These younger women are now in the streets. The movement they’re leading is educated, liberal, secular, raised on higher expectations, and desperate for normality: college and foreign travel, decent jobs, rule of law, access to the Apple Store, a meaningful role in politics, the freedom to say and wear whatever.
Today we have made history. The United Nations and its Member States heeded the call of Iranian women to remove the Islamic Republic of Iran from the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, setting a new precedent in favor of women and girls, not just in Iran, but everywhere.
Today’s vote marks a pivotal step forward with the U.N. Member States removing a country from the Commission with an appalling record on women’s rights from its membership.
Dual Danish-Bahraini national and prisoner of conscience Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is serving a life sentence in prison for leading peaceful protests during the 2011 popular uprising in Bahrain.
He is now facing a number of separate trials accused of breaking a plastic chair and insulting a police officer.
All charges against Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja must be dropped as these new cases against him compound his unjust imprisonment for the peaceful exercise of his human rights.
Responding to today’s announcement that the UN Human Rights Council has passed a landmark resolution to establish a fact-finding mission to investigate human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that began on 16 September 2022, especially with respect to women and children, Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “This important and long overdue step shows that the cries of people in Iran for justice have finally been heard. We hope the establishment of this fact-finding mission marks a fundamental shift in the international community’s approach to tackling the crisis of systematic impunity that has long fueled crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations in Iran. The resolution not only enhances international scrutiny of the dire situation in Iran, but also puts in place a process to collect, consolidate and preserve crucial evidence for future prosecutions.
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IRAN HUMAN RIGHTS
At least 378 people including 47 children and 27 women have been killed by security forces in the ongoing nationwide protests.
As the number of slain rapidly rises, Islamic Republic forces refuse to accept responsibility and attribute the killings to terrorist and foreign groups. Iran Human Rights warns of this disinformation campaign escalating in the days leading to the UN Human Rights Council Special Session on Iran on November 24. The Organisation also reiterates the importance of establishing an accountability mechanism under UN supervision to prevent further killing of protesters.
Egyptian-British prisoner of conscience and prominent activist Alaa Abdel Fattah is held incommunicado, amid the authorities’ refusal to allow his family or lawyer to see or contact him.
In a letter to his family on 31 October, he announced escalating his prolonged hunger strike by stopping any calorie intake on 1 November and water consumption on 6 November.
After days in agony waiting for a letter from him at the gates of Wadi al-Natrun prison, on 10 November, a security officer told his mother that he is undergoing a “medical intervention”. He provided no further details about his location and wellbeing and instructed her to no longer come. On 10 November, security officials denied Alaa’s lawyer access to see him despite a visit authorization by the public prosecution.
Amnesty International has drawn attention to Iranian security forces unlawfully killing at least 18 protesters, bystanders and worshippers, including two children, and injuring scores of others during a deadly crackdown on largely peaceful protests after Friday prayers in the city of Khash, Sistan and Baluchistan province, on 4 November. This latest deadly incident in Sistan and Baluchistan province reveals that protesters from the oppressed Baluchi minority have borne the brunt of the security forces’ particularly vicious crackdown on demonstrations. Ahead of protests expected after Friday prayers tomorrow, Amnesty International reiterates its call on the international community to take urgent action to stop further killings of protesters Sistan and Baluchistan province and across the rest of Iran. The UN Human Rights Council must help break this cycle of systemic impunity by establishing an independent investigative and accountability mechanism to investigate crimes under international law and other serious human rights violations committed in Iran or risk yet more unlawful killings under their watch.
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More than 760,000 people across 218 countries and territories have added their voices to petitions calling for the establishment of an independent UN mechanism to conduct investigations as a step towards pursuing accountability for the most serious crimes under international law committed in Iran, Amnesty International said today. On 2 November, Nazanin Boniadi, a British-Iranian actor and Amnesty International UK Ambassador, conveyed people’s demands for immediate action by the UN Human Rights Council to United Nations officials in New York. Amnesty International national entities across the world also delivered petitions to their ministries of foreign affairs. “The people of Iran continue to courageously protest and call for the end of widespread repression and the establishment of a political system that respects equality and upholds human rights. Will member states of the UN Human Rights Council respond to the cries of people in Iran and activists across the globe to urgently establish an international mechanism on crimes committed by the Iranian authorities?” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Iran Human Rights strongly condemns the statement by the 227 MPs who it emphasises, represent the oppressive Islamic Republic leaders and not the Iranian people. Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “People have the inalienable right to protest. Killing or issuing death sentences against protesters is an international crime. Those calling for such actions are complicit in this crime and must be held accountable.”
Throughout history, protest has been a powerful tool for change, but this precious right is under attack. Many governments around the world are restricting people’s right to protest, because they fear change. They want to maintain the status quo. They want to keep people divided.
In a world where the opinions of people are often repressed, protecting human rights, land, and the environment becomes more and more dangerous.
The world needs more people to turn their outrage into action, to invite their friends and family to participate, to get involved, and demand equality and justice from their governments.
For over 20 years, Amnesty International’s annual Write for Rights campaign has transformed the lives of people whose rights have been wronged. Using the power of their words, Write for Rights supporters have united behind a common purpose: together, we can change lives for the better.
Take action today and change a life forever.
CLICK HERE to view the 2022 Write for Rights cases and to take action!
More than 2,000 academics from universities across the United States have written to President Joe Biden urging him to do more to support the anti-government protesters in Iran, many of whom are coming out of Iranian universities and schools as young Iranians take to the streets and face off against the country’s brutal security services. The letter sent to Biden Tuesday evening, which was obtained by CNN, was signed by 10 Nobel laureates, among many others. It calls for “urgent attention to a dire situation in Iranian universities,” and beseeches Biden to take “further tangible actions,” including an end to negotiations with Iran and no sanctions relief.
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Lawyer Hoda Abdelmoniem has been arbitrarily detained for four years and is on trial by an Emergency State Security Court on bogus charges stemming from her human rights work.
The Egyptian authorities continue to deny her access to her family and adequate healthcare despite her serious health problems including kidney failure and a heart condition, and her history of hospitalization. She must be immediately and unconditionally released.
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); October 28, 2022: At least 253 people, including 34 children and 19 women, have been killed in the ongoing nationwide protests. Repeating its call for urgent international action, Iran Human Rights reiterates that the longer the necessary United Nations-led steps take, the more lives are endangered. Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “There are no excuses for the delay in taking practical steps by the UN and the international community when the Islamic Republic is shooting at defenceless people. There’s a serious risk of mass killings of protesters which the UN is obligated to prevent.”
Thousands of people were interrogated, unfairly prosecuted and/or arbitrarily detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights, and hundreds remained unjustly imprisoned. Security forces unlawfully used lethal force and birdshot to crush protests. Women, LGBTI people and ethnic and religious minorities faced entrenched discrimination and violence. Legislative developments further undermined sexual and reproductive rights, the right to freedom of religion and belief, and access to the internet. Torture and other ill-treatment, including denying prisoners adequate medical care, remained widespread and systematic. Authorities failed to ensure timely and equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines. Judicial punishments of floggings, amputations and blinding were imposed. The death penalty was used widely, including as a weapon of repression. Executions were carried out after unfair trials. Systemic impunity prevailed for past and ongoing crimes against humanity related to prison massacres in 1988 and other crimes under international law.
At least 234 people, including 29 children have been killed in the ongoing nationwide protests. Iran Human Rights has also received many reports of authorities attempting to cover up the killing of protesters. Returning bodies is made contingent on families promising to stay silent or confirming the false causes of death cited by the Forensic Medical Organisation on the death certificates. In some cases, the slain were buried without families being notified and far from their residence. Family members have been subjected to arrests and physical and mental ill-treatment to coerce them into agreeing with false narratives other than murder by security forces. The scenarios have included “falling from a height, car accident or poisoning by drugs, alcohol or food.”
José Daniel Ferrer García, leader of the unofficial political opposition group “Patriotic Union of Cuba,” who was arrested on July 11, 2021, in the context of island-wide protests and has been imprisoned ever since is once again being held with limited access to the outside world.
According to his family, he intends to initiate a hunger strike as an extreme measure in demand of his rights. He is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately and unconditionally.
The tragic killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by Iran’s “morality” police has re-sparked nationwide protests. In violent crackdowns, authorities have tried to crush calls for respect of human rights. At least 144 civilians, including 23 children, have been killed with impunity since 19 September 2022.
A month after the start of nationwide protests in Iran, at least 215 people including 27 children have been killed by security forces and mass arrests made on and off the streets. Calling for the immediate release of all protesters and recognition of the Iranian people’s right to peaceful protest, Iran Human Rights warns about the dire situation of the detainees. Iran Human Rights Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “Detainees who are often forcibly disappeared, are at serious risk of torture and death. Urgent action by the international community is crucial at this point.” Reports received by Iran Human Rights confirm that detainees are being subjected to verbal insults and torture and other ill-treatment. Some have been forced to make self-incriminating televised confession under duress and torture. Furthermore, some protesters have been taken to unofficial buildings without any regulations or monitoring. The official detention centres and prisons are filled above capacity without sanitary facilities. Children under 18 years are amongst the detainees.
Videos from Evin Prison last night showed the notorious prison burning, along with sounds of gunshots and explosions. Simultaneously, special forces were deployed to the prison without any explanation. From the early hours of this morning, official Islamic Republic media started publishing their own account of events with death and injury numbers. According to the Judiciary’s Mizan news agency, four prisoners were killed and 61 injured last night. Ten prisoners were taken to medical facilities and four are reported to be in critical condition.
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO): At least 185 people, including at least 19 children, have been killed in the nationwide protests across Iran. The highest number of killings occurred in Sistan and Baluchistan province with half the recorded number. Iran Human Rights condemns the killing of protesters in the strongest possible terms once again, particularly the killings in Zahedan which it considers to amount to crimes against humanity. Speaking at a Human Rights Council side event on October 5, IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam called for those responsible for the atrocities including the Islamic Republic leaders and the forces under theircommand, to be held accountable and prosecuted through establishment of an independent international mechanism under the supervision of the United Nations.
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According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, at least 83 people have been killed in the nationwide protests sparked by the police murder of Mahsa Amini last week. Deaths have been recorded in 16 provinces: Mazandaran: 26 people; Gilan: 11 people; Western Azerbaijan: 11 people; Kermanshah: 6 people; Kurdistan: 6 people; Alborz: 5 people; Tehran: 4 people; Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad: 2 people; Isfahan: 2 person; Khorasan-Razavi: 2 person; Zanjan: 2 people; Qazvin: 2 people; Semnan: 1 person; Qazvin: 1 person; Ilam: 1 person; East Azerbaijan: 1 person. Using live ammunition on protesters is an international crime and the international community has a duty to prevent and stop these crimes.
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); Sept. 26, 2022:
At least 76 protesters are confirmed to have been killed by security forces. Most families have been forced to quietly bury their loved ones at night and pressured against holding public funerals. Many families were threatened with legal charges if they publicised their deaths. Internet disruptions continue to cause delays in reporting. Videos and death certificates obtained by Iran Human Rights confirm live ammunition is being directly fired at protesters.
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NOTE: AI-139 members attended Mahsa Amini Rally at Capital SQ (September 25, 2022).
Nationwide protests sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old woman, Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, are being brutally quashed by the Iranian authorities. Call on the international community to take action now.
Detained veteran internet radio host “Giggs” Edmund Wan, who has been remanded in custody for over 18 months, faces a total of 10 sedition and money laundering charges.
At the time of being charged, Wan hosted his own show on an independent radio station, in which he commented on current affairs. He also hosted a fundraiser for the education of Hong Kong young protesters in Taiwan.
Wan was targeted merely for exercising his right to freedom of expression through peaceful means. Charges against him must be dropped, and he must be released immediately.
On June 1, 2022, the President Kais Saied arbitrarily dismissed 57 judges and prosecutors on vague grounds that included obstructing terrorism-related investigations, financial corruption, “moral corruption,” “adultery”, and participation in “alcohol-fuelled parties.”
On August 10, 2022, the Tunis Administrative Tribunal issued an emergency ruling ordering the reinstatement of 49 of the 57 magistrates, but the government has thus far failed to comply with the tribunal decision. The Ministry of Justice must immediately reinstate all arbitrarily removed judges and prosecutors and respect the tribunal’s decision.
On July 15, 2022, lawyers Lilya Gemedzhi, Rustem Kyamilev and Nazim Sheikhmambetov were disbarred in retaliation for their human rights work, defending Crimean Tatar activists against politically motivated charges in Russian-occupied Crimea.
Unless this decision is reversed, they will not be able to represent clients in criminal proceedings and in court, nor take new qualification exams for a year. This sends a warning to other lawyers in Crimea, at the time when politically motivated reprisals against activists are on the rise.
James Coddington, aged 50, is scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma on August 25, 2022. He was sentenced to death for the murder of a 73-year-old friend in 1997. Following a clemency hearing on August 3, 2022, the state Pardon and Parole Board recommended that Governor Stitt grant James Coddington’s request to commute his death sentence.
Twenty-four years old at the time of the crime, James Coddington is said to have long been remorseful for his actions and to have broken the cycle of drug dependence that was the context in which the murder occurred and with which he had struggled during and after a childhood of deprivation, abuse, and exposure to drugs from an early age.
On 25 April 2022, a Revolutionary Court in Iran sentenced university students Ali Younesi and Amirhossein Moradi to 16 years in prison on spurious national security charges after a grossly unfair trial.
Their convictions were based on “confessions” which both men retracted in court and said were obtained under torture and other ill-treatment.
They are prisoners of conscience targeted for exercising their right to peaceful assembly and their families’ real or perceived links to opposition group.
On August 4, 2021, Ali Maziad, a Lebanese national residing in Saudi Arabia, was abducted from his house in the capital, Riyadh by a group of men in civilian clothes.
The Lebanese Embassy informed his family three months after his disappearance that he is being detained by State Security. Since then, he has been forcibly disappeared and his family has no information about his fate and whereabouts.
Amnesty International urges the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately disclose the fate and whereabouts of Ali Maziad, release him and ensure he has access to medical treatment and legal representation.
Prisoner of conscience and former senator Leila de Lima has been detained for over five years, as new government leaders, including Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, assume their posts beginning July 1, 2022.
While the previous justice secretary announced they will not drop the charges against her, new Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has said he is open to reviewing her cases after three witnesses retracted their testimonies against her.
We call on the new administration to carry out this review urgently and impartially, with a view to dropping the charges against Leila and ensuring her immediate release.
On July 5, 2022, Yuli Velásquez, President of the Federation of Santander Fishers for Tourism and Environment (FEDEPESAN), an environmental organization operating in Barrancabermeja, Colombia, was the victim of an armed attack.
Two unknown assailants shot at her, harming her bodyguard. Members of FEDEPESAN have previously suffered other armed attacks and threats. We urge Colombia’s National Protection Unit (UNP) to grant protective measures to Yuli that adequately respond to the level of risk Yuli and FEDEPESAN members are facing.
Rocky Myers is sitting in a cell in Alabama, facing execution for a crime he says he did not commit.
And today is his birthday.
Rocky’s case is one of the many reasons the death penalty should be abolished. He was convicted by a nearly all-white jury for the murder of a white neighbor.
What’s worse is that the trial judge overrode the jury’s life sentence and imposed the death penalty — a practice banned in 2017, but not applied retroactively to Rocky’s sentence.
