UK :Human Rights Annual Report 2004

The last year has been a disappointing one for human rights in Iran. Two events attracted particular international attention: the death of Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi in police custody in July 2003, and the mass disqualification of candidates for the Majlis (parliament) elections in February 2004. The death of Ms Kazemi epitomised many of the year’s worst trends. She was arrested for taking photographs of people protesting the detention of their relatives at Evin Prison in Tehran, and suffered a violent death. The Iranian authorities buried the body before a full and public autopsy could be carried out. President Khatami ordered an inquiry, which found that she died from injuries sustained in custody and not from natural causes. The trial of the person accused of causing her death began on 17 July 2004, and ended abruptly a day later. He was later acquitted. Having earlier been assured that the trial would be open, Canadian and other international representatives who wished to attend were barred from the courtroom on the second day. The EU expressed concern that justice might not be done.
Many candidates were barred from standing in Iran’s parliamentary elections, among them a third of sitting deputies. Most of the disqualified candidates were associated with reformist factions. Some other reformist candidates withdrew in protest. It has been claimed that in as many as half the constituencies, electors faced no real choice. EU foreign ministers, including Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, expressed deep regret and disappointment that large numbers of candidates had been prevented from standing, thus making a genuine democratic choice by the Iranian people impossible. The Foreign Secretary has stressed that for elections in any country to be regarded as free and fair, electors must have a chance to vote for candidates with a range of views. The previous Majlis, with a reformist majority, was an important forum for political debate on human rights issues within Iran. The new Majlis, with a conservative majority, is likely to be much less active on this front.
More