Iran: Release women jailed for
protesting against compulsory wearing of veil, say UN rights experts
GENEVA (16 August 2019) – UN human
rights experts* have condemned lengthy prison sentences against three Iranian
women who are being arbitrarily detained for publicly protesting against the
compulsory wearing of veils.
“We are alarmed that the arrest and
lengthy sentences handed to these women are directly related to the peaceful
exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and assembly in the pursuit
of gender equality in Iran,” the experts said.
“We call upon the Iranian
authorities to quash these convictions and immediately release all human rights
defenders who have been arbitrarily detained for their work in advocating
women’s rights, and to ensure full respect for the rights of women to freedom
of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and non-discrimination.” The
experts recalled that respect and support for the activities of women human
rights defenders are essential to the overall enjoyment of human rights.
Ms Mojgan Keshavarz was sentenced
to 23 years and six months’ imprisonment while Ms Yasaman Aryani and Ms Monireh
Arabshahi were each sentenced to 16 years’ imprisonment.
All three were convicted of
assembly and collusion in acts against national security, propaganda against
the state and “encouraging and providing for [moral] corruption and
prostitution”. Ms Keshavarz was also convicted on a charge of “insulting the
sacred”.
The charges were brought after an
online video showed the three women handing out flowers on the Tehran metro on
8 March 2019, International Women’s Day. The human rights defenders, who
themselves were not wearing the hijab, peacefully protested against Iran’s
compulsory veiling laws and advocated for a woman’s right to choose whether or
not to wear the hijab.
After the video surfaced, the women
were detained in April 2019 and were forcibly “disappeared” for between 9 and
14 days. They were denied access to lawyers during the initial investigation
stage. Their legal representatives were also reportedly prohibited from
representing them at their trial. The experts expressed particular concern over
this apparent contravention of the women’s right to a fair trial.
“We remind the Iranian authorities
that women human rights defenders challenging the imposition of a compulsory
dress code on women are acting in defence of universally guaranteed human
rights. The use of repressive legislation to criminalise the exercise of
freedom of expression and peaceful assembly is incompatible with Iran’s
obligations under international human rights law,” the experts said.
The women are among a number of
Iranian human rights defenders who have been detained and convicted on national
security-related charges for promoting women’s rights. According to reports,
since January 2018, at least 32 people have been arrested and at least 10
imprisoned for protesting against the mandatory wearing of the hijab.
Arrests of women’s rights activists
have reportedly increased in recent weeks, and an official has given a warning
that other people protesting against the compulsory wearing of the veil may be
charged with national security offences.
The UN experts earlier notified the
Government of Iran about their concerns. The Government’s reply noted that the
three women had been arrested on charges relating to morality and national
security offences.
ENDS
(*)The UN experts: Mr. Javaid
Rehman (Pakistan), Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in theIslamic Republic of Iran; Ms Dubravka Šimonović (Croatia), Special Rapporteur
on violence against women, its causes and consequences; Mr. Michel Forst
(France), Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders; Ms
Meskerem Geset Techane (Ethiopia), Chair, Working Group on discriminationagainst women and girls; Mr. David Kaye (USA), Special Rapporteur on thepromotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Mr.
Ahmed Shaheed (The Maldives), Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion orbelief.
The Special Rapporteurs and Working
Groups 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.
UN Human Rights, Country Page —
Iran
For more information and media
requests, please contact: Ms Katharine Marshall (+41 22 917 9695 /
kmarshall@ohchr.org)
For media inquiries related to
other UN independent experts please contact: Mr. Jeremy Laurence, UN Human
Rights – Media Unit (+41 22 917 9383 / jlaurence@ohchr.org)
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independent human rights experts on Twitter@UN_SPExperts.
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