The Iran Human Rights Monitor has released its report into the state of human rights in Iran during March 2018 and, as always, it makes for unpleasant reading, with many instances of executions, arbitrary murders, torture, corporal punishment, abuse of political prisoners, and lack of a just legal system.

Here, we will provide a summary of the key topics raised in the report, but for more information, please visit the site itself. As always, these numbers cited here are believed to be lower than the actual number of people who have been executed/killed/punished by the Regime, due to the Regime’s attempts to hide their abuses.

Executions

There were 12 registered executions in March, with two unnamed men executed in public. This included some people who were suffering from mental illness and some who may have been children when the crime was committed.

Here are the names of the ten that Iran HRM could identify:

1. Hamid Imani

2. Masoud Vakili

3. Keyvan Rashkhar

4. Ramin Razavi

5. Mehdi Sarabi

6. Ayoub Babakhani

7. Ehsan Yaqubi

8. Javad Golniat

9. Mohammad Rostami

10. Rahim Salimi

There are a further 86 inmates currently on death row in the notorious Gohardasht Prison.

Arbitrary murders

On March 26, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) opened fire and killed Ibrahim Soleimani, a porter and father of five.

Deaths in custody

In March, three prisoners in Iran were tortured to death and two more died because the authorities refused to allow them urgent medical care.

The three tortured include:

• Ghobad Azimi, who was killed under torture just two days after he was detained by the Javanroud Intelligence Agency, but his family were told that he committed suicide. This is a favoured tactic by the Regime to cover up their wrongdoing.

• Mohammad Raji, a member of the Dervish Gonabadi community, who was arrested during a protest against the Regime’s abuses against members of his faith.

• Ali Savari, whose body shows signs of torture, was tortured to death by a notorious prison guard in Sheiban Prison, called Hamidian.

The HRM report only named one of the prisoners who died through a lack of medical attention. He was Vahid Safarzehi who reportedly swallowed a razor blade and could have been save if he’d been seen by a doctor.

Inhuman treatment and cruel punishments

The report cited two instances of public flogging in Bushehr and Sirjan in early March, but the victims are unnamed.

Arrests

At least 2,100 people were arrested in March, with 889 people arrested during the Persian fire festival celebrations and another 30 arrested during Persian New Year celebrations.

Some of those arrested were trade unionists, some were attending a mixed-gender party, some were rallying on International Women’s Day, and some were simply holding New Year celebrations. The linking factor is that these people who were rallying together for a political reason or even holding mass celebrations pose a threat to the Regime, which is incredibly weak.

Abuse of political prisoners

At least five political prisoners have been on hunger strike in March to oppose their own mistreatment/imprisonment or that of others. The Iranian Regime’s authorities have reacted with violence, the refusal of urgent medical treatment (medical terrorism), or even transferred them to wards where violent or dangerous criminals are kept.

One man, Hamidreza Amini, was beaten in front of his wife and children while handcuffed and shackled to a hospital bed, while Soheil Arabi was beaten by prison guards and is now suspected of brain damage.

Prison conditions

The prisons in Iran are remarkably poor, far below the minimum standards laid out by the UN. As has been mentioned before, there are problems even getting drinking water for the prisoners let alone food, clean quarters, and working facilities (i.e. lights, doors).

This poses a hygiene risk and means that many prisoners are getting seriously ill. Some are even forced to pay for fixing facilities or bottled water.

Source » iran-hrm