- 10 December 2009
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- 3 Comments
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- Events in Iran, Human Rights in Iran, Iran Election 2009, Iranian American activism, Iranian Youth
Amnesty’s New Report Calls for Human Rights Abuses in Iran to be “fully investigated”
10 December 2009 Posted By Lloyd Chebaclo
The December 2009 Amnesty Report, Iran: Election Contested, Repression Compounded, moves to bring the abysmal human rights situation in Iran back to the fore of the international community.
Human rights violations in Iran are now as bad as at any time in the past 20 years, Amnesty International has said in a new report on the aftermath of last June’s presidential election.
“The Iranian leadership must ensure that the many allegations of torture, including rape, unlawful killings and other abuses are fully and independently investigated,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. [...]
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui said: “The authorities must show that they have turned the page on the abuses committed this summer. They must now ensure that the policing of protests conforms fully to international standards on law enforcement, and keep the Basij and other strong arm forces off the street.”
“Anyone who is arrested or detained must be protected from torture or other ill-treatment, prisoners of conscience must be released and those convicted after unfair trials – including the ‘show trials’ which made a mockery of justice – must have their cases reviewed, or be released. All death sentences should be commuted, and others not yet tried must receive fair trials.”
Amnesty:
The level of investigations that the government has held so far generally appear to have been intended more to conceal than to expose the truth.
Iranian authorities have established two bodies to investigate the post-election crisis, including the treatment of detainees – a parliamentary committee and a three-person judicial committee.
Full details of the mandate and powers of both bodies have not been disclosed, and the parliamentary committee’s findings have not been made public.
Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions have requested entry into Iran and are waiting to hear back from authorities.
“The onus is on the authorities to address the widespread human rights violations that occurred during the unrest in an open, transparent and accountable manner,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.
Official figures say 36 people were killed in post-election violence. The opposition puts the figure at over 70.
At least 4,000 people were arrested across Iran after the elections. At the time of writing of the report, up to 200 remain in jail, some arrested after the initial unrest died down.
The report comes as massive new protests come up against more violent responses from the IRGC and government authorites in Iran days after the National Student Day resurgence among the opposition, nearly six months after the disputed June elections.
Related posts:
- NIAC Calls for Human Rights to be Included in Diplomacy with Iran
- Human Rights Organizations Call for Investigation into Mysterious Death of Physician in Iran
- Obama Should End Silence on Human Rights Abuses in Iran
- International Community Must Condemn Human Rights Violations in Iran
- US speaks up on Alaei brothers detention and human rights center closure
3 Responses to “Amnesty’s New Report Calls for Human Rights Abuses in Iran to be “fully investigated””
Lloyd, it’s a common misperception that the IRGC have taken to the streets in the role of law enforcement against the demonstrators. What you’re actually seeing is regular elements of the IRIPF (Islamic Republic of Iran Police Force), conscript-soldiers attached to the IRIPF, and the Basij.
The IRIPF is included as part of the Ministry of Interior, for which its minister is selected by the head of the executive branch, as part of his cabinet. Furthermore, the current Minister of the Interior is also deputy commander of the country’s Armed Forces in charge of police forces. So technically, the IRIPF is not under the command of the IRGC.
However, the Basij does fall under the command of the IRGC.
The IRIPF make up the bulk of law enforcement responding to post-election demonstrations, with significantly smaller numbers of Basij being attached to their ranks. Thus, stating that the IRGC is “more violently responding” isn’t truly factual. It’s more complex than that, from a law enforcement organizational perspective.
Regarding the 4000 arrests claim, it sounds high. I’d like to know the source(s) and evidence for this claim.
Basiji truck violently runs motorcycle off the road on 16 Azar (Yazd)
Hard to tell if that’s Basij or IRIPF conscript-soldiers. They appear fully outfitted in anti-riot gear and fatigues, which suggests the latter.
Really a dangerous move hitting the curb like that, especially with an unharnessed squad out back. I wonder if it severely bent the front rim in the process.
Usually, for US law enforcement, this extreme type of maneuver is reserved for life threatening situations. In this particular case, everyone involved appeared life-threatened by the maneuver.
They did seem to manage their intended goal of crowd dispersal, albeit in a crude and dangerous manner.