Daily Alert Archives

Report - Profiles of Iranian Repression: Architects of Human Rights Abuse in the Islamic Republic

(Foundation for Defense of Democracies) Tzvi Kahn - While President Hassan Rouhani has attempted to portray a new "moderate" Iran, this report exposes the ongoing violations, which have intensified under his watch. The widespread and systematic character of Iranian injustice includes the criminalization of fundamental freedoms of expression, belief, opinion, assembly and association; illegal and arbitrary arrests; incommunicado detention; false charges; torture in detention; denial of the right to counsel, a fair hearing, and an independent judiciary; show trials devoid of any due process; and denial or withdrawal of medical care in prison. Iran, a country that already had the most executions per capita, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of executions during Rouhani's tenure, including the execution of juvenile offenders, frequently on public display. Further, as the reports by Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the former UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran, demonstrated, there has been widespread and systematic physical, sexual, and psychological torture, often used to extract forced confessions. Moreover, the regime continues to persecute women, the LGBT community, and ethnic and religious minorities, engaging in persistent and pervasive discrimination targeting these minorities while inciting hate and violence against them. Any expression of dissent or deviation from the ideology of the regime is effectively silenced. This report offers U.S. policymakers an opportunity to continue its leadership in this area by implementing sanctions against major human rights violators in Iran, in concert with the international community.
2018-11-02 00:00:00
Full Article