|
As part of our ongoing efforts to spotlighting courageous human rights defenders in Iran, please see our most recent Human Rights Tracker digests below.
Amirsalar Davoudi: An Attorney Pursuing Justice from Behind Bars
Amirsalar Davoudi, an Iranian human rights attorney, has faced numerous hardships due to his outspoken advocacy for truth and justice. Davoudi has utilized social media, particularly the Telegram channel “Without Retouch,” to connect with citizens and share news, views, and opinions.
Davoudi's activism led to his arrest on November 20, 2018, following his assertions that a portion of the country’s judiciary is tainted by financial corruption in a conversation with Voice of America. He faced charges such as "spreading propaganda against the government," "disparaging the leader and originator of the revolution," "offending individual persons," and "spying." In June 2019, the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 30 years imprisonment, 111 lashes, and a monetary penalty. Despite being temporarily released in July 2021, he was rearrested in June 2022 and returned to prison.
Davoudi's dedication to human rights has garnered international attention. On September 23, 2022, he was awarded the 2022 Ludovic Trarieux Human Rights Award in Bordeaux, France. This accolade serves as a tribute to Ludovic Trarieux, the founder of the French Human Rights League in 1898, and honors the work of human rights defenders worldwide.
Read the full published story on Davoudi here.
Mahvash Shahriari Sabet, an imprisoned poet and educator
Mahvash Shahriari Sabet is a renowned figure not only for her fight against discrimination in Iran but also because of her poetry, of which she has authored several collections during her time behind bars.
Born in 1953 in Isfahan, Sabet earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and worked as an educator and school principal before the Islamic Revolution in 1979. However, she was fired from her job and faced multiple arrests between 2005 and 2009, as well as a 20-year prison sentence in 2010. She was released in 2017 but arrested again in 2022 during a renewed crackdown on Baha’is in Iran.
Despite the immense hardships of imprisonment and torture, Sabet has gained international attention and received prestigious awards for her poetry collection "Prison Poems."
In November 2022, Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi faced trial in Tehran Revolution Court, where they were treated with hostility and not permitted a fair defense. Both women received unjust 10-year prison sentences for forming and managing an illegal group. Faezeh Hashemi, a critic of the Islamic Republic, condemned the unjust treatment of Sabet and Kamalabadi, who have been denied access to legal representation and are imprisoned based solely on their faith.
Sabet experienced torture during interrogation, with her chair being forcefully struck, causing her knees to collide with the wall. Narges Mohammadi from Evin Prison reported that Sabet spent a total of three years in solitary confinement without proper medical care, including eight months in harsh conditions under the Ministry of Information's Ward 209.
For more information, please read her full story here.
Three Arrested in Connection with “Save Iran” Conference
Several activists participating in the "Save Iran" conference who had voiced support for a transition from the Islamic Republic have been arrested: Keyvan Samimi, Alireza Beheshti Shirazi and Abdullah Momeni. Likewise, Gurban Ali Behzadian Nejad faces charges stemming from his participation. The arrests followed controversial remarks from Khamenei rejecting notions of a referendum, and underscore the risks facing activists in Iran who are organizing for rights and democracy.
NIAC calls on the Islamic Republic to release and drop charges against Samimi, Beheshti Shirazi, Momeni and Behzadian Nejad, along with all prisoners of conscience unjustly suffering for their statements and beliefs, in line with their international human rights obligations. We look forward to the day when the people of Iran are able to freely debate and work toward a future where their government reflects their aspirations and allows them a say in its future.
For more information, please read the full story here.
Human Rights Groups Reveal Sharp Increase in 2022 Iran Executions to Quell Uprising
Two human rights organizations revealed a 75% increase in execution rates in Iran during 2022, reaching the highest annual figure since 2015. Released on Thursday, April 13, the 15th annual report of the Iran Human Rights Organization and All Together Against Execution indicates that a minimum of 582 individuals were executed last year, a significant rise from 2021’s 333 recorded executions.
The report details that 49% (288) of 2022’s executions were for murder charges, marking the highest percentage in 15 years. 44% (256) of the total executions were related to drug offenses, with official sources only announcing three of them (1.2% of all drug-related executions). This is a sharp increase from prior years. In 2021, executions on drug offenses accounted for only 126 cases, or 38% of the total executions in the year, and an average of just 24 cases from 2018-2020. Additionally, at least 23 individuals faced execution due to sexual assault charges, and a minimum of 15, including two protesters, were executed on security-related charges such as “Moharebeh” and “Corruption on earth.” Juvenile executions numbered at least three, and at least 16 women were executed.
Public executions returned after a two-year pause on the practice. Iman Sabzikar and Majidreza Rahnavard, accused of murder and protesting, respectively, were executed publicly in Shiraz and Mashhad.
Read the full published story here.
|
