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Indicting Rafsanjani

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INTRODUCTION

1. At its forty-eighth session, the Commission on Human Rights decided, by its resolution 1992/67 of 4 March 1992, to extend the mandate of the Special Representative, as contained in Commission resolution 1984/54 of 14 March 1984, for a further year and requested the Special Representative to submit an interim report to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran and a final report to the Commission at its forty-ninth session. In its decision 1992/239 of 20 July 1992, the Economic and Social Council approved that resolution.

 

2. In compliance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/67 and Economic and Social Council decision 1992/239, the Special Representative submits herewith his final report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It refers to the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran during 1992, although it must obviously be read in the light of the reports submitted by the Special Representative since 1986.

 

3. As in previous years, the present report concentrates on written communications with government officials and on allegations of human rights violations from non-governmental organizations and individuals.

 

4. The structure of the present report is similar to previous reports, and it is accordingly divided into five sections: Introduction; I. Communications between the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Special Representative; II. Information received by the Special Representative; III. Considerations and observations; and IV. Conclusions. There are two annexes.

 

I. COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN AND THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE

 

5. Since the forty-eighth session of the Commission on Human Rights, the Special Representative transmitted to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran several cases of alleged human rights violations which, in his view, required the urgent attention of the Government.

 

6. On 16 April 1992, the Special Representative addressed the following letter to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva:

 

"... According to the information at my disposal Mr. Bahman Samandari, a member of the Baha'i community in Tehran, was arrested on 17 March 1992. His family was reportedly refused authorization to visit him in prison on account of an extended public holiday period in connection with the Iranian New Year. When at the end of the holiday period, his wife renewed her request for a visit on 5 April 1992, she was handed her husband's will dated 18 March 1992, with a vague indication that her husband had been executed and that his execution was related to charges levelled against him during a previous detention in 1987 during which he had been accused of belonging to the Baha'i faith. No death certificate was allegedly given to her, no formal information was provided on the charges or verdict, and her request to receive his body for burial by the family was allegedly also refused.

 

"In view of the repeated assurances I have received from your Government that all Baha'is are enjoying the same rights as any other citizen in the Islamic Republic of Iran and that no Baha'i is persecuted for his faith, I would be most grateful if the aforementioned reports could be investigated and if I could be provided with full information about this case. I would further be grateful if you could kindly intercede with the competent authorities with a view to giving the members of the family of Mr. Bahman Samandari access to the information they require about the fate of their relative as well as to his remains."

 

7. On 10 June 1992, the Special Representative addressed the following letter to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva:

 

"... I should like to bring to your attention that I have received reports about the recent arrest of hundreds of persons following political demonstrations and riots in Mashhad, Arak, Chahar-Mahal, Hamedan, Khorramabad, Shiraz, Shushtar and Tehran.

 

"According to the information received, the disturbances began in Shiraz in mid-April 1992 and were reportedly followed by demonstrations in Arak at the end of May. During the most recent incidents in Mashhad, on 30 May 1992, members of the Guards Corps, of the Pasdaran and other security forces have allegedly responded by using excessive force and opening fire indiscriminately on demonstrators. The Judiciary has reportedly sent to the affected cities a number of judges of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran and the Head of Judiciary, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, was quoted as saying that '... swift and decisive justice would be meted out to rioters'. According to the information at my disposal, the daily newspaper Ettela'at has reported on 1 June 1992 that death penalties would be imposed on the instigators of the events and armed troublemakers.

 

"I should appreciate if you could inform me, in the context of our cooperation, about the reported incidents, the conduct of the security forces, the charges brought against those arrested, their places of detention, and all relevant details of their trials as well as on any execution which might be carried out. In this connection, I should like to recall the recommendations I have formulated in my report to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-seventh session (E/CN.4/1991/35, para. 494), and the comments I made thereon in my last report to the Commission (E/CN.4/1992/34, paras. 404-471), in particular regarding the application of the death penalty, the rules of due process of law and legislative and administrative reforms to the administration of justice.

 

"I should also be grateful if you could convey my appeal to your Government to ensure that those in detention can fully benefit from all the internationally recognized procedural safeguards, particularly those provided for in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, such as the rules of due process of law, including the notification of charges immediately after arrest, public trials, regular access to defence lawyers of their own choosing and the right of appeal, as well as the prevention of ill-treatment and torture during the investigation of offences and during imprisonment."

 

8. On 24 July 1992, the Special Representative addressed the following letter to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva:

 

"... I have the honour to refer to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/67 by which my mandate as Special Representative, as contained in Commission resolution 1984/54, was extended for a further year. As you know, on 20 July 1992 the Economic and Social Council approved Commission resolution 1992/67, of which I attach a copy for ease of reference.

 

"In accepting to serve as Special Representative of the Commission for a further year I would like to emphasize that I intend to continue carrying out my mandate in the most impartial and objective manner possible. With this aim in mind it would be most important for me to further pursue the direct contacts which I was able to establish during the past two years with those authorities of your country who are primarily concerned with matters pertaining to the promotion and protection of human rights and to gather all the information required for the reports I have been mandated to prepare. I, therefore, should once again like to visit the Islamic Republic of Iran for a maximum duration of 10 working days on any dates convenient to your Government during the period 10 October-10 November 1992.

 

"I would be most grateful if you could forward my request to your Government and communicate to me, through the Centre for Human Rights, your Government's response as soon as possible so as to allow for the necessary planning of work for my reporting obligations to the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights."

 

9. During a trip to Geneva from 4 to 9 September 1992 to begin drafting his interim report to the General Assembly, the Special Representative addressed, on 7 September 1992, the following telefax to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva:

 

"... As you were informed in due time by phone, I have been in Geneva since Friday, 4 September and I will stay here until Wednesday, 9 September 1992.

 

"I am at your disposal in case you wish to discuss with me any subject concerning my next report to the General Assembly or the proposed visit to your country in the near future, as stated in my letter dated 24 July 1992."

 

10. On 7 September 1992, the Special Representative addressed the following telefax to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran:

 

"I have the honour of writing to you to bring to your attention that I have received information about the case of two Iranian Baha'is who might be facing imminent execution in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

"The case as reported to me is as follows: Messrs. Bihnam Mithaqi and Kayvan Khalajabadi, two Iranian Baha'is who were arrested three years ago and are being held in Gohardasht Prison in Karaj, have recently been called to the prison authorities where they were orally informed that an Islamic Revolutionary Court has issued a verdict condemning them to death due to their Baha'i faith.

 

"It was reported that the trials which resulted in the death sentences for the above-mentioned persons took place without the assistance of defence lawyers. Two Muslim lawyers were reportedly engaged by the defendants but, having taken some initial steps, they found themselves unable to continue and resigned.

 

"During my third visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, I was able to meet those persons in Evin prison in Tehran.

 

"In the context of the cooperation which your Government accords to my mandate, I would be most grateful if you could urgently intercede to ensure that these persons can benefit from all the procedural safeguards stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, particularly in its articles 6, 14 and 15, and from the safeguards 4 to 8 guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, contained in Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984. I should also appreciate if your Government could inform me of the current situation of those persons, of the precise charges brought against them and of all relevant details of their trials and sentences.

 

"Should Messrs. Mithaqi and Khalajabadi have been in fact sentenced to death, and in the event that all legal remedies have been fully exhausted, may I appeal to your Government to consider granting clemency to the above-mentioned persons."

 

11. On 25 September 1992, the Special Representative, following past practice, transmitted to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva a memorandum containing the allegations of human rights violations which he had received since the last renewal of his mandate.

 

12. On 24 November 1992, the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations replied as follows:

 

"With reference to your letter of 25 September 1992, in which a number of allegations were brought to the attention of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I have the honour to state the following:

 

"You will concur that preparation of replies and comments to issues raised in the memorandum annexed to your letter of 25 September 1992 requires correspondence with various branches of and departments in the Government and thus will require more than four weeks. Nevertheless, in continuation of our cooperation, I am enclosing a compilation of replies to your questions and comments to your statements. Responses to the remaining questions will be presented in a more appropriate time.

 

"It would be appreciated if these replies and comments are reflected in your introductory statement before the Third Committee and be incorporated in your final report to the forty-ninth session of the Commission on Human Rights".

 

13. On 23 December 1992, the Special Representative transmitted to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the following letter:

 

"Attached to the present letter I am sending to you a memorandum containing the main allegations of human rights violations received since September 1992, which have been brought to my attention by various sources.

 

"I should appreciate receiving circumstantiated replies from your Government, as well as any comments or observations your Government might wish to make thereon, if possible before 15 January 1993.

 

"On the other hand I would like to recall my request communicated to you by letter dated 24 July 1992 for a further visit to your country. In this connection I should also like to refer to resolution 47/146 adopted by the General Assembly on the report of the Third Committee".

 

14. On 5 January 1993, the Special Representative transmitted to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva a letter informing him of his intended visit to Geneva from 18 to 22 January 1993 in connection with the preparation of the report he is to submit to the next session of the Commission on Human Rights, and his willingness to discuss any matter relating to his mandate.

 

15. On 20 January 1993, the Special Representative had an interview with Ambassador Sirous Nasseri, Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva. Ambassador Nasseri stated that the Special Representative's latest report to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/1992/34) had not contributed to the efforts of his Government to improve the situation of human rights in his country. He said that his Government had noted a change of tone and position on the part of the Special Representative in that report as compared with the reports he had submitted in previous years. He added that the Special Representative's continued insistence on alleged excessive imposition of the death penalty could be explained by his failure to take into consideration the fact that the death penalty existed in many other countries, including those which criticized the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, or the serious situation confronting the country as a result of the traffic in drugs originating from neighbouring countries and destined for Western Europe. He further stated that the Special Representative's opinions about the lack of assistance by a defence counsel in criminal proceedings may have originated from the fact that implementation of the new law on the obligatory nature of legal assistance had begun only recently during his latest visit to the country. He said the Iranian press took the view that the subject of human rights was being used as yet another political instrument by the Powers that wanted to put the Islamic Republic of Iran under pressure.

 

16. The Special Representative denied that his reports had in any way been influenced by considerations of a political nature. He pointed out that in previous years he had identified what he considered to be the main problems confronting the Islamic Republic of Iran in the area of human rights: shortcomings in the administration of justice; non-observance of the rules of due legal process in judicial proceedings which ended with death sentences; failure to respect the rights of detainees to be informed of the reasons for their detention, to have the continuous assistance of a defence counsel, to call witnesses and present evidence in their favour, and to exercise remedies and lodge appeals; excessive use of the death penalty; excessive number of political prisoners; cases of cruel punishment and treatment; failure to respect the rights of Iranian citizens belonging to minorities; and problems in the enjoyment of the freedoms of association, movement, expression, the press, etc. In his most recent reports he had tried to determine whether there had been progress in those areas; despite repeated promises from officials, he had seen no evidence of such progress. Recent events, such as the expulsion from the country of delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), confirmed his conclusion that there had been no major progress in consideration of his recommendations.

 

17. The Permanent Representative announced that on 28 January 1993 the Special Representative would receive a detailed reply to the allegations he had transmitted in memoranda dated 25 September and 23 December 1992. He added that it would be necessary to discuss what the Special Representative meant by, inter alia, excessive imposition of the death penalty or political prisoners. He expressed the view that great progress had been made in some aspects of the human rights situation in his country; in others, some progress had been made. The important point was, he added, that progress was being made in a specific direction, but the Special Representative should not expect changes overnight since the process under way should be measured in years. With regard to the suspension of ICRC activities in his country, he stated that that was due to the fact that the ICRC delegates had not complied with the rules by which they were bound, particularly with regard to the observance of strict confidentiality. His Government wished to re-establish contact with the Special Representative, with the aim of jointly identifying aspects of the human rights situation in his country which could be further improved. Among those aspects, he mentioned the care and protection of victims of acts of terrorism, a point which the Special Representative should not fail to address in his next report. He hoped that the members of the Commission on Human Rights would consider the report of the Special Representative in an open, objective and constructive spirit, since the aim was to improve the human rights situation in his country and not to issue a kind of verdict which could be used by the Powers that were trying to exert pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran.

 

18. The Special Representative concluded by saying that he did not expect the Islamic Republic of Iran suddenly to become a model country with regard to human rights; what he did expect was that substantial improvements should take place in specific areas that would enable the country to meet the minimum human rights standards established by the various international conventions, declarations and resolutions, for the good of the country and of Iranian citizens.