The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zaid Raad al-Hussein, has described the Iranian regime as one of the most alarming countries in the field of human rights.

Mr. Hussein, speaking on Tuesday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, described the severe restrictions on freedom of opinion, expression and arrest of human rights defenders, journalists and social network activists in Iran. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, referring to widespread abuse of prisoners said that even the judiciary is dealing with offenders in a very inhumane way.

He said that Iran has the highest number of death sentences in the world, many of them in relation to narcotics, but committing such crimes in the world is not recognized as deserving death sentences.

Iran was one of the few countries that Mr. Hussein spoke about at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in his speech about the human rights situation in the world, on the occasion of his last year in office.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights said in his speech: “Iran continues to severely restrict freedom of opinion and expression. My Office has received numerous reports of human rights defenders, journalists and social media activists being arrested and detained. Ill-treatment of prisoners is widespread, and in addition the judiciary continues to sentence people to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, including amputation of limbs and blinding. Iran also remains the country with the highest reported rate of executions per capita. Many of those executed are drug offenders not guilty of ‘most serious crimes’ under the terms of international law. Since the beginning of the year, at least four children have been put to death, and at least 89 other children remain on death row. Last month, the Iranian Parliament passed a long-awaited amendment which raises the threshold for capital punishment in drug trafficking cases, although some narcotics offenders will still face the possibility of capital punishment. The amendment now awaits approval from the Guardian Council.”

Human rights situation in Iran is so dire that in recent years, many international organizations and human rights defenders have taken a stance against it. The high number of executions, the suppression of religious and ethnic minorities, the violation of freedom of expression and the imprisonment of dissidents and civil activists, are among the behaviour of this regime that has been condemned.

Part of the US sanctions against the Iranian regime is due to human rights violations. The US State Department conveyed to Congress last May a report on sanctions against the regime officials responsible for human rights abuses.

Amnesty International has also published a detailed report describing the numerous abuses and imprisonment of human rights defenders in Iran and stated that the Iranian judiciary and security apparatus treat human rights defenders as criminals and opponents of the regime.

Source » ncr-iran