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
Fifty Foreign Ambassadors Tour Tehran’s Evin Prison
The Honorable Ms. Asma Jilani Jahangir
UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights
In the Islamic Republic of Iran,
OHCHR-Palais Wilson
52 rue des Pâquis
CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
Re: Fifty Foreign Ambassadors Tour Tehran’s Evin Prison
Your Excellency,
July 13, 2017
On July 5th, the Islamic Republic’s Judiciary arranged for 50 foreign ambassadors residing in
Tehran to a “display tour” of “The Evin Prison” in an attempt to prove that the allegations raised
against Islamic Republic’s prisons are false and politically-motivated.
According to a report by Ms. Shirin Ebadi, President of Defenders of Human Rights Center
(“DHRC”,) in Iran, which was submitted to Ms. Asma Jahangir, UN Special Rapporteur, Iranian
officials engaged in a hastily staged transformation of the Evin prison to a luxury hotel as follows:
At 8 am on Wednesday, July 5th, more than twenty political prisoners were transferred from their regular cells in Evin prison to solitary A-2nd cells by the order of judicial authorities.
In the evening, theses prisoners were returned to Evin Prison not knowing that 50 foreign ambassadors had visited their cells in Evin Prison.
Curiously, the ambassadors never visited the Women’s Ward where 24 women political prisoners and prisoners of conscience are being held. Kazem Gharib-Abadi, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic Judiciary’s Human Rights Office, declared the ambassadors’ visit was aimed at showing that the image portrayed of the Iranian prisons by certain countries and media is a false and distorted one. In addition, the Iranian domestic media which is controlled by the authorities interviewed some of the ambassadors. Iran National Council for Free Elections strongly denounces this scandalous, staged visitation. The 24 women political prisoners being held in Evin Prison, including Atena Iraie, Atena Daemi, Narges Mohammadi, Nazanin Zagheri, Azita Rafizadeh, etc. were kept out-of-sight. Other male political prisoners and prisoners of conscience; such as, Reza Malek, Amin Afshar Naderi, Hadi Asgari, KaarenVafadari, Professor Ahmad Jalali, Ali Kebritsaz Tavakoli and others were transferred to other locations. The latter three are prisoners who hold dual citizenships.
We urgently request that your high office forward copies of the letters of Atena Iraie, Atena Damei, and Reza Malek describing the catastrophic, unsanitary conditions in Evin Prison to the foreign ambassadors who visited the prison in Iran. Atena Iraie and Atena Daemi have stated in their letters: “Dear ambassadors, while we are in prison in deplorable conditions, you are free and only motivated by your political and economic agenda. You, unwittingly, became the Islamic regime’s spokesman and described an unreal version of Human Rights situation in Iran”.
Reza Malek, a former agent of the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence who is serving an eleven-year prison sentence for attempting to disclose information about Iran’s notorious “Chain Murders” in 1988-1998, addresses the ambassadors in his letter as follows: “It was only a few days that everyone was painting and decorating to give the dead prison illusion of livelihood; the face of the prison had changed so much as if anticipating a great celebration. They were explaining and instructing prison guards and other security personnel so as to deceive the visitors.”
We must also mention Amin Afshar Naderi, a Christian convert held in Evin prison who went on a hunger strike after the authorities kept him and others from speaking with the visitors.
The Iran National Council for Free Elections would like to highlight the following two facts:
Many Iranian citizens are frequently arrested merely for voicing everyday-life’s difficulties and/or objecting to violations of their most basic human rights. Under the Islamic regime’s system of jurisprudence, many crimes are punishable by death, including some that do not involve violence; such as, “insulting the Prophet,” apostasy, homosexuality, adultery, and drug-related offenses. Frequently, those opposing the regime are charged with fabricated or fictitious allegations. Allegations have included “Western agents,” “warring against Islam,” “conspiracy against national security,” “propaganda against the regime,” “enmity against God,” “insulting the Prophet,” and “insulting government officials”. According to Iran National Council’s Human Rights Commission Report 2017, the Iranian government has continued to highly restrict speech and dissent; authorities have arrested journalists, bloggers, and online media activists for exercising their rights of expression. Iranian dual nationals and citizens returning from overseas have been at higher risk of arrest by the secret police and security apparatus.
According to the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, Iran scored 26 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), and was ranked 136th out of 175 countries. There is no “accountability and transparency” in very large segments of the Iranian economy, judiciary and governance.
Corruption in all segments of the regime is the black hole that generates a breeding ground
for transnational organized crime, money laundering, terrorist financing and the trafficking
of humans, drugs, and arms. The blatantly corrupt Islamic judiciary has led to greater
suffering for criminal defendants and hardship for civil litigants alike.
Based on the foregoing, Iran National Council for Free Elections appeals to your high office to
condemn the masquerade of the ambassadors’ visit and demand a visit of political prisoners under
your supervision.
We sincerely thank you for your support and attention to this humanitarian matter.
Very truly yours,
Nazila Golestan
Special Envoy for Human Rights Iran National Council for Free Election
CC:
Mr. Antonio Guteres,
UN Secretary General
Ambassador Nikki R. Haley
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis
EU Special Representative for Human Rights
Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Mr. Salil Shetty,
Secretary General of the Amnesty International
Mr. Michel Forst
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
Mr. Fernando Gentilini EU Special Representative for Middle East peace process
______________________________________________
Conseil National Iranien pour les Elections Libres
115 rue Saint-Dominique, 75007 Paris,
France www.irannc.org
International Campaign Against the Outrageous Violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Kleptocratic Regime of Iran
Date: August 20, 2019
No: 2085-15
His Excellency António Guterres
Secretary General of United Nations
The United Nations
New York, NY 10017
Re: International Campaign Against the Outrageous Violations of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights by the Kleptocratic Regime of Iran.
Your
Excellency,
On March 8th, the International Women’s Day, Ms. Maryam Mombeini[i], the widow of an Iranian-Canadian environmentalist, Kavous Seyed-Emami, who died in the notorious Evin prison has been barred from leaving Iran. Maryam Mombeini with her sons Ramin and Mehran Seyed-Emami decided to flee after facing harassment, threats and smear campaigns over their rejection of Iranian authorities’ claim that their husband and father Kavous Seyed-Emami, committed suicide in prison. Iranian authorities confiscated Ms. Mombeini’s Iranian passport at the airport. The two brothers left their mother behind.
Kavous Seyed-Emami, one of the founders of the Wildlife Heritage Foundation, an environmental activist and professor of sociology who fought for Iran’s environmental causes was arrested, after being accused of spying, by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) along with several other environmental activists, including Niloufar Bayani, Houman Jowkar, Sam Rajabi, Taher Ghadirian, Sepideh Kashani, Amir-Hossein Khaleghi, and Morad Tahbaz. These environmentalist detainees are some of the best and brightest elite of Iran who were just concerned about saving our planet.
The head of Tehran’s Justice department Gholamhossein Esmaili[ii] declared to ILNA news agency “A group of those who gathered strategic intelligence and handed it over to foreigners have been identified. Some of them were arrested and some others will be arrested soon”. Two weeks after Kavous Emami’s arrest, on February 9,2018, the news of his sudden death was released to his wife, Maryam Mombeini. His suspicious death was labelled as suicide by the prison officials. Until recently, we have no news of the whereabouts of the detainees or their health status.
Islamic Judiciary has announced the suicides of other political prisoners among those arrested during the nationwide anti-government protests in January. With such a background, Prosecutor General of Tehran, Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi[iii], told ILNA news agency “Kavous Emami was one of the defendants in a spying case and unfortunately he committed suicide in prison since he knew that many had made statements against him and because of his own confession.”
The fates of detainees during anti-establishment protests[iv] and the unrest that erupted in late January 2018 still is unclear. Among thousands of detainees, Sina Ghanbari[v], a 22-year-old, died in custody in Tehran under unknown circumstances on January 6, 2018. Mostafa Mohebi, the head of Tehran’s prisons, claimed Sina hanged himself in the Evin Prison bathroom. Authorities have forbidden the families of those arrested from speaking to the media.
Mohammad Raji[vi], a war veteran, was one of more than 300 members of Iran’s Sufi Gonabadi who were detained following skirmishes with security forces in Tehran on February 19, 2018. He died from blows to his head in prison.
Currently, dozens of dual nationals are in jail in Iran, mostly on spying charges. Iranian physician and researcher, Ahmad Reza Djalali[vii], a resident of Sweden, has been sentenced to death by the Revolutionary Court’s Judge Abolghassem Salavati[viii], on the charges of “Corruption on earth, espionage, and collaboration with a hostile government”. He has been kept behind bars at Tehran’s notorious Evin prison since April 2016.
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe[ix], the British-Iranian charity worker, was on holiday visiting her family for Persian new year (Nowruz) in Iran. She was at the airport returning to the UK on the April 3, 2016 with her 22-month-old daughter Gabriella, when she was detained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. She was sentenced to five years imprisonment after an unfair trial “for allegedly plotting to topple the Iranian regime.” Her daughter’s British passport was confiscated during the arrest, and the 3-year-old remains in Iran under the care of her maternal grandparents.
In the past, in June 2003, Zahra Kazemi[x], a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist, was beaten to death while in custody there. Iranian authorities arrested her as she was photographing the Evin prison. The Iranian authorities have not charged anyone in connection with her death. Since her death, the diplomatic relations between Iran and Canada have been tense.
Golrokh Iraee, a human rights prisoner exiled to Qarechak prison, is in dire condition on her 45th day of hunger strike. Atena Daemi and Golrokh Iraee[xi], were transferred from Evin to Qarechak prison in Varamin for supporting the uprising in January 2018 where they are at risk of developing hepatitis and other contagious diseases.
Soheil Arabi[xii], another blogger prisoner, is on day 33of his hunger strike. The lives of Ms. Golrokh Iraee and Mr. Soheil Arabi are in serious jeopardy.
Outside the walls of Iranian prisons there still are the sharia laws of the Islamic constitution as the barriers that oppose women’s rights and suppress other beliefs and political orientations since the Islamic revolution of 1979. Iranian constitution based on Sharia law stipulates that all women must be fully veiled in public at all times. Women are barred from attending sports events. On February 9, 2018, 35 women[xiii] were detained in front of Azadi Stadium for trying to attend a particularly significant football match. The women were trying to attract Mr. Gianni Infantino’s attention to the ban on women attending sporting events.
On March 8, 2018, there was a strong call, more emphatic than ever, for commemorating the struggle for women’s rights, and progress in gender equality worldwide. In contrast, Iran reportedly impeded Women’s Day gatherings and detained participants. Several women’s rights activists[xvi] have been jailed by security forces.
Maryam Mombeini, like many other
activists’ families, is hostage to the regime. The Islamic Republic’s
security agencies use the prisoners and their families
as bargaining
chips for money or influence. We are facing a
powerful kleptocratic system of political nepotism and familial surrogacy that uses corruption
as a tool to stay in power. The Iranian economy is suffering
from the rampant corruption. The judiciary is suffering from institutional
corruption, and there is no independent court to stop the corruption in other
parts of the government.
These are
some outrageous violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Islamic regime of Iran.
Iran
National Council for Free Elections
appeals to your high office and the
international community to take immediate and effective action to save the lives of
detainees and their hostage families.
We are fearful that these innocent women
and men will not escape suspicious deaths without an international outcry and
firm diplomatic actions by the leaders of the Free World to force the Islamic
republic regime to comply with the following:
Give Maryam Mombeini,
a Canadian citizen, immediate freedom to safely return to Canada;
Take immediate and effective action to save the lives of two jailed
hunger striking prisoners, Mrs. Golrokh Iraee and Mr. Soheil Arabi, whose lives
are in jeopardy,
Immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners;
Allow an independent investigation into the
suspicious deaths in the Islamic regime’s prisons;
End the persecution of women who speak out against compulsory veils and
for access to sports stadiums, and abolish “discriminatory and humiliating
practices” against women in the name of Sharia.
We sincerely thank you for your assistance and consideration to
this urgent humanitarian matter.
