Savalanesi
February 3, 2008
News
ASMAK – Committee to Defend Azarbaijani Political Prisoners
Twelve of Those Wounded During the May 2007 Demonstration in Naqadeh Sentenced to Pay Cash Fines
Twelve of the wounded in the May 25, 2007, demonstrations in Naqadeh, which had been held to protest the Iranian state newspaper’s insulting the Turks of Azerbaijan, were sentenced to pay cash fines.
Branch 101 of the Naqadeh General Criminal Court, regarding the charges of 1- Mehdi Azizzadeh 2- Naser Jahangard 3- Mahmud Haji Mohammadi 4- Ali Reza Mehran 5- Kamran Nohekhan 6- Iraj Mohammadi 7- Habib Razavi 8- Yahya Noruzi 10- Ali Reza Ebrahimzadeh 11- Hossein Moradi 12- Ali Nuri, for charges of disturbing public order by participating in illegal demonstrations, based on the report of the law enforcement officers and the injuries of the defendants in the city’s illegal demonstrations, the criminality of all twelve people was determined to be certain and the defendants were sentenced to a cash fine of one million rials in lieu of imprisonment and a cash fine of five hundred thousand rials in lieu of flogging. One of the defendants in this same case, Iraj Taqipur, has been acquitted.
This sentence was issued by Judge Mohammadnejad, chief of Branch 101 of the General Criminal Court of Naqadeh.
All these thirteen people were wounded by bullets fired by officers during the protests on May 25, 2007, and these very same wounds were mentioned as one of the reasons for proving criminality in the issued verdict. According to reports received by the Committee to Defend Azarbaijani Political Prisoners from Naqadeh, verdicts for many of those who were wounded by military and shotgun bullets fired by officers and who were tried in court have not yet been issued.
Also, in recent weeks, the flogging sentence has been implemented against a number of Naqadeh activists, including Engineer Ebrahim Mo’eini, Ali Haj Mohammadi, and Vali Azariun, who lost his brother Tohid Azariun to bullets fired by officers on May 25, 2006.
Engineer Ebrahim Mo’eini, who had been in Naqadeh prison since April/May 2007, had a sentenced of 40 lashes implemented against him upon his release on January 12. He was arrested after the protest by the people of Naqadeh on May 25, 2006, for the crime of participating in demonstrations, and was released on bail after being detained for about two months. Ebrahim Mo’eini was arrested in April/May 2007, before the anniversary of the protests of the previous year, and was sentenced to ten months imprisonment, including time spent in previous detention, and to 40 lashes.
Another Naqadeh activist, Ali Haj Mohammadi, was sent to Naqadeh prison in November 2007, after undergoing a flogging sentence, to serve four months of imprisonment.
The sentence of 20 lashes against Vali Azariun, who lost his brother, Tohid Azariun, to bullets fired by officers on May 25, 2006, was implemented on January 16, 2008.
This is while the families of the four Naqadeh activists who lost their lives in the protests on May 25, 2006 are under pressure from the Naqadeh Information Office, and have been warned not to gather at their children’s graves. They have also been informed that only family members are allowed to perform ceremonies at the graves. Dozens of people were killed and wounded during the suppression of the Naqadeh protests by officers of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iranian state television confirmed the killing of four people on May 25, 2006, namely: Tohid Azariun (25 years old), Hemat Esmzadeh (35 years old, married), Hossein Fathipur (17 years old, student), and Asgar Qasemi (39 years old, married).
The complaint of these families against the police, the IRGC, and the Naqadeh Basij militia for shooting directly at their children has remained unanswered for the past twenty months.
January 24, 2008
Ali Reza Javanbakht
Spokesperson for the Committee to Defend Azarbaijani Political Prisoners -ASMAK
ABF Note
Findings of guilt in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Judicial Proceedings
The Islamic Republic of Iran's criminal justice system regularly falls short of the standards for due process necessary for impartiality, fairness, and efficacy. Suspects are often held incommunicado and not told of the reason for their detainment. Defendants are frequently prohibited from examining the evidence used against them. Defendants are sometimes prohibited from having their lawyers present in court. Additionally, confessions, made under duress or torture, are commonly admitted as proof of guilt. Because Iran's courts regularly disregard principles essential to the proper administration of justice, findings of guilt may not be evaluated with certainty.
Corporal Punishment: the Legal context in the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Islamic Republic's criminal code recognizes corporal punishment for a wide range of offenses: consumption of alcohol, theft, adultery, "flouting" of public morals, and mixing of the sexes in public. Judges have the latitude to mete out corporal punishment for those sentenced to death. In such cases, the flogging is carried out before death to maximize the suffering of defendant. Aside from flogging, the Islamic Republic also employs amputations as a punishment for theft. In such cases, the defendant is taken to a hospital and put under anesthesia as his hand or foot is amputated. In some cases the left foot and right hand are cut off, making it difficult for the condemned to walk, even with the assistance of a cane or crutches.
The Islamic Republic's Systematic Violation of its International Obligations under International Law
The use of corporal punishment is contrary to international law and is addressed in several international agreements. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which Iran has ratified, states that, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Identical language is also used in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran is also a party to. The strongest expression of international disapproval is contained in the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). This treaty defines torture as, "any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as ... punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed." Although the Islamic Republic of Iran has yet to sign the CAT, the prohibition on torture is now considered jus cogens and, therefore, part of customary international law. Furthermore, even though the norm against corporal punishment is not yet a jus cogens, there is increasing evidence that it is illegal under international human rights law.[1] In Osbourne v. Jamaica, the Committee Against Torture (a body of experts responsible for monitoring compliance with the Convention) held that "corporal punishment constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment contrary to Article 7 of the Convention." The Islamic Republic of Iran's systematic violations of its obligations under international law have been addressed by the UN General Assembly multiple times, most recently in December 2007. In Resolution 62/168, the UN expressed deep concern with Iran's continued flouting of international human rights law, particularly, "confirmed instances of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including flogging and amputations."
