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.
From Forced Veiling to Forced Confessions; A spike in crackdowns against women in Iran
In Iran the punishment for being seen in public without a headscarf and what is deemed ‘appropriate’ clothing includes arrest, a prison sentence, flogging or a fine. Such a “use of repressive legislation to criminalize the exercise of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is incompatible with Iran’s obligations under international human rights law”. Historically, women’s rights activists have been arrested and sentenced to prison for protesting against what has been termed “forced veiling” or “compulsory hijab”.
Most recently there has been a frightening uptick in crackdowns against women in Iran and a slew of those women’s rights activists have additionally been coerced into forced confessions televised across Iranian State media after being arrested for protesting against forced veiling; a violation of the freedom from torture, the right to fair trial and due process.
In July, a video circulated online depicting a woman harassing activist Sepideh Rashno for what she perceived as an “improper hijab”. This is common as the public is encouraged under principles of “enjoining good and forbidding evil” to police their peers on such matters.
Rashno was later arrested. She was held incommunicado, her whereabouts unknown, until a televised confession aired where signs of physical torture were evident. Prior to the airing of her confession, HRANA reported her transfer due to possible internal bleeding–believed to be a result of physical torture. She continues to be held without access to legal counsel.
Of those complicit in the surge in crackdowns against women there are many. However, when it comes to the later point on violations connected to coerced forced confessions, Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour-Ahmadi stands out amongst the crowd. A high ranking individual within the IRIB, she is notorious for producing forced confessions; her voice and name as producer can be seen in Rashno’s confession which aired on 31/July/2022. The IRIB is well-known for broadcasting forced confessions and show trials, this fact has been noted by numerous governments around the globe, the United Nations, and a number of human rights organizations. IRIB is a State controlled media organization; the head of the IRIB appointed by the Supreme Leader. Previous heads have been designated under Global Human Rights Sanctions regimes for this very behavior. The current head of the IRIB, Peyman Jebeli is complicit in the violations surrounding the televised forced confession of Rashno and others and as such should be held to account.
The right notto wear the hijab is a right protected in Articles 19 and 26 of the ICCPR to which Iran is a State party. Iran, and its law enforcement leaders, are bound by the ICCPR and as such should be held accountable. In addition related acts of coerced, televised forced confessions are violations of freedom from torture and the right to fair trial and due process. These acts should be thoroughly and separately investigated.
The Use of Torture in Iran – Obligations, Violations, and Victim Testimony
The use of torture in Iran is vast, often state-sanctioned, and continually occurs with impunity. While States bear the sole responsibility for protecting the human rights of individuals within their jurisdictions, if they are unable or unwilling to do so, the international community must work towards ensuring that there is accountability for violations on part of the State.
Throughout history, and oftentimes in reaction to a negative international image, Iran has ratified five out of the ten core human rights treaties. In light of the upcoming World Day to Support Torture Victims, the international community must commit to working together to ensure there is justice and accountability for said violations.
State Obligations
The Islamic Republic is a State party to the ICCPR, with no reservations or derogations, thus obliging the State to respect all provisions within. Article 7 of the ICCPR expressly prohibits the use of torture, providing that “no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment […]”. Article 7 is additionally complemented by positive obligations in Article 10 paragraph 1, which sets forth that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person”.
The meaning of Article 7 has been debated and expanded upon throughout the years, most notably in UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) general comment no. 20.
In addition to international obligations, Article 38 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states, ‘The use of any type of torture for extracting information or confession from a person is not allowed. Forcing a person to testify, take an oath, or confess is not allowed and such statements given under pressure are invalid. Those violating this principle will be punished according to relevant laws.’
There is an ever-present culture of impunity in Iran. Closing the accountability gap requires a bold stance from the international community to commit to understanding the widespread use of torture in Iran and utilizing that information to hold human rights violators accountable. The brief analysis that follows aims to demonstrate Iran’s extensive use of torture in every meaning of the term – notwithstanding obligations under the ICCPR and domestic law. The examples given are by no means exhaustive.
Physical, mental integrity and prolonged solitary confinement
The prohibition of torture outlined in Article 7 relates not only acts that cause physical pain but also to acts that cause mental suffering to the victim. It is widely recognized that prolonged solitary confinement may amount to torture. In addition, prolonged solitary confinement is proven to cause both mental and physical suffering to the victim.
The use of physical torture in Iranian prisons can be divided into the following 3 categories:
Inflicting physical pain: floggings, use of handcuffs and shackles for prolonged periods of time, the beating of prisoners, hanging prisoners, amputation of body parts, and more.
It should be noted the above are a mere few examples of physical torture present in Iranian prisons. Amputations and floggings are provided for under domestic punitive law.
Deprivations: long periods of time in which prisoners are deprived of food, water, medical and sanitary products, sleep, fresh air, space to move, and/or healthcare.
There are several examples of prisoners kept in small spaces, denied medical and sanitary products, and healthcare. All of the above are instances that amount to torture. In addition, the denial of medical care is a violation of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Where the lack of medical treatment leads to avoidable death there is an additional violation of the right to life.
Exploiting cultural taboos: sexual harassment of both men and women, force-feeding, harassing loved ones, and beating prisoners with items that might be sacred to their religion or culture. This type of torture is physical, but it also has a deep psychological impact.
The use of psychological torture in Iran is widespread. Psychological torture negatively impacting an individual’s mental health and is aimed at breaking down the victim leading to a negative interpretation of self-worth and altered perspectives.
Examples of psychological torture common in Iran over the past 4 decades:
Prolonged solitary confinement: limits all the sensory experiences and leaves the victim fully dependent on the interrogator or prison guard for every basic necessity of life, including food and communication.
In Iranian prisons often solitary confinement cells have their lights on 24 hours a day, making it extremely difficult for prisoners to count the days or sleep.
Control of access to information: many prisoners have stated how they were fed wrong information about the outside world while they were in solitary confinement. At times, they are told their friends or family members were also arrested, killed, or testified against them. There have been documented instances of individuals being told that their loved one was seeing someone else or had forgotten about them. There are also times that individuals are completely cut off from the outside world given no access to newspapers or the like. The latter is in addition to psychological torture, a violation of Nelson Mandela Rules.
Verbal threats: Individuals are threatened with physical torture such as; the rape of oneself or a family member, killing, or additional false sentencing in the name of societal shame i.e. changing one’s charge to moral corruption.
Creating shame and disrespect: examples: ethnic individuals forced to speak in Farsi, religious minorities forced to disrespect their own religion, and sexual minorities forced to deny and or insult their sexuality. In addition, female prisoners have documented instances of having been repeatedly told to list the men they have slept with.
Witness suffering: prisoners are forced to hear or witness the suffering of others. This includes: hearing others being beaten, watching executions, or watching others being tortured.
Interrogation and forced confessions
The use of statements or confessions obtained through torture is not legally admissible in a trial of the accused. The Human Rights Committee has expressed that forced confessions amount to torture under Article 7 of the ICCPR. These acts are also expressly prohibited in the Iranian Constitution.
Access to doctors and lawyers
Under the ICCPR, there should, in all cases, be prompt and regular access to doctors and lawyers. In the case of Iran, once imprisoned, many political prisoners and activists are denied access to both medical care and legal counsel. Instances of denial are well documented in HRANA reports. In addition, particularly in the case of those detained in Evin Prison, the lack of adequate medical care has been documented to lead to avoidable illness and death. There are serious concerns regarding the consequences of the denial of medical care.
The right to an effective remedy
Positive obligations onto the State include effective remedies for victims of torture, including compensation. However, victims and families of torture victims are often harassed, intimidated, and bribed. Iranian authorities systematically repress the efforts of those seeking justice for crimes committed against them including for torture.
Victim testimonies: physical and psychological torture
Yashar Piri
Yashar Piri, a Turkic ethnic activist from Tabriz city, was beaten during both his arrest and interrogation. His brother, Rouzbeh, wrote in a note that “Basij members in plain clothes arrested Yashar without providing a court order or a judicial officer card“. He continued, claiming that when “Yashar was arrested, he was hit on the head with an electric shocker and then pepper-sprayed in his mouth, his legs were tied with a belt, and after handcuffing him, the beating continued until he was drug to the ground and transferred to an unknown place while unconscious”. Yashar was released 3 days after his arrest, and has been in the hospital since being treated for his injuries obtained in this event.
Mohammad Doji
On November 18 of last year, 19-year-old Mohammad Doji died following severe physical torture in Amirabad Prison in Gogan city. Prisoners who witnessed the incident have stated, “There was a clash in the prison and the guard officer took off his [Mahammad Doji’s] clothes to punish Mohammad. He tied his hands and feet while he was naked and hung him from the ceiling of the prison in the cold. They beat and beat him until he was unconscious, they poured cold water on him, and all this was done in front of our eyes as to teach us a lesson. Unfortunately, this morning he could not stand the torture anymore.“
Hamid Rastbala
In August 2020, Hamid Rastbala, a Sunni Prisoner held in Vakil Abad Prison of Mashhad, wrote in a letter about the torture that he and other Sunni prisoners faced. He details torture aimed at forced confessions below.
Parts of this letter reads:
They recklessly call the Sunnis the military enemies of the Islamic Republic. We were tortured in solitary confinement for almost ten months to obtain false confessions. Many of us Sunni political prisoners were greeted with severe floggings and severe shocks (electrical shocks by shockers). Some of us were even sexually abused by spraying pepper spray on our genitals and anus.
They threatened to arrest, torture, assassinate and rape our families. Many of us suffered severe mental health concerns, and in order to halt the torture and pressure, we accepted any accusation that was leveled against us.
We even admitted and repeated these accusations in front of the video camera so that they would not harm our families. This is human rights and human dignity in the Islamic Republic.
Mohammad Alijani
Mohammad Alijani was arrested during the nationwide protests of November 2019 in Islamshar. He is currently being held at Greater Tehran Prison and is facing charges of Muharebah. In July 2020, Alijani wrote a letter about the physical and mental torture he faced.
Parts of his letter reads:
I, Mohammad Alijani, Reza’s son, was arrested by the security and intelligence police during the protests in November 2019. I was severely tortured physically and mentally.
I was made to confess to charges such as disturbing public order by participating in the riots and destroying public property of the Basij base, insulting the leadership, by force, and under physical and psychological torture.
I am the breadwinner of my home and my absence from home has caused problems such as falling rent and family problems to pay for the house. My family and I suffer greatly from this.
Abolfazl Karimi
Abolfazl Karimi was a juvenile at the time of arrest during the November 2019 protests. On March 16, 2020, Karimi wrote a heartfelt letter about his conditions and the torture he faced in Evin Prison.
Below is an excerpt from the letter:
I suffered a lot in ward 2A of Evin prison and was unaware of my mother’s pain [who had recently gone under surgery]. Because they did not allow me to contact my family and kept me in solitary confinement for 50 days. During interrogations, I was threatened with the arrest of my mother and father. I was also beaten with a shocker by the Akbarabad Revolutionary Guard’s intelligence; they claimed that I had killed one of the officers. Officers broke my head and pulled my toenails. Even now, all my toenails are falling out. They broke one of my teeth by kicking my face and during the interrogation in Branch 1 of Baharestan, they forcibly accused me of the crime. My request to everyone is to please not say that the IRGC intelligence does not hurt anyone. The IRGC’s intelligence is crueler than Shimr (Shimr is referred to as who is said to have killed Hossein (one of Shia 12 Imams) in the battle of Karbala).
The Afkari brothers
The Afkari brothers, arrested in relation to nationwide protests of August 2018, are said to have been made to confess against each other under severe torture. Even after one of them, Navid Afkari, was executed, the others continued to be tortured and kept in solitary confinement.
Their parents wrote a letter to the Judge Supervisor of the prison. An excerpt follows:
Mr. Hashemi, Judge Supervisor of Adelabad Prison of Shiraz; My children Navid, Vahid, and Habib Afkari were beaten and transferred to solitary confinement on 3 and 5 September 2020. For this reason, they demanded that their complaint be investigated, and the family also demanded that the beating and torture of their sons by Ali Khadem al-Husseini, a prison guard, be investigated. We demanded a forensic doctor go to the prison and record the injuries inflicted on my children, which were 17 in the case of Navid and about 15 in the case of Vahid and Habib.
However, 47 days later, no action has been taken and the office of Mr. Rezaei Dana, the director of Adelabad Prison, claims that the complaints were registered by Mr. Rezaei Dana. However, the reviewing authority does not give us the date of registration of the complaint and the letter number.
Niloufar Bayani
Niloufar Bayani, an environmental activist who worked as an expert at the Parsian Wildlife Institute, was arrested along with eight other environmental activists in early 2018. The arrests took place in a coordinated operation by the IRGC’s intelligence on charges related to “espionage”.
There are multiple reports that these individuals were physically and psychologically tortured. During the interrogation carried out by IRGC intelligence interrogators, Niloufar Bayani was abused and harassed. She was made to be completely naked and endured sexual assaults including inappropriate touching. She was threatened with rape and was severely beaten by officers using cables and hoses.
Bayani wrote a letter describing her detention conditions stating she was kept in solitary confinement for 8 months and was interrogated on a daily basis from 8 to 12 hours a day.
An excerpt of her letter follows:
“I was blindfolded, while being interrogated I was made to stand, spin or squat and stand again, I was threatened with the arrest and torture of my 70-year-old mother and father. They threatened me to be physically tortured by showing me images and descriptions of torture devices. And I heard hours about the suffering and pain that torture causes.”
The above are a mere few recent examples of many more known and unknown cases of physically tortured prisoners across the country. It should be noted that many cases of physical torture are never revealed and there can be no correct statistic given in this regard. These few cases were chosen to show that physical torture is being used widely for various reasons being punitive, making examples for others, extracting false confessions, and more. The examples also provide insight into the widespread use of torture not limited to one institution, rather country-wide. The featured cases also aim to highlight that the victims of torture can be anyone including juvenile offenders, women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, and more.
Accountability
The frequent use of acts amounting to torture illustrates the deep level of impunty enjoyed in Iran. Closing the accountability gap requires a bold stance from the international community to commit to understanding the widespread use of torture and utilizing that information to hold human rights violators accountable.
Torturer Violator Spotlight
Sohrab Soleimani
Sohrab Soleimani has been directly involved in and responsible for countless violations of fundamental human rights as the director-general of prisons in Tehran Province. These violations have included harassment, torture, and pressure on prisoners, especially in political and ideological prisons. There are many reported incidents of brutality against prisoners at the hand of Sohrab Soleimani. Imprisoned journalist Issa Saharkhiz suffered from frequent seizures while held in solitary confinement and protested the lack of medical care for political prisoners under Saleimani’s directorship. Article 10 of the ICCPR, as noted above, mandates that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person”. In addition to the countless violations of both Article 7 and 10 related to torture, Soleimani is responsible for widespread violations of the non-derogable right to life. Soleimani and all of those acting under his control should be held accountable. Read more about Soleimani’s violations here.
Bahram Reshteh Ahmadi
As the Deputy Prosecutor for Security and the Head of the Evin Security Court, Bahram Reshteh Ahmadi has played a key role in violating the rights of defendants and political prisoners, as well as in detaining political, civil, and human rights activists. Ahmadi has additionally been directly involved in the harassment of political prisoners through the denial of access to legal counsel, a right expressly guaranteed under the ICCPR. Read more about Ahmadi’s violations here.
Hamid Mohammadi
Since June 2020, Hamid Mohammadi has been the warden of Evin Prison. As warden, Mahammadi carries the ultimate responsibility for the life and wellbeing of prisoners held there. Mohammadi is responsible for the cruel, inhumane, and often degrading treatment in Evin Prison in the form of torture, beatings, interrogation, and solitary confinement. He also bears responsibility for inmates’ frequent deprivation of health and medical care, which has led, in several cases, to avoidable physical and mental suffering and even death. Under Mohammadi, political prisoners and journalists such as Nasrullah Lashani, Keyvan Samimi Behbahani, Majid Asadi, and Golrokh Iraee have experienced harsh interrogations, prolonged solitary confinement, and lack of access to medical care, family, or lawyers.
