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Indicting Rafsanjani

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H. Right to work

 

207. It was reported that Mr. Amir Askari, a civil engineer employed by Djihad Sazandegui c.a.d., an organization charged with the country's reconstruction, suffered a serious accident while he was working, as a result of which he was dismissed from his job. Numerous appeals and letters demanding medical and social assistance from that organization have been answered by stating that all demands against Djihad Sazandegui c.a.d. are inadmissible. Mr. Askari declared his support for the Government but not for the labour policies of his former employer. He is responsible for 10 people who depend on him for their subsistence.

 

208. It was also reported that Mr. Morshed Ali, an almost blind man who has been dismissed from his job, has written numerous letters and appeals to the authorities requesting them to give him back his job or, alternatively, to give him social assistance. He has allegedly never received a response.

 

209. It was reported that Mr. Gulam Reza Koshki, a teacher of Larstaan, Khoramabad, had his teacher's permit withdrawn in 1987 as a consequence of his detention in 1986 on charges of participating in the creation of an opposition group, the so-called Hakhgar Fedayan Khalq Organization. He was released in 1987 after he reportedly gave guarantees not to collaborate with opposition groups in the future. Since then, he has reportedly had no opportunity to get a job.

 

I. Right to education

210. It was reported that Mr. Mohammad Ziai Pour was expelled from the University of Tehran because he did not agree to fill in forms concerning his ideological beliefs, citing reasons of principle. The university refuses to give him his certificates, thus preventing him from continuing his studies at another university or abroad.

 

211. Subsequent to his interim report to the General Assembly, the following allegations were transmitted by the Special Representative to the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations Office at Geneva, by letter dated 23 December 1993.

 

212. On 19 October 1992, the Director of Renovation, Development and Equipment of Schools of the Ministry of Education stated that "112,000 classrooms are needed across the country to improve the quality of the existing educational centres".

 

213. On 7 September 1992, the Director-General of Nomadic Affairs of Isfahan Province stated that "Through 1991, there were only five classes for 9,000 members of the Bakhtiari nomads who are required to receive education".

 

J. Right of everyone to own property

214. It was reported that Mr. Ismail Movasseghian, an 81-year-old resident of Ardebil, East Azerbaijan, suffered the arbitrary closure of a gymnasium on his property. He allegedly had all the necessary authorizations, in spite of which Mr. Djazaeri, Director of Public Places, and Mr. Abbas Seyyed Hatami, Director of Physical Activities and Sports, arbitrarily ordered the closure of his establishment and the arrest of its director. Several appeals to the Office of the Inspector-General, to the Office of the Attorney and to the Deputy Minister for Sports have received no reply.

 

215. It was reported that Mr. Mehdi Hadji Moniri, a former Director of Civil Aviation of Iran and a veteran air force officer expert in the administration of the aviation industry, had his property confiscated for unknown reasons, without compensation. His real estate and personal property have reportedly been sold and their ownership transferred to the Government. Several petitions addressed by him to various Iranian authorities have never been answered.

 

216. It was further reported that the Iranian authorities confiscated, without compensation, the personal property and real estate of Mr. Hassan Nazih, former Iranian Minister for Oil, together with that of his wife and four children. Several petitions addressed by him to several Iranian authorities asking the reasons for the confiscations have never been answered.

 

217. It was also reported that the private property of Mr. Satar Salimi was confiscated without compensation. The property, valued at US$ 10 million, included a collection of antiques and more than 5,000 books and manuscripts. His sister-in-law, Mrs. Amir Hossein Salimi, has recently received a governmental order of eviction from her flat, located in Kargar-e-Chomali No. 60, 17 Avenue, Tehran, where she is living with her children. They have reportedly no resources to rent other lodgings.

 

K. Freedom of religion and the situation of the Baha'i community

218. The Special Representative has received reports that prominent Christian religious leaders and lay persons continued to be persecuted solely because of their religion. Although Christianity is one of the four religions officially recognized by the Government, it was said that in practice recognition includes only several hundred thousand ethnic Armenians and Assyrians and not believers with a Muslim background or Muslim converts. It was further said that although the Islamic legal system proclaims tolerance of different religions, its prohibitions against conversion from Islam create an environment of religious intolerance. Mr. Mehdi Dibaj, a church leader and former Muslim, continues to be held in prison because of his religious belief.

 

219. It was alleged that some Iranian newspapers have blamed the Zoroastrian community in Iran for the reported phenomenon of conversion of some Iranian Muslims outside Iran and have associated them with political dissidents. It was further said that Zoroastrians in Iran were afraid that any information about their problems and alleged restrictions would produce more hardship and that the authorities would consider that they were creating adverse publicity.

 

220. Also reported were alleged restrictions on the followers of the Ahlehagh faith.

 

221. It has been reported that, since 1979, Baha'is have been systematically persecuted, harassed and discriminated against for their religious beliefs and that 201 Baha'is have been killed; 15 other Baha'is have disappeared and are presumed dead. It was further reported that after a cessation of executions for a period of three and a half years, Mr. Bahman Samandari, a member of the Baha'i community in Iran, was arrested on 17 March 1992 and executed in Evin prison in Tehran on 18 March 1992 (see para. 33 above). At the time of writing, no reason for his execution had been given by the judicial or prison authorities, nor has the location of his grave been disclosed.

 

222. It was reported that Mr. Hassan Mahboubi, a prominent leader of the Baha'i community in Iran, was run over on 21 July 1992 under strange circumstances.

 

223. It was reported that Mr. Bihnam Mithaqi and Mr. Kayvan Khalajabadi, two Iranian Baha'is who were arrested three years ago, have recently been called before prison authorities where they were orally informed that an Islamic Revolutionary Court had issued a verdict condemning them to death because of their Baha'i faith. 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 his third visit to the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Special Representative met with these people in Evin prison in Tehran.

 

224. It was further reported that on 17 June 1992, Mr. Ruhu'llah Ghedami, a Baha'i from the village of Muzaffariyyih, was brutally murdered at the hands of two members of the "Disciplinary Forces" of the Government. It was alleged that the murderers were acting in the hope of impunity, as the Baha'is enjoy no protection under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran and are referred to as belonging to the "wayward Baha'i sect" in official government documents. However, in this case the two killers were apprehended and imprisoned by the Iranian authorities who reportedly seem to be dealing with this crime in a serious and judicial manner. The two killers appear to have acted on their own.

 

225. It was said that the arbitrary arrest and detention of Baha'is continue in Iran. On 1 April 1992, Mr. Hussain Eshraghi, an elderly Baha'i, was arbitrarily arrested at his home in Isfahan and is still in prison. On 21 May 1992, four women were arrested at Sari. Three of them are Baha'is and were accused of talking about the Baha'i faith to the fourth person, a 22-year-old girl. Recently, three of the women were released after interrogation while the other remains in custody. Similarly, on 31 May 1992, a Baha'i woman was arrested at Shahinshahr, Isfahan, and charged with talking about the Baha'i faith to one of her non-Baha'i friends. Both women were detained. Recently the non-Baha'i woman was released. It was reported that, as at 1 July 1992, the total number of Baha'is imprisoned in the Islamic Republic of Iran was 10.

 

226. For over 12 years Baha'is have been systematically denied access to institutions of higher education such as universities and colleges. However, Baha'i children and youths who had been expelled have been allowed to return to elementary and secondary school. It was further reported that Baha'is were also experiencing serious difficulties in circulating Baha'i books among themselves and in holding classes to instruct their own children in spiritual and moral values. In January 1991, the Ministry of Information ordered the closing of Baha'i children's classes throughout Iran.

 

227. Neither Baha'i marriages nor divorces are legally recognized in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Baha'is continue to be deprived of inheritance rights. For the past 12 years, the Baha'i community has been denied the right of assembly and the right to elect and maintain its administrative institutions. These institutions constitute the core of religious community life, considering that there is no clergy in the Baha'i faith. Without administrative institutions the very existence of the Baha'is as a viable religious community is said to be seriously endangered. As individuals, Baha'is are officially considered "unprotected infidels" and, therefore, their civil rights and liberties are often ignored. The non-recognition of their religion manifests itself in various ways, including the denial of the basic right to express their religious beliefs freely.

 

228. It was also reported that many Baha'is in Iran continue to be deprived of the means of earning a living. A considerable number of the more than 10,000 Baha'is who were dismissed from positions in Government and education remain unemployed and receive no unemployment benefits. Some Baha'is dismissed from government posts have even been required to return salaries or pensions paid to them. The retirement pensions of Baha'is dismissed on religious grounds have been terminated.

 

229. On 28 October 1989, the Office of Insurance and Pensions of the Army stated that the pension of a dismissed captain was suspended because of his membership in the "misguided Baha'i sect" and in accordance with a letter dated 27 August 1984 by the Islamic Revolutionary Army Court.

 

230. On 24 September 1991, the Director of the Office of Insurance and Pensions of the Ministry of Defence and Support of the Armed Forces sent a letter which states: "Based on the information received, you are a Baha'i and therefore not entitled to pension payments. However, should you convert to Islam and demonstrate remorse for having been a Baha'i and further provide this office with proof that you have embraced Islam, steps will be taken to restore pension payments to you".

 

231. On 20 November 1990, the Preliminary Committee of Reconstruction stated that a technician of the Institute of Public Health Research of Tehran University, who retired after 24 years of service, had been found guilty of the "crime of membership" in the Baha'i sect and therefore permanently dismissed from his government post and that his pension had been discontinued. On 12 January 1991, the Eighth Branch of the Court of Administrative Justice stated: "Based on the penal code and the existing records, the judgement by the preliminary Committee of Reconstruction being still in force, there are no legal grounds to pay the pension or to bring back the file into circulation. The complaint is therefore dismissed and this judgement is final".

 

232. On 17 December 1991, the Review Committee of Administrative Offences of the National Steel Company of Iran of the Ministry of Mines and Metals stated: "In view of the fact that the offence committed by this retired employee is clear, in that he belongs to the misguided sect which is recognized as being outside the domain of Islam, this constitutes the reason for his permanent dismissal from his government post. The employee can appeal this verdict within one month, bringing the matter to the attention of the Court of Administrative Justice for review".

 

233. On 24 June 1991, the Ninth Branch of the Court of Administrative Justice stated: "Due to the fact that membership in the misguided Baha'i sect, a sect which is considered to be outside Islam, is cause for dismissal from all government posts, with all that it might imply, and taking into consideration the fact that the complainant has not denied membership in the misguided sect, the Court does not find the complaint acceptable. This verdict is final".

 

234. On 5 May 1991, the committee in charge of administrative offences of the Ministry of Education and Development stated that a teacher of Ramsar had committed the offence of belonging to the misguided Baha'i sect, according to the second paragraph of article 19 of the law addressing administrative offences, and sentenced him to be barred from any government posts, according to article 13 of the above-mentioned law. This verdict was subject to investigation by the Review Committee.

 

235. Incidents of harassment have been reported in the cities of Karaj and Aran in Kashan where Baha'is were ordered to close their stores. Baha'is are not officially allowed to open their own businesses. Baha'i farmers are denied admittance into farmers' cooperatives which are often the only source of credit, seeds, fertilizer and pesticides.

 

236. It has recently been reported that elderly and widowed Baha'is were evicted from their homes. Over the years, large numbers of private and business properties, including homes and farms, have been arbitrarily confiscated from Baha'is. Many of these properties are being sold at auction with no consideration being given to the appeals of the Baha'is concerned.

 

237. A recent document issued by the Prosecutor of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran states that a woman "is accused of affiliation with the wayward Baha'i sect" and, therefore, "she has been sentenced to complete confiscation of all her belongings", which are placed "under the authority of selected lawyers of the spiritual guardians".

 

238. On 23 May 1990, the Third Branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court found a woman guilty of "belonging to the misguided Baha'i sect, of activities for its illegal administration, and of leaving the Islamic Republic of Iran". Therefore, an order was issued "to confiscate all her belongings, whether known or unknown, or whether she has registered them in her name or in the name of others". On 7 December 1991, the secretariat of the Court reported that "all her belongings were put at the disposal of the appointed Trustees of the Institution of Religious Leadership, following the decree of the Nation's Imam, sanctified be his noble Being".

 

239. It was further reported that Baha'i-owned holy places, historical sites, cemeteries, administrative centres and other assets, seized mostly in 1979, remain confiscated or have been destroyed. Having access only to those cemeteries which the Government has designated for them, Baha'is in many localities experience difficulties in burying their dead. It was further alleged that Baha'is are not permitted to mark the graves of their fellow Baha'is, making it almost impossible to identify the graves of their loved ones.

 

240. The most recent wave of persecution is said to have profoundly affected a whole generation of Baha'is in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Reportedly, they have been repeatedly offered relief from persecution if they were prepared to recant their faith.

 

241. It was further reported that Baha'is are not free to leave the Islamic Republic of Iran, as it is almost impossible for them to obtain passports.

 

242. Keyhan newspaper published on 22 January 1992 an article which stated:

 

"One of the major intrigues of the West to continue their domination of the Islamic communities has been the creation of trivial sects, Baha'ism and Vahhabism being two such examples. ... From the beginning of its appearance, Baha'ism has been an instrument of Western imperialism in the Islamic countries, especially in the Islamic Republic of Iran, in order to create religious dissension and to weaken the religious faith and fervour of the people. ... Relations with Israel, spying for Zionists, and connection with the CIA characterized the activities of this sect in the Pahlavi period".

 

243. Subsequent to his interim report to the General Assembly the following allegations were transmitted by the Special Representative to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, by memorandum dated 23 December 1992.

 

244. It has been reported that Mr. Mohammed Sepehr, Rev. Hossein Soudmand's successor and also a Muslim convert to Christianity, was imprisoned in Mashhad in 1991 for several months for his faith.

 

245. The pastor of the Injili Church (Presbyterian church) of Tabriz was arrested, imprisoned and tortured from December 1990 to August 1991. He suffers from long-term psychological and physical injuries sustained while in prison. When he applied for an exit permit to leave Iran in June 1992, it was refused.

 

246. It was reported that the Iranian Bible Society, which was dissolved by the Government in 1990, is still closed. All Christian bookstores have been closed and all Christian books have been confiscated.

 

247. It was also reported that The Garden of Evangelism, a Christian training centre in north Tehran, was closed after 45 years of use for evangelism and pastoral training.

 

248. Rev. Mehdi Dibaj, a convert from Islam to Christianity more than 25 years ago, has been imprisoned and reportedly tortured for eight years. It was said that two of his eight years in prison were spent in solitary confinement in an unlighted cell measuring three feet by three feet. He was arrested in 1983 in the city of Babol and was held without cause until the Church paid 20,000 Rials as security for his temporary release. Shortly thereafter, he was again arrested and allegedly tortured in attempts to force him to renounce Christianity and embrace Islam.

 

249. It has been reported that of 15 pastors of the Assemblies of God of Iran, of which many of their members are Armenians and Assyrians, 10 have been imprisoned and endured emotional and mental abuse at some time.

 

250. It was also reported that in 1991, 20,000 copies of the New Testament, in Persian, were confiscated by the Government.

 

251. It has been reported that all Christian activities are checked by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which is responsible for religious minorities in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Christians must receive permission to print their church newsletters and are not allowed to build new church buildings. They are only allowed to renovate old church buildings provided they do not add any new construction.

 

252. It has been reported that Armenian and Assyrian Christians are not allowed to pray or read their sacred books out loud at home or in churches, lest Muslims hear their prayers; they are not allowed to print their religious books or sell them in public places and markets and they are not allowed to congregate in the streets during their religious festivals. Armenian and Assyrian Christians are not permitted to broadcast or display their ceremonial religious rituals on radio or television or to publish any picture of their religious ceremonies in newspapers and magazines and they are not allowed to install the cross on their churches or houses. Obtaining wine for communion services is severely punished and Christian schools must now teach the Islamic understanding of Jesus as "one of 120,000 prophets".

 

253. It has been reported that in September 1992, Iranian revolutionary institutions in Isfahan, Tehran and Yazd have confiscated a considerable number of private homes and other property belonging to Baha'is. In Yazd, the Imam Khomeini Foundation seized the homes of Baha'is and harassed the occupants. These occupations were carried out without any official order from the judicial authorities. Appeals and complaints to the authorities have not succeeded in restoring the properties. In Tehran, members of the Imam Khomeini Foundation are occupying a complex consisting of a large shop and 10 apartments, and two-storey residential building, against the will of the owner. Another member of the Baha'i community has been forcefully evicted from his home after being served an order by the Attorney-General that his house had been confiscated.

 

254. It has also been reported that another member of the Baha'i community, a resident of Isfahan, who is over 80 years of age, was ejected from his home in mid-September 1992 by several government officers who took possession of the building and took away all his books, numbering several thousand volumes. This person was not able to take anything with him and is now dependent on his friends. No appeal or complaint has been entertained by the authorities concerning his case.

 

255. Furthermore, officers of the Attorney-General of Isfahan have entered eight Baha'i homes in September 1992, taking away books, household items, television sets, recorders, cameras, radios and cash.

 

256. It was alleged that another member of the Baha'i community of Isfahan, who had donated a two-storey building to a Baha'i institution before the Islamic Revolution, retaining tenancy for life in one apartment while renting out the other as his only source of income, has been pressured to vacate the house, and the authorities have already compelled the tenant of the other apartment to leave the premises as well. It was said that, according to Islamic and civil law, he is entitled to occupy the building for life and no one has the right to eject him from it.

 

257. It has been reported that a dispatch from IRNA of 5 December 1992 stated that "Bahaism, with politically-oriented objectives, has always been supported by international Zionism and global arrogance".

 

L. The events of 5 April 1992

258. After the memorandum dated 25 September 1992 was sent to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Special Representative was informed that at 7.20 a.m. on 5 April 1992, 13 F-4 Phantom combat aircraft of the Iranian Air Force attacked the Ashraf military base in Iraqi territory, which belongs to the Iran National Liberation Army of the People's Mojahedin. The attack reportedly resulted in the death of one member of the said organization and the wounding of 12 others; one aircraft was shot down and its two crew members were captured.

 

259. According to the Iranian press, the air attack was in retaliation for an attack carried out the previous day by members of the said organization against the villages of Bishigan and Bayani, situated near the Iraqi frontier in the province of Bakhtaran. During the attack, four Iranian citizens reportedly died, eight were wounded and seven were kidnapped. The People's Mojahedin denied that version, affirming that they had no access to the said Iranian zone from Iraq since the Iraqi zone adjacent to that section of the frontier was under the control of Kurdish forces, and that the real objective of the air attack was to assassinate their leader Massoud Rajavi, who had been the victim of an earlier attack in Baghdad, in December 1991.

 

M. The war on drug traffic

 

260. Various sources have reported to the Special Representative that the Iranian Government is continuing to give priority to repressive aspects in its fight against drug trafficking. The Islamic Republic of Iran continues to be affected by the introduction of opium, heroin and morphine from Afghanistan and Pakistan, destined primarily for Europe. In 1991, 175 Iranian security agents died in armed confrontations with gangs of drug traffickers. During the period from January to July 1992, at least 69 persons were executed after being sentenced for drug trafficking. The said sources recalled that the international instruments currently in force authorized the application of the death penalty only in exceptional circumstances and after judicial procedures in which all the conditions and guarantees of due process of law had been fulfilled. They affirmed that the fight against drug traffic could not be based exclusively on repression and excessive application of the death penalty, but must be founded on an analysis of the causes and origins of this grave problem and its effects on society. The view was expressed that one must not think solely of punishing delinquents but also of the possibility of their reform, re-education and social resettlement.