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Download the PDF BOOK Iran Human Rights Documentation Center The Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (IHRDC) is an independent and nonpartisan scholarly undertaking to establish a comprehensive and objective historical record of the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 1979 revolution. This evolving historical record includes the collection and analysis of a broad range of documents and testimonies in an archive that is accessible to the public for research and educational purposes. Based on the principle that accounting for past abuses is essential for future social progress and democratic transformation, the IHRDC encourages an informed dialogue on the human rights situation in Iran. The IHRDC collaborates with a wide range of scholars and experts in human rights documentation and various other disciplines and projects. IHRDC Mission To investigate and document human rights abuses in Iran; To raise international awareness of human rights violations in Iran and bring pressure to bear on the Iranian government to end these abuses; To raise local awareness of human rights violations and international human rights standards inside Iran; To establish an online archive of human rights documents that can one day be used to develop and support a reckoning process in Iran. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center 129 Church Street New Haven, Connecticut 06510, USA Tel: +1-(203)-772-2218 Fax: +1-(203)-772-1782 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.iranhrdc.org Photographs: The front cover photograph was taken by Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) and is available on its website at http://www.isna.com/. The picture of Elias Mahmoudi, former head of the Intelligence Protection Center of The Judiciary, was taken from Fars News Agency, available on its website at http://www.farsnews.com/. Photographs used throughout the report were obtained from the respective individuals. © 2009 All Rights Reserved. Iran Human Rights Documentation Center, New Haven, Connecticut Covert Terror: Iran’s Parallel Intelligence Apparatus Iran Human Rights Documentation Center April 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction ...........................................................................................................................3 2. Political Background .............................................................................................................5 2.1. Khatami’s Election and the Reformist Movement.............................................. 5 2.2. The Conservative Backlash and the Rise of the PIA .......................................... 8 2.3. Government Efforts to Rein in the PIA ............................................................ 11 3. Pre-Detention Unlawful Activities of the PIA ...................................................................15 3.1. Selection, Targeting and Surveillance of Victims ............................................ 16 3.1.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 16 3.1.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 17 3.2. Unlawful Arrests and Kidnappings of Victims................................................. 19 3.2.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 19 3.2.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 22 3.3. Unlawful Searches and Seizures of Property.................................................... 24 3.3.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 24 3.3.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 25 3.4. Transfer of Victims to Illegal Detention Facilities ........................................... 26 3.4.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 26 3.4.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 26 4. Unlawful Activities of the PIA at Detention Facilities......................................................27 4.1. The Illegal Detention Facilities......................................................................... 27 4.1.1. Prison 59................................................................................................... 30 4.1.2. Amaken Prison .......................................................................................... 32 4.1.3. Khatam-ul-Anbiya Prison......................................................................... 34 4.1.4. Sections 209 and 325 of Evin Prison ........................................................ 35 4.1.5. Prison Jay.................................................................................................. 36 4.2. Denial of Access to Family............................................................................... 37 4.2.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 37 4.2.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 38 4.3. Denial of Medical Care and Health Services.................................................... 39 4.3.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 39 4.3.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 39 4.4. Lack of Basic Accommodations ....................................................................... 40 4.4.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 40 4.4.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 41 4.5. Denial of Access to Legal Representation and Other Due Process Rights....... 42 4.5.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 42 4.5.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 43 4.6. Unlawful Interrogations.................................................................................... 44 4.6.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 45 4.6.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 48 4.7. Solitary Confinement........................................................................................ 49 4.7.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 49 4.7.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 52 4.8. Threats, Intimidation and Psychological Torture.............................................. 52 4.8.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 52 1 4.8.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 55 4.9. Physical Torture................................................................................................ 56 4.9.1. Facts .......................................................................................................... 56 4.9.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ....................................... 60 4.10. Forced Confessions........................................................................................... 60 4.10.1. Facts .................................................................................................... 61 4.10.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ................................. 63 5. Judicial Complicity and Denial of a Fair Hearing............................................................63 5.1. Facts .................................................................................................................. 65 5.2. Violations of Domestic and International Laws ............................................... 68 6. Unlawful Activities of the PIA Post-Detention..................................................................69 6.1. Facts .................................................................................................................. 70 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................71 2 1. Introduction This report documents the illegal activities of Iran’s nahadhayih ittila’tiyih muvazi, or Parallel Intelligence Apparatus (PIA), linked to numerous governmental agencies and branches of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The PIA effectively operated under the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during the Presidency of reformist Mohammed Khatami, whose term lasted from 1997 to 2004. During this period, the clandestine activities of the PIA aided the conservatives in their efforts to retain control over the levers of state. Members of the PIA were responsible for the brutal intimidation and silencing of reformists, political dissidents and critics. Their primary targets were journalists, bloggers and student activists, many of whom were the beneficiaries of the relatively relaxed atmosphere that tolerated the publication and dissemination of independent sources of information (i.e., newspapers, dailies and blogs) criticizing the conservative establishment’s policies. The PIA
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