On January 31, 2009 Roxana Saberi suddenly found herself in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, unable to contact her family and friends and accused of espionage and threatening Iran’s national security. Ms Saberi, a 31-year-old U.S. citizen (and holding an Iranian passport because her father was born in Iran), had been living in Iran for six years, working as a journalist and writing a book about modern Iran based on interviews with a broad cross-section of society, when her nightmare began. The international outcry that ensued may well have contributed to her release that May, just weeks before the contested June 12 presidential election. Her four-month ordeal is vividly described in her powerful new book, Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran.
Even though we know the ultimate happy outcome, Between Two Worlds is suspenseful and riveting throughout. The author masterfully conveys the fear, confusion and uncertainty experienced by an innocent person trapped in a repressive system where human rights norms have no meaning. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is Ms Saberi’s account of her frequent interactions with her main interrogator, a young man whose name she never learns and whom she has dubbed “Javan” because he affected the clothing and coiffure of the youth of affluent North Tehran; he is maddeningly focused on extracting a confession that Ms Saberi was a spy for the U.S. government and the interrogation sessions become a battle of wills. At the core of the dilemma she faced were the impossibly difficult calculations and decisions she had to make about whether to provide her interrogators with the information they appeared to be seeking, which would have entailed falsely confessing to espionage. She had to make these difficult decisions in a complete vacuum, not knowing whether a false confession would guarantee her release, as her interrogators promised her, or whether stubbornly insisting on the truth could result in a long prison sentence, or something even worse.
Thankfully, Ms Saberi was not tortured or physically abused, but she had no way of knowing whether, at any moment, the verbal and psychological abuse would escalate into violence or sexual assault. The well-known fate of Zahra Kazemi was never far from her mind. Ms Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian journalist, was arrested in 2003 while taking photographs outside of Evin Prison. She was raped, brutally tortured, and died of blunt trauma to the head while in custody. Ms Saberi was naturally afraid that she could be subjected to similar treatment, especially since she was being held incommunicado with her family and friends unaware of her location.
Now that spring is in the air, most of us (at least those in the northern hemisphere) eagerly look forward to the end of dreary winter and the new life and beauty that nature will soon bring forth. For Iranians, the first day of spring is especially important; it is the occasion of Nowruz or “new day”, the most joyous holiday of the year. Nowruz is thought to be a very ancient tradition; some scholars believe that the 2,500-year-old monumental reliefs at Takht-e Jamshid (Persepolis) depict vassals bearing Nowruz gifts for the Achaemenid king Darius. Nowruz is now celebrated by all ethnic groups in Iran, by Kurds in several countries, and by many others in Afghanistan, Tajikistan and elsewhere. Iranians typically take several days off and celebrate by visiting with family and friends, and with the tradition of the Haft Sin or seven S’s—a table laid out with an elaborate display including seven items beginning with the Persian letter Sin (the equivalent of the English s) that represent spring.
Sadly, many Iranians will not be able to celebrate Nowruz with their loved ones because they are languishing in prison. Even before the disputed June 12 presidential elections, Iran’s detention facilities were packed with prisoners of conscience, but since then the prisons are overflowing; many of Iran’s leading opposition politicians, journalists, human rights defenders, student leaders and women’s rights activists—if they have not fled the country—are now behind bars.
So at this time of renewal and hope, we want to remember our friends who are imprisoned in Iran. That is why Amnesty International is urging people to take part in its special Nowruz action. Last year, we selected three recipients of our Nowruz action. Sadly, all three are still in prison. This year, we have expanded the action to seven cases, in honor of the tradition of the Haft Sin. We are urging activists to send Nowruz greetings to: imprisoned labor rights activist and head of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Drivers Union Mansour Ossanlu; seven leaders of the Baha’i community who face serious charges that could carry the death penalty; journalist and human rights activist Shiva Nazar Ahari; noted author, death penalty opponent and Martin Ennals Human Rights Defender award recipient Emadeddin Baghi; women’s and Kurdish rights activist Ronak Safarzadeh; internationally recognized HIV/AIDS researchers Kamiar and Arash Alaei; and Iranian-American scholar Kian Tajbakhsh. Please take some time to send these courageous human rights defenders a card letting them know they are not forgotten.
The Iranian government has repeatedly insisted that it cooperates with the international human rights community and abides by internationally recognized human rights instruments and agreements. However, these assertions are belied by Iran’s dismal performance at its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva on February 15 and 17. The Iranian delegation incredibly denied its government’s egregious human rights violations, asserting that any criticisms of Iran’s human rights record were merely politically motivated and deliberate mischaracterizations of its efforts to protect its people from “terrorism.” The Iranian delegation also rejected important recommendations made by the UNHRC which were intended to address the deplorable human rights situation in Iran.
Even before the UPR took place, the Iranian authorities provided evidence that its position would be one of obstruction and denial rather than cooperation and commitment to universally accepted human rights standards. In its submission for the UPR process, Iran claimed full compliance with international human rights mechanisms, and that torture, forced confessions, and other abuses did not occur. Amnesty International issued a report that thoroughly dissected Iran’s submission. The report’s conclusions were summarized by Hassiba Hadjsahraoui, the Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program, who said “The Iranian authorities seem either to have lost touch with reality or are unwilling to acknowledge it.” Although it is true, as Iran’s submission claims, that Iran’s Constitution guarantees many rights such as those of freedom of expression and the right to a fair trial, those are routinely denied in practice. Even though Iran insists that it permits religious freedom it continues to carry out a harsh campaign of repression against the Baha’i community. Whereas Iran’s submission maintained that it cooperates with the international human rights community, Amnesty International has not been granted access to the country to carry out research there since 1979 and Iran has not permitted U.N. human rights experts to visit the country in the last several years. And while Iran has made great strides in some areas since the 1979 Revolution—most notably in literacy rates and in education for women and girls—Iran’s overall record is abysmal, as was made clear in Amnesty International’s submission to the UPR process.
At the UPR on Monday February 15, Iran was urged to fulfill many of the recommendations that Amnesty International had been promoting—such as to end execution of juvenile offenders, torture of detainees and the arrest of those exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly—including peaceful protesters, journalists and women’s rights activists. The response of the Iranian delegation—led by Mohammad Javad Larijani the director of Iran’s Human Rights Headquarters—was essentially complete denial. They maintained, for instance, that all of those arrested and sentenced for their involvement—alleged or real—in the post-election protests were actually guilty of terrorism, espionage and endangering national security.
February 11 is Victory of the Revolution Day in Iran. Equivalent to the American Fourth of July, it commemorates the downfall of the monarchy in 1979, shortly after Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile in France. Iranians generally celebrate the day by thronging to public places. This year, the Iranian government made sure that people who disagreed with it were not able to exercise their rights to peaceful assembly.
In the weeks preceding today’s holiday, Iranian authorities did their best to discourage any opposition protests. They arrested hundreds of people, including large numbers of journalists and women’s rights activists. Over eighty people—most convicted in disgraceful “show trials” have been sentenced to harsh prison sentences for their alleged involvement in stirring up the post-election unrest. Meanwhile, the government executed two men for the crime of “Moharebeh” or “Enmity against God” in late January. They had been accused of fomenting the post-June 12 protests even though they had been arrested before that date. Nine other people were also sentenced to death for “Moharebeh” and could be executed at any time.
Reports indicate that security forces today attacked two of the opposition presidential candidates, Mir Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi as they attempted to participate in protest rallies. The brother and sister-in-law of another opposition politician, former President Mohammad Khatami, were also briefly arrested. Mr. Khatami’s sister-in-law happens to be a granddaughter of Ayatollah Khomeini.
The first charter on human rights was authored by Cyrus the Great over 2500 years ago. As Iranians we are heirs to a proud tradition of human rights and tolerance. Sadly, the Iranian authorities have not lived up to this legacy, as can be seen by the mock trials, false imprisonments, torture, child executions, and lack of equality for women in Iran today.
For the past 30 years the Iranian government has barred Amnesty International from entering the country, affording us no transparency in regards to its human rights record. However, advances in technology and the internet are allowing brave Iranian activists to share direct eyewitness accounts of what is happening on ground zero in the post-election crackdown: brutal attacks on and murder of peaceful protestors, wrongful imprisonment without access to an attorney or fair trial, forced confessions obtained under torture and duress, rape used as a weapon of torture in prisons, and the lack of freedom of assembly as seen in the case of the ‘Mourning Mothers’ whose only “crime” was gathering for an hour each Saturday in a peaceful vigil near the place and time of the killing of protester Neda Agha-Soltan.
Despite the dangers posed to protesters, Iranians continue to take to the streets in hundreds of thousands to demand their universally recognized rights. The movement has grown beyond simply contesting the results of the presidential election. It has morphed into a Civil Rights movement of the magnitude seen in the United States in the 50’s and 60’s, uniting Iranians across a broad spectrum of political ideologies, bridging our differences for the first time in 30 years, with a single goal in mind: Freedom.
Today, I stand in solidarity with the people of Iran in demanding a fair and democratic society where the 30 articles of the UN Declaration of Human Rights are fully realized. Together we can ensure that their pleas for freedom are not going unheard by the international community, that their struggle is not in vain, and that they will prevail.
Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community are currently on trial on serious, but baseless, charges that could lead to the imposition of the death penalty. Although they have done nothing more than peacefully practice their religion, they have been charged with spying for Israel, for “insulting religious sanctities,” with “propaganda against the system” and with “mofsed fil arz” or “corruption on earth.”
The seven include two women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, and five men: Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaei, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm. All are leading members of a group responsible for the Baha’i community’s religious and administrative affairs. Mahvash Sabet who acted as the group’s secretary, was arrested on March 5 2008. The others were arrested on May 14 2008. All seven are held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. They have only been allowed very limited access to their lawyers while they have been in custody.
The first session of their trial—which had been repeatedly postponed—finally began before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran on Tuesday January 12 and is set to continue on February 7. Amnesty International has repeatedly criticized proceedings held in Iran’s Revolutionary Courts for their failure to adhere to international standards for fair trials. In fact, the authorities attempted to bar the Baha’is’ lawyers from the courtroom on January 12 and only allowed them access after they insisted upon entering.
The world has watched in horror as theunrelenting violence in Iran continues to unfold several months after the disputed June 12 presidential elections. Now the international community has a tremendous opportunity to send a clear message to Iranian authorities that the massive human rights violations they have perpetrated are simply unacceptable.
This opportunity is the upcoming Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Iran by the U.N. Human Rights Council (HRC) next month. Under this process, the human rights records of all member nations of the U.N. are reviewed, on a staggered schedule, every four years. There are three sessions per year, with sixteen countries reviewed per session. This process replaces the previous Commission on Human Rights, which could decide which countries to consider, whereas in the new process, all U.N. member states are automatically reviewed. This new procedure is intended to eliminate the possibility of deciding to review certain countries for political reasons and to address the criticism of double standards which were made against the Commission.
The purpose of the UPR process is to improve the situation of human rights situation in the country reviewed; to enhance the fulfillment of each state of its human rights obligations and commitments; to share best practice in the promotion and protection of human rights among States; and to strengthen the cooperation by States with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms.
The outcome of the UPR process will be a report approved by the HRC, and which will include recommendations for addressing compliance with human rights obligations. Amnesty International’s goal is to insure that the resulting report and recommendations are as strong as possible. The Iranian government has persistently claimed that countries with which it has historically had hostile relations, such as the United States and United Kingdom, have been orchestrating criticism of its human rights record for political purposes. A strong report endorsed by the entire HRC would be a rebuke to the Iranian government and a signal that the international community as a whole abhors its deplorable human rights abuses.
We sent this moving message from Sting earlier today to our email list. In light of the recent startling developments in Iran, we’re also sharing it with you here on our blog:
Dear Supporter,
I was shocked to hear reports that Iranian security forces arrested 29 mothers and their supporters who were silently mourning children killed in post-election violence this summer.
These Mourning Mothers gather peacefully each week to call for an end to widespread human rights abuses and justice for their dead children.
The disturbing news of their arrest brought to mind profound memories of the Mothers of the Disappeared in Chile and Argentina. Like the courageous mothers in Iran, the Mothers of the Disappeared faced threats and harassment for seeking justice for their children kidnapped during the Dirty Wars in Chile and Argentina.
My song “They Dance Alone” is dedicated to the Mothers of the Disappeared. I had the honor of performing it with them in 1988 during Amnesty International’s Human Rights Now! Tour.
Sting dances with the Mothers of the Disappeared during Amnesty's 1988 Human Rights Now! Tour.
Dancing on stage with the Mothers of the Disappeared in Chile and Argentina was one of the most moving moments of my career.
What gives me hope is knowing that Amnesty International is fighting on behalf of the Mourning Mothers and others threatened with abuse in Iran and around the world.
As you read this, Amnesty International is investigating and reporting on the human rights situation in Iran. It’s publishing the names of prisoners of conscience and documenting the use of brutal force to crush dissent — even as it continues to respond to human rights emergencies across the globe.
Today, we’re premiering our video homage to supporters who help spread human rights stories far and wide! YouTube is featuring our new, animated video “The Power of Words” on its homepage with an introduction by actor, Morgan Freeman.
The video demonstrates why the messages you send and the petitions you sign really matter. It is your words that remind violators of human rights, in countries like Zimbabwe, China and Iran, that their actions are unacceptable and opposed by millions.
The latest crude and ham-fisted attempt made by the Iranian government to stifle the legitimate expressions of dissent by its citizens–like all other similar attempts–failed spectacularly.
The multiple acts of solidarity were also a recognition of the courage shown by the thousands of Iranian women who defiantly poured into the streets to participate in demonstrations. Basij paramilitary forces showed no chivalry and deference to these women protesters; many of them were savagely beaten and numbers of those women who were arrested were subjected to torture and sexual assault (the Basij also did not spare small children and the very elderly). (more…)
Amnesty International works to protect human rights worldwide. We have more than 2.2 million supporters, activists and volunteers in over 150 countries, and are completely independent from government, corporate or national interests.
Learn more about us at AmnestyUSA.org »
Scott Edwards is Project Manager for the Geospatial Technologies and Human Rights project. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and researches issues at the intersect of political violence and conflict, human rights, and aid provision. See all »
On January 31, 2009 Roxana Saberi suddenly found herself in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, unable to contact her family and friends and accused of espionage and threatening Iran’s national security. Ms Saberi, a 31-year-old U.S. citizen (and holding an Iranian passport because her father was born in Iran), had been living in Iran for six years, working as a journalist and writing a book about modern Iran based on interviews with a broad cross-section of society, when her nightmare began. The international outcry that ensued may well have contributed to her release that May, just weeks before the contested June 12 presidential election. Her four-month ordeal is vividly described in her powerful new book, Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran.
The first charter on human rights was authored by Cyrus the Great over 2500 years ago. As Iranians we are heirs to a proud tradition of human rights and tolerance. Sadly, the Iranian authorities have not lived up to this legacy, as can be seen by the mock trials, false imprisonments, torture, child executions, and lack of equality for women in Iran today.
Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community are currently on trial on serious, but baseless, charges
The latest crude and ham-fisted attempt made by the Iranian government to stifle the legitimate expressions of dissent by its citizens–like all other similar attempts–failed spectacularly.
