Exclusive: UN Human Rights Office Concerned Over Iran’s Crackdown On Civil Society

In their letter to Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the public figures and civil society actors said that given the replacement of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) Intelligence Organization Chief Hossein Taeb, their cases should be reviewed and called on him to consider the legal possibilities of a parole for them.

The signatories emphasized that the four-member committee of the former administration to examine the issue, comprised of ministers of interior, intelligence and justice as well as the legal advisor to the president, had found no evidence to prove charges of espionage against them. 

Nine environmentalists and ecologists were arrested in 2018 on charges of espionage. All were members of the Persian World Heritage Foundation, an NGO dedicated to conserving wildlife in Iran, and are serving sentences from four to 10 years. Kavous Seyed-Emami, the NGO’s founder, was found dead in his cell two weeks after his detention, with the authorities reporting suicide and the family denying the claim.

Human Rights Watch has reported the detainees have been subject to ‘torture’ during incarceration, and that no evidence of any crime has been produced in public, with convictions obtained in special security courts.

Iran International published a compilation of four investigative reports on torture and abuse of these prisoners on June 21.

Sullivan made the remarks from Air Force One as President Joe Biden embarked on his tour to the Middle East. 

"Russia deepening an alliance with Iran to kill Ukrainians is something that the whole world should look at and see as a profound threat," Sullivan said.

His comments come as US officials have said Iran is preparing to help supply Russia with several hundred drones, including some that are weapons-capable, to use in Ukraine, while Putin is expected to visit Tehran next week. Sullivan called the timing of the Putin trip "interesting."

An official of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s political party told Iran International on July 12 that the news of Tehran planning to arm Russia with drones has shocked Ukrainian officials.

Yevheniia Kravchuk, who is also a member of the Ukrainian parliament, said that Tehran’s decision would lead to the death of more Ukrainian civilians.

Sullivan said on July 11 that “Our information indicates that the Iranian government is preparing to provide Russia with up to several hundred UAVs, including weapons-capable UAVs on an expedited timeline,” adding that Iran is “preparing to train Russian forces to use these UAVs with initial training sessions slated to begin as soon as early July.”

Tehran has not officially taken side with Russia on Ukraine but many officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi, have implicitly accused Ukraine of instigating Russia to attack by seeking to join NATO.

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry claimed they had plans to attack Iran’s vital economic centers and facilities.

The group was comprised of several cells with various missions to destroy vital facilities of the country, to create roadblocks and extort money from the people, especially successful local entrepreneurs, the ministry claimed. 

Describing the report as "fake news," Kaveh Bahrami, the head of armed wing of Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan called it an attempt to justify an “atmosphere of pressure, threats and more executions".

The network had entered the country through the border areas of West Azarbaijan province with the support of terrorist groups in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, read the statement, adding that advanced communication technology and weapons, including various types of guns, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades, explosives and ammunition have been discovered and confiscated from the group.

A Kurdish rights group said on July 8 that at least four servicemen of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard were killed in clashes with fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in the province.

The Islamic Republic calls the Kurdish armed groups in the western provinces of Iran, "terrorist groups" or "anti-revolutionary" but these groups say that the goal of their armed campaign is "defending the rights of the Kurds".

Generally, the Kurdish parties − including Komala and the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) − favor Kurdish autonomy within a federal Iran. Pejak (the Free Life Party of Kurdistan), an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), formed in Turkey but also based in northern Iraq, has generally favored a unified, independent Kurdistan uniting Kurds in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, and Iran.

Iran repeated calls for release of Assadollah Assadi, serving a 20-year sentence in Belgium over a terror attack in Paris, and former jailor Hamid Nouri, on trial in Sweden for his role in 1988 prison purges.

Foreign ministry’s new spokesperson Naser Kanani told reporters on Wednesday that Tehran is following up the cases to free former officials as soon as possible. Their cases were a priority for the foreign ministry since their arrest, he added. 

“Assadi’s unconditional release is Iran's request, and talks are ongoing with the Belgian government, and we hope that with the efforts we have made, we will see the release of this diplomat in the near future,” he said. 

His remarks came as numerous Iranian and foreign rights groups have expressed concerns about a prisoner exchange treaty between Belgium and Iran that was passed by the Belgian parliament’s foreign relations committee and will go to the full 150-member chamber July 14, warning that approving such a treaty condones hostage-taking policy by the Islamic Republic and undermines accountability for Iranian officials convicted for acts of terrorism abroad.

Kanani also said the Iranian Embassy in Sweden and the foreign ministry have seriously put consular support for Nouri’s release on their agenda. “We believe that the arrest of this Iranian citizen does not have a proper judicial basis and unfortunately, the political atmosphere of a hostile and terrorist movement has provided the ground for his illegal arrest.”

Iran says Nouri’s detention is driven by “false allegations” made by the Albania-based opposition group Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MEK).

The interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, warned women that the government’s fearsome Special Unit will deal with those “breaking rules” and will not allow people to “intentionally cooperate with the enemy.”

The act of civil disobedience on July 12 was called by women’s rights and civic activists as authorities in recent weeks increased harassment of women in the streets for “improper hijab”. Patrols and check points by the so called ‘morality police’ were highly visible in large cities. Government agents in charge of “vice and virtue” stopped women and detained them in special police vans for questioning, warnings and even detention.

But on Tuesday large numbers of Iranian women defied forced hijab rules and came out without headscarves and in some cases dressed in attire common in most countries, such as trendy jeans and T-shirts forbidden by the Islamic Republic.

No major incidents were reported as women defied the rules, probably because the government did not want to create further tensions on that particular day, which would project the picture of a successful act of civil disobedience. But official threats rang out before the day was over and on Wednesday.

The representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the religious city of Qom demanded decisive action against opponents of hijab. The army’s ideological-political commissar said, “Hijab is our first line of defense. If it falls, all other bulwarks will fall.”

This remark will perhaps stay as an iconic quote for a long time to come. Observers, analysts and critics have long said that the Islamic Republic uses hijab and other social restrictions, such as bans on female singers, dancing and alcoholic drinks as ways of imposing control over society.

The spokesman of the armed forces, that encompasses both the traditional army and the Revolutionary Guard, called those who do not follow hijab rules “Satan’s troops”. Speaking at a ceremony on Tuesday Abolfazl Shekarchi said these individuals are in fact engaged in ‘Moharebeh’, a serious crime according to Sharia. Moharebeh in Iran’s Islamic law means the act of taking up arms against the people, which is identical to fighting God. Being convicted of the offense could carry the death penalty.

The interior minister who had traveled to the shores of the Caspian Sea in the north also spoke about plans to segregate beaches and said the government should set up public awareness mechanisms to teach 20 million annual visitors to the resort areas about proper Islamic behavior. Almost all tourists who visit the Caspian shore are Iranians.

When the Islamic Republic imposed hijab in early 1980s, Iran had a population of around 30 million, which has grown to 80 million. The vast majority never saw the pre-1979 era when Iran had social freedoms. They only see photos or films showing women walking around in Western attire. They also have the Internet and can see the lifestyle in other countries. Many also travel abroad, or at least to neighboring countries such as Turkey, Azerbaijan and the United Arab Emirates, where they see Muslims can choose what to wear.