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Monthly Report: March 2007

A Summary of Developments Concerning Democracy and Human Rights in Iran

01 March 2007 Gozaar

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Intra-governmental Discord

The most prevalent developments in Iran in the past month have been the growing factionalism and criticism coming from inside of the government. The elections last December have drawn considerable political influence towards former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani at the expense of current president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At the request of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Rafasanjani is spearheading a team of politicians and clerics, including former president Mohammad Khatami, opposed to Ahmadinejad’s right-wing policies.

Speculation holds that Khamenei is worried about American retaliations in the face of the nuclear provocation, and Rafsanjani is generally held to believe that Iran will have to yield in its nuclear activities to avoid serious conflict.

Ahmadinejad meanwhile has reinforced his stance, claiming that no measure of sanctions or resolutions will keep Iran from its nuclear destiny. At the same time, the president has remarked that Khamenei sets the country’s nuclear policy, which some have seen as a means to escape responsibility for the current situation. He specifically stated, “I am not a policy maker, I am just an executive.”

Ebrahim Yazdi, leader of the Freedom Movement inside Iran, has also called on Rafsanjani and Khatami to intervene in the nuclear debate. On January 25, over 100 Members of Parliament met with Rafsanjani for such a purpose. On the same day, the reformist paper Mardom Salari criticized the president, accusing him of spouting propaganda and being out of touch with his people.

Criticism on Ahmadinejad’s domestic record has also come from Rafsanjani for the President’s failure to privatize Iran’s state-run industries, per the Constitution of the Islamic Republic and the wishes of Khamenei. Furthermore, Ahmadinejad’s support with the clerics of Qom seems to have faded considerably, as he canceled an official trip there earlier in the month. Three days later Rafsanjani went, where he was received warmly by most of the ayatollahs in the holy city. Grand Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri, once considered Khomeini’s political heir, is one of the leading clerics against the current government system, calling on current leaders to release the political prisoners and to back off the nuclear issue for the sake of the country as a whole.

Recent evidence of the growing discord within the government is the raid of Khatami’s office on February 12. All computers, documents, fax machines, scanners, and other equipment were stolen from his Foundation for Freedom, Development, and Progress of Iran (Baran), and International Institute for Dialogue Between Cultures and Civilizations offices. There are no leads yet as to who performed the raid, but, based on the physical state of the office and the fact that documents, rather than expensive equipment, were stolen, it is widely believed that it was not the work of ordinary thieves. Police are investigating.

Most recently, on February 13, the Majles confirmed Ahmadinejad’s appointment of a new Justice Minister, Gholam-Hossein Elham, who served previously as Ahmadinejad’s chief of staff and spokesman. The appointment fills the vacancy left by the death of former minister Jamal Karimirad in December.

Women's Rights

A bill is currently circulating in the Majlis to instate quotas and stricter rules for women applicants and entrants to university. According to parliamentarians, government agencies spend approximately $1700 per student per year, and lawmakers feel that with many women graduates unable to work because of the social situation in Iran, investing in these young women is a waste of money. Surprisingly, the bill is supported by many women MPs, who are opposed to equality in the law due to their strict Koranic interpretations. The bill will create gender-based fields of study, with areas more suited for men than women and vice versa. Currently, 65 percent of university students are women.

Three women journalists were arrested on January 27 at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran on their way to attend a journalism conference in India. The three are Mansoureh Shojayi, Talaat Taghinia, both established activists, and Farnaz Seyfi, a young journalist whose father manages the blog Emshaspenda. Immediately after the arrest, Seyfi’s parents went to Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi, who has pledged to act as their lawyer. The women were released shortly afterwards, but there has been no official explanation for their arrest. Other Iranian invitees to the conference were not permitted to leave Iran but were not detained or arrested.

In addition to the case above, Shirin Ebadi is also running a campaign entitled “One Million Signatures Demanding Changes to Discriminatory Laws.” The petition will be presented to the government protesting the state of women’s rights. As of February 7, the petition has received 40,000 signatures. The campaign has several hundred women training and educating others, connecting with various women’s networks throughout the country.

Dissidents

On February 4, activists Abdullah Momeni (spokesman of the Advar-e Tahkim-e Vahdat) and academic Hashem Aghajari were prevented from leaving the country to attend an Iran reform conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Momeni stated that under Iranian law, those with an exit stamp in their passport, such as they had, cannot be restrained from leaving the country, and furthermore, only a judge can prevent exit. Aghajari has been at odds with the government since 2002 when he was sentenced to death for blasphemy, charges that were dropped in 2005.

This is only the most recent in a series of events. In addition to the three journalists noted above, on January 13 a travel ban was issued on civil activist Taghi Rahmani, who was invited to give a series of lectures in Denmark. On November 26, journalist Ali Farahbakhsh was banned from further travel after returning from a conference in India.

Executions

Three Ahwazis were hanged in front of their families on February 14 for participation in recent bombings in Khuzestan. On January 24, four Ahwazis were executed, making 19 total executions in 2007. The four were Khalaf Khudayrawi, Alireza Asakreh, Mohammad Jaab Pour, and Abdulamir Jaab. All were convicted for involvement in October 2005 bomb attacks in Ahwaz, and had government-forced confessions videotaped and broadcast, violating Iran’s responsibilities as signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which upholds the right of the accused not to testify against himself. Their bodies were not returned to their families, and the families were not permitted to hold a memorial service.

Nazanin Fatehi Case

Former death-row prisoner Nazanin Fatehi was released from prison on February 1. She had been convicted of murder for killing one of her three assailants in an attempted rape. Cleared in January of her charges, Fatehi remained in jail until the money for her bail was gathered by a movement, led by former Miss World Canada and human rights activist Nazanin Afshin-Jam who delivered the money to authorities in Iran. Despite the $43,000 bail, Fatehi still must pay blood money to her deceased assailant’s family, a ruling which she intends to appeal.

Minorities

A bomb exploded in front of a bus in the town of Zahedan in Sistan and Balochistan province on February 14, killing at least 11 members of the Revolutionary Guard. The region is largely inhabited by a Sunni minority, some of whom comprise a militia know as Jundallah. The government asked the population not to react against Sunnis and instead to respond calmly and patiently. Later in the day, five men were arrested in Zahedan as suspects in the case, and their small weapons were confiscated.

The United States officially expressed concern on January 31 over Iran’s treatment of minorities, particularly Azeris. It cited the case of Abbas Lisani, who has been imprisoned under harsh conditions since June for peaceful protests. The US also referred to oppressive treatment of Kurds, Arabs, and other ethnic groups.

Censorship

On February 3 the Iranian government’s Press Monitoring Commission shut down the Siasate Rouz newspaper for allegedly insulting Iran’s small Sunni population by denigrating Omar, the second caliph. The newspaper claimed the statement was a print error. Reporters Without Borders have condemned this action, finding no legitimate reason for such censorship.

Possibily in response to December’s massive student protest against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during his speech at Amir Kabir Unverisity , the government on January 24 banned the publication of prominent student magazine Farhange Mobarezeh, and its editor-in-chief, Ali Gholizadeh, now faces charges of offending the state.