DOCSLIB.ORG

Country of Origin Information Report Iran August 2010

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Country of Origin Information Report Iran August 2010 COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION REPORT IRAN 31 AUGUST 2010 31 AUGUST 2010 IRAN UK Border Agency COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION SERVICE Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN IRAN FROM 1 JULY 2010 TO 26 AUGUST 2010 REPORTS ON IRAN PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 1 JULY 2010 AND 26 AUGUST 2010 USEFUL SOURCES FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY .............................................................................................1.01 Maps..............................................................................................1.04 Iran............................................................................................1.04 Tehran.......................................................................................1.05 Calendar.......................................................................................1.06 Public holidays.............................................................................1.07 2. ECONOMY ................................................................................................2.01 3. HISTORY ..................................................................................................3.01 Pre 1979........................................................................................3.01 From 1979 to 1999........................................................................3.04 From 2000 to 2008........................................................................3.07 4. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS (JUNE 2009 TO JUNE 2010).....................................4.01 Presidential election – 12 June 2009..........................................4.01 Demonstrations and aftermath of the election .........................4.07 Nuclear programme and international diplomacy.....................4.18 5. CONSTITUTION ...........................................................................................5.01 6. POLITICAL SYSTEM .....................................................................................6.01 Political parties............................................................................6.05 Human Rights 7. INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................7.01 8. CRIME .....................................................................................................8.01 Drug smuggling...........................................................................8.01 9. SECURITY FORCES ......................................................................................9.01 Overview.......................................................................................9.01 Law Enforcement Forces (including the police)........................9.05 Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (‘Pasdaran’)....................9.07 Qods / Quds Force....................................................................9.13 Basij..........................................................................................9.16 Ansar-e Hezbollah.....................................................................9.19 Armed forces................................................................................9.22 Other organisations.....................................................................9.24 Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and Vezarat-e Ettela’at va Aminat-e Keshvar (VEVAK) aka Ettela’at.........9.24 Human rights violations by the security forces........................9.26 ii The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 30 June 2010. Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 26 August 2010 31 AUGUST 2010 IRAN Arbitrary arrest and detention....................................................9.26 Torture.......................................................................................9.34 Extra judicial killings..................................................................9.41 10. MILITARY SERVICE ....................................................................................10.01 11. JUDICIARY ..............................................................................................11.01 Organisation.................................................................................11.01 Court structure...........................................................................11.04 Mechanisms for redress outside of the judiciary........................11.10 Independence...............................................................................11.11 Fair trial.........................................................................................11.16 Trial in absentia.........................................................................11.22 Bail............................................................................................11.24 Enforcement of Judgements......................................................11.25 Penal code....................................................................................11.26 Knowledge of the judge.............................................................11.33 Court documentation...................................................................11.38 Summonses..............................................................................11.38 Arrest warrants..........................................................................11.46 Reporting...................................................................................11.51 Amputation...................................................................................11.52 12. ARREST AND DETENTION – LEGAL RIGHTS ......................................................12.01 13. PRISON CONDITIONS ..................................................................................13.01 14. DEATH PENALTY ......................................................................................14.01 Stoning.........................................................................................14.21 15. POLITICAL AFFILIATION ..............................................................................15.01 Freedom of political expression.................................................15.01 Events during and after the 2009 Presidential elections............15.05 Political dissidents outside Iran ................................................15.12 Political prisoners......................................................................15.18 Freedom of association and assembly......................................15.24 Opposition groups and political activists..................................15.32 Student activists .......................................................................15.33 Mojahedin-e Khalq Organisation (MEK/MKO) aka People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI).....................................15.47 Rastakhiz Party and Monarchists..............................................15.60 Kurdish Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI, also DPIK).................15.66 Komala......................................................................................15.71 Partiya Jiyana Azada Kurdistan (PJAK) - Kurdistan Free Life Party...................................................................................15.77 People’s Resistance Movement of Iran (PMRI) aka Jondallah or Jundullah...............................................................................15.82 16. FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MEDIA .................................................................16.01 Print media...................................................................................16.10 TV/radio........................................................................................16.15 Internet..........................................................................................16.18 Academic freedom.......................................................................16.28 Journalists....................................................................................16.31 Bloggers.......................................................................................16.42 17. HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS, ORGANISATIONS AND ACTIVISTS .............................17.01 18. CORRUPTION ...........................................................................................18.01 19. FREEDOM OF RELIGION ..............................................................................19.01 Overview.......................................................................................19.01 Religious demography...............................................................19.15 Legal framework..........................................................................19.16 Apostasy (conversion from Islam).............................................19.20 The main text of this COI Report contains the most up to date publicly available information as at 30 June 2010. iii Further brief information on recent events and reports has been provided in the Latest News section to 26 August 2010 31 AUGUST 2010 IRAN Proposed law on apostasy........................................................19.24 Prosecution of apostates...........................................................19.29 Sunni Muslims..............................................................................19.34 Christians.....................................................................................19.39 Muslim converts to Christianity..................................................19.47 Jews..............................................................................................19.53
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Iranian Regime and the New Political Challenge
    Foreign Policy Research Institute E-Notes A Catalyst for Ideas Distributed via Email and Posted at www.fpri.org June 2011 ~MIDDLE EAST MEDIA MONITOR~ AN ENEMY FROM WITHIN: THE IRANIAN REGIME AND THE NEW POLITICAL CHALLENGE By Raz Zimmt Middle East Media Monitor is an FPRI E-Note series, designed to review once a month a current topic from the perspective of the foreign language press in such countries as Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, and Turkey. These articles will focus on providing FPRI’s readership with an inside view on how some of the most important countries in the Middle East are covering issues of importance to the American foreign policy community. Raz Zimmt is a Ph.D. candidate in the Graduate School of Historical Studies and a research fellow at the Center for Iranian Studies at Tel Aviv University. He is the editor of the weekly “Spotlight on Iran,” published by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, www.terrorism-info.org.il/site/home/default.asp . On May 11, 2011 hardliner cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, held a meeting with members of the conservative Islamic Coalition Party. Mesbah-Yazdi warned his audience against the strengthening of deviant religious thought in Iranian society. He claimed that it jeopardizes the concept of “the Guardianship of the Islamic jurist” ( Velayat-e Faqih ), upon which the Iranian regime has been based since the Islamic Revolution (1979). “If this current continues and one day we will see another Seyyed Ali Mohammad Bab 1...we should not be surprised.” 2 A few days later, Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Sa’idi, the Friday prayer leader in Qom, warned the “deviant currents” to stop their conspiracies or the people will annihilate them, as they did to [Abolhassan] Banisadr, 3 “the hypocrites” [a reference to Iranian opposition organization, the Mojahedin-e Khalq ] and “the leaders of the sedition” [a reference to the reformist opposition].
    [Show full text]
  • IRAN April 2000
    COUNTRY ASSESSMENT - IRAN April 2000 Country Information and Policy Unit I. SCOPE OF DOCUMENT 1.1 This assessment has been produced by the Country Information & Policy Unit, Immigration & Nationality Directorate, Home Office, from information obtained from a variety of sources. 1.2 The assessment has been prepared for background purposes for those involved in the asylum determination process. The information it contains is not exhaustive, nor is it intended to catalogue all human rights violations. It concentrates on the issues most commonly raised in asylum claims made in the United Kingdom. 1.3 The assessment is sourced throughout. It is intended to be used by caseworkers as a signpost to the source material, which has been made available to them. The vast majority of the source material is readily available in the public domain. 1.4 It is intended to revise the assessment on a 6-monthly basis while the country remains within the top 35 asylum producing countries in the United Kingdom. 1.5 The assessment will be placed on the Internet (http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ind/cipu1.htm). An electronic copy of the assessment has been made available to the following organisations: Amnesty International UK Immigration Advisory Service Immigration Appellate Authority Immigration Law Practitioners' Association Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants JUSTICE Medical Foundation for the care of Victims of Torture Refugee Council Refugee Legal Centre UN High Commissioner for Refugees CONTENTS I SCOPE OF DOCUMENT 1.1 - 1.6 II GEOGRAPHY 2.1 - 2.2
    [Show full text]
  • IRAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY the Islamic Republic of Iran
    IRAN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Islamic Republic of Iran is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia Muslim clergy and political leaders vetted by the clergy dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit restricted--and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was chosen by a directly elected body of religious leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 1989. Khamenei’s writ dominates the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He directly controls the armed forces and indirectly controls internal security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions. The legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majlis. The unelected 12-member Guardian Council reviews all legislation the Majlis passes to ensure adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles; it also screens presidential and Majlis candidates for eligibility. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected president in June 2009 in a multiparty election that was generally considered neither free nor fair. There were numerous instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control. Demonstrations by opposition groups, university students, and others increased during the first few months of the year, inspired in part by events of the Arab Spring. In February hundreds of protesters throughout the country staged rallies to show solidarity with protesters in Tunisia and Egypt. The government responded harshly to protesters and critics, arresting, torturing, and prosecuting them for their dissent. As part of its crackdown, the government increased its oppression of media and the arts, arresting and imprisoning dozens of journalists, bloggers, poets, actors, filmmakers, and artists throughout the year.
    [Show full text]
  • IRAN COUNTRY of ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service
    IRAN COUNTRY OF ORIGIN INFORMATION (COI) REPORT COI Service Date 28 June 2011 IRAN JUNE 2011 Contents Preface Latest News EVENTS IN IRAN FROM 14 MAY TO 21 JUNE Useful news sources for further information REPORTS ON IRAN PUBLISHED OR ACCESSED BETWEEN 14 MAY AND 21 JUNE Paragraphs Background Information 1. GEOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 1.01 Maps ...................................................................................................................... 1.04 Iran ..................................................................................................................... 1.04 Tehran ................................................................................................................ 1.05 Calendar ................................................................................................................ 1.06 Public holidays ................................................................................................... 1.07 2. ECONOMY ................................................................................................................ 2.01 3. HISTORY .................................................................................................................. 3.01 Pre 1979: Rule of the Shah .................................................................................. 3.01 From 1979 to 1999: Islamic Revolution to first local government elections ... 3.04 From 2000 to 2008: Parliamentary elections
    [Show full text]
  • Part Two: Administrative Organization, Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss
    Part Two Administrative Organization, Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account of Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran As at the end of 1390 (March 19, 2012) EXECUTIVE BOARD Mahmoud Bahmani (as of 02.07.1387) Governor Seyyed Hamid Pour Mohammadi (as of 18.07.1388) Deputy Governor Seyyed Mahmoud Ahmadi (as of 09.10.1388) Secretary General Seyyed Kamal Seyyed Ali (as of 21.04.1390 Vice-Governor for Foreign until 28.08.1390) Exchange Affairs Minoo Kianirad (as of 28.08.1390) Vice-Governor for Foreign Exchange Affairs Hossein Ghazavi (as of 29.07.1388 Vice-Governor for Economic Affairs until 23.08.1390) Bahman Mesgarha (as of 09.10.1388) Vice-Governor for Administrative and Training Affairs Hossein Habibi (as of 19.03.1388) Vice-Governor for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ebrahim Darvishi (as of 10.09.1390 Vice-Governor for Banking Supervision Affairs Hamid Borhani (until 21.04.1390) Vice-Governor for Foreign Exchange Affairs Seyyed Kamal Seyyed Ali (until 21.04.1390) Vice-Governor for International Affairs 138 MONEY AND CREDIT COUNCIL Mahmoud Bahmani (as of 02.07.1387) Governor of the Central Bank Seyyed Shamseddin Hosseini (as of 23.04.1388) Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Ebrahim Azizi (as of 07.07.1388) President Deputy for Strategic Planning and Control Abdolreza Sheikholeslami (as of 12.05.1390) Minister of Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Mehdi Ghazanfari (as of 12.05.1390) Minister of Industry, Mine, and Trade Sadeq Khalilian (as of 11.08.1390) Minister of Jihad-e Agriculture Kurosh Parvizian (as of 08.05.1390)
    [Show full text]
  • Disintegration of Iranian National Front: Causes and Motives
    World Journal of Islamic History and Civilization, 2 (4): 237-245, 2012 ISSN 2225-0883 © IDOSI Publications, 2012 DOI: 10.5829/idosi.wjihc.2012.2.4.2406 Disintegration of Iranian National Front: Causes and Motives 11Masoumeh Banitalebi, Kamaruzaman Yusoff and 2Zahra Khajeh Department of Political History, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia School of Language Studies and Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia Abstract: National Front was a unique self-motivated political process whose main goal was considered as observing Iranians certain rights, manipulating free elections and preventing foreign forces from their negative influence on national benefit and interests and running regulations. This front was formed in 1949 by the leader of Dr. Mosaddeq. It was the most significant front against dictatorship and colonialism.1949 until 1979 the National Front was formed within four periods of times. The causes of National Front frustration can be accounted as weakness of organization and ideology, mistakes made by its leadership and different branches with the National Front. What were the reasons that National Front leaders could not pursue the same aim and it failed to form a coherent party? And it could not unite the political parties, unions, national communities and social groups? Why did not they learn anything from Mosaddeq’s failure and after 25 years, Bakhtiar experienced the same failure? The main purpose of this paper will be introducing the National Front’s leaders and their aims and that all these leaders followed the same route to achieve the countries benefits. Through a variety of mottos, Shah, U.S and Britain were not eager to give the National Front the power.
    [Show full text]
  • The Iranian Revolution, Past, Present and Future
    The Iranian Revolution Past, Present and Future Dr. Zayar Copyright © Iran Chamber Society The Iranian Revolution Past, Present and Future Content: Chapter 1 - The Historical Background Chapter 2 - Notes on the History of Iran Chapter 3 - The Communist Party of Iran Chapter 4 - The February Revolution of 1979 Chapter 5 - The Basis of Islamic Fundamentalism Chapter 6 - The Economics of Counter-revolution Chapter 7 - Iranian Perspectives Copyright © Iran Chamber Society 2 The Iranian Revolution Past, Present and Future Chapter 1 The Historical Background Iran is one of the world’s oldest countries. Its history dates back almost 5000 years. It is situated at a strategic juncture in the Middle East region of South West Asia. Evidence of man’s presence as far back as the Lower Palaeolithic period on the Iranian plateau has been found in the Kerman Shah Valley. And time and again in the course of this long history, Iran has found itself invaded and occupied by foreign powers. Some reference to Iranian history is therefore indispensable for a proper understanding of its subsequent development. The first major civilisation in what is now Iran was that of the Elamites, who might have settled in South Western Iran as early as 3000 B.C. In 1500 B.C. Aryan tribes began migrating to Iran from the Volga River north of the Caspian Sea and from Central Asia. Eventually two major tribes of Aryans, the Persian and Medes, settled in Iran. One group settled in the North West and founded the kingdom of Media. The other group lived in South Iran in an area that the Greeks later called Persis—from which the name Persia is derived.
    [Show full text]
  • General Assembly Distr
    UNITED NATIONS A General Assembly Distr. GENERAL A/HRC/14/23/Add.1 1 June 2010 ENGLISH/FRENCH/SPANISH ONLY HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Fourteenth session Agenda item 3 PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT Report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue Addendum Summary of cases transmitted to Governments and replies received* * Owing to its length, the present report is circulated as received. GE.10-13841 A/HRC/14/23/Add.1 page 2 CONTENTS Paragraphs Page Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 - 7 6 Afghanistan ........................................................................................ 8 – 14 7 Algeria ............................................................................................... 15 - 29 8 Angola ................................................................................................ 30 - 37 11 Argentina ........................................................................................... 38 - 83 12 Azerbaijan .......................................................................................... 84 - 97 17 Bahrain ............................................................................................... 98 - 118 19 Belarus ............................................................................................... 119 - 165 23 Bolivia ...............................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Evaluation of the Social Reasons for Defeating Political Parties in Iran Between the Years of 1942-1954
    EVALUATION OF THE SOCIAL REASONS FOR DEFEATING POLITICAL PARTIES IN IRAN BETWEEN THE YEARS OF 1942-1954 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF Mottov of $t|iIos;opIip IN SOCIOLOGY BY Naser Haghi Ghareh Darvishlou UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF Dr. Mohammad Akram DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIAL WORK ALIGARH MUSLIM UNIVERSITY ALIGARH (IIMOIA) 2012 -S5LM9 Political parties appeared on the scene when actions of an erstwhile political system attained a point of complexity that needed the introduction of a new political setup. Usually, political parties emerge when different classes of society become aware of their own interests, and the people of a country want the right to take part in political issues. The nineteenth century was an important phase in Iranian history, wherein political, social and economic corruption were the most obvious problem that Iranians faced. Tremendous increases of such problems have been the reason for the occurrence of all revolutions and reforms in Iran. With the allied occupation of Iran and the exile of Reza Shah, social chaos increased in the 1940s. Also, as a resuU of the Second World War, and because of the lack of a steady government, the country was led to anarchy. This problem offended Iranians more when they became aware of the degree and speed of development in the western countries. When Iranian intellectuals came into direct contact with western countries, they tried to regenerate the political structure of their own country to bring about political stability. After Reza Shah, especially between 1942 and 1954, there came a unique historical opportimity for Iranian elites to form a democratic political structure, whereas during the reign of Reza Shah, political parties and other active groups had been inactive.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses
    Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses Kenneth Katzman Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs September 4, 2009 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov RL32048 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Iran: U.S. Concerns and Policy Responses Summary President Obama has said his Administration shares the goals of the previous Administration to contain Iran’s strategic capabilities and regional influence. The Administration has not changed the previous Administration’s characterization of Iran as a “profound threat to U.S. national security interests,” a perception generated not only by Iran’s nuclear program but also by its military assistance to armed groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the Palestinian group Hamas, and to Lebanese Hezbollah. However, the Obama Administration has formulated approaches to achieve those goals that differ from those of its predecessor—in particular through expanded direct diplomatic engagement with Iran. Prior to Iran’s disputed June 12, 2009 presidential elections, this U.S. outreach was put into practice with messages to the Iranian people by President Obama, and through invitations to and contact with Iranian diplomats at multilateral meetings. Attempting to convince Iran that the Administration is not hostile to Iran, the Administration also downplayed Bush Administration policies to add international sanctions on Iran, to fund civil society activists there, and to openly discuss potential U.S. military action against Iranian nuclear facilities. The Administration’s Iran policy did not change significantly because of the Iranian crackdown against protesters who alleged vast fraud in the June 12, 2009 presidential election, in which incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the winner.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran Page 1 of 43
    2010 Human Rights Report: Iran Page 1 of 43 Home » Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs » Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor » Releases » Human Rights Reports » 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices » Near East and North Africa » Iran 2010 Human Rights Report: Iran* BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices April 8, 2011 The Islamic Republic of Iran, with a population of approximately 77 million, is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shia Muslim clergy, and political leaders vetted by the clergy, dominate the key power structures. Government legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty--albeit restricted--and the rule of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution. The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was not directly elected but chosen by a directly elected body of religious leaders, the Assembly of Experts, in 1989. Khamenei's writ dominates the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. He directly controls the armed forces and indirectly controls internal security forces, the judiciary, and other key institutions. The legislative branch is the popularly elected 290-seat Islamic Consultative Assembly, or Majles. The unelected 12-member Guardian Council reviews all legislation the Majles passes to ensure adherence to Islamic and constitutional principles; it also screens presidential and Majles candidates for eligibility. Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad, a member of the Alliance of Builders political party, was reelected president in June 2009 in a multiparty election that was generally considered neither free nor fair. There were numerous instances in which elements of the security forces acted independently of civilian control.
    [Show full text]
  • Iran's Foreign and Defense Policies
    Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies Updated May 8, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R44017 SUMMARY R44017 Iran’s Foreign and Defense Policies May 8, 2019 Iran’s national security policy is the product of many overlapping and sometimes competing factors such as the ideology of Iran’s Islamic revolution, perception of threats Kenneth Katzman to the regime and to the country, long-standing national interests, and the interaction of Specialist in Middle the Iranian regime’s factions and constituencies. Iran’s leadership: Eastern Affairs x Seeks to deter or thwart U.S. or other efforts to invade or intimidate Iran or to bring about a change of regime. x Has sought to take advantage of opportunities of regional conflicts to overturn a power structure in the Middle East that it asserts favors the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and other Sunni Muslim Arab regimes. x Seeks to enhance its international prestige and restore a sense of “greatness” reminiscent of ancient Persian empires. x Advances its foreign policy goals, in part by providing material support to regional allied governments and armed factions. Iranian officials characterize the support as helping the region’s “oppressed” and assert that Saudi Arabia, in particular, is instigating sectarian tensions and trying to exclude Iran from regional affairs. x Sometimes disagrees on tactics and strategies. Supreme Leader Ali Khamene’i and key hardline institutions, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), oppose any compromises of Iran’s national security core goals. Iran’s elected president, Hassan Rouhani, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif support Iran’s integration into regional and international diplomacy.
    [Show full text]