Commentary: President Dilma; Please Keep Your Promise

[This oped was published originally in Portuguese on 27 February 2011 in the major Brazilian newspaper, Estado de Sao Paulo, and is available online at Estadao. This is its English version.]

By Parvin Ardalan and Hadi Ghaemi

(27 February 2011–Sao Paulo, Brazil) Having spent a week in meetings with members of Brazilian civil society, government officials, parliamentarians, and journalists, we are convinced that Brazil’s role in addressing Iran’s grave human rights crisis is significant and more important than at any other time.

End Enforced Disappearance of Opposition Leaders

(26 February 2011) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran called for the immediate release of Zahra Rahnavard, Fatemeh Karroubi, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi who have been removed to an unknown location—reportedly a “safe house”– from their homes. Under international law, the secret holding of the four opposition figures is an enforced disappearance.

The four opponents of the government had been confined in their homes under an illegal “house arrest,” with no arrest warrant, summons or charge, since before 14 February, when they called for public demonstrations in solidarity with Egyptian and Tunisian pro-democracy activists.

Mousavi And Karroubi Moved To IRGC House-Prison Around Tehran, Says Informed Source

As contradictory news about the house arrest or imprisonment of the two Iranian opposition leaders, Mehdi Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi, is reported and circulated, an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that the two political dissidents are no longer under house arrest and have been moved to a “safe house” in an area close to Tehran. The source denied earlier news published on a number of news websites about physical abuse of the two leaders as reported by some sources earlier. He added that Mousavi and Karroubi’s detention location is not a prison.

“Karroubi Moved Out of His House,” Neighbor Says–Fear of His Arrest Grows

“Their lights were out last night. There are no security forces on their street. They have been transferred,” Says Neighbor of Karroubi Contrary to news from Tehran that opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi was under house arrest inside his home, a neighbor of Karroubi’s told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran today that no [...]

Two Opposition Leaders Under House Arrest Without Summons or Charges

The house arrest of prominent opposition figures Mir-Hossein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi, after members of parliament called for their execution and judicial authorities have not indicted or summoned them to appear in court, is another declining step for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s judiciary. Over the past two years, the Iranian Judiciary has been losing its independence, especially after the appointment of Sadeq Larijani as the the Head of the Judiciary. Larijani has effectively left the judicial process to intelligence forces.

Weekly Rights Podcast 23

This is the “Weekly Rights Podcast.” A review of major human rights issues by the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. It’s February 23rd and this is our 23rd weekly podcast: The government of Iran has once again denied its people permission to protest peacefully, even as its leadership continues to praise similar protests across the Arab world. On February 20,th demonstrators took to the streets for the second time in a week. Many chose to march in silence in order to reduce the level of tension and violence. Regardless, eyewitnesses told the Campaign that the security forces were out in large numbers and that many demonstrators were met with a brutal crackdown.

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EU Should Blacklist Human Rights Violators

(24 February 2011) The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran welcomed the addition of two Iranian officials by the United States government today to its list of human rights offenders, as well as reports that six European Union (EU) member states have called for targeted sanctions against Iranian officials who have committed grave human rights abuses.

The Campaign reiterated its call for governments around the world to blacklist such officials. Britain, France, Germany, Greece, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands reportedly favor EU-wide sanctions.

The Campaign is urging, in particular, the governments of Canada, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and Thailand to also institute asset freezes and travel bans against them.

Ebadi: “The Murders on 14 February Were Carried Out by Government Forces”

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, Shirin Ebadi, criticized the Iranian government’s refusal to issue permits for peaceful demonstrations and said that authorities from Iran’s Interior Ministry follow double standards. “If the Interior Ministry claims that all assemblies and demonstrations require a permit from the Ministry, then how is it that it is not considered illegal when groups gather in front of Karroubi’s home on many nights, to the point where their neighbors file complaints about the actions [of the demonstrators] which keep them from resting, but when students want to demonstrate, it is considered illegal?” Ebadi said.

Official Distortion & Disinformation: A Guide to Iran’s Human Rights Crisis

Amidst Iran’s deepening crisis, officials are doing all they can to prevent outside scrutiny of human rights conditions in the country, while proclaiming to respect their international obligations. Mohammad-Javad Larijani, head of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, along with other officials representing Iran abroad, consistently obfuscate any serious international discussion of the country’s deteriorating human rights record by engaging in distortion or misrepresentation of facts and by diverting criticism with discussion of issues extraneous to their record. The Campaign has compiled public statements made by Larijani and other Iranian officials and compared them with the actual record of human rights abuses carried out in Iran.

Tear Gas Used On 14 February Causes Severe Symptoms Among Protesers

Shadi Sadr, an Iranian human rights lawyer, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that at least three people who participated in the 14 February protests have expressed that the tear gas used against the protesters was different from the ones used previously. According to the three individuals, when they returned home after exposure to the tear gas, they suffered symptoms such as severe nausea, vomiting blood, and loss of voice and their symptoms have not yet subsided.