Arbitrary Detention of Government Critics – Distortion & Disinformation
Mass Post-Election Detainees
Nobody is jailed because of the protest. The only reason for jailing is the violence which was attached with the protests, a violence which got the life of more than 20 policemen and 13 civilians and, also, damage to the properties and also people’s life and health.59
– Mohammad-Javad Larijani, interview with CNN, 16 February 2010
Evin Prison in Tehran where authorities hold a large number of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience.
Iranian authorities revealed that security forces arrested more than 6,000 individuals following the June 2009 presidential election.60 The Campaign has specifically documented the names of 385 people detained by authorities for peaceful activities or their exercise of free expression. This number includes 52 journalists, 65 rights defenders, 74 students and 15 campaign staffers.61 Many were detained either without a specific charge or on unfounded charges that do not meet international human rights standards, and without warrants or on the basis of generic warrants enabling authorities to detain anyone.62 Many reported being detained by unidentified persons and removed to unknown locations, and held incommunicado for long periods.63
The Judiciary announced that it has prosecuted at least 500 people arrested after the June elections.64 Currently, the Campaign estimates at least 500 people remain arbitrarily detained in Iranian prisons for peaceful activities and exercise of free expression, with hundreds more out on bail facing arbitrary prosecutions.
Human Rights Lawyers
Lawyers, as far as the professional act is considered, as far as they are pursuing the support and defense of their client, nobody will put them in jail for that purpose.65
Offending Islam is another issue.
– Mohammad-Javad Larijani, interview with PBS, 26 November 2010
“Before her arrest, intelligence agents called her husband, and told him that (Nasrin) Sotoudeh must stop representing me or else she will regret it,” said Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Shirin Ebadi. “Sotoudeh responded to them by saying her actions are within the legal framework and she is only doing her job and will not stop her representation.”
Over the last two years, Iranian authorities have sentenced several lawyers to lengthy prison terms solely for defending their clients and advocating for human rights. Most all of these lawyers have been accused of vague and arbitrary charges such as “acting against national security” or “offending Islam.” Generally, the evidence against these lawyers comprises of talking to international media about their clients’ cases or associating with one of Iran’s major human rights NGOs.
On 6 February 2011 Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Moghisseh, sentenced Iranian human rights lawyer Khalil Bahramian to 18 months in prison and a 10-year ban on practicing law. Bahramian, who is being charged with “propaganda against the regime” and “insulting the head of the Judiciary,” often represents political and Kurdish activists. Bahramian is was awaiting appeal as of 14 February.66
On 9 January 2011, Nasrin Sotoudeh, defense attorney for Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi as well as for several post-election detainees, was sentenced to 11 years in jail, and banned from practicing law and traveling outside the country for 20 years. Her conviction was for “acting against national security,” “not wearing hejab (Islamic dress) during a videotaped message,” and for “propaganda against the regime.”67
On 30 October 2010, Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Mohammad Seifzadeh, co-founder of the Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran, to nine years in prison and a ten-year ban from practicing law for “acting against national security” by “establishing the Defenders of Human Rights Center.”68
Mohammad Oliaifar, of the Committee for the Defense of Political Prisoners in Iran, has been serving a one-year prison sentence since March 2010 solely for conducting interviews with international media outlets regarding the case of one of his clients, a juvenile facing execution.69
On 24 July 2010, authorities attempted to arrest Mohammad Mostafaee, the lawyer of high-profile defendant Sakineh Ashtiani, a woman sentenced to be stoned to death for adultery. Mostafaee was forced to flee the country in July 2010 to avoid arrest.70
Journalists
No – no – no journalist is put in jail because of being journalists, while for inciting violence, yes, they are pursued by the legal structure.71
– Mohammad-Javad Larijani, interview with CNN, 16 February 2010
“During my arrest, I was beaten so harshly that my sides and wrists became swollen and turned purple, a tendon in my left shoulder was damaged, my ribs were broken, and the cartilage in a part of the lower left bones in my ribcage became detached,” said Issa Saharkhiz.
In December 2010, Reporters Without Borders called Iran’s prison system the “world’s biggest prison for journalists,” counting 37 imprisoned journalists.72 Authorities consistently target journalists and bloggers writing for newspapers and websites critical of the government (see Section 5.3 on newspapers and websites). Among these journalists are:
Issa Saharkhiz, a freelance journalist, columnist for the reformist news websites Rooz Online and Norooz, and a founding member of the Association of Iranian Journalists, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and a lifetime ban on journalistic activities on 30 July 2010. Saharkhiz has publicly complained about his inhumane conditions inside prison, where he was denied medical treatment for broken ribs sustained during his arrest.73
Hengameh Shahidi, an adviser to defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, as well as a blogger and contributor to reformist newspapers such as Etemad e Melli, was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, a sentence an appeals court quickly upheld in May 2010.74
“During an interrogation...they beat him violently and told him to write down all his moral and financial crimes,” said Ahmad Zeidabadi’s wife. “They tried to force all those charges on him, but he didn’t accept them. He told them that he is a journalist and his records are clear. They pulled the sheet of paper away and fired a shot inside his cell. He told me that he felt like his face was numb.”
Hossein Derakhshan, a prominent blogger, received a nineteen-and-a-half year prison sentence for espionage, “propaganda against the regime,” “insulting sanctities,” and managing an obscene website on 28 September 2010. Sources close to Derakhshan’s family told the Campaign that the evidence used in his sentencing included a letter of recommendation for university admission written by Gary Sick, a Columbia University faculty member, and Derakhshan’s participation in Gulf2000, an online forum managed by Sick, which includes over 1500 academics, journalists, diplomats, and experts from across the world.75
Massoud Bastani, a young journalist arrested on 5 July 2009, is serving a six-year prison term because of his reporting for the Jomhuriat website.76
Ahmad Zeidabadi, a prominent journalist and columnist for Rooz Online, detained in June 2009, is serving his six-year prison term for ”attempting to implement a velvet revolution,” because he wrote an open letter criticizing the Iranian president.77 Additionally, Zeidabadi has been sentenced to five years’ exile to the town of Gonabad, and a lifetime ban on political, social, and journalistic activities, interviews or analysis, whether in verbal or written form.78
Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, a contributor to reformist newspapers and the author of a blog, arrested in June 2009, is serving a five-year prison term for “actions against national security.”79 Amouee’s wife Jila Baniyaghoub, editor-in-chief of the women’s rights website Iranian Women’s Club, was sentenced to one year in prison and a 30-year ban from journalism after also being arrested in June 2009.80
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