Tag: Mahsa Amini

HRA: Looking back on 2023

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)

Reflecting on 2023, Iran has faced significant human rights challenges. Despite these difficulties, it has also been a year marked by unwavering determination and resilience in the pursuit of justice and accountability. The year began with the country – from North to South, East to West – embroiled in protest over the death in detention of Mahsa Zhina Amini. Throughout the year, grave human rights issues persisted, encompassing restrictions on freedom of speech, continued and grave violations of women’s rights, limitations on political participation, arbitrary arrests, unfair trials, and the ongoing mistreatment of prisoners. Various minority groups, including ethnic, religious, sexual, and gender minorities, continued to endure harassment and discrimination at the hands of Iranian authories. Despite these challenges, the efforts of local human rights activists, civil society organizations, and individuals dedicated to upholding human rights in Iran were remarkable. Notably, just this week, Sweden upheld a groundbreaking sentence against Hamid Noury, a landmark case against a former Iranian official complicit in the 1988 prison massacre. The week before that, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to activist, Nagres Mohammadi. These notable successes highlight a larger global trend towards a dedication to closing the accountability gap in Iran. HRA remains steadfast in aiding in that effort while shedding light on injustices through continually documenting and preserving evidence and publishing our findings, advocating for change through direct engagement with policymakers, and providing support to victims and their families on a daily basis. The following is a brief, in no way exhaustive, overview of our efforts in that regard. 

United Nations Advocacy 

HRA’s continued engagement with a vast array of United Nations human rights mechanisms demonstrates a committed effort to document human rights violations and provide expert guidance crucial to aiding UN experts in their assessments and recommendations to address violations. 

HRA participated in all regular sessions of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, briefed Member States on the situation of human rights in Iran, participated in side events on the situation of women’s rights in Iran, continually provided information to special procedures mandate holders via bilateral consultations virtually and in Geneva and through official submissions, prepared several submissions for the Human Rights Committee (HRC) review of Iran under the ICCPR, held regular consultation with United Nations Fact Finding Mission investigators, provided oral interventions at the 139th Session of the Human Rights Committee’s review of Iran, and co-sponsored a side event on the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini in the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York.  In addition, HRA filed official findings of crimes against humanity to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Iran.  We continue to advocate for the renewal and expansion of this mandate with Member States given the ongoing and widespread, systematic nature of crimes taking place in Iran with absolute impunity. 

HRA’s engagement at the United Nations in both New York and Geneva continues to play a pivotal role as a platform for advocacy, fostering substantive dialogues with policymakers, politicians, and all relevant global stakeholders. 

Making the case for the continued use of targeted human rights sanctions

Magnitsky-style sanctions regimes continued to be effective in targeting human rights abuses and corruption in Iran. These sanctions focus on freezing assets and imposing travel restrictions on individuals involved in serious human rights violations. HRA has monitored over 135 designations of Iranian perpetrators across the EU, UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia. A number of these individuals were investigated and documented by HRA’s Spreading Justice initiative. HRA finds it crucial to maintain an ongoing focus on those who violate human rights, holding them responsible for their actions. Coordinated action across diverse jurisdictions remains an essential strategy in ensuring accountability for these violations. By uniting their efforts and leveraging the strength of multilateral collaboration, a clear message is sent  that impunity will not be tolerated. 

HRA also participated in discussions with victims about how Iranians perceive the targeted human rights sanctions handed down by western states. In a Conversation with HRA, one political prisoner expressed what the sanctions met for them  ‘It’s a ray of hope for people like me who suffer under their reign. It may not change things overnight, but it shows us that the world hasn’t turned a blind eye’ and  ‘It’s like a breath of fresh air, knowing that these violations are seen and acted upon, even if it’s not from within our own country’

HRA maintains an active role in collaboration and information sharing with various State, multinational, and civil society organizations. The organization contributes valuable insights including but not limited to, shedding light on Iran’s morality police, law enforcement forces, and key figures within the security, judicial, diplomatic, and government spheres. This information exchange extends beyond direct exchanges to encompass other organizations and governments, demonstrating a commitment to collective efforts in addressing human rights concerns. HRA welcomes the achievements made in this regard over the past year and looks forward to the continued use of these tools in the years to come. 

Member States

The European Union and its Member States played a leading role in 2023 shedding light on the widespread and systematic abuse taking place in the Islamic Republic. Indeed, in Brussels just this past month, the EU awarded Mahsa Zhina Amini the honorable Sakharov Prize.

HRA engaged with the EU on numerous occasions meeting and speaking in Parliament to discuss the European Union’s policy on Iran and how changes in policy can help to protect victims of abuse, and sustain pressure on perpetrators. HRA continued to stress the importance of accountability and the role the EU can play in that regard.

In Berlin, HRA met with Parliamentarians to advocate for the renewal of the FFMI and to encourage continued pressure on perpetrators through the use of targeted human rights sanctions regimes, stressing the impact those regimes have on the ground through first-hand accounts.

Similarly, in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, HRA welcomed consistent pressure throughout the year against perpetrators of abuse , most recently for those involved with the drafting of the highly contentious Hijab Bill. HRA is thankful to all of the named jurisdictions for consistently seeking out information to hold perpetrators accountable and for taking on civil society recommendations that signal greater impact when packages are implemented in a coordinated manner. 

The Anniversary of the Death of Mahsa Zhina Amini and the outbreak of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” Protests

In October 2023, marking a year since the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, HRA and Outright International co-hosted a side event during the 78th United Nations General Assembly titled “One Year of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’: The Ongoing Persecution of Minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran.” The event addressed the ongoing human rights situation in Iran. The Director of Global Advocacy and Accountability presented key areas for urgent international action, emphasizing the need for continued support for UN-led investigations, international pathways to justice, and united condemnation against human rights violations and breaches of international law.

In parallel, HRA published a report focusing on the Humiliating and Disproportionate Sentences against Iranian Women. This report highlighted the extreme measures taken by the Iranian judiciary, including sentencing women to psychiatric treatments and compelling them to perform demeaning tasks in a morgue for non-compliance with Hijab laws.

HRA published a comprehensive report on Iran’s controversial so-called Hijab bill or the “Bill to Support the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab.” This report highlighted draconian measures primarily affecting women, coinciding with the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death. It also explored the roles of the Basij and Student Basij, emphasizing their central role in suppressing women’s freedoms under the hijab law.

The Basij and Student Basij, paramilitary forces in Iran, actively suppressed protests in 2022 and 2023. The Basij, under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), played a significant role in suppressing the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. The Student Basij, officially under the IRGC’s command, were involved in espionage and state-sanctioned repressive actions against student movements. HRA closely monitored 2,500 active Basij members and 650 student Basij members and published a comprehensive analysis of activities while sharing those names with our trusted partners recommending action. HRA’s Director of Global Advocacy and Accountability finally took part in a side event titled “A Year of the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement,” hosted by IHRDC at the 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. During this event, she explored the wide-ranging implications of Iran’s new Hijab and Chastity Bill, with particular emphasis on the grave concerns surrounding the expanded authority granted to the Basij forces throughout the country.

Crimes Against Humanity: Gender and Political Persecution

On December 12, 2023, HRA with the legal support of Uprights, submitted a joint 60-page submission to the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI). The submission argued that the facts provided by HRA and two partner organizations should lead the FFMI to conclude that crimes against humanity, and in particular persecution on political and gender grounds have been committed by Iran since at least September 16, 2022.

In addition to the submission, HRA provided a set of recommendations outlining the basis of the argument and the need for renewal and expansion of the mandate.  HRA strongly recommended that the FFMI acknowledges the potential commission of crimes against humanity, specifically persecution on political and gender grounds, in the Islamic Republic of Iran since at least 16 September 2022, particularly concerning the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. HRA suggested incorporating these findings as a crucial part of the FFMI’s report to the HRC in March 2024, emphasizing the targeted persecution of women, girls, and LGBTQI+ individuals by Iranian authorities and security forces. Additionally, HRA encouraged the FFMI to conduct in-depth analysis on the involvement of men and boys in the protests, considering the intent of perpetrators and applying a gender lens to this investigation. Despite challenges in documenting violations, HRA urged an ongoing investigation into alleged violations against LGBTQI+ individuals, emphasizing their existence and contributing to the discriminatory intent.

Regarding documentation and accountability, HRA highlighted that international crimes committed by Iranian authorities extend beyond state responsibility under human rights law. While not focusing on individual conduct, HRA suggested that the FFMI’s March 2024 report should include a section addressing the lack of accountability for widespread violations since 16 September 2022. It emphasized the need for redress and justice, particularly for women, girls, and LGBTQI+ victims. Given the FFMI’s mandate to collect and preserve potential evidence, HRA recommended cooperation with legal proceedings, investigators, prosecutors, and relevant jurisdictions to build cases against alleged Iranian perpetrators globally, closing the accountability gap. Considering uncertainty about the FFMI’s mandate beyond March 2024, HRA advised ongoing information submissions and communication with civil society documenting violations to maintain the FFMI’s mandate relevance.

In light of the sustained human rights violations during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in Iran until the end of 2023, it is crucial for Member States to commit to extending the FFMI mandate beyond March 2024, providing the necessary time and resources for comprehensive documentation. Additionally, at the Human Rights Council, consideration should be given to broadening the FFMI’s mandate to encompass violations predating the current temporal scope. This expansion would facilitate a thorough analysis of structural issues and historical contexts, addressing not only current violations but also the widening accountability gap. It would empower investigators to examine individual responsibility for serious violations within the framework of international law.

Looking Ahead As we conclude this significant year, HRA remains dedicated to advancing human rights in Iran. HRA is grateful to our partners for ensuring the work is as impactful as possible–we anticipate continued collaboration, heightened awareness, and sustained advocacy to promote justice and equality for every Iranian in the years to come.

For more information please contact Skylar Thompson, Director of Global Advocacy and Accountability at Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) skylar[at]hramail.com

HRA at HRC54

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)

As the 54th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council comes to a close, HRA reflects on a month of United Nations advocacy and why sustained international attention on the situation of human rights in Iran is imperative in light of the widespread, ongoing abuse and the disreputable denial by the State. 

The 54th Session of the Human Rights Council commenced with a statement by Volker Türk, who acknowledged the passing of Zhina Mahsa Amini and expressed concern over the troubling human rights violations that have unfolded in the past year. This included the introduction of the new Hijab Bill, strict legal penalties, an increased use of the death penalty, and the continued repression at the hands of the morality police.

HRA’s Director of Global Advocacy and Accountability took part in a side event titled “A Year of the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement,” hosted by IHRDC. During this event, she explored the wide-ranging implications of Iran’s new Hijab and Chastity Bill, with particular emphasis on the grave concerns surrounding the expanded authority granted to the Basij forces throughout the country.

Simultaneously, during the 54th session, the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) marked the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s passing by expressing concerns about the Iranian government’s intensified repression and reprisals against its citizens. Additionally, the FFM raised alarm regarding new laws, especially those severely curbing the rights of women and girls. Furthermore, HRA continued its engagement with the FFM and the UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, participating in meetings to support their mandates concerning Iran. Furthermore, HRA actively engaged in meetings with member states during this period continually briefing on emerging issue areas.

139th Session of the Human Rights Committee

In an effort to shed light on significant human rights abuses, HRA, in collaboration with its partners, submitted a formal written update to the Human Rights Committee in early October in preparation for its review of Iran. This update specifically addressed the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, media freedom and the safety of journalists, freedom of expression online, the right to privacy, the situation of human rights lawyers and defenders, and access to information. HRA also engaged in informal dialogues with committee experts regarding human rights in Iran, preparing for the interactive dialogue.

During the session, Thompson emphasized the ongoing human rights violations in Iran, particularly with regards to the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. Furthermore, she informed the Committee about the unjust treatment of journalists, charged with national security offenses after trials lacking any semblance of due process, all for simply exercising their fundamental right to freedom of expression. Thompson stated, “Although repression against the freedom of information was already widespread, with journalists facing arrests, interrogations, imprisonments, surveillance, harassment, and threats, it has escalated since the outbreak of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests triggered by the death in detention of Zhina Mahsa Amini in September 2022.”

*Zohreh Elahian, designated by the European Union for her involvement in serious human rights violations, intervenes as part of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s official delegation. She appears sitting next to the Chair of the Human Rights Committee. October 9, 2023. 

During the same session, the Committee conducted a comprehensive review of the human rights situation in Iran, shedding light on grave violations, including instances of torture, the excessive use of force in response to recent protests, and the status of LGBTI rights. Regrettably, the delegation from the Islamic Republic chose not to provide substantive responses and even resorted to intimidation tactics when questioned about an individual listed on the EU sanctions list. See the Spreading Justice profile of Zohreh Elahian. Elahian’s position within the delegation, and travel to Switzerland as part of Iran’s delegation was questioned by Ms. Marcia Kran as part of the formal dialogue between the Committee and the delegation. Elahian’s travel was also condemned by the Chair of the Delegation for relation with Iran within the European Parliament, Cornelia Ernst. 

Following the session, the Human Rights Committee made a poignant observation, stating, “Most of the substantive questions remain unanswered.” Despite persistent inquiries regarding LGBT rights, torture, and the excessive use of force in recent protests, the Committee received no satisfactory responses.

Reflections

As the session closes HRA remains steadfast in its commitment to amplifying the voices of Iranians on the international stage. Sustained international dialogue and attention is crucial for Iran, as it ensures that the ongoing struggles of the Iranian people are not only heard but also acted upon by the global community. By maintaining consistent focus on Iran, the international community can play a vital role in holding the Iranian government accountable for violations of human rights. 

HRA remains committed to working alongside our partners in civil society, the Special Rapporteur, the Independent and International Fact-Finding Mission, State and multinational institutions to support justice and accountability for serious human rights violations and possible crimes under international  law. 

Finally, HRA urges the United Nations to cease allowing known human rights abusers to travel to and participate in high level dialogues, and to uphold its fundamental principles of promoting peace, security and human rights. Allowing  individuals with a documented history of human rights violations to enter UN premises undermines States parties efforts and sends a conflicting message concerning the validity of the sanctions. 

Bloody Friday of Zahedan: A Convergence of National Outrage and Baloch Repression

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)
Click on the picture to download the Full report

Summary

It has been one year since Iranian authorities unleashed a brutal barrage of lethal force on Baloch citizens living in Zaheden. During the nationwide protests of 2022 in Iran sparked by the tragic death in detention of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, Zahedan witnessed a brutal crackdown on September 30, 2022. As protestors converged at the Great Mosalla of Zahedan after the Friday prayers, the Iranian security forces unleashed a barrage of live ammunition, metal pellets, and tear gas, resulting in significant casualties. This tragedy, now known as the “Bloody Friday of Zahedan,” has come to symbolize the Iranian authorities’ increasing disdain for the sanctity of human life and the broader struggles of the Baloch community in the country.

Baloch Persecution in Iran

The Baloch community in Iran, primarily residing in the country’s southeastern region, including Sistan and Baluchestan, has faced longstanding socio-economic and political marginalization. As a Sunni Muslim minority in a predominantly Shiite nation, the Baloch people have often grappled with ethnic and religious discrimination.

  • Economic Disparities: Sistan and Baluchestan, despite being one of the country’s largest provinces, is also among the most impoverished. Basic amenities like water, electricity, and healthcare remain inaccessible to many. The unemployment rate is significantly higher than the national average. The systemic economic deprivation has fueled grievances and driven a wedge between the Baloch populace and the central government.
  • Political Marginalization: The Balochs have limited representation in Iran’s political system. Policies decided in Tehran often overlook the unique needs and challenges of the Baloch community. The absence of substantial Baloch representation means their voice often goes unheard in policy-making corridors.
  • Religious Discrimination: As Sunni Muslims in the Shia-majority Iran and the Shia regime, the Baloch have faced religious discrimination. This is evident in their limited access to religious education, restrictions on building Sunni mosques, and harassment of Sunni clerics.
  • Cultural Suppression: The Iranian government’s policy towards minorities, including the Baloch, leans towards forced assimilation. Baloch traditions, languages, and customs often face suppression. The state’s educational system rarely offers courses in the Balochi language, thus slowly eroding the community’s linguistic heritage.
  • Human Rights Abuses: Arbitrary arrests, unlawful detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings have been reported in the Baloch region. The region’s volatile security situation, partly due to its border with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is often used as a pretext for these violations.

Nationwide Protests in Iran

The death in detention of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in September 2022, after a traumatic incident with Iran’s “morality” police, catalyzed a series of demonstrations. This 22-year-old’s fate swiftly became emblematic of broader frustrations with the Iranian regime’s repressive policies. Protests titled “Woman, Life, Freedom” or “Mahsa Amini” protests erupted outside Kasra Hospital in Tehran and rapidly swept across all 31 provinces, including Sistan and Baluchestan. While these protests were ignited by Mahsa’s death, their scope widened to challenge the ideological underpinnings of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Zahedan’s Bloody Friday: An In-depth Account

Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchestan province, became the focal point of global attention on September 30, 2022, an event now seared into collective memory as “Bloody Friday.” Here, national grief over Mahsa Amini’s tragic death converged with regional anger due to the alleged sexual assault of a 15-year-old Baloch girl by a high-ranking police officer, Ebrahim Kouchakzai.

Bloody Friday Unfolds: On September 30, 2022, thousands gathered, their chants echoing a shared sentiment of a desire for justice and change. The vast expanse of the Great Mosalla of Zahedan became a sea of protestors, peacefully raising their concerns.

However, evident by the decision to block exit routes, and their elevated positions above the emerging crowds, security forces had preemptively planned a violent crackdown. As protestors congregated, security forces units took positions on strategic rooftops surrounding the Mosalla, the nearby Makki Mosque, and Police Station number 16 near the Mosalla. As the crowd’s momentum grew, security forces began indiscriminately firing tear gas canisters, live ammunition, and pallets upon the civilian population. 

Protestors, including women, children, and the elderly, were caught in the open barrage. Many tried to flee, but the security forces shot the protesters from the rooftops surrounding the area. Blood stained the grounds of the Mosalla. 

The Aftermath: The brutal crackdown lasted hours, but its impact will be felt for generations. Immediate reports were chaotic, with the numbers of the dead and injured fluctuating. However, reliable sources estimate that approximately 100 individuals were killed including at least 10 juveniles under the age of 18 with hundreds more injured. Some were trampled in the stampede attempting to escape, while others were direct victims of the gunfire.

In the immediate aftermath, Zahedan was in shock. But as the days progressed, the city, and indeed the wider Baloch community, rallied. This tragedy became a symbol, uniting various groups against what they saw as the unchecked brutality of the Iranian regime.

Despite the violence of Bloody Friday, the spirit of the protestors was not broken. In the weeks that followed, Zahedan saw more protests, namely after Friday prayers, signaling an ongoing resistance and a refusal to let the events of September 30 be forgotten.

Legacy of Bloody Friday

Zahedan’s Bloody Friday is more than just an event—it’s now a symbol of resistance against oppression in Iran and globally. The international community expressed horror and condemnation, with human rights organizations demanding a thorough and impartial investigation into the actions of the Iranian security forces. While tragic, the events of that day have solidified a call for change, justice, and an end to systemic and oppressive violence.

September 30th, 2022 saw a brutal display of excessive use of force against civilians that ultimately escalated to the use of lethal force.  It is evident there were no considerations of proportionality taken into account. The security forces’ decision to block exit routes additionally suggests heinous premeditation. 

These actions constitute a clear violation of international human rights law. Iran, as a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), is bound by its provisions. Article 6 of the ICCPR stipulates that “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of their life.” Furthermore, Article 7 prohibits torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. It is well-established by the United Nations and other international bodies that these rights extend to police and other security forces.

In situations where a protest escalates to a point where the use of force may be necessary, security officers are still obligated to respect and preserve human life. Firearms should only be used in self-defence or in defence of others.

In response to the distressing reports of sexual assault and rape allegedly committed by security forces in this city, it is imperative that the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission, in line with its mandate, conducts a swift and thorough investigation into the sexual abuse of women and girls in the context of the protests. This mandate also urges the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights and to take all measures necessary to stop and prevent extrajudicial killings, other forms of arbitrary deprivation of life, enforced disappearances, sexual and gender-based violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including against peaceful protesters. 

Conclusion

Zahedan’s Bloody Friday is a stark reminder of the intersection of broader national issues with specific regional grievances. As Iranians across the nation stood up to voice their discontent with the government’s oppressive policies, in Zahedan, the Baloch community, already marginalized, found their struggles magnified. Their calls for justice, both for Mahsa and their native daughter, met with bullets and gas, some lethal. As the world grapples with these events, it underscores the importance of understanding regional dynamics within broader national movements. The people of Zahedan, and by extension, the Baloch community, seek justice for the events of September 30 and an end to decades of systemic neglect and oppression.

The Imperative of Identifying Perpetrators: Ensuring Accountability in the Zahedan Massacre

The acts that transpired on Bloody Friday in Zahedan are not just isolated events; they are emblematic of deeper systemic issues related to governance, control, and the exercise of power. The violence unleashed upon protestors affronts fundamental human rights principles and international laws. Identifying the perpetrators is essential to uphold human rights and protect civil society’s very fabric. Here’s why:

1. Upholding Justice: Justice is a universal principle transcending borders and cultures. For the families of the victims and the injured, knowing who was responsible for the tragedy provides a sense of closure and a belief that their sufferings have been acknowledged. It is a step towards healing, both for individuals and the community at large.

2. Accountability and Deterrence: Holding those responsible accountable sends a clear message to other potential violators: that such acts will not go unpunished. This, in turn, serves as a deterrent, ensuring that such heinous acts are not repeated.

4. Promotion of Human Rights: The global community looks to human rights organizations as watchdogs and protectors of universal rights. Their proactive role in such incidents affirms their commitment to these ideals and strengthens the global human rights framework.

5. Creating Historical Record: A historical record is created by documenting the details and holding individuals accountable. This ensures that future generations know of past mistakes and that history doesn’t repeat itself. More so, while some perpetrators might be able to escape justice and remain safe within the current government, this historical record ensures that in the future, when the opportunity arises, their actions are not forgotten, and justice can be served.

Identifying the Perpetrators 

Several sources and witnesses have begun identifying critical actors involved in the Zahedan massacre. Some of the names mentioned include: (click on each name to read their full profile and involvement in the human rights violations) 

  1. 1. Hossein Modares Khiabani – Governor of Baluchestan at the time
    2. Mohammad Karami – Governor of Sistan and Baluchestan province.
    3. Abozar Mahdi Nakhai – The acting governor of Zahedan and governor of Zahedan county
    4. Ali Shabani – deputy governor of Sistan and Baluchestan and special governor of Iranshahr city at the time
    5. Saheb-Gol Salehi – Governor of Khash County
    6. Salman Borhani – Governor of Bampur County
    7. Mahmoud Saadati – Police Command of Zahedan
    8. Ahmad Taheri – Police Command of Baluchestan at the time
    9. Habib Razdar – Police command of Khash county
    10. Alireza Sayad – Police Command of Bampour
    11. Ali Sarhadi – Sistan and Baluchestan province chief of police deputy for intelligence and public security. According to Haal Vsh this person has personally been present in Police Station 16 near the Makki Mosque on September 30, 2022 when the massacre happened and encouraged the killing of people.
    12. Ahmad Shafahi – Commander of Salman Revolutionary Guard Corps in Sistan and Baluchestan Province
    13. Ahmad Maldar – Commander of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Saravan
    14. Seyed Mohammad Azami – Deputy Operations Commander of Quds Base of IRGC Ground Forces. According to Haal Vsh, Mohammad Azami was personally present in the Makki Mosque on September 30, 2022, when the massacre happened and encouraged the killing of people.
    15. Hamze Dehghan – Chief of Information Protection of Quds Corps in the province. (Haalvsh, 2023).
    16. Morteza Jokar – Deputy Commander of the Provincial Police Force (Haalvsh, 2023).
    17. Hossein Ghanbari – Head of the Second Branch of Shahid Nouri Judicial Complex (Zahedan General Court)
    18. Majid Moalemzadeh Ansari – General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Chabahar at the time
    19. Morteza Piri – The head of Zahedan Prison
    20. Mehdi Shamsabadi – General and Revolutionary Prosecutor of Sistan and Baluchestan
    21. Ali Mostafavinia – Chief Justice of Sistan and Baluchestan
    22. Mohammad Hossein Khosravi – General Directorate of Prisons in Sistan and Baluchestan Province
    23. Abouzar Mohammadpour – The head of the protection and intelligence department of the prisons of Sistan and Baluchestan
    24. Nik-Mohammad Balouch-Zehi – Information and Communications Technology department of Sistan and Baluchestan

This list is not comprehensive. HRA’s Spreading Justice database of Human Rights Perpetrators, together with its partners, remains dedicated to documenting the full list of individuals involved in the use of lethal force against civilians on September 30th, 2022. Should you have any information that may help in identifying those involved please contact: [email protected]

Three protesters face death in Iran, in year of more than 200 executions

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)

By Miriam Berger, The Washington Post, May 17, 2023 at 4:52 p.m. EDT

Cars and crowds gathered outside Dastgerd prison in the Iranian city of Isfahan on Sunday night, in the hopes that their demonstration could halt the execution of three men facing death on charges connected to the anti-government protests that began last year and swept the country.

Days earlier, Iran’s state broadcaster had aired footage of the harried-looking men — Majid Kazemi, Saeed Yaqoubi and Saleh Mirhashemi — appearing to confess and incriminate one another. Rights groups said the statements, which authorities often air ahead of executions, were very likely given under torture or duress.

The men survived the night. But the executions, for which authorities have not publicly provided a date, are thought to be imminent. The three are not alone: In response to the protests, Tehran has wielded the threat of capital punishment to crack down on and deter dissent, local and international rights groups say, amid a spate of executions in 2023 — at least 209 in just five months, according to the United Nations.

Executions overall were on the rise in Iran last year, according to human rights group Amnesty International’s annual report on global executions, released this week — a trend that appears set to continue.

Since December, Iran has executed four men for alleged crimes committed during the protests. Forty have been charged with capital offenses and the Supreme Court has upheld eight cases, the Isfahan ones included, according to Skylar Thompson, the head of global advocacy and accountability at HRANA, a Virginia-based activist news agency focused on Iran.

The three men are accused of fatally shooting two members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s Basij volunteer force, and one police officer, on Nov. 16, 2022, during the height of the “women, life, freedom” movement that erupted this fall amid protests rejecting clerical rule. The ordeal became known as the Isfahan House case after a historical site close to the alleged attack.

The three men were arrested on Nov. 21. After a swift trial, one of the judges most associated with sentencing protesters to hang found them guilty of “waging war against god,” a charge that can merit the death penalty under Iran’s legal system, which is based on a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Advocates say the government did not present credible evidence of a connection between the defendants and the bullets and guns allegedly used in the killings, or a consistent account of the central facts of the case. The defendants were reportedly denied access to a lawyer of their choosing — as is the norm in Iran’s Revolutionary Courts, which serve as a parallel legal system to protect the Islamic republic.

Soon after the trial, Kazemi called his mother from Isfahan’s Dastgerd prison and told her they were tortured and forced to confess, according to the family. “We were told to say these things in court all of it under torture. I did not have any gun or do anything,” Kazemi told his fiancee, according to a recording of the call obtained by HRANA, which The Washington Post has not verified independently. A judge upheld the ruling in early May.

On Monday, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, the head of Iran’s judiciary, said that his institution would use “the utmost decisiveness and speed of action” in cases of killed Iranian security forces, according to comments carried by state media outlets. He did not directly address the Isfahan case.

Before his arrest, Kazemi, 31, had a business making copper kitchenware, according to news reports. Mirhashemi, 36, is a karate champion and bodybuilder instructor. Yaqoubi, 38, worked at a real estate company and was the sole caretaker of his elderly parents, Thompson said.

More than 20,000 people were arrested and at least 500 people killed during the anti-government protest movement that swept Iran for months after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September, in the custody of the country’s so-called morality police. Iranian authorities have released many protesters starting in February but have simultaneously stepped up enforcement of mandatory hijabs for women.

In tandem with the ongoing political repression, Iran has carried out this year a “frightening” spate of executions unrelated to the protest movement, mainly of men from minority communities charged with drug offenses, U.N. rights chief Volker Turk said in a recent statement. The country’s more than 200 executions this year form an “abominable record” amounting to about 10 people killed each week, in a country among those leading the world in executions.

Exact figures are likely higher yet impossible to determine: there is little transparency around charges, trials and the outcomes of these cases. Families of those executed or on death row are often under extreme government pressure to stay silent.

Last year, Iran executed at least 576 people, an increase of 83 percent from the previous year’s record of at least 314 people, according to the Amnesty International report.

The recent “alarming surge in executions” is part of a broader pattern of impunity that’s been ongoing for years, said Thompson. Individual cases often draw international attention for a period, she said. But executions continue “because of a complete lack of accountability.”

“In the meantime, people’s lives hang in the balance,” she said.

MAHSA AMINI – THE SEISMIC TRAGEDY THAT IS TRIGGERING A TSUNAMI THAT SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)
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MAHSA AMINI – THE SEISMIC TRAGEDY THAT IS TRIGGERING A TSUNAMI THAT SHOULD NOT BE IGNORED

By: Brian Currin

For: Spreading Justice initiative of Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA-SJ)

Table of Contents

I Introduction

II BACKGROUND & DEVELOPMENTS

As a point of departure, it is critical to note that the current situation, sparked, in chief, by the events that will be expounded on below, are dynamic, and information is constantly being updated and revised. Below is the information as best and widely reported as at early December 2022.

As per credible reports by the Human Rights Activists News Agency (‘HRANA’) – on the 13th of September 2022, Mahsa (Jhina) Amini was arrested at Taleghani Subway station of Tehran by an Iranian law enforcement group known as the Morality Police (whose main mandate is ‘enforcing Iran’s Islamic code of conduct’). Mahsa’s crime was, ‘improper Hijab’. Shortly after her arrest, she had to be transferred to hospital with concussions. She then went into a coma, succumbing to her injuries and dying in hospital, on the 16th of September of 2022. Eyewitnesses have stated they saw the Morality Police physically and brutally beat Mahsa; unsurprisingly the Morality Police rejected this version of events and incredulously claimed she had died of a heart attack while being under their custody. The evidence on Mahsa’s body contradicts this claim

As reported by media, this triggered the first wave of what are widely considered the most historical protests since the 1979 Revolutionary War. This is significant as many of our previous individual human rights’ abuse profiles had an aspect of stifling the right to protest; however, never at the scale and awareness of the protests which have followed the death of Mahsa. HRANA reports that:

‘The widespread protests sparked at the time Mahsa Amini was announced dead in front of Kasra Hospital on Argentina Street in Tehran, and then quickly spread to the streets despite the intimidating presence of Iran’s security forces. The protests intensified after Mahsa’s burial in a Saqqez cemetery. To the extent that after eighty-two days of nationwide protests between September 17, 2022, to December 7, 2022, they have spread to Iran’s all 31 provinces, 160 cities, and 143 major universities.’

‘The protests did not stay limited to Mahsa’s death, it rather, quickly targeted the Iranian government’s political and ideological foundations. These protests were violently quashed by the anti-riot police and Iran’s militia force (Basij). teargas, pellets, and live ammunition were used in           the repression of protestors. This widespread crackdown has led to the death of dozens of people and the wounding of hundreds of protestors.’

This initial 20-day protest has been characterised as being unique by the HRANA. Some of most pertinent distinguishing features are said to be:

  • While many of Iran’s protests end up in violation of human rights’, their spark is usually economic or environmental in nature. However, this protest was triggered directly by a human rights’ violation; the murder of Mahsa by state officials.
  • Mahsa was from an amalgamation of minority groups that are the subject of discrimination in Iran. She was Kurd and Sunni… yet this did not stop Iranians of all faiths and heritage from joining in the protests.
  • Iranians of all classes joined the protests.
  • Youth, with an estimated average age of 15 years, have played a pivotal role in the protests.
  • In terms of length, the protests are some of the most sustained.
  • The demands of the protesters have been unwavering on women’s rights – this suggests, contrary to how the state sees itself, a progressive, non-conservative society that yearns for the equality of human beings.
  • Iranian protests have a history of bloodshed and torture as security forces have no qualms with spilling blood indiscriminately, while arresting and beating unarmed protesters; a trend we have seen many a times in the previous profiles. This has led to many Iranians choosing to stay away in fear of their lives. However, during these protests there have been many instances of protestors showing solidarity, coming together to prevent people from being taken into custody or by standing in front of the police, equipped with full anti-riot gear.
  • In terms of internet solidarity, the Mahsa Amini hashtag is the first in the history of Twitter to record more than 384 million tweets.

All in all, the above points to unparalleled upheaval since the war. Iranians have decided that the killing of Mahsa signifies crossing the Rubicon – no more will they allow themselves to be defined by, and subsequently tortured by, the state and its apparatus.

Since the initial 82 day protests which saw a reported 481 identified civilian Iranians lose their lives (plus an indeterminate number of unidentified Iranians), and despite significant efforts from the Iranian authorities to stifle the protests, Iranians, to this day, are refusing to relent. Some of the subsequent developments are:

  • Almost half of the Internet service providers in Iran have seen a 50% drop in sales due to disruptions, censorship, and Internet shutdowns by the government during protests.
  • Iranian security forces are targeting protestors with shotgun fire to their faces, breasts, and genitals, according to interviews with medics across the country. One physician from the central Isfahan province said he believed the authorities were targeting men and women in different ways

‘I treated a woman in her early 20s, who was shot in her genitals by two pellets. Ten other pellets were lodged in her inner thigh. These 10 pellets were easily removed, but those two pellets were a challenge, because they were wedged in between her urethra and vaginal opening,” the physician said. “There was a serious risk of vaginal infection, so I asked her to go to a trusted gynaecologist. She said she was protesting when a group of about 10 security agents circled around and shot her in her genitals and thighs.’

  • Protests have been slightly quelled as government fights back the cries of freedom and equality – however various organisation of protests, including social media users, continuously report protests of various sizes across many of Iran’s cities and provinces. As recently as December 5, the Critical Threats Project (‘CTP’) reported that ‘at least 29 anti-regime protests took place in 18 cities across 16 provinces.’ These numbers have been fluctuating daily.
  • There have been conflicting messages on whether the regime will abolish the morality police. The regime will likely maintain and continue enforcing its mandatory hijab law regardless of whether it abolishes the morality police.
  • Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei ordered the relevant authorities to identify, arrest, and prosecute protesters organizing and promoting the countrywide strikes ‘quickly and decisively.’ Ejei accused protesters of coercing and manipulating the owners of businesses and shops to strike.
  • On the 8th of December, in what was Iran’s first judicial execution since the protests started, a 23-year old protester by the name of Mohsen Shekari, was hanged after being convicted for blocking a Tehran Street and wounding a paramilitary on September 25, after a legal process that rights groups denounced as a show trial. His official indictment cited ‘Moharebeh’ as his official crime – a wide discretionary crime of ‘waging war against God’ that has been covered throughout many of the profiles (and will be looked at further when the Iranian penal Code is discussed).

III INTERNATIONAL LAW GOVERNING STATES[1]

In an exercise situating the current state of affairs vis-à-vis protests in Iran, a formal look into international law follows by looking at various relevant international laws and their sources.
Customary International Law

There are two main requirements for the existence of customary international law; settled practice of states (usus) and the acceptance of an obligation to be legally bound (opinio juris). While the two are separate concepts, they do largely overlap and thus principles surrounding them cannot be isolated into mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive elements.

Usus (settled practice of states)

The practice must be general and widespread. Evidence of state practice is found in a variety of areas, including, but not limited to treaties, decisions of national courts, national legislation, diplomatic correspondence, policy statements by government officials, opinions of national law advisers, reports of the International Law Commission (‘ILC’) and comments by states on these reports, and resolutions of international organizations; the political organs of the United Nations in particular. A state’s practice can be sourced from many places.

Where states actively demonstrate their support for a particular rule, no problem of proof arises. Indeed, some states provide easy access to their practice by publishing official reports on this subject. However, in many cases, there will be no clear evidence of this kind. In these circumstances, it may be possible to infer consent or acquiescence to a practice from the inaction of states. The ILC says only ‘deliberate abstention from acting’ may count as state practice. From the above, it is clear, even if not intuitive, that practice is inferred not only from conduct, but from absence of conduct. This suggests that where international norms exist, i.e. non-trade in people/no slavery, it is from the deliberate opposite conduct to the norm, that practice is inferred. This would make sense for a country like North Korea that distances itself from the UN and its organs that its practice is to not form part of the international community. In a more legalistic and doctrinal manner (but perhaps more instinctive), the International Court of Justice (‘ICJ’) has, through its jurisprudence, insisted that constant and uniform usage or widespread acceptance of a rule constitutes a proper prerequisite for usus e.g. as said in the Asylum Case . Note that the widespread acceptance is not to be read as universal acceptance. Therefore, a country cannot escape being bound by a rule of customary law (usus) merely because it can point to a few states that are exceptions to the customary rule. For settled international custom, a state cannot plead the so called ‘persistent objector’ defence. It can probably be argued, successfully too, that if a state can point to their continuous objection to a particular practice, then it cannot be part of their practice; however this defence would only work at the point in time where the rule is still in the process of being developed. Once a practice is settled international custom, there is no ‘opt out’ clause. This point has been the subject of debate in the context of jus cogens conduct and international law, where for example, some states refused to accept South Africa’s persistent objection to treating apartheid as a violation of international customary law.  This is best explained on the ground that the prohibition on apartheid is a peremptory norm, a norm of jus cogens, to which the normal rules relating to the persistent objection do not apply.

Opinio Juris

A settled practice (usus) on its own is insufficient to create a customary rule. In addition, there must be a sense of legal obligation, a feeling on the part of the states that they are bound by the rule in question – that the general practice is accepted as law. In the North Sea Continental Shelf Cases between West Germany on one hand, and the Netherlands together with Denmark on the other, the ICJ stated:

            ‘Not only must the acts concerned amount to a settled practice, but they must also be such, or carried in such a way, as to be evidence of a belief that this practice is rendered         obligatory by the existence of a rule of law requiring it… The states concerned must             therefore feel that they are conforming to what amounts to a legal obligation.[2]

As with all subjective matters, evidence of opinio juris is difficult to prove. Difficult as it may be the evidence may be found in the same materials that are used for investigating state practice. A grouping of likeminded jurists and scholars of international law argue that a concrete example of the search for opinio juris is where there is a consistent and widespread (not necessarily unanimous) adoption of an annual resolution, which resolution may well constitute settled practice (i.e. usus) regarding a rule contained in the resolution. The resolution itself, however, cannot establish a rule of customary international law unless it can be shown, whether by reference to the content of the resolution or by some other forms of conduct, that the states adopting the resolution believe the rule in question to be one of customary international law. As with settled practice, the question of the silent states – those states that do not express an opinion to the legal status of a rule – arises. In these instances, silence can, in certain circumstances, be taken to imply the acceptance of a rule. This inference, however, can only be made when those states were able to react, and the circumstances called for some reaction.

Less technical is that a key feature of law is its universal applicability, not its universal acquiescence in the form of subjects opting in or out. It is this very option of opting out that make some commentators argue vehemently against international law being ‘law’ at all, for, as the argument goes, a law is binding and can never bow down to the intention of a subject to be bound by it. While the argument might not hold when it comes to treaties, I think it holds ground when it comes to international custom. Plural we may be; we all live in one world, with one human race.

My view, when it comes to the binding nature of international law not having to require opinio juris, is supported by one of the sources of customary international law i.e. Security Council resolutions. While the Security Council is not a legislative body (Security Council will be discussed), its resolutions are binding. Although the point of departure was combating terrorism, many of the Security Council’s resolutions have had the effect of creating international custom in relation to human rights. ‘Beginning with its adoption of resolution 1456 (2003), the Security Council has also consistently and repeatedly affirmed that states must ensure that any measures taken to counter terrorism, comply with all their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law… .’ This means that states can only counter terrorism effectively if they meet obligations under international law, with human rights being singled out. While the resolution can be read in full, the basic thinking is that if a state cannot respect the human rights of its own citizens – what chance do foreign citizens have? More formally and recently, in its resolution 2178 (2014), the Council stated that failure to comply with these and other international obligations (respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms etc.) including under the Charter of the United Nations, fosters a sense of impunity and is one of the factors contributing to increased radicalization. I would thus argue that ‘international obligations’ can be directly substituted with, among others, ‘international customary law’ as it would cause an absurdity for a country not to have any international obligations vis-à-vis human rights, simply because they do not feel bound by it.

UN Charter and Treaties

The focus in this section of the article is not on treaties in general, but as they relate to human rights.

As a point of departure, it is helpful to locate human rights in its post-world war II development. In 1945, the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France established an international military tribunal to try Nazi leaders for crimes against the peace, and war crimes; the Nuremberg trial. Trying similar charges, was the subsequent Tokyo trial.

[1] See Dugard’s International Law for references of below

[2] North Sea Continental Shelf Cases (n 36).

The Nuremberg trial had a major impact on international law. It inspired criminal accountability for those responsible for war crimes and the systematic and large-scale violation of human rights and contributed substantially to the development of international humanitarian law. It was also the genesis of crimes against humanity and genocide jurisprudence. From a human rights perspective, the main significance of the Nuremberg precedent is that national leaders and government officials are no longer able to claim immunity before international courts from protection for egregious human rights violations by invoking the protection of municipal law or superior orders. What is of particular importance to note as we delve deeper into the relevant areas of the relevant treaties, is that neither Nazi Germany nor Japan were signatories to any international treaty (they did not exist at the time) – yet the officials were tried.

The United Nations’ (UN) commitment to human right was made clear in the preamble to the charter which reaffirms ‘faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the person, in the equal rights of men and women.’ Iran is a member state of the United Nations, joining it in 1945 as one of the original 50 founding members. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran is an active member of the UN. The UN has actively partnered with Iran since 1950, opening in Tehran in 1950, one of the very first UN Information Centres worldwide. One wonders why and how the disconnect even exists. The Charter itself, when laying out the purpose of the United Nations, in Article 1(3) alludes clearly to the importance of human rights by stating that:

‘To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an            economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and         encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion;

Promote respect for human rights… without distinction as to… sex. Yet nearly 80 years later, the events described in the beginning of this article are as though the Charter never existed; or if it did, Iran, a founding member, has never heard of it. An escape for many countries has been Article 2(7) which states that:

‘Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to        intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state             or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present             Charter; but this principle shall not prejudice the application of enforcement measures        under Chapter Vll.’

Chapter VII will be expounded on later, but in the second half of the 20th century, when Apartheid was doubling down on its brutality and decolonization, Article 2(7) essentially forced states to choose between the supremacy of domestic jurisdiction on one hand, and human rights on the other. The ICJ, in its Namibia Opinion[1] of as far back as 1971, dispelled any doubts on the above balancing act – it held that member states could not use Article 2(7) to sidestep, circumvent or blatantly contravene the legal obligations that were imposed on member states by the human rights charter.

There are several international instruments that deal with human rights. Two are specifically regarded as the cornerstone international covenants; namely The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (‘ICCPR’), along with The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (‘ICESCR’). Other international instruments are; International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (‘ICERD’), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (‘CEDAW’), Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (‘CAT’), Convention on the Rights of the Child (‘CRC’), International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (‘CMW’), International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (‘CED’) and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (‘CRPD’). Unfortunately, Iran is signatory only to the ICCPR – a treaty Iran acceded to and ratified on June 24, 1975.  This means Iran is fully, and voluntarily bound by this instrument.

ICCPR

The ICCPR can be divided into various parts. Part I is Article 1 and deals with self-determination. It provides for all peoples a right to freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. Part II (Articles 2 – 5) obliges parties to legislate where necessary to give effect to the rights recognised in the Covenant, to provide an effective legal remedy for any violation of those rights and importantly, entrenches the equality of all groups, while prohibiting all forms of discrimination. Important for the conduct regarding Mahsa and the subsequent squashing of protests are Article 2(1) which states:

      ‘Each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant,           without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other            opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’

The list is intentionally not exhaustive and clearly sets out sex as a prohibited ground of discrimination.

[1] Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa) notwithstanding Security Council Resolution 276 (1970) 1971 ICJ Reports 16.

Article 2(2) states:

      ‘Where not already provided for by existing legislative or other measures, each State Party to    the present Covenant undertakes to take the necessary steps, in accordance with its   constitutional processes and with the provisions of the present Covenant, to adopt such laws or      other measures as may be necessary to give effect to the rights recognized in the present Covenant.’

This means Iran has an obligation, not only to not violate the rights, but to create, within their domestic legal framework, legislation that recognises and protects all the rights provided for in the Covenant, ‘notwithstanding that the violation has been committed by persons acting in an official capacity.’

Part III (Articles 6 – 27) then set out the actual rights provided for in detail. Importantly these rights apply to everyone (men and women), without any discrimination, and the state has an obligation to both protect these rights and provide remedies for when violated. More specifically and important for our analysis; Articles 6 – 8 deal with the right to life. Torture or any cruel and degraded treatment is prohibited:

           

Article 6

  1. Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.
  2. In countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime and not contrary to the provisions of the present Covenant and to the             Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This penalty can only             be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court.
  3. When deprivation of life constitutes the crime of genocide, it is understood that nothing in this article shall authorize any State Party to the present Covenant to derogate in any way from any obligation assumed under the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and             Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
  4. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Amnesty, pardon or commutation of the sentence of death may be granted in all cases.
  5. Sentence of death shall not be imposed for crimes committed by persons below eighteen years of age and shall not be carried out on pregnant women.
  6. Nothing in this article shall be invoked to delay or to prevent the abolition of capital punishment by any State Party to the present Covenant.

Article 7 provides that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation;

Articles 9 -11 deal with the security and liberty of the person. Articles 14 – 16 deal with fair trial and procedural fairness guarantees; Articles 12, 13, 17 – 24 deal with individual liberty, in the form of the freedoms of movement, thought, conscience and religion, speech, association and assembly, family rights, the right to a nationality, and the right to privacy. I set out the relevant ones in full.

Its appropriate for present purposes to quote verbatim from Articles 18, 19, 21 and 22.

            Article 18:

  1. 1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or             belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
  2. No one shall be subject to coercion which would impair his freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice.
  3. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health, or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.
  4. The States Parties to the present Covenant undertake to have respect for the liberty of parents and, when applicable, legal guardians to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions.

            Article 19

  1. 1. Everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference.
  2. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice.
  3. The exercise of the rights provided for in paragraph 2 of this article carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary:

(a) For respect of the rights or reputations of others;

      (b) For the protection of national security or of public order (ordre public), or of public health         or morals.

            Article 21

      The right of peaceful assembly shall be recognized. No restrictions may be placed on the     exercise of this right other than those imposed in conformity with the law, and which are   necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals or the protection of the rights    and freedoms of others.

            Article 22

  1. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions for the protection of his interests.
  2. No restrictions may be placed on the exercise of this right other than those which are prescribed by law and which are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, public order (ordre public), the protection of public health or morals       or the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the        imposition of lawful restrictions on members of the armed forces and of the police in their exercise of this right.
  3. Nothing in this article shall authorize States Parties to the International Labour Organisation Convention of 1948 concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the     Right to Organize to take legislative measures which would prejudice, or to apply the         law       in such a manner as to prejudice, the guarantees provided for in that Convention.

Part IV (Articles 28 – 45) are more operational and speak to the establishment of a human rights committee; Part V (Articles 46 -47) situates the Covenant amongst the United Nations machinery and finally, Part VI (Articles 48 – 53) deals with the technicalities and procedures of the Covenant itself, such as ratifying or amending etc.

The Articles set out in full above are of the greatest importance when analysing the conduct of Iranian officials during this period.

Soft Law

These are the so called ‘imprecise standards’, generated by declarations adopted by diplomatic conferences or resolutions of international organisations, that are intended to serve as guidelines to states in their conduct, but which lack the status of ‘law’. One such example is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (‘UDHR’). Although admittedly not binding, it provides an important framework that the UN General assembly, Security Council (remembering that Security Council resolutions are binding on all states) and the Human Rights Commission often refer to when they interpret and apply the human rights clauses of the Charter.

The UDHR is not a treaty, but a recommendatory resolution of the UN General Assembly. Some argue that it now forms part of International Customary Law. In 1968, at an international conference on human rights in Iran (Ironically), the Tehran (ironically) proclamation stated that:

‘The UDHR states a common understanding of the peoples of the world concerning the        inalienable and inviolable rights of all members of the human family and constitutes an       obligation for the members of the international community.’

While others oppose this as too far reaching for all countries of the world, it is widely accepted that the UDHRs basic principles such as non-discrimination, rights to a fair trial, and the prohibitions on torture, cruel inhuman or degrading treatment etc., undoubtably belong to the corpus of international customary law even though they may not always be observed.

IV IRANIAN MUNICIPAL LAW

The impugned Iranian law is the infamous Islamic Penal Code (‘IPC’) of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Section 1 deals with ‘The Punishments and Security and Correction Measures’. The punishments provided for in this law include five types: 1- Hudud 2- Qisas 3- Diyat 4- Ta’zirat 5- Deterrent punishments. Worrying are:

Article 13 – Hadd is the punishment which its type and amount and quality is prescribed by Shari’a. Hadd punishment is implemented by stoning, whipping, lashing etc., usually to death.

Article 14 –Qisas [retaliation or eye-for-an-eye] is the punishment to which the criminal shall be sentenced and is equal to his/her crime.

Article 16 –Ta’zir is the chastisement or punishment which its type and amount is not determined by Shari’a but left to discretion of the judge, such as imprisonment, fine and lashes; the number of lashes must be less than the number stipulated for Hadd punishment.

Section 2 deals with moharebeh and corruption on earth. Selected examples of these punishments are in article 190, Hadd punishment for moharebeh and corruption on earth is one of the following four punishments:

(a) The death penalty (with a Hadd method of death)

(b) Hanging on gallows

(c) Amputation of right hand and then left foot.

(d) Banishment.

Article 195 – Crucifixion of a mohareb and a corrupt on earth shall be executed as follows:

(a) Method of tying shall not kill him/her.

(b) S/he shall not remain crucified for more than three days, but if they die within three days, s/he can be taken down [from the cross].

(c) If s/he remains alive after three days [s/he] shall not be killed.

Article 196 -Amputation of the right hand and left foot of a mohareb and a corrupt on earth shall be executed by the same method as for the Hadd punishment for theft.

These come directly from the IPC.

V IRANIAN CONTRAVENTIONS OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

International Customary Law crimes

There are five crystallised International Customary Law crimes, namely; Piracy, War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity (‘CAH’), Genocide and Torture.

The CAT defines torture as:

‘any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.’

The probable beating received by Mahsa at the hands of the morality police fits squarely in the definition of torture.

Systematic persecution of a group of people, in this instance a woman and religious minority, is an example of enumerated offenses under CAH for which a government officials could be responsible and held criminally liable.

International treaty crimes

              Over and above the detailed report of the first 82 days of nationwide protests provided by the HRA-SJ, a database of human rights violators in Iran, has also reported the weapons being used to suppress the nationwide protests in Iran. Shell casings found at scenes, along with brutal physical evidence found on the protesting victims themselves show evidence of violent weapons being used on protesters The weapons range from paintball guns to handguns and shotguns, to automatic and semi-automatic rifles such as the Kalashnikova (AK47) and Heckler & Koch G3.

The AK-47 is an assault rifle that operates with gas and is chambered for 7.62 x 39mm cartridge. The effective firing range for an AK-47 is between 300 to 400m and its maximum range is 2000m. The standard magazine capacities of this weapon are 30 or 75 rounds drum. The Heckler & Koch G3 has caliber of 7.62 and 51mm bullets. Its effective firing range is 200 to 400m and its standard magazine capacity is 30 as well as up to 100 round drum magazines. These are not tools used to disperse even the rowdiest of crowds. These are effective killing machines that have been used in wars, with the AK-47 playing a role even in the Iran Revolution. The weapons are reported to have been aimed at protesters faces and upper torso, evidence of an intention to kill and/or maim.

The use of these weapons has been attributed to the FARAJA forces. FARAJA at the time of protests was under the ultimate authority of Hossein Ashtari, the Chief Commander of Law Enforcement and Chief of Police. Ahmad-Reza Radan has been appointed to this position since January 7th 2023. Since Iran is signatory only to the ICCPR, the conduct of FARAJA in general, and Ashtari, will be tested against this instrument. However, as explained, this instrument, as one of only two cornerstone instruments on human rights, is more than adequate.

Right to life

As of the end of February 2023, it is reported that at least 528 civilians including minors have died. All 528 of these are in violation of Article 6 of the ICCPR as none of these killings have been by way of the death penalty (an exception to the right to life). These have been extra judicial killings and Iranians at the highest level of governance need to be held accountable.

Torture

The beatings of Mahsa and other protesters, the excessive use of force through assault rifles, the shooting of women genitals – all of these are examples of torture as described above. The conduct provided for in the HRANA report fits the definition of torture and thus Article 7 has also been breached.

Right to liberty

As of the end of February 2023, it is reported that 19,763 people have been arrested, including minors. This is an extraordinarily high number. While I do not have the benefit of a breakdown of the instances that have led to these arrest, their sheer volume, plus the fact that they are linked with a time of protesting for the fundamental rights of women, suggests strongly that Article 9 of the ICCPR i.e. ‘No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty…’ has been grossly violated.  

Dignity of detainees

Although I am not armed with specific, disaggregated information, taking into account the fact that Mahsa was beaten as a (arbitrary) detainee of the Morality Police, further exacerbating that fact with Iran’s well documented fraught treatment of detainees and prisoners, it is highly probable that Article 10 of the ICCPR has also been violated.

Freedoms of Speech, Belief, Assembly and Associated Right to Protest

The above are a ‘bucket’ of inter-dependent rights, as discussed in detail in earlier reviews. The mass suppression of the #Mahsa/#WomanLifeFreedom protests, as described by the UNHRA, is a continuing violation of Articles 18, 19, 21 and 22 above.

The importance of this bucket of ‘freedoms’ rights cannot be understated. I am of the strong view that the genesis of all gross human rights violations begins by not respecting these freedoms. It is the intolerance of one’s right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; it is the interference with one’s right to hold opinions, the right to freedom to express oneself; it is the refusal of people’s right to peaceful assembly and freedom of association with others – that leads to all other rights, including life, being violated.

The “Highlights from the recent protests” section of the First 82 days report details a number of violations against various Iranian citizens. In these, the number of international law violations are innumerable. Dealing with them individually would be the exact approach this article argues against – all those instances are proof of systematic violations, and possible remedies for such widespread, systematic violations, by state apparatus at all levels, is discussed below.

VI ANALYSIS

I say the streets of Iran are speaking, and they are loud. The international community must answer the voices.

‘The international community must act!’ This is a phrase I have used repeatedly in the specific legal reviews I have done. However, what does ‘acting’ look like? What forms of action are permitted in international law? Who is the international community?

As a form of solidarity and more importantly, pressure on own governments, individual citizens of the world are legitimate role players. However, the ultimate role players – owing to having powers allocated by prescribed international law – more concretely, states, in their own capacity, and as member states of the UN, along with the political organs of the UN.

Individual citizens of other countries

Although the solidarity and pressure by the peoples of the world can be useful. With the proliferation of social media, joining online campaigns through twitter and other platforms helps bring light and attention to the situation of Iran, as evidenced by the record over 300 million tweets carrying Mahsa Amini’s hashtag. It is easy and free to follow Iranian activists’ social media accounts, and to share information and posts on protests. Donating and or supporting human rights organizations makes it possible for organisations such as Human Rights Activists of Iran to be on the ground collecting information, sharing information, providing legal opinions and generally being outlets for those oppressed. Another form of solidarity is writing to one’s government or parliament asking them to support Iranian women’s rights publicly. It is this public pressure that will hold your country accountable in front of its peers, even at international bodies such the UN. Organising and/or joining local protests is also a powerful form of demonstration and applying of pressure. Mass peaceful protests have occurred in Berlin, Paris, Washington, London and other cities around the world.

States

The regimes violent suppression against Iranian civilians invited travel bans and sanctions on important government officials from nations like the UK, US, Canada, and Germany. Similarly, Iran has been hit with a slew of targeted sanctions by the EU.

Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), accompanied by 161 international and regional human rights organizations and women’s rights defenders, announced their solidarity with the protesters in Iran by publishing a statement. Before that, HRA and 12 other human rights organizations issued another statement calling for the international community’s intervention to counter the oppression of women and protesters by the Iranian government. Also, HRA, with 19 human rights organizations, in a letter addressed to the President of the United States, Joe Biden, asked him to fulfill his promise to confront authoritarian and repression in Iran.

These efforts have resulted in historical sanctions against human rights perpetrators, since the start of protests more than 185 individuals and entities have been sanctioned across 4 jurisdictions. 

United Nations

More forcefully, I argue for international intervention through the properly designated international bodies. I must not be seen to be arguing for regime change, instead, I am arguing for the protection of Iranian lives and freedoms through holding Iran accountable to its obligations under international law. Mahsa’s death is tragic. Even more tragic is that it is not the first time, and neither, as history has shown, will it be the last time. As I write, Iran has already carried out four death penalties aimed at intimidating protesters. These death penalties were carried out in rushed court cases that lasted a few hours at most, which indicates that due process could not have been followed. Execution followed soon thereafter; clearly grossly unfair trials and unlawful executions.

General Assembly

The General Assembly (‘UNGA’) is the plenary body of the United Nations, with one of its responsibilities being the maintenance of international peace and security. As argued previously and supported by a Security Council resolution, peace cannot exist if human rights are not protected and advanced. Peace and human rights are inextricably linked. The UNGA is authorised to discuss and to adopt resolutions on any question relating to the maintenance of international peace and security or any questions falling within the scope of the UN Charter. Although Resolutions of the UNGA are recommendations in nature, they can have considerable political weight. Surely, resolutions pertaining to Iran need to be taken by the UNGA and supported widely as ‘important decisions’, such as action against a fellow member state, need two-thirds majority to be adopted.

Security Council

The Security Council is the executive body of the United Nations, and it has the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. It has 5 permanent member states that have veto power, along with 10 alternating members who don’t have veto power. Importantly, the Security Council is empowered to take decisions binding on all member states of the United Nations. In my estimation, the situation in Iran is at the level that needs binding decision-making by the Security Council

Chapter VI (of the UN Charter) empowers the Security Council to address disputes that in its judgment do not threaten international peace, but that, if continued, are likely to endanger the maintenance of peace and security.

International law scholars claim an argument exist on whether the Security Council may adopt a resolution which designates a situation as a threat to peace if it only involves a serious violation of human rights within a particular territory. One side argues that it cannot as there needs to be some external element which affects a neighbouring state or has the potential of provoking armed conflict between states; while others maintain that a serious violation of human rights within a single state permits a determination of threat to peace

The former, I argue, are wrong. To claim that there is peace when thousands of people of one state are persecuted continuously, and have their human rights violated grossly, yet claim that peace has been threatened when two forces of 100 soldiers in total throws sticks and stones on each other over a border (as with India and Pakistan recently) is to be purely academic and out of touch with realities.

ECOSOC Removal of Iran from CSW

On December 14 2022, Iran was removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for the reminder of its 2022-2026 term for the oppression of women and girls and the actions of Islamic Republic since September 2022. In this historic event the resolution was put to a vote by UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), where it received 29 votes in favour, 8 against, and 16 countries abstained.

Establishment of Fact-Finding Mission (FFM)

Resolution S35/1 on the deteriorating situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, adopted on 24 November 2022, an independent fact-finding Mission has been established. Mandate of this mission is stated as follows by the United Nations human Rights Council:

With the adoption of resolution S35/1 of 24 November 2022, the Human Rights Council provided the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran with the following mandate:

To thoroughly and independently investigate alleged human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran related to the protests that began on 16 September 2022, especially with respect to women and children;

To establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations.

To collect, consolidate and analyse evidence of such violations and preserve evidence, including in view of cooperation in any legal proceedings.

To engage with all relevant stakeholders, including the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, relevant United Nations entities, human rights organizations and civil society.

The Human Rights Council requested the Fact-Finding Mission to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue at its fifty-third session (June/July 2023) and to present to the Council a comprehensive report on its findings during an interactive dialogue at its fifty-fifth session (March 2024).

VII CONCLUSION

Taken together, the ‘highlights from the recent protests’ from the first 82 days report, plus the monthly profiles and legal reviews for Spreading Justice (HRA-SJ), are all proof of systematic persecution of Iranians.  The atrocities of Iran are systematic and entrenched. It is clear that the State of Iran is guilty of crimes against humanity!

Only a whole-scale change can assist the crying voices of Iran; and it must start right at the top. Iranians of all classes, of all religions, of all creeds have come out in a unified voice for the first time since the Iranian Revolution. 

The law of Iran, as seen in the IPC, makes it legal to carry out acts that undermine international law and human rights. The IPC itself is an instrument of gross human rights violation.

Brian Currin
December 2022

A Comprehensive Report of the First 82 days of Nationwide Protests in Iran

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)

HRANA – Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman, was arrested by the morality police for the crime of improper hijab. Her arrest and death in detention fueled nationwide protests in Iran. Protesters came to the streets with the central slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in protest against the performance, laws, and structure of the regime. The following 486-page report is dedicated to the statistical review, analysis, and summary of the first eighty-two days of the ongoing protests (September 17 to December 7, 2022). In this report, in addition to the geographic analysis and the presentation of maps and charts, the identity of 481 deceased, including 68 children and teenagers, an estimated of 18,242 arrested along with the identity of 3,670 arrested citizens, 605 students and 61 journalists or activists in the field of information is compiled. In addition, the report includes a complete collection of 1988 verified video reports by date and topic. The report examines protests across 1115 documented gatherings in all 31 provinces of the country, including 160 cities and 143 universities.

Summary

Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young 22-year-old woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan was visiting Tehran, when she was taken into custody on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, by the Morality Police officers at the Haqqani metro station in Tehran. The reason for her arrest: not properly observing the strict Islamic dress code. Mahsa/Zhina was taken to the infamous detention center of Moral Security Police known as Vozara.
Shortly after Mahsa’s arrest, she went into a coma with level three concussion, and her partially alive body was transferred to the intensive care unit of Kasra Hospital. Given the track record of the police and Guidance Patrols in mistreating the arrestees and similar previous incidents, with the believe that Mahsa was beaten during the arrest people were outraged.
Unpersuasive explanations given by the Central Command of the Islamic Republic Police Force (FARAJA) in defense of its actions regarding the death of Mahsa, the past performance of the police force, along with widespread dissatisfaction with the existence of a body called the Moral Security Police, fueled widespread protests in Iran.
The widespread protests sparked at the time Mahsa Amini was announced dead in front of Kasra Hospital on Argentina Street in Tehran, and then quickly spread to the streets despite the intimidating presence of Iran’s security forces. The protests intensified after Mahsa’s burial in a Saqqez cemetery. To the extent that after eighty-two days of nationwide protests between September 17, 2022, to December 7, 2022, they have spread to Iran’s all 31 provinces, 160 cities, and 143 major universities.
The protests did not stay limited to Mahsa’s death, it rather, quickly targeted the Iranian government’s political and ideological foundations. These protests were violently quashed by the anti-riot police and Iran’s militia force (Basij). teargas, pellets, and live ammunition were used in the repression of protestors. This widespread crackdown has led to the death of dozens of people and the wounding of hundreds of protestors.
Despite sever communication restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic, this report attempts to give a clearer picture of the first 82 days of the protests between September 17, to December 7, 2022. It’s worth mentioning at the time of this report the protests are still ongoing in various forms.

View the Full Report

For further inquiries please contact Skylar Thompson, Senior Advocacy Coordinator Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) at [email protected]

HRAs Spreading Justice urges governments to deny active members of Student Basij entry visas abroad. 

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)

The Spreading Justice initiative (SJ) of Human Rights Activists (HRA) has received ample evidence and information on the involvement of University Student Basij Forces in the crackdown of protesters during the ongoing protests in Iran, especially at the universities. These involvements include physical confrontation with protesting students, gathering protesting student information and providing them to security forces, and doing so aiding the arrests of students. 

However Student Basij members, despite their vital role in the crackdowns are left under the radar and often do not pay any cost for their involvement with the suppression of student movements. Many of the Student Basij members travel, study, or immigrate abroad with full impunity. 

The Student Basij was formed by the direct order of the founder of Islamic Republic, Khomeini, on 23 November 1988. This institution was formed in universities with the aim of “the defense of Islam, the revolution, and the values of the ruling system, to link the Hawza and the university”, “explaining, promoting, and realizing the orders of the former and current supreme leaders of Islamic Republic, namely Ruhollah Khomeini and Seyed Ali Khamenei”, and “Identifying and training of loyal, committed, and aligned forces with the characteristics of the Islamic Revolution for the perpetuation of the Islamic Revolution”. Ever since, Student Basij has had offices in universities across the country where students have been voluntarily recruited.

Student Basij is organizationally affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Ground Forces (NEZSA). The commander of the national student Basij is appointed by the IRGC commander, and the provincial commanders of Student Basij are appointed by the provincial IRGC commanders. 

The Student Basij have a history of involvement in the suppression of student movements in the universities at least since 1999, and their role in crackdowns on university movements and activists has increased ever since. The Student Basij has a history of violent confrontations, spying on students, and paving the way for the entry of intelligence-security forces to repress student movements. 

Student Basij members receive ideological training and are highly loyal to the supreme leader, Khamenei. Often, their role within the system does not end with their studies. Due to their loyalty and training, they are of great value for the government and often they move on to assume governmental and security positions within the system following their studies. 

We believe that Student Basij and its affiliations should not enjoy international impunity for three main reasons. 

  1. Student Basij plays a vital role in combating democratic seeking movements of Iranian people, especially the student movement. 
  2. Student Basij members are the governments ideological reserve for assuming important roles within the system in the future 
  3. Student Basij is officially under the command of IRGC

Having said that, we realized the Student Basij members are more likely to consider immigrating or studying abroad. Therefore we have started collecting evidence and data on the active members of Student Basij, and have called on people to share any information regarding the members of this organization with Spreading Justice. 

We have compiled the collected data and information, including names of current and former active Student Basij members, especially those that are actively serving the ruling ideology and confronting student movements. We have made the decision to not share this information publicly given its complexity, rather we aim to share with universities and immigration offices globally, and further urge governments to deny active members of Student Basij entry visas. 

For media inquiries please contact HRA Senior Advocacy Coordinator Skylar Thompson at [email protected]

At least 58 Iranian children reportedly killed since anti-regime protests began

Posted on by Human Rights Activists (in Iran) Human Rights Activists (in Iran)

The Guardian, 20 Nov 2022
By Deepa Parent, Ghoncheh Habibiazad, and Annie Kelly

Rights groups say children as young as eight are among the victims of the crackdown by security services since the death of Mahsa Amini

Top row: Abolfazl Adinehzadeh; Sarina Esmailzadeh; Kumar Daroftadeh. Bottom row: Asra Panahi; Kian Pirfalak; Nika Shakarami.
Top row: Abolfazl Adinehzadeh; Sarina Esmailzadeh; Kumar Daroftadeh. Bottom row: Asra Panahi; Kian Pirfalak; Nika Shakarami

At least 58 children, some reportedly as young as eight, have been killed in Iran since anti-regime protests broke out in the country two months ago.

According to Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA), 46 boys and 12 girls under 18 have been killed since the protests began on 16 September, sparked by the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody.

In the past week alone, five children were reportedly killed by security forces as violence continued across the country.

Those who died last week include the nine-year-old Kian Pirfalak, who was one of seven people – including a 13-year-old child – killed in the western city of Izeh on Wednesday.

Speaking at Kian’s funeral on Friday, his family said security services had opened fire on the family car, where Kian was sitting next to his father. Iranian security services have denied responsibility for his death, blaming the shooting on “terrorists”.

Iran’s mounting child death toll comes amid escalating violence in cities across the country, with protests showing no sign of abating.

Families in Iran spoke exclusively to the Observer about the death of their children, who they say were killed by government forces.

Hassan Daroftadeh said his son Kumar had always told his family he would grow up to be a “great man”. Instead, they said, Kumar has become a martyr after dying on the streets of his home town of Piranshahr in west Iran on 30 October. His father said he died after being shot multiple times with metal pellets at close range.

“Kumar was just standing on the street. He didn’t even say a word. I don’t know with what conscience they martyred him. Piranshahr is a small town. There were no protests that night, yet they martyred my son. He was just a little boy,’’ said Daroftadeh. A video of Daroftadeh weeping by his son’s grave went viral on social media.

“I’m shattered. Kumar was his mother’s lifeline,” he said. “The Iranian regime denies killing him. They later said ‘foreigners’ have killed him. I don’t know how the officer who killed my son hugs his own children. I don’t know how he sleeps at night.”

The same afternoon, a month before Kumar’s death – which human rights groups have since called “Bloody Friday” after 93 people were killed across Iran – Mohammad Eghbal, 17, was on his way to Friday prayers when he was shot in the back by a sniper in Zahedan, the capital of the Sistan and Baluchistan province. According to Amnesty International, 10 children were killed in Zahedan that day.

Mohammad Eghbal had worked as a construction worker from the age of nine to support his large family and had dreamed of saving up enough money to buy a smartphone so he could open an Instagram account.

His last words were to a stranger, according to one of his relatives. “He asked a bystander, ‘Please take my cellphone from my pocket and call my dad. Tell him I’ve been shot.’” The relative added that when they arrived at the hospital to look for him, the family found a “war zone”.

“Dead bodies were lying across the floor with the screams and cries of mothers filling the air,” the relative said.

The family member said that after his death, the teenager was labelled a terrorist in pro-regime media outlets. “They said Mohammad was a separatist. He was only a child, he had no idea about what being a separatist means. His father is even feeling worse than his mother. Mohammad used to sleep beside his dad at night.”

According to the human rights group Hengaw, 12 children have died in the Kurdistan province since the beginning of the protests – and three died in the custody of Iranian special forces. An additional 200 Kurdish teenagers have been arrested and 300 injured after being fired on by government forces.

A week after Mohammad Eghbal died, the 17-year-old Abolfazl Adinehzadeh went into the streets of his home town of Mashhad and never came home.

“We buried Abolfazl with more than 50 shotgun pellets still inside his body,” said a family member. “The medical team could only remove 27. We fear for his mother and sisters who are broken and will never be able to come to terms with his death.”

His family said the teenager had been motivated to take to the streets out of love for his three sisters. “Abolfazl was a well-mannered kid and, having been raised with three sisters, he was well aware of the challenges Iranian women face. He was truly a feminist who wanted equal rights for men and women,” one of his relatives told the Observer.

“As soon as his sisters heard of the news [that he had been shot], they ran towards the street screaming his name. The entire family is inconsolable. He was adored by us all.”

Young people have been at the forefront of anti-regime protests, which started after Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran’s morality police. She had been arrested for not wearing her hijab correctly.

The deaths of two teenage girls, Nika Shakamari and Sarina Esmailzadeh, both allegedly beaten to death by security forces for protesting, provoked further outrage.

Videos of schoolgirls across the country protesting against their killing by removing their hijabs and taking down pictures of Iran’s supreme leaders went viral on social media, leading to raids on schools where children were beaten and detained. According to Iran’s teachers union, another 16-year-old girl, Asra Panahi, died after she was attacked by security forces in her classroom in the north-western town of Ardabil on 18 October.

The attacks on children in schools is continuing, according to Hengaw, which said a 16-year-old girl from Kurdistan is on life support after throwing herself from a school van, having been arrested at her school last week.

HRA says more than 38o protesters have been killed since the protests began and more than 16,000 people have been detained, including children. The figure is disputed by the authorities.