Iran must stop using long-term detention to silence human rights defenders, says UN expert

GENEVA (6 July 2021) — A UN expert today criticised the Islamic Republic of Iran's practice of sentencing human rights defenders to long-term detention, and called on the Government to release all those detained for their human rights work.

"It is too easy for human rights defenders in Iran to find themselves condemned to 10 years or more in prison for carrying out work that is legitimate in the eyes of human rights law," said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

"Defenders of women, of children, of prisoner rights, of labour rights, of freedom of expression, of freedom of association, of minorities, of the right to receive a fair trial and of the right not to be tortured — they all run the risk of being detained in dire conditions for long periods of time," she said.

Launched by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), “Tracker 19” is a tool made for an unprecedented global crisis. So named in reference not only to Covid-19 but also article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this project aims to evaluate the pandemic’s impacts on journalism. It will document state censorship and deliberate disinformation, and their impact on the right to reliable news and information. It will also make recommendations on how to defend journalism.

IRAN (down three at 173rd)

https://rsf.org/en/countries 

Human Rights Council Forty-seventh session

21 June–9 July 2021

Agenda item 2: Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Report of the Secretary-General*

The overall situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran remains of serious concern. Notwithstanding the economic crisis, aggravated by the imposition of sectoral sanctions and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, internal factors involving impediments to the rule of law and weak justice and accountability mechanisms result in impunity, perpetuate existing violations and increase the risk of future violations. The failure to establish a mechanism in accordance with international law for accountability and remedy for violations committed in the context of protests in November 2019 is emblematic. Protesters, human rights defenders, lawyers and civil society actors continue to be subject to intimidation, arbitrary detention and criminal prosecution, including the death penalty.