast majority of cases, prisoners who died were young or middle aged – 23 were between the ages of 19 and 39, and 26 between the ages of 40 and 59, raising further concerns that lives are being cut short by denial of healthcare. 

Prisons with high populations of oppressed minorities feature particularly heavily – 22 of the 96 deaths recorded took place in the prison in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province, where most prisoners are from Kurdish and Azerbaijani Turkic minorities. Thirteen deaths were recorded at the main prison in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province, where prisoners mostly belong to Iran’s oppressed Baluchi minority.

At least 11 prisoners died after being denied adequate healthcare for traumatic injuries resulting from specific incidents that occurred at the time of arrest or during imprisonment. The other 85 prisoners died after being denied adequate medical care for serious medical emergencies involving, among things, heart attacks and strokes, gastrointestinal complications, respiratory complications, kidney problems, Covid-19 or other infectious diseases, which either emerged suddenly or were related to pre-existing illnesses for which they had not received adequate specialized healthcare throughout their imprisonment. 

The cases of 20 prisoners were of a political nature. The remainder had been convicted of or charged with non-political offences.

Impunity

The crisis of systemic impunity prevailing in Iran has emboldened prison officials to persist with deadly denial of medical care to prisoners. 

The crisis is characterized not only by the authorities’ systematic refusal to investigate, but also by their promotion of narratives praising the quality of health services offered to prisoners as “exemplary” or “unparalleled” throughout the world, which indicates that they have no intent to change course. 

Given this context, Amnesty International reiterates its call for the UN Human Rights Council to set up an investigative and accountability mechanism to collect, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law and human rights violations committed in Iran to facilitate fair criminal proceedings. 

“The shadow of death will continue to cast over Iran’s ailing prisoners until effective, thorough, transparent, impartial and independent investigations are conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding deaths in custody and the responsibility of those involved in the deaths,” said Diana Eltahawy. 

The shadow of death will continue to cast over Iran’s ailing prisoners until effective, thorough, transparent, impartial and independent investigations are conducted to determine the circumstances surrounding deaths in custody and the responsibility of those involved in the deaths.

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

To prevent further avoidable loss of life as a result of denial of vital medical care, Amnesty International is urging Iranian authorities to require, in law and practice, that, pending structural improvements in prison clinics, prisoners experiencing medical emergencies are immediately transferred to medical facilities outside prison. Prisoners diagnosed with serious pre-existing illness or displaying signs and symptoms of what may be serious health problems must similarly be promptly transferred to medical facilities outside prison for adequate medical care. 

Amnesty International also calls on the Iranian authorities to reform deeply flawed provisions in Iran’s prison regulations, which grant prison directors and prosecution officials the power to ignore or overrule medical advice and make healthcare decisions concerning the transfer of prisoners for treatment. 

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/04/iran-ailing-prisoners-left-to-die-amid-crisis-of-impunity-for-fatal-denial-of-medical-care/

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Human RightsNews

Fearing torture and possible execution, Iranian powerlifter quit team

by IAC-FL on
Iranian-powerlifter

Amir Assadollahzadeh: Fearing torture and possible execution, Iranian powerlifter quit team in
Norway and ran for his life
CNN     |     By Don Riddell    |     December 20, 2021

Athletes who are good enough to compete in the world championships are among the very best in their field. They dedicate their lives to the pursuit of their craft, they are proud to represent their countries, and they all dream of returning home with medals around their necks.

But at the IPF World Powerlifting Championships held in November, one athlete wasn’t competing for glory; Iranian Amir Assadollahzadeh says he found himself quite literally running for his life.

The 31-year-old Iranian lifter told CNN that in the middle of the tournament, he felt compelled to abandon his team and flee from his teammates.

He had agonized over a decision that would forever change his life, but at around 3.30 a.m., he had made up his mind and slipped out of his hotel in the Norwegian city of Stavanger, on the North Sea Coast.

“I took what I needed for my journey and left,” Assadollahzadeh recalled. “I quickly ran towards the bus station, but I arrived five minutes too late. It was very dark, and I was very stressed.”

As he waited, he was constantly re-evaluating his decision, and paranoia was also now creeping in; should anybody come looking for him, he felt exposed and vulnerable.

“I had no choice,” he explained, “I tried to run the street directly in front of the hotel at full speed until I finally reached a gas station with a store right next to it. I asked the man working there to get me a taxi.”

Using his cell phone, Assadollahzadeh had planned out his journey to Norway’s capital, Oslo, but already he was having to think on the fly. He took a cab to the next city and waited for several hours to catch the bus to Oslo.

But he couldn’t shake the fear that he was being tracked. “I was very stressed and very worried that they might find me,” he said, “At one of the stops, I got off the bus and threw my phone in the water.”

Eventually, he arrived in the capital, but despite having put nearly 200 miles between himself and his team, he was horrified to see one of his fellow athletes at the train station in Oslo. Fearing that he was being pursued, Assadollahzadeh took flight again.

“It was then that I ran for three kilometers in the middle of the cold night and escaped.”

Assadollahzadeh says that if he had been forced to return to Iran, “I am 100% sure that I will face jail, torture and maybe even worse than that — execution.”

Assadollahzadeh says he may never see his family again.

‘Your life may also be in danger’

Assadollahzadeh has enjoyed a storied career as a powerlifter. He’s been competing for 18 years, and in his 11 years with the Iranian national team, he’s captured four Asian Championship titles. He’s also a referee and a trainer and is no stranger to the sport’s biggest events.

Earlier in 2021, though, his relationship with the national team began to sour. Assadollahzadeh won a bronze medal at the World Club League Championship, and he dedicated it to the healthcare professionals who’d been battling the Covid-19 pandemic back home.

Such a charitable gesture would have been applauded in almost any other setting, but instead, he was asked why he hadn’t dedicated his medal to Qasem Soleimani, the late military officer who was killed in a US airstrike in 2020.

At the time of his death, Soleimani was the commander of the infamous clandestine Quds Force and considered by many analysts to be the right-hand man of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Both Soleimani and Assadolazadeh hail from the same province in Iran, and his dedication to the healthcare workers was regarded as a snub of Soleimani’s memory.

So, by the time of the IPF World Championships in November, Assadolahzadeh says he was informed by senior team officials that he was expected to redeem himself by taking an image of Soleimani into the competition arena.

According to Assadolahzadeh, the vice president of the federation, who was with the Iranian team, demanded that he wear a T-shirt which boldly featured a picture of Soleimani.

Assadollahzadeh says he was able to retrieve the T-shirt when he fled the hotel and he held it up in front of the camera during the interview. He says he was pressured repeatedly by the vice president and team manager to wear it.

“I refused to wear the shirt and I was confronted with threats,” said Assadollahzadeh. Then he was told, “If you refuse to wear the shirt, upon your return to Iran, both you and your family will face problems,” added Assadollahzadeh.

“And you will be treated like someone who is against the regime and someone who has refused to work with us. Your life may also be in danger.”

Assadollahzadeh says he tried to explain to his superiors that competition rules prevented him from wearing anything with a picture or logo and that doing so would ensure his expulsion from the competition. In any case, he added that he was averse to mixing politics with sport.

Recounting his previous triumphs, Assadollahzadeh told CNN: “In these years that I have been an athlete I never had the intention to get involved in political issues, because I am an athlete and I have spent years of my life so that I can bring honor to myself, my people and my country.”

Instead of resting in the hotel the night before his competition, Assadollahzadeh says he couldn’t even sleep because he was wrestling with decisions that would be life-changing, and none of the outcomes were good.

The next day, his performance was so poor that it still bothered him even weeks after his life had been upended, and the pressure upon him was relentless.

Assadollahzadeh says he was once again confronted by the team manager and one of the sports security officials and given one final chance to comply.

He says he was informed, “You will either wear the T-shirt on the stage, so that we can take pictures and videos and send them to Iran, or we will definitely take legal action against you upon your return to Iran.”

He felt that his only realistic option now was to quit the team, flee the hotel, seek asylum abroad and risk never seeing any of his family ever again.

Flogged

Assadollahzadeh had good reason to be concerned.

In 2018, the Iranian water polo player Amir Dehdari refused to meet with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. He says he was arrested and flogged for his defiance. Video that he took after the event shows his back and legs almost totally covered in horizontal red marks.

He now lives in exile in Belgium, but Dehdari didn’t speak about his torture for two years. He only came forward upon joining the United for Navid campaign, an advocacy group established to support the wrestler Navid Afkari, who was executed in Iran in 2020.

In October, the Iranian boxer Omid Ahmadi Safa reached the World Kickboxing championship final in Italy, but he never showed up to compete for the gold medal.

Instead, he too fled the team hotel in fear of his life, after taking a selfie video that showed him standing next to the Israeli team and their flag in what appears to be a gathering of all teams on a field.

In subsequent media interviews, Safa has explained the situation and revealed that he is now being pressured to return home to Iran. He is currently seeking asylum in Europe.

In the same month, according to Iranian media reporting, the Iranian chess grandmaster Mohammad Amin Tabatabaei was forced to withdraw from the Abbey Blitz tournament in Latvia to avoid playing an Israeli opponent.

For many years, it has been an open secret in international sports circles that the Iranian government won’t allow its athletes to compete against Israelis.

But in September, Iran’s Supreme Leader made the regime’s position much clearer.

Speaking in a televised media conference, Khamenei said, “That’s why I ask you and dear sports officials and athletes, don’t be ashamed. They will continue fighting us. So, it is the duty of our Ministry of Sports, Foreign Ministry, and legal channels to support our athletes.

“We can’t let our athletes compete with athletes of a murderous regime for the sake of a medal.”

naveed-mother
The mother of Navid Afkari, the wrestling star executed by the Iranian government, says her family still has “no peace” over a year since her son’s death. Navid’s mother (left) stands by Navid’s grave in March 2021 in Shiraz, Iran.

In 2020, the Iranian government executed the wrestler Afkari. He was found guilty of murder, although his family and human rights campaigners argue that his trial was a sham.

Since then, an increasing number of athletes have found the courage to speak out against the pressure and intimidation they are facing. Through the United for Navid campaign, they also now have a means to tell their stories to the world.

On two separate occasions, CNN has reached out to the Iranian government for comment on the treatment of Afkari, the politicization of sport and the alleged discrimination of athletes. CNN has yet to receive a response.

The International Olympic Committee proudly claims to protect its athletes through its ‘Olympic Charter,’ but it has been made aware of the abuses these athletes are suffering.

This year, the United for Navid campaign has sent multiple files of case studies to the IOC.

In response to CNN, the IOC says it is in “regular contact with the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Iran on this matter,” adding that the committee has been assured Iran is “committed to fully complying with the Olympic Charter.”

The IOC told CNN: “To the best of our knowledge, there was no breach of the principle of non-discrimination by athletes representing Iran during the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.”

The IOC also says it has written to Iran’s NOC to express concern about the Supreme Leader’s recent comments on athlete participation: “The IOC has urged the Iranian NOC to clarify the situation and asked for reassurances that the NOC will still operate in accordance with the Olympic Charter as per its obligations and we received such assurances in a letter from them.”

‘Tears of my dad’

Based on their testimonies, however, the athletes would strongly disagree.

Assadollahzadeh proudly travelled to Norway for an international competition and the chance to make his country and his family proud.

A month later, he was being processed at a refugee camp in Germany, before returning to seek asylum in Norway. All because of a gaudy T-shirt, he is now facing a very uncertain future.

It pains Assadollahzadeh that he doesn’t know when he will be reunited with his wife and says it’s unlikely that he will see either his country or his family ever again.

A sudden, unexpected, gut-punch like that would be unthinkable to most people and certainly to international athletes.

Assadollahzadeh wrestled with his emotions and concluded, “The Islamic Republic regime is forcefully trying to get the athletes involved in politics.

“I ask the International Olympic Committee and all related organizations to help Iranian athletes and not be okay with these athletes being forced to stay away from their country, their home, just because they are faced with no other choice but to leave.

“I am very, very, very unhappy at the fact that I may never see my family again. It is very painful for me. It is very difficult for me to put it in words.”

He might not have the words, but he will never forget the impact on his family. His father started crying when they spoke on the phone, “It was the first time in my life that I saw the tears of my dad.”

https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/20/sport/amir-assadollahzadeh-powerlifter-iran-cmd-spt-intl/index.html?fbclid=IwAR3kU8bW3KnWB5iy50gxKgIkMe38oe-vplvTBHPlYgw_LUQEnKQ8lRXlAKk

 

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Human RightsNews

GOP Resolution Condemns Iran’s 2019 Crackdown of Protesters That Killed 1,500

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Measure calls out Biden admin for lowering death count in official report

Washington Free Beacon     |     Adam Kredo      |     November 17, 2021

House lawmakers on Wednesday will unveil a resolution that marks the two-year anniversary of the Iranian government’s brutal crackdown on protesters, which took the lives of more than 1,500 anti-regime demonstrators.

The resolution, which is being spearheaded by Rep. Jim Hagedorn (R., Minn.) and a coalition of 24 Republican lawmakers, condemns the Iranian regime’s brutal 2019 crackdown on protesters who stormed the streets in anger over the country’s ailing economy, which was suffering under the weight of U.S. sanctions. Some of those sanctions have been unwound by the Biden administration as it seeks to strike a revamped version of the 2015 nuclear accord.

The resolution, a copy of which was exclusively obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, also calls out the Biden administration’s State Department for altering a Trump-era report that acknowledged the more-than-1,500 citizens, including 400 women and 17 children, who were killed. The Biden administration in March revised that report, lowering the death count to 304. Republican hawks see this revision as an attempt by the Biden administration to whitewash the Iranian regime’s mass human rights abuses.

The resolution would stand as Congress’s first official recognition of the 2019 massacre, which became known among the Iranian dissident community as “Bloody November.” The measure also takes direct aim at the Iranian regime’s ongoing human rights abuses and efforts to stamp out any signs of unrest. Republicans are expected to overwhelmingly support the measure, while Democrats are expected to vote against it to avoid agitating Tehran as the Biden administration pursues diplomacy with the regime.

“President Trump’s State Department released a report that confirmed 1,500 civilians were killed, yet the Biden Administration chose to minimize the severity of this attack by revising the initial report with a lower death toll,” Hagedorn told the Free Beacon. “This false narrative being pushed by the Biden Administration is a slap in the face to all those who were killed that day as well as their families. We are urging this administration to revise its report to accurately reflect the lives that were lost in this deadly massacre.”

One provision of the measure explicitly calls out the Biden administration for lowering the official estimate of those killed during the 2019 crackdown.

“In March 2021, the Department of State under the Biden administration released a revised report of the November 2019 protests that lowered the death toll from the confirmed 1,500 to a revised 304,” the measure states. “The move by the Biden administration underscores its commitment to appeasing the Iranian regime.”

It goes on to “strongly [urge] the Department of State to restore the recognized death toll of the November 11, 2019, massacre to 1,500.”

When asked about the revised report, a State Department spokesman told the Free Beacon that the United States is relying on incomplete numbers published by the human rights group and that they “acknowledge the figure could be significantly higher.”

“As the United Nations has noted, there has been no transparent or independent government investigation into these events, which deprives the Iranian people of justice and the international community of a clear sense of what happened,” the spokesman said. “An Amnesty International report issued in 2020 provided in-depth documentation of 304 deaths. We, the U.N., and others acknowledge the figure could be significantly higher.

The State Department also said the administration condemns “in the strongest terms the Iranian regime’s brutal repression of protests in November 2019.” U.S. officials are monitoring media reports, information from human rights group, and the United Nations’ investigation into the massacre, the spokesman said.

The congressional measure would also codify into the congressional record a recognition that “the vast majority of Iranians living in Iran do not support the authoritarian dictatorship of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and do not have access to basic human rights.”

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/gop-resolution-condemns-irans-2019-crackdown-of-protesters-that-killed-1500/

 

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Human Rights

Iran: A decade of deaths in custody unpunished

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Iran: A decade of deaths in custody unpunished amid systemic impunity for torture

Amnesty International     |     Sep. 15, 2021

Iranian authorities have failed to provide accountability for at least 72 deaths in custody since January 2010, despite credible reports that they resulted from torture or other ill-treatment or the lethal use of firearms and tear gas by officials, said Amnesty International following yesterday’s reports of yet another suspicious death in custody.

The findings, which are based on Amnesty International’s long-term research and a comprehensive review of reporting by credible human rights groups and media outlets, reveal that since January 2010, at least 72 deaths occurred at 42 prisons and detention centres in 16 provinces across the country. The latest documented case concerns Yaser Mangouri, aged 31, whose death was reported to his family by ministry of intelligence officials in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province on 8 September 2021. Not a single official has since been held to account for these deaths, reflecting Iran’s long-standing crisis of impunity where allegations of torture and unlawful killings consistently go uninvestigated and unpunished. Only a few weeks ago, leaked video footage from the infamous Evin prison offered disturbing evidence of beatings, sexual harassment, and other ill-treatment of prisoners by prison officials.

“Yesterday’s reports of the death of Yaser Mangouri in suspicious circumstances further exposes how the prevailing climate of impunity further emboldens security forces to violate prisoners’ right to life without any fear of consequence or accountability. The authorities’ systemic refusal to conduct any independent investigations into these deaths in custody is a grim reflection of the normalisation of the arbitrary deprivation of life by state authorities,” said Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Regional Director at Amnesty International.

“Ensuring respect for people’s right to life requires that officials suspected of torturing prisoners to death are criminally investigated, and if enough admissible evidence against them is found, prosecuted. Lack of investigations constitutes in and of itself a violation of the right to life.”

In 46 of the deaths in custody cases, informed sources including the relatives and/or fellow inmates of the deceased reported that the death resulted from physical torture or other ill-treatment at the hands of intelligence and security agents or prison officials. A further 15 followed the lethal use of firearms and/or tear gas by prison security guards to suppress prison protests over Covid-19 safety fears, according to credible sources. In the remaining 11 cases, the deaths occurred in suspicious circumstances, but no further details about potential causes were available. The majority of deaths recorded took place since 2015.

 

Amnesty International

Amnesty International has issued a list of the names of those who have died in custody along with their reported age and the date and location of death. The list excludes dozens of cases of deaths in custody with suspected links to the denial of medical care, which the organization is in the process of investigating.

In 31 cases, Amnesty International documented the deaths in custody, including by speaking directly to primary sources impacted by the deaths, such as relatives, fellow inmates and acquaintances. In 41 other cases, it recorded the deaths based on the reporting of credible media outlets and trusted human rights groups working with informed sources on the ground.

Amnesty International believes that the real number of deaths in custody is likely much higher given the lack of transparency in Iran’s justice system and the fact that many human rights violations go unreported due to widespread fear of reprisal and systematic repression of civil society.

Deaths early on in custody

Of the 46 deaths in custody involving reports of physical torture or other ill-treatment, at least 36 took place during the preliminary investigation stage. The majority (28) died in custody within a few days of their arrest and detention. One died immediately after arrest and before even being transferred to a detention centre.

Amnesty International

According to information compiled by Amnesty International, at least nine people died in facilities run by the investigation unit of Iran’s police (Agahi), 11 in facilities run by the ministry of intelligence, two in facilities run by regular city police, two in facilities run by border or immigration guards, and one person each in facilities run by Iran’s Cyber Police (FATA) and the Revolutionary Guards, respectively.

For 36 of the 46 alleged victims, information about their exact or approximate age was available. According to this information, 16 were in their twenties, 12 in their thirties, and three between 18 and 20 years of age, which means, based on known age, younger people constitute 86% of the deceased.

Amnesty International

State denials and cover up

Iranian authorities typically blame deaths in custody on suicide, drug overdose or illness in a rushed manner and without conducting any independent and transparent investigations.

Amnesty International has found that in at least 24 of the 46 cases of deaths in custody involving reports of physical torture or other ill-treatment, the authorities announced shortly thereafter that the deaths were the result of suicide (7), strokes, heart attacks or other illnesses (12), drug overdose (3) or exchange of fire during arrest (2). Similarly, in three of the 11 deaths reported as suspicious, the authorities claimed that suicide (1), drug use (1) or illness (1) were the cause of death.

Years of documentation and monitoring by Amnesty International shows that family members of people who die in custody in suspicious circumstances are routinely subjected to various forms of harassment and intimidation by intelligence and security officers, particularly when publicly disputing the authorities’ claims about the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their loved ones or seeking legal redress. Lawyers have also received threats for pursuing legal action or even faced persecution and imprisonment. Iranian authorities also have a documented track-record of pressuring families to bury their loved ones immediately and without an independent autopsy.

Amnesty International shares the serious concerns of the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran regarding “the absence of domestic remedies … for gross human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran” and echoes the latest call in his July 2021 report on the international community to fulfil its “important role in ensuring accountability.”

Amnesty International together with nine other human rights organizations have urged member states of the UN Human Rights Council to establish an investigative and accountability mechanism to collect, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran to facilitate fair criminal proceedings.

Background

Yaser Mangouri was arrested and forcibly disappeared by ministry of intelligence officials in Urumieh, West Azerbaijan province on 17 July 2021, according to the human rights group Hengaw. On 8 September 2021, the ministry of intelligence in Urumieh informed his family that he had died due to exchange of fire during arrest. His family rejects this explanation and maintains that he was arrested shortly after leaving his house while unarmed. As of 14 September 2021, when the news of his death in custody was publicized, the authorities had refused to return his body to his family.

Amnesty International has previously documented how Iranian security and intelligence officials routinely subject men, women and children behind bars to torture or other ill-treatment, including floggings, suspension, electric shocks, mock executions, force-feeding of chemical substances, and deliberate deprivation of medical care.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/09/iran-a-decade-of-deaths-in-custody-unpunished-amid-systemic-impunity-for-torture/

 

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Human Rights

‘I chose beatings over solitary confinement’

by IAC-FL on

‘I chose beatings over solitary confinement’

this is what it was like to be locked up in prison in Tehran

Yahoo News     |     Mostafa Naderi     |     10 September 2021

Last week, leaked surveillance footage showed shocking abuses of prisoners in Iran’s Evin prison. Watching the videos reminded me of my years in Evin – with one notable difference: the guards of my time seemed even more barbaric.

I want to explain why what happened 33 years ago matters today. Iran’s society has changed, but its regime has not – in fact, Iran’s new president, Ebrahim Raisi, is one of the leaders of the horrific 1988 execution of thousands of political prisoners following the supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini’s fatwa (religious decree).

The past could wibe a pattern for tomorrow, with horrific consequences. For example, years ago, Evin prison guards were like butchers. They used heavy cables to lash prisoners which cut into their skin. Then, if the guards thought someone was too injured by the torture for them to survive, they would simply execute the victim. For the guards, there were no consequences, nothing to worry about.

In Evin prison, we were often blindfolded while being transferred between different sections, in the interrogation room, even under torture. This cruel tactic would create intense fear and panic – when you’re blindfolded, your mind takes over. It’s true that the guards wanted to prevent anyone from witnessing their crimes or seeing their faces but keeping people fearful was very helpful when they wanted to mentally break the prisoners.

Long solitary confinements were another tactic. As political prisoners, we tried to stay connected; but the guards punished any kind of human contact. Even caring for a tortured cellmate carried harsh consequences.

I was held in solitary confinement once for three years, and again for two years. During these endless isolations, memories of everything and everyone you love start to fade, and you can feel utterly alone and empty.

Initially, those of us in solitary confinement used morse code to communicate with each other through the walls. But over time, the regime’s authorities added steel-reinforcement concrete to the walls, so no sound could get through.

In my case, when the isolation became unbearable, I would start kicking the door and making noise. The guards would come and take me out for a beating. But getting hit was a distraction; a savior if you will. The process of fighting the physical pain, going to the medic, and dealing with bandages was better than the never-ending isolation and mental anguish.

In the spring of 1988, the guards wanted me to provide information about a relative. One day in August, due to severe kidney bleeding, I lost consciousness, and a guard took me to the prison’s clinic. When I woke up, I saw bloody IV fluids around me, and my head felt achy. The guy lying next to me told me that my name had been called several times, but since I had been unconscious, I never responded to it.

After several days in the clinic, when I finally returned to my own section, all the cell doors were strangely open, and there were handbags and rucksacks lying next to empty cells. I realised these were the possessions of my friends who had been executed during the massacre. My section was almost empty. The next day, I heard someone calling the guard, saying, “Hey, you’ve forgotten to take me!” When the guard asked the man’s name, he said, “Yaqub Hassani.” The guards took him away, and he was executed the same night.

I grieved for all these people. When you have suffered alongside a group of people for a long time, you have strong feelings for them. When the guards took some people for execution, those who remained had terrible feelings of shock and sorrow.

These were chaotic days – some people didn’t know they were going to be hanged until the very last minute. The guards transferred people around and might even put you on death row only to take you back to the public section. You literally lost track of yourself. I will never know what Yaqub was thinking that day; I just heard him calling the guard.

I was around 17 when I was first interrogated, but I refused to write my friends’ names and whereabouts. I was then told that I was to be executed with a few others. The guards gave me a piece of paper and told me to write down my will. I said I had nothing to say or give to anyone. One night, five of us were handcuffed, blindfolded, put on a bus, and taken to a place inside the prison. As we exited the bus, my friends and I started to sing a popular song known as the anthem of martyrdom.

The guards roared at us to shut up and then pushed us against a wall. We heard someone like a cleric reading our verdicts: “In the name of God the merciful, you betrayers of nation and religion…” and then… fire!

The sounds of bullets piercing and exploding the bricks above our heads were terrifyingly loud. Since we had prepared ourselves for the worst, we all fell down. It was like when you dream and you’re falling down from a high plateau. I felt something like wet, warm blood on the ground, and I thought this was the end. But a few moments later, I heard the guards laughing and hysterically barking: “Is this the way you want to fight Islam?”

It was a mock execution and everyone was still alive… if you can call it that way. We were shoved back onto the bus and driven back to our sections. Due to the shock, we all suffered severe physical and mental symptoms. I couldn’t stop shaking and I later learned that one of my friends became almost blind. Another friend whispered that he could not move his arm anymore and his body was partially lame. He had had a stroke, we later learned.

Back in prison, they sent us to the interrogation room to see if we were broken and ready to surrender. I do not know what happened to the others, but I’m sure that night changed us all. I never raised my voice again.

The 1988 massacre has never ended. As the recently-leaked videos show the oppressive treatment of prisoners in Evin prison hasn’t stopped.

But if you ask me, the international condemnation of the Iranian regime’s abysmal human rights record appears to have halted over the years.

If Raisi is going to be allowed to address world leaders during the UN General Assembly in September, it’s important to remember the audiences he addressed 33 years ago– and what he has done in his career. The world must send a clear rebuke and warning to Tehran. Many lives depend on it.

My generation was called on to bring about a “free Iran”. In Europe, which endured eras of human rights abuses, nations are teaching the lessons of history so new generations can understand what the price of freedom has been and how to hold it dear. I think this is what we need to do in Iran, as well. The next generation should learn about these brutal stories so they too can cherish freedom.

Sometimes people ask me how I endured all that pain, how I survived. But I say that there was something far more important to me than survival.

There were tens of thousands of people that never expected to be seen or heard again, yet they “outlived” the torture. The dictator wanted them to submit and reject their beliefs; he wanted to break them all. Those who remained loyal and brave and said “no” have proved that the  regime might kill humans – but can’t break our humanity.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/chose-beatings-over-solitary-confinement-150803897.html

 

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Human Rights

33 years ago, I was in the same room with Iran’s new president when he voted to execute political prisoners

by IAC-FL on

CNN     |     by Mahmoud Royaei     |     Aug. 4, 2021

(CNN) August 3, 2021, marked the start of Ebrahim Raisi’s four-year term as president of Iran. The validation ceremony took place in the “Beyt” (Arabic for “house”) of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as a prelude to Raisi’s inauguration.

It was exactly 33 years ago, on August 3, 1988, when I found myself in the same room with Ebrahim Raisi. At the time, he was a deputy prosecutor of Tehran and a key member of what was known as the “Death Commission” in Gohardasht Prison located in Karaj — northeast Iran. I was a political prisoner in the middle of serving my 10-year sentence when I first met Raisi, like thousands of other friends and fellow sympathizers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), a political opposition group. I was there to hear Raisi decide my fate.

I was struck by his youth almost as much as I was struck by his arrogance, intolerance and thuggish attitude. The effects of this lack of a formal education (it’s been reported that he didn’t go past the sixth grade) were immediately apparent to me. Raisi clearly reveled in having power over life and death, and he wielded it freely in thousands of cases during that summer’s massacre of political prisoners.

On average, the committee made decisions in two minutes, and in almost every instance, the ruling was for the defendant to be hanged by the neck until dead: “Execution, next …”

When asked about his ties to the executions, Raisi told Al-Jazeera, “Everything I’ve done in my time of holding office has been to defend human rights.”

The basis of my 10-year sentence was nothing more than a refusal to submit to the Islamic theocracy or disavow affiliation with the organization. That affiliation meant the explicit denial of many of the regime’s closely-held, backward religious beliefs, such as the notion that Islam requires the forced veiling of women, that women are half the value of men, and that adherents of other religions are “infidels” whose voices must be excluded from Iranian society.

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At the age of 18 and for 10 years thereafter, I witnessed those efforts in the regime’s dungeons, interrogation rooms and isolation chambers. The guards used varying sizes of electric cables to beat almost every inch of my body, from the soles of my feet to my neck. After a few dozen lashes, my feet began to swell and my head felt like a balloon about to pop. But even worse than the physical pain was the dread I felt in the waiting rooms, where I and other inmates were forced to sit behind the door, listening to other people being beaten and raped.

Nothing compares to the oppressive silence of solitary confinement. Time loses all meaning in isolation, and eventually, every thought that enters your mind becomes a newfound source of terror. Afraid of losing sanity, you search for absolutely anything that might anchor you to this world. The company of a lowly insect can become your holiest savior.

I, like thousands of other PMOI sympathizers at the time, was charged with distributing the organization’s leaflets, newspaper and statements, and promoting its anti-regime views. But I was not executed simply because I did not outwardly defend the organization as strongly as those who were executed.

The day that I came face to face with Raisi was also the day I lost my dearest friend Abbas Afghan, a student from Babol. Others followed: Mohammad Reza Shahir Eftekhar, Behzad Fath Zanjani, Mohsen Ruzbehani, Hamidreza Ardestani, Mohsen Shiri, Alireza Mehdizadeh and countless others. More faces, more lives, more families waiting.

Looking back to those dark times, when my fondest wish was simply to feel the breeze on my neck and when my share of sunlight was a small window — seven feet high blocked with steel rods — I never imagined the day would come when I might be able to tell the world about Raisi. But I am also sure that he never thought of the day that he would face the consequences of his actions.

For me, August 3 is already a dark day. Now I believe it will be recorded as a dark day in human history. I truly wonder how many world leaders will recognize it as such, and how many of them will shake hands with Raisi and offer their congratulations for his presidency. For those who have dealt with him personally, Raisi symbolizes the death of hope. His “election” has been widely described as being rigged and orchestrated by Supreme Leader Khamenei, who undoubtedly chose Raisi because their dark vision for the country is similar.

But I still have hope. Through all these years, we have weathered many storms and we braved the belly of the beast … and we’re still standing. I believe the dictator and his henchman have already lost. In 1988, they wanted all the regime’s opponents to repent, to go back to their families and neighborhoods ashamed and broken, telling others that dissent against this regime is useless. What they wanted was not hanging bodies but living corpses, bowed forever. But instead, they faced thousands who remained steadfast and became martyrs for generations to come.

Today, while Khamenei’s loyalists refer to him as the “leader of the Islamic Revolution,” which given his stance, should be “leader of Islamic extremists,” there is a young generation of secular-democratic Iranians rising up from Khuzestan to Tehran, ready to prove that Khamenei’s Beyt is only a house of cards.

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/08/04/opinions/ebrahim-raisi-1988-iran-political-prisoner-executions-royaei/index.html

 

 

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Human Rights

Iran: Security forces use live ammunition and birdshot to crush Khuzestan protests

by IAC-FL on

Amnesty International     |     July 23, 2021

Iran’s security forces have deployed unlawful force, including by firing live ammunition and birdshot, to crush mostly peaceful protests taking place across the southern province of Khuzestan, Amnesty International said today. Video footage from the past week, coupled with consistent accounts from the ground, indicate security forces used deadly automatic weapons, shotguns with inherently indiscriminate ammunition, and tear gas to disperse protesters.

Since protests over severe water shortages erupted in Khuzestan on 15 July, security forces have killed at least eight protesters and bystanders, including a teenage boy, in seven different cities. According to official statements, one police official was also shot dead in Mahshahr. Scores of people, including children, have been injured, including by birdshot, and several are hospitalized in critical condition due to gunshot wounds. Security and intelligence forces have swept up dozens of protesters and activists, including many from the Ahwazi Arab minority, in mass arrests.

“Using live ammunition against unarmed protesters posing no imminent threat to life is a horrifying violation of the authorities’ obligation to protect human life. Protesters in Iran who take to the streets to voice legitimate economic and political grievances face a barrage of gunfire, tear gas, and arrests,” said Diana Eltahawy, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Iran’s authorities have a harrowing track record of using unlawful lethal force. The events unfolding in Khuzestan have chilling echoes of November 2019, when security forces unlawfully killed hundreds of protesters and bystanders but were never held to account. Ending impunity is vital for preventing further bloodshed.”

Using live ammunition against unarmed protesters posing no imminent threat to life is a horrifying violation of the authorities’ obligation to protect human life 

Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty International

Amnesty International calls on the Iranian authorities to immediately cease the use of automatic weapons and shotguns firing birdshot, which are indiscriminate, cause grievous and painful injuries and are completely inappropriate for use in all policing situations. They must also release all those detained solely for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly and protect all detainees from torture and other ill-treatment. The authorities must also ensure the injured can safely access medical care in hospital without facing arbitrary arrest. Iran’s authorities must also end deliberate ongoing internet disruptions and shutdowns across the province to clamp down on human rights.

Iran has experienced a worsening water crisis in recent years depriving people of their right to clean and safe water and leading to several protests including in Khuzestan. Environmental researchers say the authorities have failed to take adequate action to address the crisis.

Evidence of unlawful use of force

According to analysis by Amnesty International’s weapons expert, the sound of automatic weapons fire can be heard in multiple videos relating to protests in Khuzestan province that have circulated on social media since 15 July, including from the cities of Izeh, Ahvaz, Kut-e Abdollah, Susangerd and Shoushtar.

Video – automatic weapon fire

 In other videos, including from Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, Mahshahr, Shavur, Shoush and Susangerd, the sounds of individual shots can be heard, which could be from discharging live ammunition, birdshot, or less-lethal munitions such as kinetic impact projectiles.

Video – single shots fired 

In one video, where single shots are audible, security forces wearing anti-riot gear are seen advancing, some of them on motorcycles, towards a gathering of unarmed protesters. As shots are heard, protesters are seen fleeing in the opposite direction. In another video, a member of the security forces is seen firing a shotgun at a target off camera. In one other video, a police official is seen running towards a crowd firing a shotgun as armed members of the security forces nearby shoot grenade launchers.

In at least one video, several armed men are seen chasing a fleeing protester into a quiet side street while a mixture of automatic gunfire and single shots can be heard in the background. The fleeing protester is seen slumping to the ground. According to information received by Amnesty International from an Ahwazi Arab human rights defender, the armed men were members of the security forces who then arrested the protester.

Although Amnesty International was not able to confirm the identities of the shooters in all videos, in some of the footage, protesters at the scene or those filming can be heard saying that security forces are firing toward protesters or into the air.

In all but two video clips reviewed by Amnesty International, protesters are unarmed and clearly pose no threat to life that would meet the threshold for the use of lethal force under international law. Extensive video evidence indicates the demonstrations were mostly peaceful though in some places, as the crackdown by security forces escalated, some protesters put up roadblocks with burning tyres, engaged in stone-throwing and arson and damaged state vehicles. In some videos, gunfire is heard while protesters are escaping and could not, therefore, represent any danger to the security forces.

The above-mentioned two video clips were published by Iran’s state-affiliated Fars News Agency, said to be from Ahvaz on 20 July. The first shows a single armed man shooting off camera standing beside a group of unarmed men; the other shows a man on the rear seat of a moving motorcycle shooting into air.

While the circumstances surrounding the incidents shown in these clips remain unclear to Amnesty International, in the course of extensive documentation of the crackdowns on nationwide protests in November 2019 and other protests in recent years, the organization has received numerous eyewitness accounts indicating the authorities’ use of plainclothes agents to pose as armed or violent protesters.

Identified victims

According to information obtained from informed sources, security forces have killed at least eight protesters and bystanders, including a teenage boy, since protests began.

They include Mostafa Asakereh (Naimavi) in Shadegan, Ghassem Naseri (Khozeiri) in Kut-e Abdollah, Isa Baledi and Meysam Achrash in Taleghani, Hamzeh (Farzad) Fereisat in Ahvaz, Mehdi Chanani in Shoush, Hamid Mojadam (Jokari) in Chamran, and a teenage boy, Hadi Bahmani, in Izeh. The deaths resulted from incidents on 16, 19, 20 and 21 July.

Human rights defenders on the ground have reported that in various cities across the province, many injured protesters are not seeking hospital treatment due to fear of arrests. A human rights defender told Amnesty International that on 21 July, security and intelligence agents arrested several injured protesters from a hospital in Susangerd.

State denial and cover up

Iranian government officials or state-affiliated media outlets have only recognized the death of four “members of the public” so far. They have blamed the deaths on unidentified armed “rioters” without presenting evidence, as they did in the aftermath of nation-wide protests in November 2019.

On 17 and 18 July, Fars News Agency published two video interviews with relatives of Mostafa Asakereh )Naimavi) and Ghassem Naseri (Khozeiri) who were killed in the protests. In the videos they describe their deceased loved ones as “not the type to get involved in riots” and deflect blame from the government.

A source with direct knowledge in Iran told Amnesty International that plain-clothes intelligence agents visited Ghassem Naseri (Khozeiri)’s family shortly after he died and coerced them into reciting a pre-prepared script on camera.

State media outlets in Iran, in co-operation with Iran’s intelligence and security bodies, have a longstanding record of producing and broadcasting propaganda videos featuring coerced statements from victims of human rights violations and their families.

“We have called time and time again for an end to the systematic impunity that continues to perpetuate cycles of bloodshed, as seen in the brutal crackdown on protests in Khuzestan. The UN Human Rights Council must urgently establish a mechanism to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings,” said Diana Eltahawy.

Methodology

Amnesty International researchers and the organization’s Crisis Evidence Lab analysed dozens of videos relating to protest sites across Khuzestan province that have circulated on social media since 15 July.

The organization also examined several photographs and two videos showing classic spray patterns of birdshot wounds on the bodies of several protesters.

In addition, Amnesty International spoke to two primary sources on the ground with direct information about two of those killed as well as four human rights defenders and two journalists based outside Iran who had communicated with eyewitnesses, local activists and journalists, and victims’ relatives, neighbours and friends. The disruption of internet services in the province since the protests began has impeded Amnesty International’s ability to conduct more in-depth interviews with sources on the ground.

Amnesty International also monitored state-affiliated media outlets in Iran and independent media outlets based outside Iran.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/07/iran-security-forces-use-live-ammunition-and-birdshot-to-crush-khuzestan-protests/

 

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Human Rights

Iran: Ebrahim Raisi must be investigated for crimes against humanity

by IAC-FL on

Amnesty International     |     19 June 2021

Responding to today’s announcement declaring Ebrahim Raisi as Iran’s next president, Amnesty International’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard said:

“That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran. In 2018, our organization documented how Ebrahim Raisi had been a member of the ‘death commission’ which forcibly disappeared and extrajudicially executed in secret thousands of political dissidents in Evin and Gohardasht prisons near Tehran in 1988. The circumstances surrounding the fate of the victims and the whereabouts of their bodies are, to this day, systematically concealed by the Iranian authorities, amounting to ongoing crimes against humanity.

‘As Head of the Iranian Judiciary, Ebrahim Raisi has presided over a spiralling crackdown on human rights which has seen hundreds of peaceful dissidents, human rights defenders and members of persecuted minority groups arbitrarily detained. Under his watch, the judiciary has also granted blanket impunity to government officials and security forces responsible for unlawfully killing hundreds of men, women and children and subjecting thousands of protesters to mass arrests and at least hundreds to enforced disappearance, and torture and other ill-treatment during and in the aftermath of the nationwide protests of November 2019.

“Ebrahim Raisi’s rise to the presidency follows an electoral process that was conducted in a highly repressive environment and barred women, members of religious minorities and candidates with opposing views from running for office.

“We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction.

“It is now more urgent than ever for member states of the UN Human Rights Council to take concrete steps to address the crisis of systematic impunity in Iran including by establishing an impartial mechanism to collect and analyse evidence of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings.”

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2021/06/iran-ebrahim-raisi-must-be-investigated-for-crimes-against-humanity/

 

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