Her Excellency Kelly Craft, President of the United Nations Security Council United States Mission to the United Nations 799 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017
Re: Request of Resolution Condemning the Islamic Republic for Crimes Against Humanity
Your Excellency:
We, the undersigned, on behalf of several political and human rights activists in prison inside Iran would like to bring to your attention that the people of Iran have once again in this past month (November 2019) stood up to the corruption of Islamic Republic theocratic regime in Iran. This regime is as an outlaw government that brutally suppresses unarmed and peaceful protestors in the darkness of an internet shutdown. The world only witnessed these crimes against humanity in Iran after the internet blackout was lifted.
A newly-released report by Reuters has put the death from the brutal crackdown against peaceful protesters at over 1,500. These include over 400 women and nearly 20 minors.
One of the victims of this brutal killing of Islamic Republic of Iran security forces was a young man by the name of Pooya Bakhtiari who was shot in the head at close range. Following Iranian tradition, Pooya’s parents had announced a ceremonial gathering in the cemetery where he is buried on the 40th day after his killing, which would be December 26th, 2019. Based on credible reports, the security forces of the regime disgracefully arrested the parents of Pooya Bakhtiari yesterday. How many Pooyas must die before the world powers call it crimes against humanity?
The people of Iran are courageously demanding to express their views pursuant to their inalienable rights of freedom of expression and freedom of political choice. Therefore, we call on the United Nations Security Council to pass a resolution to:
1. Condemn and take action against the Islamic Republic of Iran’s shameless acts of violence which constitute crimes against humanity. 2. Express solidarity with the Iranian people’s desire for freedom of expression and freedom of political choice.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Respectfully yours, Signed from 5 + 11 Persons From Iran:
1. Nazanin Banasaz, Human Rights Activist
2. Mohammad Karim Beigi, Signatory of the Statement of 14, father of Mostafa Karim Beigi one of the victims of the 2009 protests
3. Hossein Daemi, father of Atena Daemi political prisoner and Human Rights Activist
4. Mehdi Rajabian, Musician and Political Prisoners
5. Hossein Rajabian, Writer and Filmmaker and Political Prisoners
From Outside of Iran:
6. Niloofar Gholami, Journalist and Political Activist
7. Abdol Satar Doshouki, Center of Baluchistan Studies – London
8. Nazila Golestan, Political and Anti-Corruption Activist
9. Hossein Khalifeh, Political Activist
10. Zarrin Mohyeddin, Political and Social Activist
11. Reza Pirzadeh, Political Activist
12. Mahnaz Shirali, University Professor
13. Kaveh Shahrooz, Lawyer, Senior Fellow Macdonald Laurier Institute
14. Elham Yaghoubian, Writer and Human Rights Activist
15. Yaghoub Najari, Ex Judo Champion, Woman Rights and Civil Rights Activist
16. Mehdi YahyaNejad, founder of Balatarin, Working on Internet access via satellites at toosheh.org
************************ CC:
The Honorable Ma Zhaoxu, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations,
The Honorable Nicolas de Rivière, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations,
The Honorable Vassily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations,
The Honourable Dame Karen Pierce, Permanent Representative of United Kingdom to the United Nations.
************************
نامه سرگشاده به
نمایندگان دائمی شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد
۲۳ دسامبر ۲۰۱۹
۳ ماه دی ۱۳۹۸
عالیجناب کلی
کرفت، رئیس شورای امنیت سازمان ملل متحد
درخواست: صدور
قطعنامه درباره جنایت جمهوری اسلامی علیه بشریت
عالیجناب
ما امضاکنندگان
این نامه به نمایندگی از فعالان سیاسی و مدنی محبوس در زندان‌های درون ایران توجه
شما را به اعتراضات سراسری آبان‌ماه در ایران جلب می‌کنیم. مردم ایران بار دیگر
علیه رژیم فاسد جمهوری اسلامی به پا خواستند.
جمهوری اسلامی
حکومتی غیرقانونی و یاغی است که مردمی غیرمسلح را که به صورت مسالمت آمیز علیه ظلم
و ستم آن اعتراض کرده بودند، با قطع سراسری اینترنت به شکلی وحشیانه سرکوب کرد. پس
از قطعی کامل اینترنت کشور، جهان تنها شاهد جنایت علیه بشریت درایران بود.
گزارش تازه‌ای که
در خبرگزاری رویترز منتشر شده آمار کشته‌شدگان را دستکم ۱۵۰۰ نفر اعلام کرده است.
این رقم شامل ۴۰۰ زن و حدود ۲۰ کودک و نوجوان است.
یکی از قربانیان
این کشتار بی‌رحمانه مرد جوانی به نام پویا بختیاری است، که با شلیک گلوله به سرش
از فاصله‌ای نزدیک کشته شد. بر اساس رسمی در ایران مبنی بر
برگزاری مراسم چهلمین روز درگذشت، خانواده پویا بختیاری مراسمی را در محلی که پویا
به خاک سپرده شده اعلام کردند که مصادف با پنجم دی‌ماه ۱۳۹۸ است.
بنابر گزارش‌های
تایید شده روز دوم ماه دی نیروهای امنیتی جمهوری اسلامی به طرز شرم آوری خانواده
پویا بختیاری را بازداشت کردند. چند پویای دیگر باید کشته شوند تا جهان این
کشتار را جنایت علیه بشریت اعلام کند؟
مردم ایران با
شجاعت خواسته‌های بر حق‌شان همچون آزادی عقیده و بیان و آزادی انتخاب سیاسی را دنبال
می‌کنند.
ما از شورای
امنیت سازمان ملل درخواست می‌کنیم تا قطعنامه‌ای را برای: «محکومیت و اقدام جدی
علیه نقض حقوق بشر توسط رژیم جمهوری اسلامی و جنایت علیه بشریت» صادر کند و حمایت
و هبستگی خود را با مردم ایران که برای دستیابی به «آزادی بیان و آزادی انتخاب
سیاسی» مبارزه می‌کنند، نشان دهد.
در پایان از توجه
شما به این موضوع مهم سپاسگزاریم.
با احترام
امضاکنندگان از
درون ایران:
نازنین بناساز، فعال حقوق بشر
محمد کریم بیگی، از امضاکنندگان بیانیه ۱۴ نفر، پدر مصطفی کریم بیگی یکی از جانباختگان اعتراضات ۸۸
حسین دائمی، پدر آتنا دائمی کنشگر سیاسی و حقوق بشر
مهدی رجبیان، موزیسین و زندانی سیاسی سابق
حسین رجبیان، موزیسین و زندانی سیاسی سابق
امضاکنندگان بیرون ایران:
نیلوفر غلامی، روزنامه‌نگار و فعال سیاسی
عبدالستار دوشوکی، مرکز مطالعات بلوچستان
نازیلا گلستان، کنشگر سیاسی و فعال ضد فساد
حسین خلیفه، فعال سیاسی
زرین محی‌الدین، فعال سیاسی و اجتماعی
رضا پیرزاده، فعال سیاسی
مهناز شیرعلی، استاد دانشگاه
کاوه شهروز، حقوقدان و پژوهشگر ارشد در موسسه مک دونالد لوریر
الهام یعقوبیان، نویسنده و فعال حقوق بشر
یعقوب نجاری، قهرمان سابق جودو، فعال حقوق زنان و فعال مدنی
مهدی یحی نژاد، محقق و فعال گسترش
دسترسی به اینترنت
I was only six years old when political Islamists
formally established Khomeini’s official state in Iran.
Every morning before going to school, I used to see
the Cyrus the Great Cylinder on the table that reminded me of respect and
tolerance of others. However, at school
before classes started, we had to chant “Death to U.S.A.” and “Death to Israel”
and we had to cross the Israeli and the American flags to get into our classrooms.
At the end of the day, as all media were under the
control of the regime, our only contact with the outside world was the one-way
radio programs. At night, my father would catch up with the Persian program of
Israel’s radio so we could hear the real news.
Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of
Iran (IRI) in 1979, the destruction of Israel has been one of the foundations
of the regime’s ideology. An official anti-Semitic state with the slogan of
eliminating the Israel from the world map which became an official state
policy.
On May 09, 1979, the most
well-known leader of the Jewish community Habib Elghanian, was falsely accused
of Zionist espionage and executed.
The same year, al-Quds Day (Jerusalem Day) was
invented as a result of Khomeini’s anti-Semitic propaganda as he declared the
confrontation with Israel a “religious duty.” Al-Quds Day is the annual anti-Zionist day.
Islamic Republic commemorates this day by organizing marches and expressions of
hatred towards Jews and the state of Israel. Accordingly,
every year on the last Friday of Ramadan, al-Quds Day commemorates with mass
parades led by the regime to emphasize hatred of the State of Israel and
to publicize the regime’s intention of destroying the State of Israel.
Jews along with other official religions (Christian, BahaÏ,
Sunnis and Zoroastrian) are treated as second-class citizens and subjected to
humiliation. The Islamic Constitution has restricted their religious freedom.
They need permission from, and are controlled by, the regime for performing
their religious ceremonies.
The value of their lives is set at one-half of that of
a Muslim. In case of non-Muslim women, the value reaches one quarter of the
life of a Muslim. They are barred from many government and military positions.
The anti-Semitic propaganda of
the Islamic Republic is getting more and more fierce. It has come to the point
that the word “Jew” has become synonymous with humiliation.
The Ministry of Guidance and
Culture, whose blade of censorship is sharp, not only permits publication of books and production
of films of this kind, but also sometimes invests for their production. As an
example, the film “Anti-Semitism” (l’Antisémite) was
produced by cooperation of the Islamic Republic and a French company. The
author and director of the film is “Dieudonné” who had previously made
“Mahmoud.” Mahmoud is a play based on Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s
anti-Semitic remarks. The film Anti-Semitism, according to Mohsen Ali
Akbari, was made with the invitation of Iran’s Deputy Director of Cinema and
cooperation of French Laplum Company. Ali Akbari says of the film that Anti-Semitism
is “a comedy that mocks Jewish Thought.” Further, the film mocks the Auschwitz
camp. Holocaust denier Robert Faurisson plays himself in the film.
Many media outlets in Iran have
been trained to spread lies and insults against Jews. From insulting beliefs to
accusations of incest with their daughters or spread of corruption for the control
of the world.
Indeed, the Islamic Revolution aroused fears among
Iranian Jews such that nearly two-thirds of the community, despite having a 2700-year
background, were forced to leave their homeland because of discrimination,
restrictions, and negative propaganda.
However, wherever they went,
Iranian Jews kept Iranian culture alive, and are one of the prides of Iran from
Tel Aviv to the US vis a vis the Islamic Republic.
**********************************
Like Nazism, we must fight
Khomeinism seriously. They formed many militias under the command of Qasem
Soleimani in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon to get closer to Israel by
occupying the region. Their main objective has been the export of the
totalitarian ideology to the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Soleimani
became the great craftsman of the Al-Quds force. For him, human life had no
value. His only desire was to extend the
ideological and military influence of the regime and ultimately to “wipe Israel
off the map.”
Now that the terrorist Soleimani
has been killed, Europe must stand with the Iranian people against the Islamic
Republic. Europe, along with the current United States
Administration, must join us in fighting terrorism and anti-Semitism.
The Islamic Republic must not be allowed
to obtain nuclear weapon because, otherwise it will increase the possibility
of a human catastrophe. Maximum pressure
campaign must continue from all sides.
Today, Iranian people, with the
hope of achieving peace and friendship with other nations, are fighting the
Islamic Republic’s ideology. Thousands
of human rights and political activists have been imprisoned and tortured
because they have struggled against this theocratic kleptocracy and anti-Semetic
regime. They refuse to walk on the flag of Israel, and they
reject the anti-Semitic slogans from Islamic Regime.
**********************************
In memory of “Tehran Children,” a group of Polish Jewish
children mainly orphans or separated from their parents who escaped the Nazi-Germany occupation of Poland. This group of children were later evacuated with several hundred adults to
Tehran, after summer of 1942.
Once the children were gathered in Tehran, the camp, which rapidly became known as the “Tehran
Home for Jewish Children,” received assistance from the local Jewish community and most of them recovered their health in the Tehran camp.
In 1943, the children with their adult escorts,
crossed from Persian Gulf to the Sinai Desert by train, and arrived at the Atlit
refugee camp where the Yishuv welcomed them.
Thirty-five of the “Tehran Children” died either as
civilians or as soldiers in Israel’s War of Independence in 1948-1949.
**********************************
A large number of people in Iran
strongly believe that Israel and Iran will be strong allies in the future after
the fall of the Islamic Republic and establishment of secular democracy in Iran
because of their cultural and historical commonalities and for the sake of
peace and stability in the Middle East. We
hope to see Israel’s Embassy in Tehran and Iran’s Embassy in Jerusalem very
soon.
I hope to see you all in the near
future in Yusuf Abad Synagogue, one of the oldest synagogues in Tehran.
While in less than a month a huge popular wave of Lebanese and Iraqi protestors began blaming political and military interferences of the Islamic Republic of Iran for corruption and poverty in their own countries, nationwide protests across Iran broke out against government plans to cut petrol subsidies to fund support for Iran’s poor; gasoline prices have increased by a minimum of 50%. Videos posted on social media from inside Iran showed protesters blocking roads and setting fires on the streets in their cities and chanting slogans calling for top officials to step down.
These are examples of
the slogans chanted: “Oil money has been lost, Has been spent for Basijis”, “Oil money has been lost, Has been spent for
Palestine”, “No to Gaza, no to Lebanon! I will give my life to Iran!”, “Our
enemy is here! It is a lie that America is our enemy!”, “Death to Khamenei”, “Don’t
be silent, Be your own savior!”, etc.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei,
who has the first and the last words on all state matters, called the
demonstrators “thugs” and endorsed the government’s decision to raise prices.
Further, Rohani’s
government imposed a virtual nationwide Internet blackout on Sunday; one of its
most draconian attempts to cut off Iranians from each other and the rest of the
world as widespread anti-government unrest roiled the streets of cities across the
country for a third day. The Internet
blackout continues as well as power, natural gas, water and telephone
communication black outs in multiple areas as the means to punish and suppress
the protestors.
The Islamic guardians
of the regime have responded with a brutal violent crackdown which has left
more hundreds of people dead, injured, or arrested. Many were killed by snipers
on rooftops or helicopters firing into crowds. Exactly how many people
have been injured, killed or arrested remains unclear.
The Iranian people do
not want the wealth of their nation expended for further Islamic Revolutions in
other countries and demand the end of the Islamic State followed by
establishment of a secular and democratic form of government. Despite Iran’s formation
of Hezbollah in the early 1980s and expenditure of millions of dollars annually
to buy the support of the local people, the people of Lebanon and Iraq do not
want the Islamic Republic to interfere in their affairs. Today,
everyone knows that the Islamic Republic is the godfather of terrorism and of
spread of poverty, corruption, and instability in the region.
Iran,
one country most strongly identified with the rise of cyber terrorism and
malicious hacking, appears now to be using an iron fist to turn on its own. In
my previous letters, I attested that the Iranian cyber threat must never
be underestimated. Whereas the policymakers in
Washington focused their attention on nuclear diplomacy with Tehran, the
Iranian regime, supported by their allies; such as, Russia, have dramatically
advanced in cyberspace and become “the New China”[1] – a persistent and prolific threat actor that is
rapidly increasing its cyber espionage capabilities and is now operating at a
pace and scale consistent with other technologically advanced nations.
At the moment, the near-total shutdown of the Internet, ordered by the
country’s Supreme National Security Council, appeared to be aimed at
controlling information, silencing protestors, and preventing people from
communicating and organizing. By the night of November 20, Iran has now been
offline for 52 hours following a government-imposed internet shutdown targeting
widespread public protests, according to readings taken by NetBlocks[2], an NGO that
monitors cybersecurity and Internet governance around the world. National
connectivity remains at just 5% of normal levels, leaving Iranians cut off from
the world #Internet4Iran.
It is with a great
sense of urgency that we call upon the leaders of the Free World to support the
struggles of the people of Iran against the kleptocratic theocracy of the
Islamic Republic through firm and strong actions with the following:
The Iranian ambassadors in Europe be summoned,
The Internet connection of all Islamic Embassies and Iranians in
Europe and elsewhere in the world connected with the government of Iran be
disconnected. This should be considered legal as they have blocked their own
citizens’ access to the Internet in Iran,
The access of Iranian government to satellite by any sort of
service be disconnected. This will create immediate problem for banking
services in Iran and also will stop the Islamic Regime’s anti-dissident propaganda
from reaching Iranian cities and villages,
The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and its
affiliates, which holds a state monopoly on broadcast news within Iran, be banned
from operating in the Free World,
The Iranian ambassadors be questioned and admonished over brutal
violations of human rights against Iranian citizens and be dismissed to return
to Iran,
Iranian ambassadors in the European Union should be sent home with
demands that the Islamic government of Iran open free access to the Internet
for all Iranians, stop killing or imprisoning protestors, and surrender to
demands of the people across Iran.
Re: Hundreds of Infections from One Needle in a Village in Southwest Iran
Mr. President Tedros Adhanom:
At least
300 people including children and infants have been infected with the AIDS
virus in Chenar Mahmoudi Village, 30 kilometers from Lordegan, apparently due
to repeated use of disposable syringes for diabetes testing by the clinic in
this village.
Iranian Health
Minister Saeed Namaki, in response to people who contracted the HIV and requested
reliable medical services, claimed: “There is no connection between the HIV cases and our screening
program. The HIV cases are the result of intravenous drug use and unprotected
sex.” But
this assertion by the minister is bound to further anger the affected people
and their relatives.
The enraged
people of this village stormed the office of the Friday Prayer Imam, set it on
fire, and held protests outside the Governor’s Office and the Department
of Health in Lordegan on Tuesday and
Wednesday, October 1 and 2, 2019. Police fired warning shots and tear gas and wounded
and/or detained numerous protestors.
The only explanation given
to the people in the village blamed the infections on the blood tests that were
run two months prior by the local health office. The government has concealed
this crime by slandering the families accusing them of addiction and risky sexual
relationships.
There’s a lack of information and education about HIV in the region that
has caused immeasurable
problems for the residents of Chenar Mahmoudi. People from other villages insult them by
calling them “Aidsi” (persons with AIDS). People refuse to buy their
agricultural products, saying: “Their tomatoes might be infected”. There have
been cases of kids being expelled from their school because they are from
Chenar Mahmoudi and the other parents think they might be infected with HIV. Some teachers have refused to work in the
village because they think they might “catch” HIV in the classroom. Factory
workers from the village have been threatened with job terminations. People
from other villages steer clear of the people from Chenar Mahmoudi because they
also think they can “catch” HIV just by talking to them.
Another problem is the
stigma attached to HIV-positive women in this very conservative region. Many
people call any woman with HIV a “whore.” When people heard the minister blaming the
infections on “risky behavior”, they thought he was saying women were cheating
on their husbands. The women in the village said it was not the case, so they
looked for another explanation for people’s infections. One man told me his
50-year-old mother had tested positive. He said: “They have no shame. She is a
good Muslim; you can ask everyone. How dare they say my
mother committed adultery?”
The most significant result
of unsafe medical practices is the strong possibility that HIV is contracted by
more people, and if not stopped, it could turn into an epidemic in the area.
The World Health Organization’s (“WHO”) Constitution
states in its preamble that “The STATES Parties to this Constitution declare,
in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations, that the following
principles are basic to the happiness, harmonious relations and security of all
peoples:” “. . . Governments have a responsibility for the health of their
peoples which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and
social measures.” [emphasis added]
Since the constitution of
the WHO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, is exclusively
humanitarian and concerned with international public health therefore:
It
is with the utmost urgency that Iran National Council for Free Elections (IRANNC) appeals to your high office to take urgent
action to save the lives of the people of Chenar Mahmoudi Village through an
immediate and firm intervention, and according to Article 2(a) “to act as the
directing and co-ordinating authority on international
First, by assisting
the Iranian Government “… in strengthening health services; (Article 2(c)),
and “to furnish appropriate technical assistance and … necessary aid [in
this emergency] …” (Article 2(d)) and “strengthen health services and
facilities” to those infected with HIV. (Article 2(e)), and
Secondly,
by creating a psychosocial supportive and healthy environment at community
centers, at work, in health clinics and in the homes of HIV positive people,
and generally “take all necessary actions to attain the objective … [in this
urgent matter]” (Article 2(v)).
We
sincerely thank you for your assistance in, and consideration to, this urgent
humanitarian matter.
Very truly
yours,
Nazila Golestan
Special
Envoy for Human Rights
Iran
National Council for Free Elections
CC:
His
Excellency António Guterres
Secretary
General of United Nations
His
Excellency Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein,
United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Brian
Hook
US Special
Representative for Iran
Mr. Javid
Rehman,
UN Special Reporter
on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Re: Call on FIFA to Suspend the Iranian Soccer Federation
We
bring to your attention, and for your consideration, the concerns of Iranian
Women who are faced with gender apartheid by the kleptocratic and theocratic
regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran
is the only country in the world that bans women from sports stadiums.
In March of this year, a female Iranian soccer fan named Sahar Khodayari, 29, was arrested when she tried to enter a football/soccer stadium disguised as a man. She set herself on fire in front of a court in Tehran last week after she found out she could face a two-year sentence for attempting to enter the Azadi Stadium to watch her favorite team play. Sahar became known on social media as the #BlueGirl, bringing attention to the ban.
Iranian
women have been banned from going to stadiums to watch games when men’s teams
are playing since 1981, shortly after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. This ban
represents a fundamental violation of FIFA’s core principles. Article 4 of
General Provisions of FIFA’s
Statutes titled “Non-discrimination, gender
equality and stance against racism” states that discrimination of any kind “is
strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.”
Iran has
continually refused to end the ban despite FIFA’s previous statements against
the exclusion. Also, the Islamic laws prevent Iranian women from traveling
alone or from having equal rights or status in a court of law. Every year
several women get arrested or expelled from stadiums when security forces
identify them as women disguised as men.
All
institutions such as FIFA have for too long closed their eyes on the Islamic
Republic of Iran’s discriminatory behaviors. After the tragedy of the
#BlueGirl, many Iranians, including coach Ali Karimi and former captain of the
national team, are calling for a boycott of soccer games until the ban on women
attending games is lifted.
It is with a great sense of urgency that we call upon the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to support the women of Iran fight against gender apartheid through the firm and strong action of suspending the Iranian Soccer/Sport Federation.
We
sincerely thank you for your anticipated consideration of, and affirmative
action regarding, this urgent humanitarian matter.
Iran National Council for Free Elections remarks that the United States Treasury Department has placed the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on its sanctions list beginning two weeks ago. Zarif is a spokesman for a government that systematically spreads corruption and oppresses Iranian citizens. Women who make up one-half of the Iranian society comprise the largest number of victims of the Islamic Republic in the past four decades. While Iranian women fight for their basic rights, three young women named Mojgan Keshavarz, Monireh Arabshahi and Yasman Ariani have been sentenced to a total of 55 years in prison for protesting the compulsory Hijab laws. Lawyer and human rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh was sentenced to 38 years in prison with 148 lashes. Mohammad Javad Zarif takes advantage of the free media of democratic countries and falsely claims that Hijab is part of the Iranian culture.
Baha’i citizens are arrested and detained,
they have been detained even at their cemetery, while Baha’i students are being
barred from education, and the Baha’i shops and businesses are being shut down.
Mohammad Javad Zarif, at a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations in New
York, openly and cleverly lied by stating “We do not recognize Baha’i
religion, but this is a belief. One can
be agnostic, one can be atheist. We are not going to jail them for being
atheists.”
Zarif’s statements on atheism are categorical
lies. Atheists and Baha’is alike are considered heretics and are punished one
way or another.
While government security officials are entrapping
homosexuals in social media and mistreating them in a violent, derogatory, and
degrading manner, Javad Zarif falsely claims that gays are free to live as they
wish as long as they are restricted to their homes.
Zarif said in an interview with Charlie Rose
on April 29th, 2015 that “we are not imprisoning anyone in Iran for his
beliefs.” Yet, Dr. Ahmad Jalali who is a dual citizen of Iran and Sweden
is on the eve of execution in one of the dreaded prisons of the Islamic
Republic. Nazanin Zaghari a British-Iranian Citizen has been held hostage and
imprisoned.
In December 2017, Zarif claimed that “we
have made it clear that we have not supplied these weapons to Yemen, “while
Mehdi Taeb Head of Amar Camp, in a speech about Houthis and Saudi Arabia war,
stated: “They (the
Houthis) had only one solution to capture the Saudi Air Force. What did they need? Surface-to-surface missiles. This is something we (Islamic Republic) have a
lot of and they didn’t have it!”
Javad Zarif denies the systematic violations
of the rights of Iranian citizens and the tyrannical activities of Ali
Khamenei’s government; and on the other hand, strives to justify or trivialize
them by distorting the Islamic Republic’s inhumane laws. Last month, fourteen (14) civil and political
activists (“The 14”) demanded (1) the resignation of Ali Khamenei, (2) dissolution
of the Islamic Republic, and (3) holding free elections to achieve a secular
democracy. Fourteen (14) women activists
inside Iran also issued a separate statement.
A call for the formation a “Coalition of Committed” with the support of Iranians at home and abroad is being made within the framework of the statement signed by “The 14” whom the Islamic Republic’s security forces have brutally detained and imprisoned.
In the past two years, the Iranian regime has
arrested thousands of protesters, civil and political activists, labor, and
trade unions representatives.
The Europeans should focus on the systematic violations of the rights of Iranian citizens.
Iran National Council for Free Elections reminds all European governments, Sweden, Norway, France, among others, that the presence of the Foreign Minister of a terrorist and inhumane government in democratic countries is insulting to human rights activists and freedom fighters in Iran and to citizens of democratic countries.
As Zarif tries to negotiate with European
governments, we believe that in negotiating with the Foreign Minister of the
Islamic Republic, the Europeans should also focus on the systematic violations
of the rights of Iranian citizens.
Iran National Council for Free Elections believes that it is impossible to reform the Islamic regime. We are against any violence and war and we are against negotiating and dealing with agents of the Islamic Republic. The only way for democratic governments to support the Iranian people and to participate seriously in the international coalition of Committed of Iranian pro-democracy forces is to move away from the cruel and corrupt theocratic system of the Islamic Republic in order to achieve secular democracy in Iran.
We call for a transition from Islamic Republic
to a free electoral constitution, calling for a Constituent Assembly of the
Iranian people to draft a new constitution in accordance with the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, and principles of democracy and secular society.
Le Président Macron rencontrera ce vendredi Javad Zarif,
le ministre des affaires étrangères de la République Islamique d’Iran, qui n’a
de République que le nom. Javad Zarif est en effet le porte-parole d’Ali
Khamenei, le guide suprême non élu de la théocratie au pouvoir à Téhéran.
Ce régime est depuis 40 ans, le principal soutien du
terrorisme islamiste qui a fait des centaines de victimes du Moyen-Orient à
l’Amérique du Sud, de l’Afrique à l’Europe et particulièrement en France.
Javad Zarif est le représentant d’un régime qui non
seulement a un exécrable bilan en matière des droits de l’Homme mais qui
déstabilise en permanence la région : responsabilité avérée dans le chaos
syrien et ses conséquences migratoires en Europe, guerre au Yémen, soutien du
Hezbollah libanais, menaces à répétition envers Israël.
Javad Zarif est le représentant d’un régime qui cherche,
au mépris du droit international à acquérir l’arme nucléaire et à développer un
programme de missiles balistiques. Cette politique de terreur, qui est
contraire aux intérêts du peuple iranien, n’a pour but que de maintenir à tout
prix l’hégémonie de la théocratie islamiste dans la région.
Le peuple iranien, à plusieurs reprises, a clairement
exprimé sa volonté légitime de parvenir, pacifiquement, à la liberté et à la
démocratie. Le mois dernier, dans le sillon des protestations contre le régime,
quatorze personnalités de la société civile iranienne ont dans une déclaration
commune, annoncé leur entière opposition à la Constitution et aux institutions
de la République Islamique.
Cette initiative inédite a un très fort retentissement en
Iran et reçoit chaque jour davantage de soutien. A l’instar d’une large
majorité des iraniens, les « 14 » ne croient plus à la possibilité de
réforme et d’évolution de ce régime et appellent la communauté internationale à
ne plus reconnaître ce régime comme le représentant légitime du peuple iranien.
Iran National Council for Free Elections
En cette période critique où l’histoire s’accélère à nouveau en Iran, le peuple iranien observe attentivement l’attitude des nations libres qu’il veut rejoindre. La France, patrie des droits de l’Homme doit rester fidèle à ses principes et à ses valeurs. Elle ne peut avoir pour seule ambition de sauver un accord nucléaire moribond. Plus que jamais, elle doit se tenir au côté du peuple iranien et exiger publiquement, de Javad Zarif le respect des droits de l’Homme, la libération immédiate et sans conditions de tous les prisonniers politiques, mais aussi le respect de la liberté d’expression et l’organisation sous l’égide des Nations-Unies d’élections libres.
Parvenir à la nécessaire stabilité et paix au
Moyen-Orient passe, aujourd’hui, par un franc soutien aux demandes légitimes du
peuple iranien exprimer par les « 14 ». C’est ainsi que nous
résoudrons ce vieux problème qui empoisonne depuis 40 ans la région.
Le peuple iranien attend, de la France qu’elle reste
fidèle aux principes fondateurs de sa République.
Appeal for Severe Political Pressure Against the Kleptocratic Theocracy of Iran
The Honorable Mike Pompeo Secretary of State U.S. Department of State 2201 C Street NW Washington, DC 20520
N° 2101-18 October 2018
Re: Appeal for Severe Political Pressure Against the Kleptocratic Theocracy of Iran
Dear Secretary Pompeo:
In Iran, we are facing a silencing war waged by the Iranian regime against the freedom-seeking Iranian Citizens. Only the willingness of the international Community to take punitive actions against the Iranian government can help us defeat the regime and bring the Iranian citizens one step closer to a stable and free Democracy.
Your remarks at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. on May 21, 2018 demonstrates how well you understand
the plight of Iranian people living under a kleptocratic theocracy. As you indicated, United States citizens and other
foreigners are snatched by the Islamic Republic and held hostage as negotiating chips. However, Iranian citizens are
arrested, imprisoned, tortured, raped, and killed by the regime with impunity; all for demanding their basic human rights.
You enumerated several goals that President Trump has asked you to achieve on Iran. The third goal promised
“tireless advocacy for the Iranian people,” “demand that the regime improves treatment of its citizens,” “protect the
human rights of every Iranian,” and “stop spending Iran’s wealth abroad.” While you followed with a long list of
hardships and adversities facing Iranian people, these points were not included in your 12 demands from the Iranian
regime.
Therefore, we respectfully request that the following become demand number 13 on your list:
“Iran must end its inequitable, unjust, unfair, and abusive behavior against the Iranian citizens” and
“Let Iranian citizens hold free, fair and transparent election for a Constitutional Assembly” in
accordance with article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the criteria by the Inter-
Parliamentary Union, of which Iran is a member, set forth at its 154th session on March 26th, 1994,
under the supervision and monitoring of the United Nations.
We sincerely thank you and President Trump for your attention to, and consideration of, this urgent humanitarian
matter.
Very Truly Yours,
Nazila Golestan
Special Envoy for Human Rights
Iran National Council for Free Elections
What Is Happening in Iran?
1. SUFFOCATION OF VIRTUALLY ALL IRANIANS UNDER THE HEAVY HANDS OF THE IRANIAN REGIME
The seven-headed dragon of the mafia government in Iran continues to strongly restrict free speech and dissent.
Authorities are waging a ruthless crackdown against those who stand up to injustice and defend human rights.
Political activists, women’s rights activists, trade unionists, human rights lawyers, journalists, environmental activists,
children’s rights defenders, and human rights defenders are harshly intimidated and their leaders are arrested and
imprisoned for merely exercising their basic citizen’s rights. Iranian human rights activists and board members of the
teachers’ union have been imprisoned solely for protesting the deplorable conditions with which the country’s teachers
and students are confronted every day. They are arrested under fabricated charges of “assembly with intent to create
public disturbance,” and “propaganda against the regime.”
Unfortunately, imprisonment alone is not the only punishment that the activists earn. A teacher, Mohammad Habibi,
who was arrested with 14 others at a peaceful gathering was beaten according to his wife and was transferred to
solitary confinement and denied medical attention one day after his arrest when all other participants were freed. At
the time of arrest Habibi was free under bail from an earlier arrest at the school he taught.1
Iranian dual-nationals and citizens returning from abroad, or just entering Iran for a short visit, have been targeted for
arbitrary arrests, interrogation and incarceration by security authorities. Often, they are held as bargaining chips as in
the case of those freed as part of the Iranian Nuclear Agreement signed by the former United States President Obama.
When the former President of Iran Mahmood Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia University on September 24, 2007, he
claimed there were no homosexuals in Iran. Perhaps the reason he made the false claim was that all homosexuals are
condemned to death if they are identified. Islamic law considers homosexuality a deviant conduct and condemns it.
Even discussion of the subject is taboo.
Those who defend human rights are often labelled “Western agents” and are falsely and speciously accused of “warring
against Islam,” “conspiracy against national security,” “treason”, “propaganda against the regime,” “enmity with God,”
“insulting the Prophet,” and “insulting government officials.” They are prosecuted and imprisoned by authorities on
bogus charges of “threat to national security” and “enmity with God” because these charges carry harsher punishments.
2. UNEQUAL TREATMENT OF INDIVIDUALS BASED ON GENDER
Iranian women are deprived of their fundamental rights under the Islamic Constitution since 1979. The laws violate a
woman’s right to equality, privacy, and freedoms of expression, belief, and religion and empower Basij forces to target
women for harassment, violence and imprisonment. The women activists who fight for Iranian women’s freedoms and
gender equality are still arrested and imprisoned. Iranian women who comprise one-half of the population, are
systematically eliminated from presidential elections. According to Ali Khamenei, “the gender equality is an utterly
wrong notion made up by the West. It is outdated and treacherous.”
As a clerical member of Iran’s Council of Guardians, “Mohammad Yazdi,” a constitutional body responsible for ensuring
that legislation adheres to Iran’s Constitution as interpreted by Iran’s religious scholars and Islamic law and for vetting
presidential candidates, has announced that Iranian laws “do not allow women to become presidents” 2. Most higher-
level government jobs are also closed to women.
There are many other discriminatory practices and laws that turn Iranian women into second-class citizens. Although
women comprise over 50 percent of university graduates, their participation in the labor force is only 17 percent. Iranian
women are unequal under the law, in Iranian society, and in the job market.3
3. STATUS OF CHILDREN
Under the Islamic Republic of Iran, the age at which children become criminally responsible for their actions is 9 lunar
years for girls (equivalent to 8.5 Gregorian years) and 15 lunar years for boys. Only below those ages are they
considered to be children. (Iranian Penal Code (1991) amended 2013, Article 147).
Iranian Constitution forbids “all forms of torture for the purpose of extracting confession or acquiring information”,4 As
if torturing adults is not abhorring enough, there have been recent reports of torture and mistreatment by juvenile
offenders who were forced to confess by means of physical coercion. One of the recent cases was reported by Alireza
Tajiki, who was only 15 years old at the time of arrest. He was convicted, after confessing under torture, of the rape
and murder of a friend, crimes that he consistently denied in court.5 Tajiki was placed in solitary confinement for 15
days during which, he said, he was subjected to severe beatings, floggings, and suspension by arms and feet to make
him “confess” to the crime.6 Iran has executed 1,900 prisoners since June 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani took
office – among them juveniles and women.7
Practices of child labor in Iran defy Declaration of the Rights of Children and International Labor laws. Children work in
all kinds of businesses in deplorable conditions.8 Many small, vulnerable children live and work in the streets and are
victims of criminal gangs, drug lords, child trafficking, and sexual abuse among others.9
Every six days a child is raped and killed in Tehran. Iran is rich in natural resources and wealth, yet the majority live
in poverty and misery because these resources are rerouted to terrorist networks and drug trafficking. The first victims
of poverty are children.
4. RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC MINORITIES
By virtue of the Constitution, citizens with religious beliefs other than Islam remain second class citizens and do not
have many of the rights enjoyed by the Muslim majority.
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic established an Islamic theocracy. Article 1 states “The form of government of
Iran is that of an Islamic Republic.” Article 2 explains this to mean, among other things, “the necessity of submission
and the “fundamental role” of “divine revelation” in “setting forth the laws.” Article 18 requires Iran’s flag
contain the phrase “Allah Akbar.” Article 56 states “Absolute sovereignty over the world and man belongs to God
[Allah].”
The government, with the Supreme Leader at its apex, is an institution through which the will of Allah is implemented.
As such, all others; such as, Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians, Baha’is, Sunnis, Yaresans, Ismailis, Dervishes, atheists,
etc., are systematically precluded from holding senior government or military positions.
Due to their historical background, the Baha’i community has been persecuted from the beginning.10 A large number
of them have been imprisoned and many among them have been executed. Between 1979 and 1983 at least 135
Baha’is, many of them spiritual leaders, were executed.11 Since 2013, when Hassan Rouhani was first elected
President, “at least 283 Baha’is have been arrested. and there have been at least 645 incidents of economic
oppression, ranging from intimidation and threats against Baha’i-owned businesses to their closure by authorities. More
than 26,000 pieces of anti-Baha’i propaganda have been disseminated …”12 Thousands have been blocked from
access to higher education; “in just six months, Iranian universities expelled 50 Baha’i for their religious beliefs.”13
Other minorities such as Zoroastrians or Jews try to keep a low profile and are afraid to publicize their grievances.14
Christians are suspected of proselytizing and are often arrested and imprisoned for the same “crime.” Although the
laws do not prescribe it, the writings of the founder of the Islamic Republic do call for the death penalty for Muslims
who convert to other religions, particularly Christianity, or the Baha’i faith.15
The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the most racist governments in the world. Iran is home to many ethnic minorities
who once lived in peace among all other Iranians before the 1979 revolution, but who are at odds with the Islamic
government and are subjected to racism as a result of the government’s policies and propaganda.
Most Kurds are Sunnis and live in the Kurdistan Province. Kurds have had armed conflict with the central government.
Those arrested have been sent to the gallows. Azaris in the northwest are Turkish-speaking people. The greater
Azerbaijan was divided by the Russian incursions and annexation of territories and its fate was sealed by the signing
of the Turkemanchi Treaty in 1828. Russia took Northern Azerbaijan and a greater part of Armenia.16 Now, if they
raise their voices for the rights of Azaris, they are labeled as “separatists” or “Turkish spies.” 17
Baluchis in the southeast are Sunnis and face institutionalized and economic, educational and cultural discrimination.
Islamic Republic has also thwarted the Baluchis attempt to form political organizations to promote their interests.18
The Arabic-speaking minority, who also speak Persian, have lived in the Province of Khuzestan in the southwest for
hundreds of years. Their language is called “Khuzestani Arabic.” They suffer the same discriminations as other ethnic
minorities. Their main grievance is over their right to participate effectively in decisions affecting the area in which they
live.19 The major cities of Khorramshahr, Abadan, and Ahvaz were badly destroyed in the war with Iraq. Very little has
been done to reconstruct the cities or to bring back sustainable economy for reconstruction.
5. ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The Islamic Republic of Iran, instead of opting for sustainable use of natural resources and generation of clean energy,
continues to persist on the clandestine development of a nuclear arsenal — in total violation of the Non-Proliferation
Treaty and the Iran Nuclear Agreement signed on July 14, 2015. These policies and practices have paved the way for
international economic sanctions against Iran and have brought Iran’s economy to the brink of bankruptcy.
The environmental disaster explodes where out on the horizon, the blue sky of Persian Gulf is veiled in a thick
unbreathable cloud of rusty color sand such that the sun is no longer visible in Khuzestan. Children of Sistan and
Baluchestan Province are also buried under sand and misery.
Thus far, the environmental degradation, water crisis, disappearing lakes, diversion of rivers that turn a wetland into a
barren desert, water shortages due to poor management of water resources leaving people without water for drinking
or for maintaining industries, theft of natural resources that diverts the national wealth into the pockets of the ruling
clergy,20 and particularly political corruption have put Iranian environment in dire conditions.
6. ISLAMIC CONSTITUTION, JURISPRUDENCE, AND THE JUDICIARY
The Islamic Constitution requires its president to pledge that he will “dedicate himself to the propagation of religion and
morality” (Article 121) and requires the members of Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly [Parliament] to pledge “to
protect the sanctity of Islam” (Article 67). Presidential candidates must be “from among religious and political
personalities” who have “staunch belief in the fundamental principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the official
religion [Islamic jurisprudence] of the country” (Article 115).
It can be observed that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic is not about protecting “life,” “liberty,” and “the pursuit
of happiness” of the Iranian people, rather it is intended to preserve and protect a particular religion through installation
of individuals who have the zeal to do so.
All branches of government, including the judiciary, serve to promote Islam and Islamic law. The Islamic Constitution
has provided for “creation of a judicial system based on Islamic justice and operated by just judges with meticulous
knowledge of the Islamic laws.” (Preamble to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran; The Judiciary in the
Constitution.)
Only lip service has been paid to rights, freedoms, and justice that Iranian people have not experienced since 1979
and for which protest.
The Islamic Republic has also Revolutionary Courts and the Special Court for the clergy both of which were established
by Islamic Revolutionary Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. Theses tribunals have never been incorporated into the
constitutional clauses that define the role and structure of the Judiciary. Theses separate Islamic Revolutionary Courts
can prosecute people on charges as vague as “being un-Islamic.” And have been used also as a political tool against
those clerics who criticize the regime or challenge the role of the Supreme Leader.
While millions of victims of the financial and credit institutions protest against the Central Bank of Iran and the corrupt
financial/banking system, there are no courts to hear the people’s pleas for justice. The President of the Islamic
Republic of Iran “Hassan Rouhani” ignores people’s protests, defends the corrupt Central Bank as well as his own
disreputable government.
Corruption is rampant within the judiciary. The worst case of it is the highly publicized scandal of the head of the
Judiciary, Chief of Justice, “Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani.” Larijani is a conservative, who previously was a member of
Council of Guardians. It was discovered that Larijani is the holder of more than 63 personal bank accounts filled with
embezzled public funds that the courts had received from defendants in civil, criminal or appeals courts as damages,
bail money, or court costs.21
A Member of Parliament questioned the Justice Minister about Larijani’s alleged 63 bank accounts. Judicial authorities
attempted to arrest the MP in front of his house. “An account run by an anonymous group on the social network
Telegram, recently claimed that more than £50m was transferred to the ayatollah’s personal bank accounts annually
from public funds.22
President Hassan Rouhani’s brother, who is also a close adviser to him, has previously been linked to officials at the
center of a scandal involving inflated salaries for managers at the state-owned insurance company. Other charges
against Hossein Fereidun include misappropriation of government funds and money laundering that involved his
daughter who lives in London.23
7. Politics and Political Control
Opposition politicians have suffered especially harsh repression, with many leaders facing arrest, prison sentences,
and lengthy bans on political activity. All secular political parties are constantly banned from any activity due to the
requirements that Presidential candidates must be religious and have strong belief in Islamic laws.
On the other hand, Islamists who run the government have cheated the people out of bank deposits amounting to
trillions of Tomans. The money has gone to the pockets of government officials and their relatives. The Islamic Republic
government and its affiliated entities that are close to the Revolutionary Guards have signed major economic contracts
with Syria, reaping what appears to be lucrative rewards for helping the Dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad regain control
of parts of his country against his own people.
Politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran is so corrupt that both “conservatives” and the so-called “reformists” support the
status quo and ignore the national interests of the people. After all, there is much financial windfall that comes from
the arms flows in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Yemen to satisfy both sides.
Astan Qods Razavi, is purportedly a charitable foundation and the administrative organization which manages the
Imam Reza Shrine and affiliated institutions. It controls large endowments and business conglomerates in the country.
This foundation, also called “Empire of Khorasan” and its subsidiaries are exempted from paying taxes following
Ruhollah Khomeini’s Fatwa. This huge windfall helps cross-border terrorist financing.
The Islamic Republic’s constitution establishes the role of its military in fulfilling its goals as follows: “The Army of the
Islamic Republic of Iran must be an Islamic Army, i.e., committed to Islamic ideology and the people” (Article 144).
From the preamble: Iran’s Army and Revolutionary Guard “will be responsible not only for guarding and preserving the
frontiers of the country, but also for fulfilling the ideological mission of jihad in God’s way; that is, extending the
sovereignty of God’s law throughout the world [emphasis added].
the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, unquestioningly loyal to Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, controls major
companies, and businesses in Iran such as tourism, transportation, energy, construction, telecommunication and
Internet. in the cost of this control is suppression of Iranian women, students, labor, intellectuals, and political activists.
The Islamic Constitution cites Quranic verses fourteen times to make its political goal and objective is to promote Islam
worldwide vs the universal values of advanced civilizations. For nearly four decades the Islamic Republic of Iran has
sought to cement its stranglehold internally and export its revolution of terror to the rest of the world by establishing
Hezbollah in Lebanon, supporting Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Muslim Brotherhood, sheltering terrorists and permitting
them to run terrorist training camps in Iran.
Article 91 of the Islamic Constitution establishes a Guardian Council “in order to examine the compatibility of legislation
passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly with Islam.” The Council also has “the authority of the interpretation of
the Constitution is vested with the Guardian Council (Article 98). Yet, in actuality, the Council has the power to select
the candidates loyal to the Supreme Leader and to nominate them for elections. Thus, none of the elections held since
the 1979 Islamic revolution has been regarded as free, fair, and transparent.
The Basij and Ansar-i Hezbollah—regularly play a major role in breaking up the peaceful and non-political
demonstrations with brutal force. The security services routinely arrest and harass all human rights discourse,
grassroots activism, and secular activists. Thus, there is no secure and free electoral environment for political and
union activities.
Ultimately, Islamic Republic’s Constitution in Article 57 which establishes the Iranian legislature, judiciary, and
executive powers, dictates that the three branches are to function “under the supervision of the absolute wilayat al-
‘amr [Iran’s Supreme Leader] and the leadership of the Ummah.” The head of state, “Ali Khamenei” has absolute
power over all government institutions, including the judiciary. The Supreme Leader appoints the Judiciary chief, and
judicial officials are only accountable to the Supreme Leader. The Islamic judiciary avoid investigation or detect or
impeding ongoing judicial and investigative processes are accomplished by exerting influence, particularly at lower to
mid-levels of law enforcement structures. Such involvement surely corrupt and pervert the judiciary.
The Islamic Republic of Iran’s endemic corruption has made the country itself and its neighbors vulnerable to terrorist
activities. They still continue to provide financial and military support to terrorist movements. This sectarian “State
Sponsor of Terrorism” seeks to spread its brand of political Islam that has led to the rise of regional ideological conflicts.
The Iranian regime’s discriminatory policies contradict the numerous international conventions to which Iran is a party.
International laws create both rights and duties for member states, and when a state consistently disregards its duties,
it cannot expect the rest of the international community to respect its rights.
