WWW.AMNESTY.ORGPUBLIC AI Index: MDE 13/015/2004

26 February 2004

Further Information on UA 364/03 (MDE 13/041/2003, 15 December 2003) and
follow-ups (MDE 13/041/2003, 25 February 2004; MDE 13/002/2004, 09 January
2004) - Fear of imminent execution

IRAN Kobra Rahmanpour (f), aged about 22

According to the newspaper Ete'mad, Kobra Rahmanpour is to be executed on 28
February 2004. Her only hope of escaping execution is for the family of her
alleged victim to decide to accept payment of blood money (diyeh) rather than
retribution in kind (qesas-e nafs).

New information has emerged about the events leading up to the death of Kobra
Rahmanpour's mother-in-law, for which she was sentenced to death in January
2002. According to an article on the Iranian women's rights website,
http://www.womeniniran.org/, in 1999 Kobra Rahmanpour went to work at the house
of Alireza Niakaniyan, possibly as a domestic servant, for a three-month trial
period. He reportedly sexually abused her, and she lodged complaints with the
authorities. He reportedly paid compensation to her, and may have been
imprisoned. However, possibly under pressure from Kobra Rahmanpour's father,
the two entered into a sigheh, or "temporary marriage". Nevertheless, according
to this report, one day in September or October 2000 Alireza Niakaniyan drove
Kobra Rahmanpour to a busy market area in north Tehran, called Tajrish, where
he reportedly gave her US$20,000 in cash. and told her to leave him. She
reportedly made her way back to his house, where the struggle which resulted in
the death of his mother took place.

She was arrested some weeks later, and put on trial. She said that she had
acted in self-defence, after her mother-in-law attacked her with a kitchen
knife, but was sentenced to death by Branch 1608 of Tehran's Criminal Court in
January 2002. A year later the sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court.

In a 3 February 2004 letter to Amnesty International, the Embassy of the
Islamic Republic of Iran in London stated that legal proceedings in the case
had been completed and that the sentence could only be commuted if the victim's
heirs were to forgo their right to retribution and ask instead for
compensation. It appears that efforts by public figures and certain officials
have not deterred the family of the victim from seeking the execution of Kobra
Rahmanpour.

Kobra Rahmanpour was scheduled to be executed in January 2004, but a shortage
of the equipment (allegedly a lack of handcuffs to use on the way to the
execution site) reportedly contributed to a decision by judicial authorities to
stay her execution and seek a pardon from Alireza Niakaniyan and his family.

WWW.AMNESTY.ORG
Iran: Justice denied to man who died after flogging
Feature, 27/02/2004
The heart attack that killed Mohsen Mofidi on 22 February 2004 may not have been brought on by the flogging that he received around four days earlier. But the 80 lashes of leather cords, each over a centimetre thick and one metre long, could not have helped. His unnecessary death begs the question: why did he have to die and for what?

Thirty-five-year-old Mohsen and two of his sisters -- Mahdis, then 19 and Nika, 17 -- were arrested at their home in Tehran in July 2003. Officials had noticed the illegal satellite dish on the house and the numbers of visitors to their apartment and made enquiries. They arrested the three siblings -- the sisters later said that were beaten with wooden sticks and chains while in detention.

Following investigations, Mohsen was charged with possessing the illegal satellite dish, alcohol -- albeit contained in medicine -- and with fostering the corruption of his younger sisters. The young women reportedly admitted under interrogation to adultery and having "non-legitimate relations" (ravabet-e na-mashou'), or boyfriends. The judge sentenced the young women, one of them still a minor at the time, to 130 lashes in August 2003.

Mohsen Mofidi received four months' imprisonment, 80 lashes and a cash fine, which he faced for possession of the satellite dish. The original sentences were upheld following an appeal heard in late 2003, but, by the time the sentences were due to be carried out in January 2004, the sisters had fled to Canada. They had succeeded in delaying the proceedings by saying that they were menstruating, this exempted them from the flogging and gave them more time to ensure their departure. However, their brother Mohsen went into Qasr Prison.

The authorities in Iran have the duty to apply the law as it is therefore to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offences. But adultery, "non-legitimate relations" and fostering corruption are not recognized as criminal offences under international law. Was the health and safety of the young Mofidi sisters and the life of Mohsen Mofidi worth any less than such standards, standards like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which Iran is a state party?

The family was, however, also let down by flaws in the administration of justice. The family, it seems, was not aware of their right to employ a lawyer for the General Court hearing (Dadgah-e 'Omomi). They hurriedly hired one just days before the trial, yet he turned out to be a trickster and fraud who was arrested shortly after the end of proceedings. There are also reports that Mohsen was denied access to a lawyer, let alone a lawyer of his choice, at the appeal stage, despite repeated requests.

Mohsen Mofidi had served only several weeks of his four-month custodial sentence when, on 11 February, he benefited from a general amnesty that the Supreme Leader of Iran grants every year on the anniversary of the establishment of the Islamic Republic. He was to be released, but was still required to face the 80 lashes to which he was also sentenced.

Over the course of his incarceration in Qasr Prison, he had developed an acute lung and sinus infection that required him to remain in the prison's medical facility, drifting in and out of consciousness. Despite reports that he had not yet fully recovered from this infection, he was deemed well enough by the authorities to face the 80 lashes, which he received on 18 February, prior to his departure to a relative's house in another part of the city.

His condition deteriorated when he arrived at the house. He was seen by a doctor in connection with the lung infection -- for which he was proscribed antibiotics -- but, according to the death certificate, Mohsen Mofidi, a 35-year-old man with no known record of a previous heart condition, died of a heart attack. His sisters, now in Canada, were distraught at the news of his death; one told Amnesty International, "Now that he is gone, nothing matters."

The decision to carry out the flogging may well have contributed to this unnecessary death. Judicial corporal punishments are cruel, inhuman and degrading forms of punishment that amount to torture. They are unlawful because they entail key elements of torture or ill-treatment, including the deliberate infliction of severe pain and suffering as a punishment. The UN Human Rights Committee has stated that the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "must extend to corporal punishment".

It is also possible that the flogging Mohsen Mofidi faced did not contribute to his death. But he still need not have died without the justice in whose name the Islamic Republic of Iran was founded; without the dignity to which every Iranian citizen is entitled. He was the victim of the laws of his country and of a justice system that left him with a flawed defence. Finally, he was failed by those who deemed him fit enough to face 80 lashes on 18 February. The unnecessary death of Mohsen Mofidi tells us that Iran's criminal justice system is failing its citizens; failing to uphold the rule of law and to protect fundamental freedoms.

A broad-based review of laws, the practice of the administration of justice, sentencing and the manner of implementation of punishments is essential for Iran's judicial system to gain the credibility it is lacking in Iranian society. Such a review can only be initiated by the Office of the Supreme Leader.

The international community, which is on the verge of examining Iran's performance in defending human rights at the annual Commission on Human Rights, must take action at developments such as this, along with other flagrant violations of human rights.

As it stands, Mohsen Mofidi appears to have died for nothing.

To take action in relation to the case of Mohsen Mofidi, please go to: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/ENGMDE130132004

Conservatives censor reformist press on the eve of their parliamentary "coup"


Reporters Without Borders today demanded the immediate reopening of two leading reformist dailies that were closed down yesterday and reiterated its condemnation of the efforts of the Tehran prosecutor's office and judge Said Mortazavi in particular to silence the reformist press and deprive Iranians of major news sources on the eve of legislative elections.

The two newspapers, Sharq and Yas-e no, were shut down yesterday evening, immediately after being raided by officials from the Tehran prosecutor's office.

The closures came a day after they published extracts of a letter from reformist parliamentarians to the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, thereby defying an order issued the same day by national security council director Hassan Rouhani banning its publication. The letter blaming Khamenei for the electoral "coup d'état" and the current political crisis.

The censorship measures will prevent the reformist media from commenting on the elections, for which the authorities have rejected any presence of international observers.

Yesterday, 113 journalists working for the reformist press said in a joint statement that they would not vote in the elections, which they considered "neither free nor legal."

A total of 11 journalists are currently detained in Iran, which makes it the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East

We Iranian Human Rights Groups in E.U and North America, ask you to address your respective parliaments to assure that the UN establishes a continuous monitoring of Human Rights by the nomination of permanent Special Reporters in Iran

Following the continuous efforts by Human rights organizations as well as political and social activists both in Iran and internationally , the general Assembly of the United Nations, on December 22nd 2003, approved a resolution denouncing the Human rights situation in Iran.

This was the 19th time in 20 years that such denunciation was expressed by the U.N. The draft resolution was adopted earlier, on November 21st 2003, by the Third Committee (Social and Humanitarian), where it had been submitted by Canada.

This draft proposal will “have the General Assembly express its grave concern about continuing human rights violations in that country. Also, the Assembly would call on that Government to abide by its obligations under the International Covenants on Human Rights to expedite judicial reform, guarantee the dignity of the individual, ensure the full application of due process of law, by an independent and impartial judiciary, and eliminate discrimination against religious minorities”

The resolution goes on to condemn long illegal detaining of political activists, journalists and students, and the use of tough punishments such as: dismemberment of hands and legs, whipping and public executions. Moreover, the rights of the religious minorities such as Jews, Christians, Sunni Muslims and especially the Ba'hai are not respected. In addition to the condemnations, the resolution asks Iran to improve its human right situation and cooperate with U.N. inspectors.

Given the lack of result of: - all previous UN inspections in Iran, mostly due to divertive tactics, and various stratagems of the Iranian Regime aimed at crippling the work of the UN reporters; - the evidence about the wide, planified and systematic violation of Human Rights in Iran we, Iranian Human Rights Groups in E.U and North America, ask you to address your respective parliaments to assure that the UN establishes a continuous monitoring of Human Rights by the nomination of permanent Special Reporters in Iran. It is evident to us that the continuous surveillance of UN inspections will play a key role in the improvement of the Human Rights situation in Iran

www.hrw.org
Iran: Reformist Newspapers Muzzled Before Election
(February 19, 2004) -- Iran’s judiciary should immediately reverse its order closing the last two newspapers associated with the country’s reformers, Human Rights Watch said today. Chief Prosecutor Said Mortazavi yesterday ordered the closure of Sharq and Yas-e Nau ahead of parliamentary elections on February 20.

“These closures mark the final blow in the campaign against the reformist press in Iran,” said Joe Stork, acting executive director of the Middle East and North Africa division of Human Rights Watch. “The judiciary, which should protect basic rights like free expression, has again taken the lead in violating those rights.”

The authorities moved against the two newspapers after they published excerpts from a letter circulated by over 100 members of parliament on February 17. The letter criticized Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for approving the Guardian Council’s disqualification of more than 2,000 candidates from the upcoming parliamentary elections. The parliamentarians said that Khamenei himself was responsible for ensuring that the elections on Friday would not reflect the will of the people.

Chief Prosecutor Mortazavi has led a campaign to close down over 70 independent newspapers since April 2000, when he presided as a judge over the so-called “Press Court.” Sharq [East] and Yas-e Nau [New Jasmine] were the only Iranian papers to publish any part of the parliamentarians’ letter. Security agents under Mortazavi’s authority surrounded the building of one paper to prevent distribution of editions containing excerpts from the parliamentarians’ letter.

Human Rights Watch has urged members of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights to pass a resolution at its annual session, which begins March 15, condemning the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran and reinstating a U.N. special rapporteur to monitor human rights developments in the country.

www.rsf.org
Conservatives censor reformist press on the eve of their parliamentary "coup"

Reporters Without Borders today demanded the immediate reopening of two leading reformist dailies that were closed down yesterday and reiterated its condemnation of the efforts of the Tehran prosecutor's office and judge Said Mortazavi in particular to silence the reformist press and deprive Iranians of major news sources on the eve of legislative elections.

The two newspapers, Sharq and Yas-e no, were shut down yesterday evening, immediately after being raided by officials from the Tehran prosecutor's office.

The closures came a day after they published extracts of a letter from reformist parliamentarians to the Supreme Guide of the Islamic Republic, Ali Khamenei, thereby defying an order issued the same day by national security council director Hassan Rouhani banning its publication. The letter blaming Khamenei for the electoral "coup d'état" and the current political crisis.

The censorship measures will prevent the reformist media from commenting on the elections, for which the authorities have rejected any presence of international observers.

Yesterday, 113 journalists working for the reformist press said in a joint statement that they would not vote in the elections, which they considered "neither free nor legal."

A total of 11 journalists are currently detained in Iran, which makes it the biggest prison for journalists in the Middle East

Elections in Iran: European Parliament resolution on Iran
P5_TA-PROV(2004)0100


The European Parliament,

- having regard to its resolution of 13 December 2001 on the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on EU relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran,

- having regard to its previous resolutions on Iran,

- having regard to the UNGA Resolution of December 2003 on human rights,

- having regard to the recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Ambeyi Ligabo, which criticises, in particular, the fact that freedom of expression in Iran has declined considerably in recent years,

- having regard to Rule 50(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. recognising the sovereign right of the Iranian people to choose their constitutional framework,

B. committed to universal values such as the rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy,

C. whereas information on the banning of candidates by the Council of Guardians changes on a daily basis and there are currently still about 75 sitting MPs banned from fighting this general election; whereas, in all cases, the extent of these disqualifications is unprecedented and concerns - among the current members - almost exclusively parliamentarians of the Participation Front, close to President Khatami,

D. emphasising that the right to stand for elections is an essential element of democratic life and that exceptions should therefore be clearly defined under the law, in accordance with internationally accepted democratic standards,

E. restating its continued support for the process of reform in Iran and reaffirming once again its willingness to strengthen political and economic relations between EU and Iran,

F. following with deep concern the political debate in Iran on the procedures governing the establishment of the lists of candidates for the next Parliament,

G. noting that President Khatami, together with Majlis Speaker Karrubi, in a letter to Ayatollah Khamenei finally agreed to hold the elections, but warned that 'the actions of the Guardian Council had diminished competition and would lead to reduced public enthusiasm for voting'; fearing that the public will be further frustrated and alienated from the political class as a whole and that a likely huge abstention rate at the elections will play into the hands of the conservative and backward-oriented forces and will add to the strong dissatisfaction particularly of the younger generation with the lack of political and social progress after 25 years of Islamic Revolution;

H. whereas Iran has the potential to play an important and constructive role in the region;

1. Shares the view of the Iranian President and a majority of Majlis Members that the upcoming elections cannot be described as free and fair, primarily due to the exclusion of many candidates, including acting parliamentarians;

2. Regrets that the efforts towards the establishment of democratic structures have suffered a severe setback as unelected structures have shown themselves to be stronger than those institutions directly legitimated by the people of Iran;

3. Notes that the undermining of the reform-minded majority of the current Majlis by the Guardian Council has been a continuous phenomenon: since 2000, more than one third of all bills ratified by the parliament have been vetoed by the Guardian Council;

4. Expresses its respect and understanding for the resignation of about 127 Members of the Iranian Majlis as a consequence of so many Members being prevented from standing again in the upcoming election on 20 February 2004;

5. Regrets that its wish to send an observer mission to the elections did not materialise because of lack of support from the Iranian side;

6. Warns that the lack of respect for democratic procedures may lead not only to a parliament unable to legitimise itself but also to a weakening of Iran's stance in the international community, which would not leave EU-Iran relations unaffected;

7. Regrets that an election under those circumstances will not be a good example for the already fragile region of the greater Middle East;

8. Remains convinced that a continued dialogue of all relevant European institutions with Iranian decision-makers, different political forces and civil society is more important than ever, inter alia in EP-Majlis relations, and welcomes the intention to set up a separate EP delegation for relations with Iran;

9. Regrets, while acknowledging Iran's participation in the human rights dialogue, the limited scope of this dialogue, insists on a more result-oriented approach with regard to specific topics and calls for broader participation of MEPs in this dialogue;

10. Would welcome a more active participation of the Iranian judiciary and the Guardian Council in the EU-Iran human rights dialogue;

11. Is prepared to identify, in addition to existing cooperation between the EU and Iran, other areas of common concern;

12. Recognises again the positive move made by Iran in signing the Additional Protocol for nuclear material safeguards and hopes that the Majlis will ratify the text within a reasonable deadline;

13. Calls on the Council and the Commission to work on joint activities with Iran to combat drugs production in Afghanistan, drugs abuse in Iran and the illegal transit of drugs through Iran on their way to Europe, and especially to supply Iran with the necessary technical equipment to enable the competent authorities to be more effective; welcomes in this respect Iran's preparedness to share sensitive information;

14. Calls on the Iranian Government to pursue a more active and constructive policy in order to contribute to conflict resolution in the greater Middle East region;

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the President and Parliament of Iran.

WWW.RSF.org
Authorities urged to stop harassing journalists and allow free coverage of the electoral crisis

Reporters Without Borders is concerned at an upsurge in harassment and obstruction of journalists since the 11 January ruling barring huge numbers of reformist candidates from contesting 20 February parliamentary elections. The international press freedom organisation has called on the authorities in the Islamic Republic to allow journalists to freely report on the political crisis currently shaking the country. Reporters Without Borders also urged the authorities to grant visas to all foreign journalists who apply for them.

Eight reformist dailies - Yas-e no, Sharq, Nassim-e Sabah, Tosseh, Aftab-e Yazd, E'temad, Hambastegi, et Mardomsalari - were threatened by the legal authorities in the week of 29 January for their coverage of the sit-in by reformist deputies in front of the parliament.

Prosecutor Said Mortazavi has called on the Ministry for Culture and Islamic Orientation to issue a warning to these newspapers accusing them of "sowing discord". The prosecutor went even further on 8 February with the threat, "Any newspaper carrying articles about the election boycott will be immediately closed down."

Five journalists have also been officially summoned by the Justice Ministry :
Shadi Sadr, journalist at Yas-e no and publisher of the site www.womeniran.com is due to appear shortly before a court in Qazvin to respond to a complaint from the prosecutor's office.
Abdollah Nasseri, head of the official IRNA news agency, was summoned by Section 1083 of the Teheran court to respond to complaints from the prosecutor's office linked to his coverage of the political crisis.
Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, editor-in-chief of several major banned reformist newspapers, was summoned on 28 January by the 6th section of the Teheran court over his articles on the parliamentary crisis.
Abdolrassul Vessal, publisher of the daily Iran, was summoned by the 6th section of Teheran court over its report on the government spokesman's speech during the reformist deputies' sit-in at parliament. He is accused of "publishing false news".
Rassul Montakhabnia, reformist deputy and journalist, was summoned by the Clergy Court over a highly critical article about a speech by the Guide of the Islamic Republic about the press in Iran.

Throughout the country and particularly in provincial cities, journalists have confirmed to Reporters Without Borders that they have received phone threats over articles about the political crisis. Courts have summoned some newspaper bosses this week on the basis of complaints laid many months or even years earlier.

Finally, several media have been shut down :
The weekly Hadith-e Kerman, in Kerman province was closed on 7 February for coverage last year of serial killings committed by armed militia.
Another weekly in Khorrassan province, No Andish, was suspended for one year on 4 February on the order of the 7th appeal court in Mashhad, on the basis of a complaint from the prosecutor's office. The editor-in-chief, the publisher and a journalist were fined five million rials (about 500 euros at the official rate) and another journalist was fined 1 million de rials (about 100 euros).

www.rsf.org
Islamic Republic urged to heed UN rapporteur's findings

Reporters Without Borders today hailed the report issued on 12 January by the UN special rapporteur for freedom of expression and opinion, Ambeyi Ligabo, following his 4-10 November visit to Iran, and it urged the Iranian authorities to implement the report's recommendations.

"The observations and conclusions of this official UN document confirm the dramatic situation for press freedom in Iran, which Reporters Without Borders has been condemning for years," the organisation's secretary-general, Robert Ménard, said.

"The Iranian authorities accepted the principle of this visit, so we call on them now to implement the conclusions and proposals made by the special rapporteur for a rapid reform of the press code and criminal code and an improvement in the judicial practices which currently allow widespread abuses in the trials of prisoners of opinion," Ménard said.

"Like the special rapporteur, we expect the release of all the journalists who have been imprisoned just for doing their job. We also hope that Zahra Kazemi's murderers will not benefit from any impunity and that her body will be repatriated at once to Canada, as her son wishes," Ménard added.

Ligabo found a decline in respect for freedom of expression in Iran, with increasing numbers of newspapers being closed and journalists being imprisoned, often beyond what is legally allowed for provisional detention. The systematic repression of all critical opinion as regards political and religious institutions has ushered in a climate of fear and encouraged self-censorship.

The special rapporteur also noted the arbitrary procedures being followed by judicial institutions, in violation of the most elementary rights of defendants, who are tried behind closed doors without a lawyer present. He saw very harsh prison conditions, with long periods of solitary confinement that are tantamount to torture.

Ligabo urged the Islamic Republic to revise its judicial procedures and make them conform to international standards, and to adopt a human rights charter. He said the revolutionary courts should no longer have authority over crimes of opinion and he called on the authorities to end prison sentences for crimes of opinion and press offences.

Ligabo was the second rapporteur of the UN Commission on Human Rights to make an official visit to Iran. Louis Joinet, the chairman of the working group on arbitrary detention visited Iran from 15 to 27 February 2003, but his recommendations had no effect.

Both rapporteurs expressed the same expectations as regard press freedom and respect for human rights in Iran.

Reporters Without Borders hopes that the changes recommended by Joinet and Ligabo will be implemented with monitoring by international bodies, in particular, by human rights organisations and the European Union, which has been conducting a constructive dialogue with the Iranian regime on human rights issues since 1998.

Summary of new sex month report abut human right in Iran Report No 1-5
The committee of defence of human Rights in Iran
-Based in Sweden