Silencing journalist and activists weakens protection of
human rights in Iran, UN expert warns
GENEVA (5 June 2015) – The detention of journalists and
human rights defenders weakens the protection of human rights of all in Iran,
United Nations Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed has said today, expressing
serious concerns at the arbitrary and unlawful arrest, detention and
prosecution of journalists and rights activists in the country.
“Silencing these critical voices is unacceptable - it
undermines public debate and deprives Iranians and the rest of world of important
information on the reality in the country,” said the independent expert
appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the situation
of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“The recurrent use of vague references to threats to
national security, propaganda against the system and insult to authorities to
prosecute and detain journalists or activists is in contradiction to both
international norms relating to freedoms of expression and association and the
principle of legality,” Mr. Shaheed stated.
The Special Rapporteur expressed special concern at the
arrest, detention and trial of Jason Rezaian, a reporter of the Washington
Post, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent of the United Arab Emirates
newspaper The National.
On 25 May 2015, the trial of Mr. Rezaian started behind
closed doors on charges of ‘espionage, collaboration with hostile governments,
gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the
Islamic Republic’. Mr. Rezaian has been arbitrarily detained since 22 July
2014, including for a number of months in solitary confinement, and wasn’t
formally charged for nearly 10 months.
“Journalists must be protected, not harassed and
prosecuted for doing their jobs. The detention and trial of Mr. Rezaian and Ms.
Salehi not only violate their individual rights, but also intimidates those
working in the media in Iran,” he stressed.
The independent expert was equally disturbed by the
detentions of Atena Farghdani and Nargis Mohammadi, activists known for their
human rights work. Ms. Farghdani, a
children’s rights activist and artist was recently sentenced to 12 years and
nine months in prison for ‘spreading propaganda against the system, gathering
and colluding against national security and insulting members of the parliament
and the Supreme Leader’.
Ms. Mohammadi, the former vice-president of the Defenders
of Human Rights Centre and one of the founders of the group ‘Step by Step to
Stop the Death Penalty’, was arrested on 5 May 2015 in order to serve the
remainder of the six-year prison sentence she had received in April 2012 on
charges of ‘assembly and collusion against national security, membership in
Defenders of Human Rights Centre, and propaganda against the system’.
“Human rights defenders play a fundamental role in
ensuring a democratic society which respects human rights,” the expert said,
reminding the Iranian Government of its responsibility to ensure human rights
defenders do not face prosecution for promoting and advancing human rights in
the country.
Mr. Shaheed’s call has been endorsed by human rights
expert Mads Andenas, who currently heads the UN Working Group on Arbitrary
Detention, as well as the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders,
Michel Forst; on freedom of expression, David Kaye; on independence of the
judiciary, Gabriela Knaul; and ; on torture, Juan E. Méndez.
The UN human rights experts jointly urged the Iranian
Government to release all journalists and rights defenders who have been
arbitrarily and unlawfully arrested, and currently face detention and
prosecution.
ENDS
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the
Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest
body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name
of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that
address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of
the world.
Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
Learn more:
Human rights in Iran:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx
Arbitrary Detention:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/WGADIndex.aspx
Human rights defenders:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/SRHRDefendersIndex.aspx
Freedom of expression:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/OpinionIndex.aspx
Independence of the judiciary:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Judiciary/Pages/IDPIndex.aspx
UN Human Rights, Country Page – Iran: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx
For more information and media requests please contact
Naveed Ahmed (+41 22 928 9477 / nahmed@ohchr.org) or write to sr-iran@ohchr.org
For media inquiries related to other UN independent
experts:
Xabier Celaya, UN Human Rights – Media Unit (+ 41 22 917
9383 / xcelaya@ohchr.org)
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