November 28 2016

A group of 19 human rights organizations call the international community and United Nations bodies to protect the rights of Christians in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the summer of 2016, Iranian authorities increased their persecution of Christians, honing in on converts from a Muslim-background.

Between May and August 2016, in locations across Iran, security forces arrested a total of 79 Christians, according to information sourced, family members, and friends. The majority of those arrested were interrogated and detained for periods ranging from a few days to months. At the time of writing, some of these 79 Christians remain in detention and have still not been formally charged. Rights groups believe the true number of Christians apprehended by the authorities could be notably higher, as many arrests would have gone unreported.

In 2012 the Iranian government instituted polices to bar converts from Muslim backgrounds from attending services in official churches. Instead, Christian converts are forced to gather in informal groups known as “house churches”. These gatherings are considered illegal by authorities and are often raided. In August 2016 alone, security agents allegedly raided at least four house churches and the house church members were arrested and interrogated.

The individuals responsible for the house church often face charges of “acting against national security through the establishment of house churches”. A group of four converts from Rasht were arrested in May 2016 and charged with acting against national security. A verdict is still pending from their hearing on 15 October 2016. Three of those men also faced charges of drinking communion wine and are appealing their sentence of 80 lashes each. Many others of those recently arrested are still waiting to know what charges will be brought against them.

Iranian authorities have put pressure on Christian leaders to emigrate, either through direct threats or through intentional harassment. Some church leaders have reportedly been told during interrogation that they will face 5 to 10 years in prison unless they leave the country. In other instances, Christians have said that harassment has taken the form of a daily summons to security offices for questioning, confiscation of documents such as identity cards to prevent the victim from buying or selling property or cars or forcing the Christians out of their jobs.

This pattern of treatment of Iranian Christians and converts violates Iran’s Constitutional and international legal obligations. Article 14 of the Islamic Republic’s constitution contains provisions, which uphold basic religious rights for some non-Muslims including Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians. Article 19 also enshrines the principle of non-discrimination and article 23 prohibits authorities from investigating a person’s belief or taking action against someone solely on account of his or her beliefs.

As a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Islamic Republic of Iran is obligated to ensure non-discrimination under articles 2 and 26 and freedom of thought, conscience and religion under Article 18. Article 18 specifically protects the right of a person to change their religion.

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY

Since the lifting of international sanctions under the Joint Plan of Action, governments worldwide have been showing a commitment to improving relations with Iran and developing business opportunities. In June 2016, for example, the European Parliament published an analysis of EU-Iran relations in the wake of the nuclear agreement, entitled “An EU strategy for relations with Iran after the nuclear deal”. The strategy disappointingly includes very little mention of human rights.

We suggest the following response from the international community and the Islamic Republic:

(1) Governments should factor human rights, including the rights of religious minorities, into all bilateral dealings with the Islamic Republic. Governmental agencies should explore avenues beyond dialogue alone to ensure human rights violators are held accountable and that trade and diplomatic relations do not contribute to further abuses.

(2) The Secretary General and newly appointed Special Rapporteurs on freedom of religion and human rights in Iran should monitor and report extensively on violations of freedom of religious of people in Iran, in accordance with their mandates before the United Nations.

(3) The Islamic Republic of Iran must ensure that the values enshrined in the Iranian Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights are upheld and that the right to freedom of religion and belief, including the right of conversion and of non-belief, for all its citizens and residents of the country to be respected.

Sincerely,

1. Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation
2. All Human Rights for All in Iran
3. Arseh Sevom
4. Article 18
5. Association for Human rights of Azerbaijani People in Iran
6. Association of Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva
7. Baloch Activist Campaign
8. Center for Supporters of Human Rights
9. Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM)
10. European Ahwazi Human Rights Organisation
11. Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI)
12. Impact Iran
13. International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran
14. Iran Human Rights
15. Justice for Iran
16. Middle East Concern
17. Siamak Pourzand Foundation
18. Small Media
19. United for Iran

34. In February 2015, Azerbaijani rights activist Mr. Ali Reza’i was arrested. At the
time of this writing, his whereabouts or charges — if any — were unknown.134

55.Mr. Latif Hassani, an Azerbaijani minority political activist and Secretary of the Yeni Gamoh Party, was reportedly arrested on 22 January 2013 in Karaj (Alborz Province) and transferred to the Tabriz Intelligence Office. On 29 April 2013, Branch 3 of the Revolutionary Court of Tabriz sentenced him, alongside Messrs. Mahmoud Fazli, Ayat Mehrali Beiglou, Shahram Radmehr, and Behboud Gholizadeh to nine-years imprisonment on charges of establishing an illegal group and “propaganda against the system.” He reportedly suffers from heart disease and is in immediate need of medical attention. Mr. Hassani was transferred from Tabriz Prison (East Azerbaijan Province) to Evin Prison (Tehran Province) and then to Rajae’i Shahr Prison on 26 June 2014, after 52 days of hunger strike. During interrogations at the Tabriz Intelligence Office, Mr. Radmehr reportedly fell unconscious due to psychological pressure and was hospitalized for three days. In 2011, he reportedly suffered a heart attack, allegedly due to torture and physical pressure experienced while in detention in 2010. His long-term hunger strike has reportedly weakened his physical condition. Officials at both Tabriz Prison and Rajae’i Shahr Prison (Alborz Province) allegedly prevented his medical furlough.

56. Azeri political activist, Mr. Shahram Radmehr held in Tabriz Prison (East Azerbaijan Province), was recently granted medical furlough. However, he is reportedly being prevented from leaving the prison. Mr. Radmehr reportedly suffers from medical issues including arthritis, severe headaches, and stomach ulcers. In August 2014, Mr. Radmehr was transferred from Tabriz Prison to Meshkin Shahr Prison (Ardebil Province). Before his transfer, the Tabriz Medical Examiner’s Office reportedly confirmed that he was in urgent need of medical treatment and should be provided medical furlough. Prison officials, allegedly opposed Mr. Radmehr’s medical furlough and instead transferred him to Meshkin Shahr Prison. After two months, and despite his family’s persistent pursuit of furlough in accordance with procedure, judicial officials of Meshkin Shahr Prison have not facilitated adequate access to medical care.

http://shaheedoniran.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/A_HRC_28_70_en-PDF.pdf

Human rights activist Latif Hasani, a member of Iran’s Azerbaijani minority who is serving a nine-year prison sentence, has been on hunger strike since 18 May in protest at the treatment of political prisoners in Iran. He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.

On 18 May 2014, Latif Hasani, started a «wet» hunger strike (taking water but not food) in protest at the treatment of political prisoners in Iran and the denial of his request to be transferred from Tabriz Central Prison, northwest Iran, to a prison closer to his family home in Karaj, northwest of Tehran. On 28 June, Latif Hasani was transferred to Tehran’s Evin Prison and shortly after to Raja’i Shahr Prison in Karaj, where he is currently held in a section with violent offenders. He has said he will continue his hunger strike until he is transferred to the political prisoners section of Raja’i Shahr Prison. His health has weakened as a result of his hunger strike, possibly exacerbating his pre-existing health conditions, including an irregular heartbeat for which he takes medication, severe low blood pressure and stomach pains.

Latif Hasani as well as four other men were arrested between January and March 2013. Mahmoud Fazli, Behboud Gholizadeh, Shahram Radmehr, Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou and Latif Hasani, all Azerbaijani and members of Yeni Gamoh’s Central Council, an Iran-based Azerbaijani (Turkic) cultural and political rights advocacy organization, were sentenced to nine-year prison terms in April 2013. After their arrest, the five men were detained incommunicado, then moved to Tabriz Central Prison. They were not permitted access to lawyers until one week before their trial. A family member of one of the five said that they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated while detained by the Ministry of Intelligence.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Latif Hasani, Mahmoud Fazli, Behboud Gholizadeh, Shahram Radmehr and Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou were sentenced by Branch Three of the Revolutionary Court of Tabriz on 29 April 2013 to eight years imprisonment for «forming an illegal group [Yeni Gamoh] with the intent to harm national security» and one-year imprisonment for «spreading propaganda against the system», bringing their total sentences to nine years each.

Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou was also previously on hunger strike from 15 April to 21 May 2014 in protest at the treatment of political prisoners, including the refusal to grant prison leave and the harassment of political prisoners’ families. Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou ended his hunger strike after the prison authorities agreed to transfer him from Tabriz Central Prison to a prison closer to his home in Sofian, north of Tabirz, northwest Iran. Shahram Radmehr is suffering from stomach pains, kidney stones and knee pain, which has made it difficult for him to sit or walk.

All five men went on hunger strike on 12 July 2013 in protest at their nine-year prison sentences, which the Appeal Court had confirmed the previous month, on 13 June 2013. The prison authorities transferred all five to Raja’i Shahr Prison on 25 July 2013, possibly in retribution for their hunger strikes. Shortly after, the prison authorities transferred Shahram Radmehr and Mahmoud Fazli to Raja’I Shahr Prison’s clinic on 28 July 2013 after their health deteriorated as a result of their hunger strike. Latif Hasani, Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou and Shahram Radmehr were transferred back to Tabriz Central Prison after three months in or around October 2013.

Latif Hasani, Shahram Radmehr and Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou were previously arrested in May 2010 and taken to the Tabriz Central Prison. Latif Hasani and Shahram Radmehr spent seven months in solitary confinement where they say they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Shahram Radmehr, during one of what is understood to have been many interrogations by the Ministry of Intelligence, lost consciousness and spent at least three days in a hospital outside of the prison administered by the Revolutionary Guards.

Iranian Azerbaijanis, the largest minority group in Iran, speak a Turkic language and are mainly Shi’a Muslims. They live mainly in the north and north-west of the country and in Tehran. Although generally well-integrated into Iranian society, in recent years members of their community have increasingly called for greater cultural and linguistic rights, including the right to education in Azerbaijani Turkic, which is not recognized as an official language in Iran. Those who seek to promote Azerbaijani cultural identity and linguistic rights are viewed with suspicion by the Iranian authorities.

Name: Latif Hasani, Mahmoud Fazli, Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou, Shahram Radmehr and Behboud Gholizadeh

Please write immediately in Persian, Spanish, English, or your own language:

• Urging the Iranian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Latif Hasani as he is a prisoner of conscience held for his peaceful advocacy for the rights of Iran’s Azerbaijani minority;
• Calling on them to release Mahmoud Fazli, Behboud Gholizadeh, Shahram Radmehr and Ayat Mehr-Ali Beyglou if they are being solely held for their peaceful advocacy of Azerbaijani minority rights, and ensure that they are all granted any medical attention they may require;
• Reminding them that the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners require that the different categories of prisoners be kept in separate institutions or parts of institutions.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 15 AUGUST 2014.

APPEALS TO
Leader of the Islamic Republic,
Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei,
The Office of the Supreme Leader,
Islamic Republic Street – End of Shahid,
Keshvar Doust Street,
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Email: info_leader@leader.ir
Twitter: @khamenei_ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

Head of the Judiciary,
Ayatollah Sadegh Larijani,
c/o Public Relations Office,
Number 4, 2 Azizi Street Intersection,
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Email: info@dadiran.ir
Salutation: Your Excellency

AND COPIES TO

President of the Islamic Republic of Iran,
Hassan Rouhani,
The Presidency,
Pasteur Street, Pasteur Square,
Tehran,
Islamic Republic of Iran.
Email: media@rouhani.ir
Twitter: @HassanRouhani (English) and @Rouhani_Ir (Persian)
Salutation: Your Excellency

Ambassade de la République Islamique d’Iran,
Thunstrasse 68,
Case postale 227,
3006 Berne.
Fax: 031 351 56 52
E-mail: secretariat@iranembassy.ch

Sajjad Radmehr’s Experience in Detention

Ladies and gentlemen!

It is my pleasure to be among you and describe my experience in custody of Iran intelligence service in Tabriz as well as Tabriz Central Prison in order to help you to realize what the situation is like.
My name is Sajjad Radmehr, an Azerbaijani human rights activist from Iran. In 17 July 2008, I was arrested by Iran’s security forces and was taken to a solitary cell in Tabriz. I was there for exactly 98 days and then transferred to the Central prison of Tabriz where I was for 8 days. We were nine students who were active in the Azerbaijani Student Movement seeking cultural and civil rights for Azerbaijani people in Iran. During the detention period in the Iran intelligence service (which is called Ettellat) we just had a couple of short telephone conversations with our families just to say “I am OK and do not worry”. If one tried to say one thing more, the phone would cut off.

The interrogation process was often with beatings. In the form that the interrogator who was sitting behind and my eyes were blindfolded with a cloth in such a way that I could just see the paper in front of me and he was hitting me with his fists and slapping in such a way that I sometimes fell down from the chair. In such circumstances, he often grabbed by my hair and hit my head against the wall asking the questions about for example my association with a foreign intelligence services. The duration of interrogation varied and was irregular, sometimes it continue for more than 20 hours and sometimes it was 15 days without questioning. I just paced around in the cell wishing to hear the torturer’s voice just for a change. I forgot to mention that the cell was a small room (2 by 1.5 meter) without a window and with an iron door.
Another type of torture, which implemented by guards not by interrogator, was the so-called “Qapani” handcuff, in which the hands were pulled back to the back, one hand from down and another one from the top so that made the wrists come to touch each other. In this situation, they wanted me to stand only on one leg for hours and if my two legs touched the floor, they would beat me violently with batons. Once after a day with Qapani handcuff my thumb had become numb. I asked for permission to show it to a doctor but they took me to the toilet, showing a needle and threatened me to dig it into my hand if I asked about the doctor again.
Swearing at my family and threatening to arrest my sisters were the most common way that the interrogators always used. While I normally had a shower every week there, one time they deprived me from that for a month and it was incredibly unbearable.
After about 80 days in the cell, I had a serious mental problem, which I later understood was a case of schizophrenia. I sometimes heard that somebody was talking to me and it seemed that there was another person with me in the cell. It was so severe that when I later met the other friends in prison I told them I was becoming a prophet.
After Ettelaat’s custody, I was with my friends in the Central Prison of Tabriz. Because there was no special section for political prisoners, so they had put them in the same ward with murderers and addicted convicts. Fortunately, I was kept in the ward, which was for financial criminals and although there were a lot of hygiene problems, shortage of bed and the deprivation of telephone calls, books and newspapers, at least it was more bearable than to be threatened or to be actually raped in the violent section.
Now, after 4 years I still have recurring nightmares about the moments I experienced in the cell. My hands always tremble and I have to take medicine to adjust my heartbeat.
This was my account of my personal experience in detention. However, I am aware that situation has become worse and worse since then.
Thanks for your consideration
2013/03/13
Sajjad Radmehr