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Monthly Report: April 2007

A Summary of Developments Concerning Democracy and Human Rights in Iran

01 April 2007 Gozaar

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The past month has seen frequent protests and numerous arrests of several groups, but the women’s movement has provided the greatest evidence of Iran’s repression of dissenting views.

Women’s Rights

On March 4, 33 women holding a peaceful demonstration outside the Revolutionary Court in Tehran were arrested for protesting the trial of five women who were taken into custody during an equal rights protest last June. All 33 women were taken to Ward 209 of Evin Prison, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Intelligence, and thus outside the control of the prison authorities. According to Article 27 of the Islamic Constitution of Iran, such arrests are illegal. The Constitution states that unarmed, peaceful protests – provided they do not contradict Islamic morals – are legal. These arrests were probably meant to warn those planning International Women’s Day events on March 8.

Much concern has been raised in the West over the arrests. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, condemned arresting peaceful demonstrators. The U.S. State Department has also expressed its disapproval of the incident, citing it as yet another “alarming” stage in the pattern of government intolerance. Additionally, Human Rights Watch has spoken out against the arrests, saying that they “raise Iran’s repression of peaceful activists to a new level.” The organization also believes that human rights are being swept under the carpet in favor of the nuclear issue.

Several students were arrested for staging a rally in support of the women’s rights activists arrested on March 4. The arrests prompted universities to declare that no additional meetings on women’s rights would be allowed before Women’s Day.

On March 8, International Women’s Day, Tehran police attacked a crowd of protesters, approximately 700 according to Reuters, who had gathered in front of the Majles, which resulted in several injuries. Meanwhile, by this time, all but three of the original 33 women arrested had been freed on the condition that they would not stage rallies on Women’s Day. The three still in Evin Prison are Shadi Sadr, Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, and Jila Baniyaghoub. These women have been placed in solitary confinement and are on hunger strike. In response to these events, Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi and Irene Khan, secretary-general of Amnesty International, have called for an end to gender discrimination in Iran, citing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which denounces such treatment.

Teachers' protests

Thousands of professors and teachers held a protest on March 3, threatening to cancel examinations. They also stated they would hold a strike to protest the 1,500 teachers who were fired in Kurdistan. Three days later, thousands more protested in front of the Majles, calling for the resignation of Education Minister Mahmoud Farshidi and the release of educators currently held as political prisoners. They also called for a salary raise. The protestors chanted “Incompetent minister, resign, resign.” Signs were displayed in Persian and English, with slogans such as “We will not stay calm until we get our rights!” Additional demonstrations occurred throughout Iran on March 8, with 3,000 female teachers in Tehran demanding higher pay and better working conditions. Other protests were staged in Zanjan, Kermanshah, Rasht, Esfahan, Ardebil, Shiraz, and elsewhere. As a result of the week-long protests, approximately 20 prominent teacher-activists have been arrested.

Students

On February 16, imprisoned student leader Ahmad Batebi suffered seizures and entered a brief coma. Three days later, he had a stroke and was taken to the Evin Prison hospital. His doctors believe these incidents resulted from harsh physical conditions and poor treatment while in prison. Some doctors have taken issue with his treatment at Evin, saying he should have been treated at a private hospital. Amnesty International has also raised concern over Batebi’s treatment, denouncing the “pattern of gross negligence” in his case. Batebi’s wife, Somayeh Bayenat, was arrested on February 21 and released four days later, according to non-official sources.

Students at Amirkabir University, who protested against President Ahmadinejad in December, have been expelled. The school has never before dismissed students for non-academic reasons, and it claims the students had failed their examinations. The students deny this charge. Additionally, the head of the university, a strong supporter of Ahmadinejad, accompanied the students’ expulsions with notices to the military, requesting that they be enlisted. The head of the university’s request fulfills Ahmadinejad’s alleged threat that students would face military services if they protested.

Ethnic Minorities

Violent clashes, killing over 20 people, erupted on March 1 in West Azerbaijan Province. Seventeen people were killed along with four members of the local security forces. The people who died were unidentified, but the armed Kurdish group Pejak has recently been active in other disruptions in the region.

In Azerbaijan province and elsewhere, several activists and journalists were arrested without warrants on February 20 in connection with events planned to celebrate International Mother Language Day on February 21. Many of the detentions took place in the same parts of Azerbaijan as the arrests that occurred in September on the first day of school.

Censorship

The Islamic Republic banned access to the website Baztab on February 12. The conservative had been harshly critical of President Ahmadinejad and his administration. Baztab, one of the most popular political sites in Iran, had frequently denigrated Ahmadinejad’s economic policies, and had recently shown a video of the president watching a female dance performance in Qatar. Although the administration denies this occurred, such behavior by the president is against the laws of the Islamic Republic. This was the first time a site has been blocked in accordance with new internet regulations adopted on November 27. In response, 136 members of Parliament drafted a joint letter to the president, demanding the ban be removed. At the same time, Iran has blocked access to popular video-sharing site You Tube and photo-hosting site Flickr.

The Iranian Writers’ Association has spoken out against government bans on an increasing number of books, periodicals, and websites, decrying “the elimination of literary works.” Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi has stated that such rights as freedom of the press and free speech are being lost to the propaganda of nuclear rights. She is currently representing a group of publishers who filed an official complaint with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, a government institution responsible for censorship.

Detainment of Journalists

Journalists Babak Mehdizadeh, Arash Bahmani, and Koohzad Esmaili were arrested without charges in Gilan province on March 1. The three are the human rights chairmen of the Sazeman-e Danesh-Amookhtegan, an organization affiliated with the Tahkim-e Vahdat student group. Authorities claimed the arrests were routine procedure, and that that the journalists would be released—Mehdizadeh and Esmaili were released almost immediately, but still must face court hearings.

The Intelligence Ministry arrested several more journalists on March 4, claiming they had received money from outside Iran. According to the ministry, the journalists had confessed to receiving funding to publish works “against national security interests.”

Mansour Osanloo on Trial

Mansour Osanloo, leader of the Tehran Bus Company Workers’ Syndicate went on trial February 24 for charges of working against the interests of national security. His trial was completely closed: both his family and the press were barred from observing the proceedings. He was previously under arrest and was released from prison on bail in December.

Economy Policy Conflict

In the last several weeks, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration has come under continued criticism from the Majlis and other governing bodies for its unproductive economic platform. Expediency Council chairman Hashemi Rafsanjani is still voicing his opposition to the president’s ineffectual policy, stating that Ahmadinejad’s “trial period is over,” and that he was assuming his role as chairman precisely to facilitate economic improvement. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, also dissatisfied, has urged the Majlis to hasten towards enacting laws to facilitate privatization of the economy. Ahmadinejad has pledged to work towards privatization, but so far his policies have expanded rather than diminished the state’s economic role. The Iranian constitution was amended in 2004 to make economic privatization a priority, but as yet, little change has resulted from it as unemployment and inflation continue.