Human Rights in Iran Subject Specialist: Ben Smith
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DEBATE PACK Number CDP 2016-0125 | 23 June 2016 Compiled by: Tim Robinson Human Rights in Iran Subject specialist: Ben Smith Contents 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Judicial process and the Westminster Hall death penalty 2 1.3 Freedom of speech 2 Tuesday 28 June 2016 1.4 Women 2 1.5 Iranian government 3 9.30am – 11.00am 1.6 UK government 3 2. Press Articles 4 Debate initiated by Dr Matthew Offord 3. Foreign and Commonwealth Office 6 4. PQs 10 5. Other Parliamentary material 16 6. Further reading 19 The proceedings of this debate may be viewed on Parliamentlive.tv The House of Commons Library prepares a briefing in hard copy and/or online for most non-legislative debates in the Chamber and Westminster Hall other than half-hour debates. Debate Packs are produced quickly after the announcement of parliamentary business. They are intended to provide a summary or overview of the issue being debated and identify relevant briefings and useful documents, including press and parliamentary material. More detailed briefing can be prepared for Members on request to the Library. www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Number CDP 2016-0125, 23 June 2016 1.1 Introduction Many observers hoped that the combination of the Rouhani government in Iran and the successful conclusion of the deal on Iran’s nuclear programme would lead to a warming of Iranian relations with Western countries and an improvement in the human rights situation inside Iran. While there has been some limited progress on matters such as investment by Western companies, no political transformation has taken place in the country. Hard-line factions in the judiciary and the intelligence and security forces, resentful at having failed to prevent the nuclear deal, are using all the levers at their disposal to maximise their influence. That means fighting against any loosening of political and religious repression. 1.2 Judicial process and the death penalty Far from slowing down on executions after the election of a moderate government, Iran is reported to have accelerated. According to Amnesty International, the authorities executed nearly 700 people between 1 January and 15 July 2015. Departing from usual practice, the executions did not even stop in the month of Ramadan. Amnesty drew attention to the judicial process in Iran, which it said is not impartial: … death sentences in Iran are particularly disturbing because they are invariably imposed by courts that are completely lacking in independence and impartiality. They are imposed either for vaguely worded or overly broad offences, or acts that should not be criminalized at all, let alone attract the death penalty. Trials in Iran are deeply flawed, detainees are often denied access to lawyers in the investigative stage, and there are inadequate procedures for appeal, pardon and commutation. Detainees are often subjected to torture, according to Human Rights Watch. 1.3 Freedom of speech Broad national security offences are often used against journalists to silence them in Iran, and the country remains one of the most repressive to journalists in the world: 169th out of 180, according to the NGO Reporters without Borders. Four bloggers and three journalists were imprisoned in 2016. Kurdish reporters and others from minority groups that the Iranian authorities find challenging are the most likely to face arbitrary arrest and detention. Human rights lawyers are also vulnerable to arrest and increasingly harsh prison sentences. Free trade unions are also banned. 1.4 Women Women are subjected to various forms of discrimination and the authorities do not do enough to prevent violence – there is no law against domestic violence, for example. The legal age for marriage is 13 for a girl, although girls even younger can be married even younger than this if their father or grandfather decides and is given court Human Rights in Iran 3 clearance. In one year there were more than 40,000 marriage registrations where the girl was aged between 10 and 14 years, Human Rights Watch reported. 1.5 Iranian government The Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denied in 2015 that people were jailed for their opinions in Iran: We do not jail people for their opinions. The government has a plan to improve [and] enhance human rights in the country, as every government should. And I believe we have an obligation as a government to our own people to do that. But people who commit crimes, who violate the laws of the country, cannot hide behind being a journalist or being a political activist. People have to observe the law. 1.6 UK government The UK government says that it is working hard to improve the human rights situation in Iran. It summarised its actions in the 2015 Human Rights and Democracy report: The UK continues to lead international efforts to encourage Iran to improve its human rights record. We continue to raise individual cases with the Iranian government, in addition to concerning trends such as the increase in use of the death penalty, juvenile executions, and continued persecution of religious minorities. The UK has also helped to maintain the listing of over 70 individuals under the Iran human rights sanctions regime. The UK helped secure adoption of the UN General Assembly Third Committee Resolution on the human rights situation in Iran. The UK co-sponsored the Canadian-led resolution, assisting in drafting and agreeing the text. The resolution was passed by 76 votes. FCO Human Rights and Democracy Programme projects supporting HRDs [human rights defenders] and creating platforms to support freedom of expression helped strengthen the foundations for change in country. We welcome the renewal of the mandate for the UN Special Rapporteur in Iran [Ahmed Shaheed]. We will continue to support this mandate and hope that Iran uses the opportunity to engage with the UN. 4 Number CDP 2016-0125, 23 June 2016 2. Press Articles The following is a selection of recent press and media articles relevant to this debate. Please note: the Library is not responsible for either the views or accuracy of external content. The Hill Happiness is still ground for punishment in Iran Mark Williams 17 June 2016 Mail Online Iranian authorities suspend their national goalkeeper for six months for 'wearing SpongeBob SquarePants trousers' Cameron Phelps 9 June 2016 The Independent Iranian students get 99 lashes for attending mixed graduation party Caroline Mortimer 27 May 2016 Freedom House For Iran’s Hard-Liners, Contact with Baha’is Means Guilt by Association Bret Nelson 26 May 2016 International Business Times Man to be blinded by having acid poured into his eyes after committing crime in Iran Harriet Sinclair 5 may 2016 Christian Post Iran Religious Persecution Increasing Despite Nuclear Deal, USCIRF Reports Stoyan Zaimov 4 May 2016 The Economist Human rights in Iran are still atrocious 24 March 2016 The Guardian Iran: seven key human rights challenges facing President Rouhani Saeed Kamali Dehghan 4 March 2016 Human Rights in Iran 5 The Guardian Tehran court jails three Iranian journalists for spreading propaganda Saeed Kamali Dehghan 27 April 2016 International Business Times Iran: UK politicians demand harder line on country's human rights record Harriet Sinclair 12 February 2016 Foreign Policy Every Man in an Iranian Village Was Executed for Drug Offenses Siobhán O'Grady 26 February 2016 6 Number CDP 2016-0125, 23 June 2016 3. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Islamic Republic of Iran - in-year update December 2015 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 21 April 2016 There was little change in the human rights situation in Iran between July and December 2015. In some respects, the situation has worsened, despite President Rouhani pledging to improve the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Iran when he was elected. Iran’s use of the death penalty continued to be a serious concern. There were an estimated 966 executions in 2015, the highest number of executions in over 10 years. Iran continues to use the death penalty for juvenile offenders, in direct contradiction to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Iran is a signatory. Iran also routinely uses the death penalty for crimes not internationally recognised as “most serious”, for example drugs-related offences. In December, a bill was presented to the Iranian parliament that, if approved, would reduce the punishment for non-violent drug-related crimes from death to life imprisonment. This is a promising development and has been welcomed by human rights organisations around the world. According to reports, approximately 65% of executions in Iran in 2015 were for drug-related offences; if the proposed bill is approved, this could significantly reduce the number of executions in Iran. On freedom of expression, the crackdown on use of social media came to a head in November when the cyber unit of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) arrested over 170 individuals, accusing them of publishing “obscene” content on instant-messaging mobile apps. Reports of some of the arrests cited “facilitating users’ access to obscene content via groups on mobile networks, publishing obscene Iranian and foreign content in text and visual format, encouraging people to commit offences, and publishing texts that insulted national figures”. Despite this attempt to control the social media activities of Iranian citizens, in October President Rouhani told a meeting of the Supreme Council of Virtual Space that “facilitating public access to virtual space and social media should be a priority, even as we resist the misuse of this information exchange”. Intelligence Minister, Mahmud Alavi, also reportedly warned against violating people’s privacy while speaking at a conference in Tehran. He said “We have no right to stick our noses into peoples’ private life”.