Cross-Regional Groups Call on Muslim Countries to Support a UN Human Rights Monitor on Iran

(18 March 2011) Human rights organizations working across the Muslim world have urged member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to support a resolution at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) creating a mechanism to monitor human rights in Iran, announced the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), and the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies today.

“From mass executions, to torture, to suppression of peaceful demonstrations, Iran is in the midst of a serious human rights crisis and that’s why rights groups from various Muslim countries recognize the need for action,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Campaign.

Letter to Foreign Ministers of OIC members

We, the undersigned independent human rights organizations, take the liberty to appeal to members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) to support a Resolution in the United Nations Human Rights Council that will establish a human rights monitoring mechanism for the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Many Countries Support a Special Mechanism on Iran, Says Director of Democracy Coalition Project

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Dokhi Fassihian, executive director of the Democracy Coalition Project, said many countries have reached the conclusion that there is an urgent need for a UN special mechanism to monitor and report on the human rights situation. She also said that the Secretary General’s recent report is a strong report which indicates the United Nation’s serious attention to this matter.

More Secret Group Executions in Mashad Prison, Despite Concerns Raised by UN Secretary General Report

Reliable sources told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that ten more prisoners were hanged at Vakilabad Prison on Wednesday, 2 March. The ten prisoners were executed without their families or lawyers being informed. This news comes on the heels of the UN Secretary General’s report, released at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, that brought attention to secret group executions inside Mashad’s Vakilabad Prison. Previously, through information obtained from reliable local sources, the Campaign reported on the executions, but authorities have remained silent about executions at Vakilabad.

Family Members of Prisoners Beaten Outside Evin Prison

A human rights activist told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that dozens of family members of political prisoners who had gone to Evin Prison hoping to receive bail or furlough orders for their kin, faced insults and in some cases beatings from prison officers. According to an eyewitness, though most families showed up to Evin Prison Court following instructions to post bail or introduce custodians [in lieu of bail], they were kept from entering Evin Court, and court officials refused to accept their bail or custodians for prisoner release. The eyewitness identified those attacking families as police officers, soldiers stationed at the prison, and certain employees of Evin Prison Court, who routinely insult and abuse family members of political prisoners.

180 Activists Ask of Brazil’s President: Show The World You Object to Human Rights Violations in Iran

In a letter to Dilma Rousseff, the President of Brazil, 180 Iranian women’s rights activists asked her to show women in Iran and around the world, through any mode of communication she maintains with the Iranian government according to Brazil’s laws, that she stands by the side of Iranian women and objects to the violations of women’s and citizens’ rights in Iran.

Filmmaker’s Wife Demoralized Over Being Banned from Contacting Husband

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Mohammad Nourizad’s wife discussed the lack of news about her husband after his return to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Ward 2-A inside Evin Prison, and his poor physical condition at that time. “Since the day his leave ended and he returned to prison, we have not heard from him.He has not called us and we have not been allowed to visit with him. We took him to Evin Prison on 27 February. The Warden for IRGC’s Ward 2-A came to the prison door and took him inside with him. He returned to prison while he was still sick,” said Nourizad’s wife.

Iranian-Canadian on Death Row Faced Torture and Unfair Trial

Hamid Ghasemi-Shall an Iranian and Canadian citizen, was arrested on 24 May 2008, and eventually charged with espionage and contact with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh Organization. Ghasemi-Shall spent 18 months in solitary confinement. For the first eight months of his detention he had no access to family or lawyer. Ghasemi-Shall’s wife, Antonella Mega, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that her husband was tortured while in detainment.

UN Secretary General Report Shows Need for Special Human Rights Monitor

(15 March 2011) The release of a report by the UN Secretary- General, Ban Ki-moon, on the human rights situation in Iran should encourage the UN Human Rights Council to establish a special monitoring and reporting mechanism, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.

“The message of this report is clear, it is time for the Human Rights Council to deal with the dramatically deteriorating situation in Iran by establishing a monitoring mechanism during its current session,” stated Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.

Judge Says Yazdi is Healthy Despite Illness and Postpones Trial for Third Time

In an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Ebrahim Yazdi’s lawyer, said that the third session of Yazdi’s trial did not convene on 12 March, due to incomplete investigations. “The Judge said that he has forwarded the case file to the prosecutors so that they can do a new set of direct investigations from Ebrahim Yazdi,” he said. Yazdi, the Secretary General of the Iran Freedom Movement, has been in prison for more than five months, charged with “acting against national security,” “propagating against the regime,” and “establishing the Iran Freedom Movement.”