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Iran COI Compilation September 2013 Corrected As of 18 November 2013

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Iran COI Compilation September 2013 Corrected As of 18 November 2013 Iran COI Compilation September 2013 ACCORD is co-funded by the European Refugee Fund, UNHCR and the Ministry of the Interior, Austria. Commissioned by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Division of International Protection. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author. ACCORD - Austrian Centre for Country of Origin & Asylum Research and Documentation Iran COI Compilation September 2013 corrected as of 18 November 2013 This report serves the specific purpose of collating legally relevant information on conditions in countries of origin pertinent to the assessment of claims for asylum. It is not intended to be a general report on human rights conditions. The report is prepared on the basis of publicly available information, studies and commentaries within a specified time frame. All sources are cited and fully referenced. This report is not, and does not purport to be, either exhaustive with regard to conditions in the country surveyed, or conclusive as to the merits of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Every effort has been made to compile information from reliable sources; users should refer to the full text of documents cited and assess the credibility, relevance and timeliness of source material with reference to the specific research concerns arising from individual applications. © Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD An electronic version of this report is available on www.ecoi.net. Austrian Red Cross/ACCORD Wiedner Hauptstraße 32 A- 1040 Vienna, Austria Phone: +43 1 58 900 – 582 E-Mail: [email protected] Web: http://www.redcross.at/accord ACCORD is co-funded by the European Refugee Fund, UNHCR and the Ministry of the Interior, Austria. Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 1 Background information .............................................................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Geographical information ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1.1 Map of Iran ........................................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1.2 Map of Tehran .................................................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Brief overview of political institutions .............................................................................................................. 6 1.3 Brief overview of socio-economic situation ................................................................................................... 8 1.3.1 Economic impact of international sanctions ....................................................................................... 8 1.3.2 Levels of unemployment ............................................................................................................................. 12 2 Main political developments .................................................................................................................................... 14 2.1 Presidential elections 2009 and developments in their aftermath until 2011 ......................... 14 2.1.1 Demonstrations and aftermath of the election .............................................................................. 14 2.1.2 Government crackdown of 2010 .............................................................................................................17 2.1.3 Further crackdown following the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt ........................................ 19 2.2 Parliamentary elections of March and May 2012 .................................................................................. 20 2.3 Presidential and municipal elections of June 2013 ................................................................................ 22 3 Political opposition groups ....................................................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Green Movement ..................................................................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation .................................................................................................................... 28 3.3 Jundallah ....................................................................................................................................................................... 30 3.4 Kurdish activists ........................................................................................................................................................ 32 3.5 Komala ........................................................................................................................................................................... 36 3.6 Party of Free Life of Kurdistan ......................................................................................................................... 38 3.7 Student activists ........................................................................................................................................................ 40 4 Security forces and their role during the 2009/2010 uprisings and their aftermath ........... 43 4.1 Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran .................................................................... 44 4.2 Islamic Republic of Iran Army ............................................................................................................................ 46 4.3 The Ministry of Intelligence and Security .................................................................................................... 48 4.4 Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution ................................................................................... 51 4.4.1 The Basij .............................................................................................................................................................. 56 4.4.2 Qods/Quds Force ......................................................................................................................................... 59 4.5 Ansar-e-Hezbollah ................................................................................................................................................... 62 4.6 Role of security forces during the 2009/2010 uprisings and their aftermath ....................... 63 5 Human rights issues .................................................................................................................................................... 66 5.1 Freedom of expression, association, and assembly .............................................................................. 66 5.1.1 Treatment of political opposition groups and activists ............................................................. 67 5.1.2 Treatment of family members of political dissidents living abroad ................................... 72 5.1.3 Government restrictions on non-governmental organizations and civil society ........ 74 5.2 Freedom of the media ........................................................................................................................................... 78 5.2.1 Treatment of journalists and bloggers .............................................................................................. 80 5.3 Freedom of religion................................................................................................................................................. 84 2 5.3.1 Religious demography ................................................................................................................................. 84 5.3.2 Treatment of religious minorities .......................................................................................................... 87 5.4 Treatment of minority ethnic groups .......................................................................................................... 105 5.4.1 Kurds .................................................................................................................................................................... 106 5.4.2 Arabs ................................................................................................................................................................... 107 5.4.3 Baluchis (Balochs) .......................................................................................................................................... 109 5.4.4 Azerbaijani (Azeri) Turks ........................................................................................................................... 111 5.4.5 Qashqai............................................................................................................................................................... 112 5.5 Treatment of women ..............................................................................................................................................113 5.5.1 Dress and gender segregation ...............................................................................................................113
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