White Paper On the Case of
Maryam Mombeini Citizen of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Canada
v.
Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Authored By:
Irwin Cotler1 Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
Jared Genser2 Perseus Strategies
Published August 13, 2018
1 Irwin Cotler serves as international counsel to Maryam Mombeini. For further information, please contact ______. 2 Jared Genser also serves as international counsel to Maryam Mombeini. For further information in English, contact +1 202 466 3069 or [email protected]. Perseus Strategies would like to thank Mary Brooks, Skylar Gleason, Juan Miramontes, Charles Orta, and Brian Tronic for their support.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...... 3
I. Background on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran ...... 4
II. The Targeting and Persecution of Maryam Mombeini ...... 6
A. Biographical Information on Kavous Seyed-Emami ...... 6 B. Arrest and Death of Kavous Seyed-Emami...... 6 C. Subsequent Targeting of Maryam Mombeini ...... 9
III. Legal Analysis ...... 12
A. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Freedom of Movement ...... 12 B. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to the Presumption of Innocence ...... 12 C. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Privacy...... 13 D. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Legal Counsel ...... 14 E. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Non- Discrimination ...... 14
IV. International Concern ...... 16
Conclusion ...... 17
2 Executive Summary
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has a long history of harassing, intimidating, and prosecuting any perceived political opponents. This often includes baseless accusations and criminal charges relating to spying or national security. Individuals with connections to western institutions and governments – especially dual nationals – are particularly at risk. One of the most egregious, ongoing examples of this pattern of persecution is Iran’s treatment of Maryam Mombeini, an Iranian-Canadian dual national.
Mombeini’s late husband, Kavous Seyed-Emami, was a prominent Iranian-Canadian environmentalist who co-managed the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF). This NGO is based in Iran but works with partners in several western countries. On January 24, 2018, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arrested and detained Seyed-Emami on false espionage charges related to his environmental work. Two weeks later, he died under suspicious circumstances while being held at Iran’s notorious Evin Prison.
Since the death of her husband, the IRGC has targeted Mombeini herself. Despite a total lack of evidence, the IRGC has accused her of collaborating with her husband to spy for foreign governments and has engaged in a relentless campaign of intimidation intended to coerce a false confession that she and her husband engaged in espionage. Government officials have repeatedly raided her home without a warrant, filmed and interrogated her without counsel present, and used the state-run media to air a “documentary” smearing her family.
Furthermore, in a blatant violation of both domestic and international law, the Government has prevented her from leaving Iran. On March 8, 2018, Mombeini, fearing for her life, attempted to board a flight from Tehran to Canada. While her two adult sons were allowed to board the flight, Mombeini was not, and the IRGC seized her Iranian passport despite the fact that she has not been charged with any crime.
This harassment and persecution is taking a severe toll on Mombeini’s physical and mental health. She has twice been rushed to the hospital after suffering severe panic attacks, and she lives in constant fear that she will be arrested, tortured, or even killed. Despite her deteriorating health condition, the Government of Iran continues its attempts to break her down and falsely incriminate her.
3 I. Background on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran
Since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, Iran has turned its back on the international community, adopting extreme anti-Western rhetoric and consolidating power among religious hardliners who rule with minimal accountability to the population at large.3 As an Islamic republic, the country’s highest authority is the Supreme Leader, an appointed position without term limits. The Supreme Leader – currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – is the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and has predominant influence over key state institutions, including the judiciary.4 The Ayatollah also controls the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), an elite military force with extraordinary economic and political power that is often in conflict with the administration of Iran’s reformist president, Hassan Rouhani.5
The IRGC is among the worst perpetrators of human rights abuses in Iran – it routinely surveils human rights activists6 and uses torture and other harsh interrogation tactics, such as prolonged solitary confinement, against opponents.7 Though any opponent of the Government is at risk of state repression, the IRGC has disproportionately targeted individuals with Western ties. Its intelligence network routinely arrests and convicts dual nationals and other individuals with links to the West on false espionage charges.8
U.N. bodies and experts have increasingly expressed serious concern about this persecution of dual-nationals. For example, in 2015, the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared that the detention of an Iranian-American dual national, who had been convicted of espionage, was arbitrary and in violation of international law.9 More recently, in 2017, the Working Group considered the case of Siamak and Baquer Namazi, Iranian-American dual nationals who were convicted of “collaborating with a hostile government” (the United States).10 The Working Group noted that there is “an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals in the Islamic Republic of Iran”11 and declared that the Namazis were unlawfully imprisoned because of their dual-citizenship and their association with
3 IRAN – FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2018, FREEDOM HOUSE, 2018, available at https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2018/iran. 4 Id. and Karim Sadjadpour, The Supreme Leader, UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE, accessed Aug. 8, 2018, available at http://iranprimer.usip.org/resource/supreme-leader. 5 Greg Bruno et al., Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, June 14, 2013, available at https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/irans-revolutionary-guards and Cyrus Namjoo Moghadam, Conflict Between Rouhani and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Intensifies, GULF NEWS THINKERS, July 31, 2017, available at https://gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/conflict-between-rouhani-and-iran-s-revolutionary-guards-intensifies- 1.2066878. 6 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/37/24, Feb. 26, 2018, at ¶ 46. 7 IRAN 2017/2018 REPORT, AMNESTY INT’L, 2018, available at https://www.amnesty.org/en/countries/middle-east- and-north-africa/iran/report-iran/. 8 What is Iran’s Revolutionary Guard?, DEUTSCHE WELLE, Oct. 13, 2017, available at https://www.dw.com/en/what-is-irans-revolutionary-guard/a-40948522. 9 Jason Rezaian v. Islamic Republic of Iran, Opinion No. 44/2015, A/HRC/WGAD/2015/44, U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, adopted Dec. 3, 2015. 10 Siamak Namazi and Mohammed Baquer Namazi v. Islamic Republic of Iran, Opinion No. 49/2017, A/HRC/WGAD/2017/49, U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, adopted Aug. 22, 2017, at ¶ 43. 11 Id. at ¶ 44.
4 pro-democracy institutions in the West.12 Similarly, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran recently expressed concern about “the indictment of three dual nationals on national security-related charges.”13 Finally, in February 2018, the Secretary-General of the United Nations reiterated the Working Group’s concern that dual nationals are targeted by the Government and that the “procedures against these dual or foreign nationals have been marred by due process and fair trial violations.”14
Leading human rights organizations have also noted this problem. In its most recent report on Iran, Amnesty International explained that “Iranians with dual nationality continue[] to face arbitrary arrest and detention, grossly unfair trials and lengthy imprisonment. The authorities claimed that they were countering foreign-orchestrated ‘infiltration projects.’ In reality, such individuals were often charged with vague national security offences in connection with the peaceful exercise of their rights . . . .”15
12 Id. at ¶ 43. 13 REPORT OF THE SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY, U.N. Doc. A/71/418, Sept. 30, 2016, at ¶ 36. 14 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, supra note 6, at ¶¶ 56-57. 15 IRAN 2017/2018 REPORT, supra note 7.
5 II. The Targeting and Persecution of Maryam Mombeini
Maryam Mombeini, a 55-year-old Iranian-Canadian woman, is being persecuted by the IRGC for her dual national status and her relationship with her late husband, Kavous Seyed- Emami.
A. Biographical Information on Kavous Seyed-Emami
Kavous Seyed-Emami (1953-2018) was an Iranian-Canadian sociology professor at Imam Sadiq University in Tehran, Iran, where he taught for 26 years.16 He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon and his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Ohio.17 Seyed- Emami was married to Maryam Mombeini, with whom he had two sons: Ramin (a well-known singer who appears under the stage name King Raam), 37, and Mehran, 34.18
Seyed-Emami was also a prominent environmentalist who co-managed the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF).19 In that capacity, Seyed-Emami’s primary objective was to help conserve the Asiatic Cheetah, an endangered species on the brink of extinction with only 50 surviving members, all located in Iran.20 The PWHF is based in Tehran, but collaborates with organizations and academic institutions in several western countries, including Germany, Switzerland, and the United States.21
B. Arrest and Death of Kavous Seyed-Emami
On January 24, 2018, Seyed-Emami was arrested by the Intelligence Unit of the IRGC and accused of espionage.22 He was not, however, presented with a charging document. His arrest coincided with the arrests of several other members of the PWHF, including its founder,
16 Dylan Darling, Activist in Iran Had Ties to UO, THE REGISTER-GUARD, Feb. 22, 2018, available at http://www.registerguard.com/rg/news/local/36468036-75/iranian-environmentalist-who-died-in-prison-had-strong- uo-roots.html.csp. 17 Id. 18 Thomas Erdbrink, Wife of Iranian-Canadian Who Died in Jail is Barred from Leaving Iran, NEW YORK TIMES, Mar. 8, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/08/world/middleeast/iran-kavous-seyed-emami- wife.html. 19 Jonathan Watts & Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Iran Urged by UN to Respect Environment Activists After Wildlife Campaigner Death, THE GUARDIAN, Feb. 15, 2018, available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/feb/15/iran-urged-by-un-to-respect-environment-activists-after-wildlife- campaigner-death. 20 Id. 21 ANNUAL REPORT 2016/ 17, PERSIAN WILDLIFE HERITAGE FOUNDATION, 2017, at 36, available at http://persianwildlife.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Annual-Report-96-EN-S.pdf (listing as partners: UNDP, Georg-August University in Göttingen (Germany), Panthera (USA), International Union for the Conservation of Nature (Switzerland)). 22 Daniel Otis, ‘We Have Chosen to Speak Up’: Sons of Dead Iranian-Academic Arrive in B.C., CTV NEWS, Mar. 8, 2018, available at https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/we-have-chosen-to-speak-up-sons-of-dead-iranian-canadian- academic-arrive-in-b-c-1.3833852.
6 Morad Tahbaz. These arrests were part of a broader crackdown by Iranian security forces against environmental activists – at least 50 of whom have been detained since January 2018.23
Tehran’s Prosecutor Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi specifically accused Seyed-Emami and the other arrested members of the PWHF of “gathering classified information in strategic areas . . . under the coverage of scientific and environmental projects.”24 He claimed that they were foreign spies working for the CIA and Israel and that, under the guise of monitoring endangered species, they were using cameras to monitor Iranian missile activities on behalf of foreign intelligence services.25 Yet the cameras in question were not sophisticated monitoring devices – with a maximum range of 25 meters, these cameras would not be capable of spying on anything, let alone Iranian missile activities.26
Despite the fact that no evidence was presented to support these allegations and that Seyed-Emami was never formally charged,27 he was interrogated for several hours immediately after being arrested. He was then transported to Evin Prison, where he was allowed only a one- minute phone call with Mombeini to explain what had happened. While at Evin Prison, he was held in solitary confinement, repeatedly interrogated, and, besides the first brief phone call, held incommunicado.
The day of Seyed-Emami’s arrest, the family home he shared with Mombeini was raided by 30 agents from the IRGC Intelligence Unit. Despite not having a search warrant, they spent about eight hours ransacking the place, confiscating many of the families’ belongings, including family photo albums, computers, hard disks, multiple suitcases of documents, and their car.28 The IRGC agents also threatened to strip the family of their assets if they pursued legal action.29 A few days later, Iranian officials again showed up at the home to conduct another illegal search.30
23 Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Let Grieving Wife of Dead Environmentalist Leave Iran, Son Pleads, THE GUARDIAN, Apr. 9, 2018, available at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/09/let-grieving-wife-of-dead- environmentalist-leave-iran-son-pleads and Iran: Environmentalists Face Arbitrary Detention, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, Aug. 3, 2018, available at https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/08/03/iran-environmentalists-face-arbitrary- detention. 24 Parisa Hafezi, Iran Says Canadian-Iranian Committed Suicide in Jail; More Arrests Expected, REUTERS, Feb. 11, 2018, available at https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-canada-death/iran-says-canadian-iranian-committed- suicide-in-jail-more-arrests-expected-idUSKBN1FV0Q7. 25 Let Grieving Wife of Dead Environmentalist Leave Iran, Son Pleads, supra note 23. 26 Golnaz Esfandiari, After ‘Malicious’ State TV Smear, Family of Dead Iranian Detainee Fights On, RADIO FREE EUROPE RADIO LIBERTY, Feb. 24, 2018, available at https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-environmentalist-emami-dies-tv- smear-family-rights-groups/29060616.html. 27 Cristina Maza, Who is Kavous Seyed-Emami? Sons of Environmentalist Who Died Mysteriously in Iranian Prison Want Answers, Plead for Mother’s Safety, NEWSWEEK, Mar. 13, 2018, available at https://www.newsweek.com/kavous-seyed-emami-environmentalist-iranian-prison-842501 [hereinafter Who is Kavous Seyed-Emami?]. 28 Joint Public Statement, Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice for Detainees Who Died in Detention, CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN, Mar. 13, 2018, available at https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/03/iran-end-persecution-of-families-seeking-truth-and-justice-for-detainees- who-died-in-detention/. 29 Id. 30 Id.
7 In the two weeks that followed Seyed-Emami’s arrest, Mombeini was kept in the dark about her husband’s condition.31 Then, on February 9, 2018, Mombeini was contacted by Tehran’s Prosecutor’s office and told that she would be allowed to see her husband.32 But upon arriving at Evin Prison, Mombeini was instead brought to an interrogation room and questioned for three hours by a prosecutor and three IRGC intelligence agents. The authorities pressured her to sign a confession admitting that her husband was a spy and, when she refused, they threatened to imprison her. They also claimed that her resistance was proof that she was also a “trained spy.” At the end of the interrogation, authorities told Mombeini she could see her husband, but only his corpse – they claimed that he had committed suicide in his cell.33
The circumstances surrounding Seyed-Emami’s death are extremely suspicious, and the Iranian authorities have not provided evidence demonstrating that he actually committed suicide. The family was shown a surveillance video from the day of his death, but the footage provided had a gap of several hours and did not include the moment of his death.34 Moreover, the family was not allowed to conduct a private, independent autopsy, and were instead shown pictures from an autopsy performed by a government doctor without the family’s permission. But even that autopsy contradicts the official story – the preliminary report does not specify the cause of death and notes that there were several bruises along Seyed-Emami’s body.35
Notably, there have been multiple reports of abuse and suspicious deaths at Evin Prison, where Seyed-Emami was being detained.36 Of the 16 cases brought before the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention against Iran from 2013 to 2015 – a count placing it among the top three worst offenders for arbitrary detentions worldwide37 – 12 of them cited violations within Evin Prison, including torture, prolonged solitary confinement amounting to torture, incommunicado detention, and inadequate access to medical care.38
On February 14, facing mounting criticism over Seyed-Emami’s death and the deaths of at least six other detainees in IRGC custody, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani appointed a fact- finding committee, composed of the Vice President for Legal Affairs and the Ministers of Intelligence, Justice, and the Interior, to investigate these suspicious prison deaths, as well as the
31 Id. 32 Id. 33 Id. 34 Id. 35 ‘Revealing’ Preliminary Autopsy Report Omits Cause of Death of Iranian Canadian Who Died in Iranian Prison, CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN, Apr. 23, 2018, available at https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/04/revealing-preliminary-autopsy-report-omits-cause-of-death-of-iranian- canadian-who-died-in-iranian-prison/. 36 See, e.g., Ian Talley, U.S. Sanctions Iran’s Evin Prison, Broadcasting Chief and Others, Alleging Human Rights Abuses, WALL STREET JOURNAL, May 30, 2018 (“The U.S. says Evin Prison is controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an elite military organization, and there have been documented accounts of torture and other human rights abuses at the facility for decades . . . .”) and Iran: Deaths of Detained Protesters Raise Concerns of Ill Treatment, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, Jan. 9, 2018, available at http://www.refworld.org/docid/5a60c6644.html. 37 JARED GENSER, THE U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION: COMMENTARY AND GUIDE TO PRACTICE (Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming). 38 Id.
8 crackdown on environmentalists.39 Although the committee has not made its findings public,40 the ministries involved in the investigation denied that Seyed-Emami and other arrested environmentalists are guilty of espionage.41
On May 9, 2018, Tehran MP Mahmud Sadeghi tweeted:
Based on indisputable evidence and documents, the Intelligence Ministry’s experts have explicitly declared that there is no proof for accusing the incarcerated environmentalists of espionage.42
According to Shargh Daily, a reformist Iranian newspaper, Rouhani’s Intelligence Ministry also concluded that since “detained environmentalists were operating at least 60 kilometers (roughly 37 miles) from military sites . . . their cameras would not have been able to film them.”43 Isa Kalantari, the head of Rouhani’s Department of Environment, then stated on May 22, 2018, that, because the fact-finding committee had concluded that there was no evidence of espionage, the detained environmentalists “must be freed soon.”44 However, the Tehran Prosecutor and the Intelligence Unit of the IRGC – both of whom answer to the Supreme Leader – have rejected the right of Rouhani’s committee “to interfere in this case” and maintain that Seyed-Emami and the other detained environmentalists are guilty.45
C. Subsequent Targeting of Maryam Mombeini
Mombeini’s life was utterly destroyed when she learned that her husband had died in prison. Yet Mombeini cannot mourn her husband’s death in peace, as Iranian authorities continue to harass and intimidate her and her family.
For example, Mombeini and her sons were pressured into burying Seyed-Emami immediately after finding out that he had died, and the ceremony, held on February 13, had a heavy security presence, including some of the IRGC officials who had raided her home.46
39 Rouhani Calls for Investigation into Prison Deaths, AL JAZEERA, February 15, 2018, available at https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/rouhani-calls-investigation-prison-deaths-180215110452600.html and Iranian VP Refutes Espionage Claims Against Detained Environmentalists, Calls for Their Release, CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN, May 23, 2018, available at https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/05/iranian-vp-refutes- espionage-claims-against-detained-environmentalists-calls-for-their-release/. 40 Iranian VP Refutes Espionage Claims Against Detained Environmentalists, Calls for Their Release, supra note 39. 41 Id. and MP Calls for Rouhani to Step in Over Detention of Environmentalists, RADIO FARDA, May 13, 2018, available at https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-mps-call-on-rouhani-to-intervene-detention- environmentalists/29223937.html. 42 MP Calls for Rouhani to Step in Over Detention of Environmentalists, supra note 41. 43 Id. 44 ‘No Evidence’ Detained Iranian Environmentalists Are Spies, RADIO FREE EUROPE RADIO LIBERTY, May 22, 2018, available at https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-official-says-no-evidence-detained-environmentalists-are- spies/29243117.html. 45 Iranian VP Refutes Espionage Claims Against Detained Environmentalists, Calls for Their Release, supra note 39. 46 Who is Kavous Seyed-Emami?, supra note 27 and Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice for Detainees Who Died in Detention, supra note 28.
9 Subsequently, and without any legal authority to do so, authorities seized the deeds to the Seyed- Emami’s homes and froze a number of bank accounts. Mombeini’s two sons were also interrogated by the IRGC and pressed to admit their father was a spy. They received countless threats through text messages and phone calls demanding they stop publicizing their father’s case.47 Additionally, Seyed-Emami’s brother was harassed by IRGC officials and coerced into making a video-recorded statement that he had seen his brother’s body and that the family accepted that Seyed-Emami had committed suicide.48
The Government further disparaged the memory of Mombeini’s husband by running a media disinformation and smear campaign in the days following the burial. On February 15, the Supreme Leader’s Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aired a “documentary” claiming that Seyed-Emami was using the cover of scientific activities to spy on Iranian military sites for the United States and Israel49 and working to create an environmental crisis in Iran.50 The “documentary” presented no explicit evidence to back up its claims; instead, it included the coerced video statement of Seyed-Emami’s brother and showed private family photos of Seyed- Emami dancing and playing with pet dogs – two activities frowned upon by Iranian conservatives51 – in order to portray him as immoral.
On March 8, 2018, feeling threatened and no longer safe in Iran, Mombeini sought to leave the country with her two sons and return to Canada, where her sons lived.52 However, right before boarding a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt, Germany, where they had a stopover on their way to Vancouver, British Colombia, Mombeini was approached by a plainclothes agent, who prevented her from boarding the flight.53 Worried about her sons’ safety if they were all to remain in Iran, she selflessly told them to go to Canada while she remained behind.54
At the airport, officials seized Mombeini’s Iranian passport without explanation.55 Although she has not been formally charged with any crime, she remains unable to leave the country56 and has not been informed of the basis for her travel ban.57 She was told that the ban came directly from the IRGC and that if she wanted further explanation she would have to appear in Evin Prison Court. But when she showed up at Evin Prison with her lawyers, the IRGC refused to allow her lawyers to accompany her in court. She was given no explanation for
47 Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice for Detainees Who Died in Detention, supra note 28. 48 Id. 49 Graeme Hamilton, Family of Canadian Who Died in Iranian Prison Sues State TV for Falsely Portraying Him as a Spy, NATIONAL POST, July 19, 2018, available at https://nationalpost.com/news/world/israel-middle-east/family- of-canadian-who-died-in-iranian-prison-sues-state-tv-for-falsely-portraying-him-as-a-spy. 50 After ‘Malicious’ State TV Smear, Family of Dead Iranian Detainee Fights On, supra note 26. 51 Id.; Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice for Detainees Who Died in Detention, supra note 28; and Seyed-Emami’s Family Lawyers Issue Statement Countering State TV Smear Campaign, CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN, Feb. 19, 2018, available at https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/02/kavous-seyed- emamis-family-lawyers-issue-statement-countering-smear-campaign-aired-on-state-tv/. 52 Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice for Detainees Who Died in Detention, supra note 28. 53 Who is Kavous Seyed-Emami?, supra note 27. 54 Id. 55 Id. 56 Although Mombeini still has her Canadian passport in her possession, she is barred from leaving Iran without an Iranian passport. 57 Id.
10 her travel ban, but her lawyers were informed that the IRGC had opened a national security case against her, which alleged that she was complicit in her husband’s espionage.58 Given this information, Mombeini’s counsel has advised her against appearing in court, out of fear that she would be arbitrarily detained like her husband.
Under the weight of this extraordinary pressure, Mombeini has suffered numerous panic attacks since her husband’s death and has been rushed to the hospital on two occasions. In May, Mombeini was hospitalized for three days after exhibiting symptoms of a nervous breakdown.59 More recently, on June 25, Mombeini was again rushed to the hospital after more than 20 IRGC agents raided her house. That day and the day before, she had been interrogated on film by the IRGC without her lawyers present, placing even more pressure on her. This marked the third time that Mombeini has been interrogated and the third time that her house has been raided since her husband’s death – and on each of these occasions, she has been denied access to her lawyers.
58 Michelle Zilio, Son Says Widowed Mother is Subject of Unjust Probe by Iranian Agency That Arrested Father, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Apr. 18, 2018, available at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-son-says- widowed-mother-is-subject-of-unjust-probe-by-iranian-agency/. 59 Iranian Canadian’s Widow Maryam Mombeini Hospitalized Two Months After Being Banned From Leaving Iran, CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN IRAN, May 17, 2018, available at https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2018/05/iranian- canadians-widow-maryam-mombeini-hospitalized-two-months-after-being-banned-from-leaving-iran/.
11 III. Legal Analysis
A. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Freedom of Movement
Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees the right to freedom of movement, which includes the right to leave one’s own country.60 As a State Party to the ICCPR, Iran is required to protect this right. Iran’s Constitution also guarantees the right to freedom of movement.61 As the Human Rights Committee has explained, any restrictions on this right “must be based on clear legal grounds and meet the test of necessity and the requirements of proportionality.”62 Furthermore, proceedings relating to a restriction on one’s freedom of movement must be “expeditious.”63
The Government has violated Mombeini’s right to freedom of movement because it has seized her passport and prevented her from travelling abroad, including to Canada, a country where she holds citizenship. The authorities have utterly failed to give a “clear legal ground” for this travel restriction – indeed, they have yet to cite a specific legal provision authorizing it. Moreover, the travel restriction is clearly not necessary – it appears to be based on the absurd claim that her husband, a well-respected environmentalist, was actually a spy and was using cameras with a range of 25 meters to film military sites 60 kilometers away. In addition, the Government has not resolved this travel restriction expeditiously – her passport was seized more than five months ago, and she is still unable to travel.
B. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to the Presumption of Innocence
Article 14(2) of the ICCPR provides that everyone has “the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law.”64 Iran’s Constitution similarly establishes that “innocence is to be presumed, and no one is to be held guilty of a charge unless his or her guilt has been established by a competent court.”65
60 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. Res 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16), at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force 23 March 1976, at art. 12(1)-(2) [hereinafter ICCPR]; see also Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc. A/810, adopted 1948, at art. 13 [hereinafter UDHR] (protecting “the right to freedom of movement” and "the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country”). 61 See CONSTITUTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, July 28, 1989, at art. 33, available at https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iran_1989.pdf?lang=en [hereinafter IRANIAN CONSTITUTION] (“No one can be banished from his place of residence, prevented from residing in the place of his choice, or compelled to reside in a given locality, except in cases provided by law.”); see also Charter on Citizens Rights, ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN, signed Dec. 19, 2016, at art. 48, available at http://www.mfa.gov.ir/index.aspx?fkeyid=&siteid=3&pageid=1997&newsview=429918 (“It is a right of every citizen to have freedom of movement inside the country, to exit Iran and to enter Iran, save where this right has been restricted by law.”) (citing Const. Art. 33). 62 General Comment No. 27 on Article 12: Freedom of Movement, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, U.N Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.9, Nov. 2, 1999, at ¶ 16. 63 Id. at ¶ 15. 64 ICCPR, supra note 60, at art. 14(2). 65 IRANIAN CONSTITUTION, supra note 61, at art. 37.
12 The Government has violated Mombeini’s right to the presumption of innocence flagrantly and repeatedly. As noted above, the IRGC has accused her, on numerous occasions and without any proof, of engaging in espionage. When Mombeini was called to supposedly see her husband at Evin Prison in February, IRGC intelligence agents pressured her to sign a statement “confessing” her husband was a spy and, when she refused, threatened to imprison her. They claimed that her refusal to do so indicated she was also a “trained spy.” Since then, Mombeini has been interrogated two more times and repeatedly pressured to make similar self- incriminating statements. As the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has found, being “forced to sign self-incriminating confessions . . . constitutes a prima facie breach of the presumption of innocence under article 14 (2) of the [ICCPR].”66
The Government has also violated Mombeini’s presumption of innocence by airing a “documentary” falsely portraying Seyed-Emami as a spy only days after his death. The Government did not present evidence to support this claim, resorting instead to using private family photos of Seyed-Emami dancing as proof he was immoral. As the Human Rights Committee notes, media coverage that affirms the accused’s guilt, or portrays the accused in a way that undermines the presumption of innocence, must be avoided.67 Given that the IRGC privately treats Mombeini as being complicit in her husband’s alleged crimes and that it has since opened a national security case against her, it seems clear that this “documentary” was an attempt not just to detract attention away from Seyed-Emami’s suspicious death in IRGC custody, but also to suggest Mombeini’s own guilt by association.
C. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Privacy
ICCPR Article 17(1) provides that “[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation.”68 Iran’s Constitution similarly provides that “[t]he dignity, life, property, rights, residence, and occupation of individuals are inviolate, except in cases sanctioned by law.”69
The Government has violated Mombeini’s right to privacy by raiding and searching her home three times without a warrant and without any explanation of why a warrant was not obtained. As the Human Rights Committee has indicated, “in the absence of any explanation from the State party, the search of the . . . house without warrant . . . amounts to a violation of article 17.”70
66 Ahmadreza Djalali v. Islamic Republic of Iran, Opinion No. 92/2017, A/HRC/WGAD/2017/92, U.N. WORKING GROUP ON ARBITRARY DETENTION, adopted Nov. 24, 2017, at ¶ 55. 67 General Comment No. 32 on Article 14: Right to Equality Before Courts and Tribunals and To A Fair Trial, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, U.N Doc. CCPR/C/GC/32, Aug. 23, 2007, at ¶ 30. 68 ICCPR, supra note 60, at art. 17(1); see also UDHR, supra note 60, at art. 12 (“No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.”). 69 IRANIAN CONSTITUTION, supra note 61, at art. 22. 70 Darmon Sultanova v. Uzbekistan, Communication No. 915/2000, CCPR/C/86/D/915/2000, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, Mar. 30, 2006, at ¶ 7.9.
13 The authorities have further violated Mombeini’s right to privacy by using the searches to harass her. The Human Rights Committee has insisted that “searches of a person's home should be restricted to a search for necessary evidence and should not be allowed to amount to harassment.”71 However, Iranian officials are harassing Mombeini by conducting lengthy searches (up to eight hours), seizing material unrelated to her alleged misdeeds (such as cars and family photos), and using that material (e.g., the photos) to smear her husband’s reputation on national television.
Moreover, by cruelly pressuring Mombeini to expedite Seyed-Emami’s burial and monitoring the funeral services, the IRGC unlawfully interfered with her privacy and family and denied her the peace and dignity to properly mourn her late husband.
Finally, the Government has unlawfully attacked Mombeini’s and her family’s reputation. As mentioned above, the Government aired a false and defamatory “documentary” mere days after Seyed-Emami’s death.
D. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Legal Counsel
Article 14(3) of the ICCPR states that “[i]n the determination of any criminal charge against him, everyone shall be entitled . . . to communicate with counsel of his own choosing” and “to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing.”72 In addition, the U.N. Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems says “anyone who is detained, arrested, suspected of, or charged with a criminal offence punishable by a term of imprisonment . . . is entitled to legal aid at all stages of the criminal justice process.”73
Mombeini’s right to counsel has been repeatedly violated. When she went to Evin Prison Court after her passport was confiscated, the IRGC did not allow her lawyers to accompany her into the court. Additionally, Mombeini has been interrogated by the IRGC three times without her legal counsel allowed to be present.
E. The Iranian Government is Violating Maryam Mombeini’s Right to Non- Discrimination
Articles 2(1) and 26 of the ICCPR prohibit discrimination based on “other status,”74 which includes nationality.75 Iran’s Constitution similarly requires that “[a]ll people of Iran . . .
71 General Comment No. 16 on Article 17: The Right to Respect of Privacy, Family, Home and Correspondence, and Protection of Honour and Reputation, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.9 (Vol. I), Apr. 8, 1988, at ¶ 8. 72 ICCPR, supra note 60, at art. 14(3)(b), (d). 73 UNITED NATIONS PRINCIPLES AND GUIDELINES ON ACCESS TO LEGAL AID IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS, U.N. OFFICE ON DRUGS AND CRIMES, 2013, at ¶ 20, available at https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison- reform/UN_principles_and_guidlines_on_access_to_legal_aid.pdf. 74 ICCPR, supra note 60, at arts. 2(1), 26; see also UDHR, supra note 60, at art. 2. 75 Gueye v. France, Communication No. 196/1985, CCPR/C/35/D/196/1985, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE, Nov. 5, 1987, at ¶ 9.4 (“Under article 26, discrimination in the equal protection of the law is prohibited on any
14 enjoy equal rights; and colour, race, language, and the like do not bestow any privilege.”76 Moreover, Article 20 of the Constitution emphasizes that “[a]ll citizens of the country . . . equally enjoy the protection of the law and enjoy all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights.”77
The Government has violated these provisions by harassing, intimidating, and persecuting Mombeini because she is a dual national. As detailed above by the U.N. Secretary- General, U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, and the U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Iran has a history of attacking dual nationals, especially those affiliated with western countries, by making false allegations relating to national security. This is precisely what is occurring here – Mombeini is a Canadian-Iranian dual national whose husband ran an organization with partners in Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, and she now stands accused of espionage.
grounds such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. There has been a differentiation by reference to nationality acquired upon independence. In the Committee's opinion, this falls within the reference to ‘other status’ in the second sentence of article 26.”); see also General Comment No. 20 on Article 2: Non-Discrimination in Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, U.N. COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, U.N. Doc. E/C.12/GC/20, July 2, 2009, at ¶ 30 (nationality falls within “other status”). 76 IRANIAN CONSTITUTION, supra note 61, at art. 19. 77 Id. at art. 20.
15 IV. International Concern
Mombeini’s case has received substantial international attention, particularly from officials in her country, Canada. Upon learning Mombeini was prohibited from flying back to Canada, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted on March 7:
I am outraged to learn that Maryam Mombeini, widow of Kavous Seyed-Emami, was barred from leaving Iran. We demand that, as a Canadian, she be given the freedom to return home.78
A week later, Foreign Minister Freeland met with Ramin and Mehran in person and tweeted:
Thank you to the Seyed-Emami brothers for meeting today. Canada will continue to demand answers in the death of Kavous Seyed-Emami and for the Iranian authorities to allow for his widow, Maryam Mombeini, a Canadian citizen, to return home.79
On March 19, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated this demand:
Iran must allow Maryam Mombeini to leave the country and travel to Canada to be with her family – and the regime must provide answers in the death of her husband, Kavous Seyed-Emami, in Evin prison.80
Since then, Foreign Minister Freeland has spoken directly with her Iranian counterpart, Javid Zarif, about Mombeini’s case, and has raised awareness of Mombeini’s deteriorating health conditions and her travel ban during a meeting with European Union officials in Brussels in June.81 The Canadian government has stressed that Mombeini’s situation is currently the sole focus of its discussions with Iran.82
Mombeini’s plight has also sparked concern from international organizations. On March 13, 2018, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Justice for Iran, and the Center for Human Rights in Iran released a joint public statement calling for “the Iranian authorities [to] end their cruel campaign of harrassment and intimidation against the families of detainees who have died in detention under suspicious circumstances.”83 These organizations further called for
78 Tweet by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland), TWITTER, Mar. 7, 2018, 5:06 pm, available at https://twitter.com/cafreeland/status/971552719126212608?lang=en. 79 Tweet by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (@cafreeland), TWITTER, Mar. 14, 2018, 3:29 pm, available at https://twitter.com/cafreeland/status/974049857890586624?lang=en. 80 Tweet by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau), TWITTER, Mar. 19, 2018, 2:54 pm, available at https://twitter.com/justintrudeau/status/975853160249032704?lang=en. 81 Michelle Zilio, Human Rights Lawyer Irin Cotler Helping Family of Canadian-Iranian Widow Stuck in Iran, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, Jun. 27, 2018, available at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-human-rights- lawyer-irwin-cotler-helping-family-of-canadian-iranian/. 82 Michelle Zilio, Freeland Urges Iranian Counterpart to Allow Canadian Widow to leave the Country, THE GLOBE AND MAIL, June 6, 2018, available at https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-freeland-urges-iran-to- allow-canadian-widow-to-leave-the-country/. 83 Iran: End Persecution of Families Seeking Truth and Justice for Detainees Who Died in Detention, supra note 28.
16 the Iranian authorities to “immediately lift the travel ban against Maryam Mombeini.”84 U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein also met with Ramin Seyed-Emami and expressed his support and willingness to helping bring Mombeini back home.85
Conclusion
Because of her dual national status and her relationship with her late husband, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran is violating Maryam Mombeini’s rights to freedom of movement, presumption of innocence, privacy, legal counsel, and non-discrimination. Despite Momebini’s fragile condition and deteriorating health, Iranian authorities continue to pressure, harass, and intimidate her with the sole aim of breaking her spirit. Unable to leave the country, Mombeini lives in constant fear: she could be imprisoned, tortured, or even killed at any time.
84 Id. 85 Tweet by Mombeini’s son, Ramin @kingraam, TWITTER, Mar. 23, 2018, 9:54 am, available at https://twitter.com/kingraam/status/977226992566272000.
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