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com/
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Introduction 1
Freedom of expression, association and assembly 2
Cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment 6
Unfair trials 7
Death Penalty 8
Freedom of religion and belief 10
Prisons 11
Persecution of ethnic minorities 12
Discrimination against women and girls 14
Human trafficking 15
Inhumane treatment of prisoners 16
Lawyers, human rights defenders , environmental activists 18
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

Copyright©2018 by Iran Human Rights Monitor

All rights reserved.
Publication of this report and contents are permitted
with citation of source.

A publication of Iran Human Rights Monitor

http://iran-hrm.com/
@IranHrm
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 Introduction

T
his year, Human Rights Day marks the 70th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the
inalienable rights which everyone is entitled to as a
human being.
The people in Iran, however, are deprived of their most
basic rights due to the horrendous violations of human
rights committed by the clerical regime ruling the country.
This oppression culminates in horrific scenes of public
hangings, floggings, and even limb amputations.
Prisons are overwhelmed with inmates, and conditions are
intolerable and inhumane. Political prisoners, specifically,
are subjected to horrendous mistreatment by the
authorities.
Iran’s judicial and security organs systematically wage a
vicious crackdown on human rights defenders, lawyers,
Iran Human Rights Monitor women’s and civil rights activists, teachers and labor
Annual report activists, students, journalists and online media activists in
blatant disregard of international and domestic standards.

2018
Hundreds of activists are imprisoned for peacefully
exercising their rights.
Here is a glance on the regime’s record in 2018. It must be
stressed that the figures cited in this report have been
compiled from official sources or from reliable non-
governmental sources inside Iran who risked their lives to
obtain the data. Therefore, they should be considered as
minimums due to lack of transparency and censorship on
the part of the Iranian regime and the absence of free
access to information under the clerical regime.
The Iranian regime has a dismal report card of at least 285
executions as of December 2017, including the execution
of four women and six individuals who were sentenced to
death for crimes they allegedly committed as children.
An estimated 8,000 arbitrary arrests were made in the
course of the month-long protests in January.
At least 58 were killed during the 2018 protests and 12 jailed
protesters murdered under torture.
Iran must understand its atrocious crimes will not go
unpunished. While more strong measures against Tehran
are necessary, emphasis should be placed on Tehran’s
human rights violations.
The sanctions adopted by the US targeting institutions
which have quashed dissent and are heavily involved in
human rights violations, are welcome.
Iran Human Rights Monitor urges the international
community to hold the mullahs accountable for their
crimes against humanity, and stand by the Iranian people
in their struggle to achieve their basic human rights.

1

Freedom of expression,
association and assembly
T
he Iranian authorities crushed the right to
freedom of expression, association and
peaceful assembly, by cracking down on
peaceful protesters. The swift and violent
suppression of the protests and the number of
deaths in custody suggest that freedom of
assembly and expression has deteriorated.
The protests that erupted in nearly every Iranian
province since late December 2017 were met with
a state response that was notable for its harshness
and disregard for the law.
According to reports from inside Iran and from
within the regime, the number of detainees of the
protests amounted to at least 8,000 by the end of
the second week of the protests. Detainees were
denied access to legal representation and
threatened with more serious charges if they
sought counsel. 58 protesters were killed during the
protests.
Despite the regime’s attempts to conceal the
number of arrests, it admitted to parts of it.
Meanwhile, officials openly spoke of “preemptive”
arrests to curb further disturbances.
There are also reliable reports that detainees were
administered pills of an unknown substance, as
well as methadone, without the presence of a
doctor, in what appears to be a concerted
attempt to depict the detainees as drug addicts.
Twelve inmates died in custody under suspicious
circumstances.
Vahid Heydari, 22, is an example of those who
died in detention at the 12th Police Station in the
city of Arak, Central Province, sometime between
the closing days of December 2017 and the
beginning of January 2018. The authorities claimed
he was a drug addict who committed suicide—a
claim that his family has vehemently denied and
for which there is little credible evidence.
Another detainee who officials claimed
committed suicide, Sina Ghanbari, 23, was
arrested on December 31, 2017, during protests in
Tehran and taken to Evin Prison. A week later,
judicial officials claimed he had hanged himself in
the bathroom of the prison’s quarantine unit on
January 6, 2018. His body was delivered to his
family on January 9.
Numerous videos circulated widely on social
media channels showed authorities using
potentially lethal force against protesters. At least
50 protesters were directly shot dead by the state
security force during the street protests.
In August, more than 1,000 people were arrested
Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report
during protests in Tehran and other provinces over
deteriorating economic conditions and
corruption. A protester was murdered in Karaj,
during the weeklong protests.
There is grave concern that several hundreds of
thousands of those arrested in 2018 protests may
still be in custody.
The Iranian Judiciary has convicted the protesters
on vaguely defined national security charges and
handed down heavy sentences.
More recently, in the case of HEPCO workers, to
intimidate protesting and striking workers, the
Judiciary of Arak condemned 15 HEPCO workers to
74 lashes, one to two years in prison and five-year
suspended sentences for their protest in June last
year against non-payment of their salaries and
benefits, and the government’s failure to delivers
on its promises. They were charged with “disrupting
public order” and “spreading propaganda against
the regime.”
As for the truckers who held a nationwide strike
over high prices and non-paid wages, a judiciary
official warned them of “harsh penalties” if they
continued their protests, state media said in
September.
Mohseni Ejei warned truck drivers who have
continued their protests despite several rounds of
arrests. “Harsh penalties await those who ... block
lorry traffic on roads,” he was cited by the state-run
IRNA news agency as saying.
General prosecutor Mohammad Jafar Montazeri
said that protesting drivers may face death
sentences under stern laws against highway
robbery, the state broadcaster IRIB reported.
At least 264 of striking drivers were arrested for
allegedly blocking roads and trying to pressure
colleagues to join the strike, according to Iranian
news agencies.
In yet another case, the head of the Revolutionary
Court warned that those arrested in the January
2018 protests could face the death penalty.
The statistics of the arrest of protesters in 2018:
2
 8,000 people
were arrested during December
2017/January 2018 protests in Iran
over stagnant economy,
rampant corruption and rising
fuel and food prices.

1,000 people
during August protests across
Iran, over the country's faltering
economy, skyrocketing inflation,
hardship and hiking prices.

300 truck drivers

were arrested during a major
nationwide strike and threatened
with heavy sentences. Iranian
truckers were demanding better
working conditions.

600 Members of the

Gonabadi Dervishes

were arrested following clashes

between members of that sect
and security forces in the capital
in February after police attacked
a rally held to demand the
release of Sufi detainees.
150 collage students
were arrested during the
nationwide protests.

500 Ahwazi Iranians

were arrested during protests

against shortages of drinking
water in July and demonstrations
calling for and end to
discrimination against Ahwazi
Iranians. 129 people

were arrested in June, during

spontaneous protest rallies in
Tehran against rising prices and
chaos at foreign exchange rates

3
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

Political prisoner Mohammad Ali (Pirooz) Mansouri,

eligible for conditional release after spending
Torture and other more than a decade in Iran’s Raja’i Shahr and
ill-treatment Evin Prisons, was slapped with additional time
after being tried in May without a lawyer. He was
prosecuted for going on a hunger strike, writing
statements against capital punishment and even

T
penning an open letter on the occasion of the
orture and other ill-treatment are still new yea, the charges he repeatedly denied.
common practice, especially during The judiciary, in particular the Office of the
interrogations. Prosecutor, and prison administrations continued
What needs clarification is the fact that Iran to deliberately prevent political prisoners’ access
prisons are infamous for widespread use of to adequate medical care in many cases to
tortures and inhumane and unbearable extract “confessions”.
conditions. Iranian authorities deliberately deprived Arash
At least 20 individuals were tortured to death Sadeghi from his cancer treatment. Arash
while many others were subjected to ill-treatment Sadeghi was diagnosed with a cancerous bone
such as prolonged solitary confinement in cells tumour in August. However, authorities at Raja’i
with no windows, ventilation and lavatories. Shahr prison repeatedly impeded his access to
Commonly reported methods of torture in prisons potentially life-saving medical care.
also include tying the inmates to a pole in cold or The Iranian authorities’ treatment of Arash
hot weather, mock execution, kicking and Sadeghi is not only unspeakably cruel, in legal
punching; beatings with cables or whips. terms it is an act of torture, Amnesty International
The reports pointed to common use of physical or said in a September statement.
mental pressure on prisoners including isolation to Arash Sadeghi was sentenced to 19 years in prison
coerce them into making false confessions. in 2016, for his peaceful human rights work.
Reports obtained from inside Iran prisons indicate
use of methods such as burning, electric shocks,
pharmacological torture, and sleep deprivation.
Prisoners endure cruel and inhuman conditions
Little is known about the circumstances
including overcrowding, limited hot water,
leading to the death of the protesters
inadequate food, scarce beds, poor ventilation
rounded up in mass arrests during
and insect infestations.
nationwide anti-government 2018 protests.
Political prisoners were locked up with dangerous
Iran’s judiciary has announced that several
criminals, murderers and ex-members of armed
of them committed suicides.
gangs.
Their families, rights groups and lawyers
As an example, Iran’s judiciary used the Great
have rejected the explanations of their
Tehran Penitentiary, originally designed to detain
deaths and demanded an independent
drug offenders, to incarcerate dissidents and anti-
investigation.
state protesters convicted of politically motivated
A series of tweets by Mahmoud Sadeghi,
charges.
an outspoken MP have been a rare source
Soheil Arabi was transferred from Evin Prison to the
of information.
GTP on January 29, 2018. He was kept with
“According to the relatives of one of the
dangerous and belligerent criminals who have
detainees who died in jail, he had told his
assaulted him several times and threatened his
family during a phone conversation [prior
life. His family members said prison guards have
to his death] that the authorities had
turned a blind eye on the systematic harassment
forced him and other prisoners to take pills
and ignored complaints made by the prisoner.
that made them sick,” Sadeghi tweeted.
2112reports indicate inmates are also subjected
Among those who were murdered in
to rape.
prisons are, Sina Ghanbari, Vahid Heydari,
Taymour Khaledian ,a civil activist, revealed on
Saro Ghahremani, Ali Pouladi, Kianoush
May 19, 2018, that he had been “severely beaten
Zandi, Mohammad Nasiri, Arya Rouzbehi,
and sexually tortured” at a State Security Force
Seyed Shahab Abtahi, Hossein Ghaderi,
base during his detention last winter, after he was
Farzad Chegeni, Khaled Gheisari, Hatam
arrested in protest gatherings. He explained that
Marmazi, Rahman Ghorbani, Hossein
he was punched, kicked and beaten by shockers
Bordbar, Mohammad Raji, Ali Savari,
and batons. He was so tortured that he did not
Ghobad Azami, Kavous Seyed Emami,
have the power to sit for some time.
Hossein Gholizadeh, Taleb Basati.
Political prisoners were denied medical care, held
in solitary confinement and faced fresh criminal
charges in reprisal.

4
Among those who were murdered in prisons are:
Twenty-three-year-old Sina
Ghanbari died in custody in
Tehran under unknown
circumstances on January 7,
2018. The authorities claimed
he killed himself in Evin Prison.
The body of Seyed Shahab
Abtahi, 20, was dumped
outside his father’s house in
the central city of Arak on
January 5, three days after
he was detained by security
forces. He had injuries that
appeared to have been
caused by baton blows.
Mohammad Raji, a member
of Iran’s Gonabadi Dervishes
community, who was
arrested on February 20, was
tortured to death during
interrogation. His family were
informed by the police 15
days later, on March 4, that
he had died from the injuries
caused by repeated blows
to his head.
Mohammad Nasiri was
arrested and murdered by
Intelligence Department in
Zanjan, northwest of Tehran.
The intelligence agents told
his family that their son had
committed suicide.
Ali Savari, 50, an inmate of
Shiban Prison of Ahwaz,
south west of Iran, was killed
under torture, in April.
According to the victim’s
relatives, clear signs of
torture which led to his death
in custody, were evident on
his body.
Saro Ghahramani, 24, was
murdered in Central Prison of
Sanandaj. His relatives have
claimed that his body was
handed over 11 days after
he disappeared during anti-
government protests in the
western city of Sanandaj.
Vahid Heydari, 22, was
killed while he was in police
custody after being arrested
during Iran’s December 2017
protests in the city of Arak.
Authorities said he had taken
his own life.
Kavous Seyed-Emami, 63, an
Iranian-Canadian academic
and environmental activist
imprisoned by Iranian
authorities died in prison in
February. The authorities said
that he had committed
suicide.
An Ahwazi Arab activist,
Hatam Marmazi, was killed
under torture in the city’s
Intelligence detention
center. His family received
phone calls from the
Intelligence office, asking
them to collect Marmazi’s
dead body from the
detention center in early
July.
Arya Rouzbehi Babadi, 25,
was arrested during Iran
protest. His body was found
in Karoun River in
Khuzistan Province on
January 9 while his hands
and legs were tied.
5
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

Cruel, inhuman or
degrading punishment

A
number of cruel punishments were
handed down in 2018, including hand
amputations and floggings.

At least 110
people recei
110
Statistics:
ved flogging
 At least 110 people received flogging sentences
sentences
 At least one instance of hand amputation was
reported
At least one
 At least 11 people were flogged instance

Iranian authorities publicly flogged a man in July for 1 of hand

amputation
drinking alcohol. Identified only as M.R., he was 14 was reported
or 15 years old when he consumed alcohol at a
wedding party. He received 80 lashes on the back
in Niazmand Square in the city of Kashmar,
northwest Iran. Domestic media outlets posted a
picture from showing the young man tied to a tree At least 11
as he was flogged by a masked man, with a crowd
of people watching at a distance.
people were
flogged
11
Authorities in Iran amputated the hand of a
convicted thief in a prison in the country’s
northeast, according to the state-run ISNA news
agency. The January report said one hand of the
34-year-old convict identified only as Ali was cut off
by “guillotine” in a prison in Mashhad. The report
said Ali was detained in 2011 for allegedly stealing
sheep, jewelry and motorbikes.

The scene of
public flogging on
July 10, in Iran of
a young man
convicted of
consuming
alcohol when he
was just 14 or 15
years old over a
decade ago.

6
Unfair trials
Iran’s judiciary created a
very short list of lawyers
approved to represent
people accused of
national security crimes,
commonly used to
prosecute activists, in
Tehran’s courts during the
investigative stage of the
case. Of the 20,000-plus
members of Tehran’s Bar
association, only 20
lawyers made the list,
which, excluded women
and human rights lawyers.
I
ranian courts, and particularly the
revolutionary courts failed to hold fair trials.
They allegedly used confessions obtained
under torture as evidence in courts
including in cases which ended up with death
penalties. Iranian law restricts a defendant’s
right to access a lawyer, particularly during the
investigation period.
Iran’s judiciary in June approved a list of 20
lawyers to represent people accused of
national security crimes, i.e. human rights
activists, in Tehran’s courts during the
investigative stage. Despite the fact that
Tehran has more than 20,000 lawyers registered
with its bar association, Iran’s Tasnim News
Agency published the names of 20 defenders
cleared to represent individuals charged with
political, security or media crimes. However,
even prior to the approved list, human rights
organizations had noted a pattern of
detainees being denied access to legal
representation.
This is just one more example of Iran’s judiciary
trampling over due process.
Iranian courts are controlled by hardliners who
are accountable to the regime's Supreme
Leader Ali Khamenei. They often act swiftly and
harshly against dissidents and civil activists on
vague charges and behind closed doors.
Serious concerns remain that judges,
particularly those presiding over Revolutionary
Courts, are appointed on the basis of their
political opinions and affiliations with
intelligence bodies, and lack legal
qualifications.
7
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

This ‘confession’, taken from his hospital bed, was

broadcast on state television weeks before his
Death penalty trial and used as the only piece of evidence to
convict him. He was not allowed access to his
chosen lawyer at any point before or during his
trial, and his independent lawyer’s repeated
demands to the authorities to allow critical
evidence indicating his innocence were

I
ran is the world’s leading executioner per
capita, with many hangings carried out in
public. At least 285 people were executed in
the period spanning December 2017 to
December 2018. The real numbers were likely to
be much higher as use of capital punishment in
Iran is often shrouded in secrecy.
dismissed outright.”
In fact, the Iranian regime uses the death
penalty as a tool to suppress and silence a
disgruntled public the majority of whom live
under the poverty line, are unemployed and
deprived of freedom of expression.

Statistics: At least 10 political prisoners and six

juveniles at the time of arrest, were
 At least 282 people were executed executed in 2018
 At least 11 people were executed in public
 At least 10 political prisoners were executed
At least 4 women were executed
At least 6 individuals were executed for
crimes they allegedly committed as
minors.
Several scheduled executions were postponed in
the last minute to add to the mental and
physical ordeal of imprisonment on death
row. Thousands remain on death row.
One of the infamous cases in 2018 was the
executions of three Kurdish political prisoners
hanged on September 8.
Cousins Zaniar Moradi and Loghman Moradi
Zaniar and Loghman Moradi
were held for nine months at Raja’i Shahr Prison
of Karaj without access to their lawyers and
families before being executed.
They said they had confessed to murder under
torture. They were punched, kicked, and tied to
a bed and flogged. They had been also
threatened with rape. Their request for a judicial
review of their case was repeatedly ignored.
The third Kurdish activist, Ramin Hossein Panahi,
was accused of “taking up arms against the
state” in June 2017.
The executions took place despite a call to halt
the executions by two U.N. human rights special
rapporteurs, Javaid Rehman and Agnes Ramin Hossein Panahi
Callamard, who said in a statement that the
men had not been given fair trials.
Another example was the execution of a 51-year
-old man from Iran’s largest Sufi order, the
Gonabadi Dervish religious minority, which was
carried out despite serious unfair trial concerns.
Mohamed Salas was executed by the Iranian
authorities at dawn on June 18, 2018. Amnesty
International condemned in the strongest terms
the execution asserting: “Mohammad Salas’ trial
was grossly unfair. He said he was forced under
torture to make a ‘confession’ against himself.
Mohammad Salas
2
 Six individuals executed in 2018 for crimes they allegedly committed as children are Amir Hossein Pour Jafar, Ali
Kazemi, Mahboubeh Mofidi, Abolfazl Chezani Sharahi, Zeinab Sekaanvand and Omid Rostami.

Number of executions in 2018

9
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

Rob Duncan, regional manager at MEC, said: “It

reveals how closely the Iranian authorities are
Freedom of religion monitoring the Christians.”
and belief Sufis
Followers of Ahl-e Haq or Yaresan were also
arrested in large numbers, brutalized and

T
imprisoned.
he Iranian regime is among the top Iranian authorities arrested 600 Dervishes during
violators of the rights of religious minorities. street protests by Iranian Dervishes in Tehran.
Widespread and systematic attacks Amnesty International said some families were
continued to be carried out against not informed of their whereabouts and the
religious minorities. detainees were denied access to lawyers until
Among religious groups, Baha’is and Christian their interrogations were complete.
converts from Islam were seriously discriminated Dozens of the arrested Dervishes have received
against. They faced systematic discrimination, heavy sentences so far.
including in education and employment, and Dervishes involved in the February protests had
were persecuted for practicing their faith. been demanding the release of arrested
members of their community and the removal of
Baha’is security checkpoints around the house of their
Followers of the Baha’i faith are systematically 90-year-old leader.
harassed and persecuted under the clerical Members of the Sufi Muslim religious sect long
regime in Iran. They are denied equitable access have complained of harassment by Iran’s Shiite
to employment, education, political office and Islamist rulers, who view them as heretics.
exercise of their economic, social and cultural
rights.
Systematic violence against members of Baha’i
community further included arbitrary arrests,
lengthy imprisonment, torture and other ill-
treatment, forcible closure of Baha’i-owned
businesses, and confiscation of Baha’i
properties.
In the time period under study, at least 72 Baha’i
people have been arrested while 69 were
deprived of education. 18 Baha’I owned
businesses have been shut down.

Christians
The Iranian regime continues to harass,
interrogate and arrest Christians. Many have
been charged with spurious, security-related
charges such as “acting against national
security” and sometimes handed prison
sentences of 10 years or longer.
Most recently, Saheb Fadaei and Fatimeh
Bakherti, both converts from Islam, were
sentenced to more than a year in prison for
“spreading propaganda against the regime,” a
common charge used against Christians along
The state media on October 9, reported the
with “acting against national security.” Fadaei
execution of a man for “raping 40 girls and
was already serving a 10-year sentence. women.” The state-run Fars news agency
In yet another case, two Christian converts were
affiliations with the Revolutionary Guards
detained on November 16, in what some human
(IRGC) identified the victim as Ramin Majidifar
rights activists are calling a rash of arrests in the
Hosseini.
area.
According to reliable sources, Majidifar was
Behnam Ersali and Davoud Rasouli, both arrested in Tuyserkan in February for
converts from Islam who live in Karaj, had “spreading syncretic religion of Yarsan.”
arranged to meet in Mashhad, according to
advocacy organization Middle East Concern
(MEC), but their calls are believed to have been
intercepted by the Iranian intelligence.

11
 recently described it as “beyond the limits of
human tolerance.” There is running water for only
Prisons one hour a day. There is only one toilet for every
170 prisoners. Sanitation and health conditions
are so bad that several prisoners have got serious
infections.
Ticks and lice infestation are common in

T
housands of prisoners are being held under
the worst conditions possible. They face
numerous issues of concern. Prisoners’
objections are met by prison guards
attacking and beating them.
Following is a brief review of the conditions in a
few of these prisons:
Evin Prison
Evin Prison is a vast complex that consists of
multiple buildings, generally up to three floors
high with two sections on each floor. Several
reports point to inhumane and unsanitary
conditions at Evin Prison. Chronic overcrowding,
severely limited hot water, poor ventilation, and
infestations of cockroaches and mice,
particularly near kitchen areas, are among the
most common complaints. Prisoners are forced
to sleep on the floor during cold winter months
due to a shortage of beds. According to the
reports from inside the prison, meals are little and
“barely edible.” Hungry inmates have to collect
food residues from other trays or the ground.
Raja’i Shahr Prison
Due to the presence of dangerous criminals,
bloody clashes among prisoners is a common
incident in this prison. Ordinary criminals are
detained in the cell neighboring political
prisoners.
Usually, there is no water and prisoners can use
the bathroom only for limited hours. Warm water
is available only one hour a day and the rest of
the day, prisoners have to take shower with cold
water.
Prisoners are beaten and denied medical care.
Inmates and their families face degrading
treatment during visits through invasive and
abusive body searches. In Section 4, Room 12,
where political prisoners are held, air ventilation is
poor as the windows are covered with metal
sheets.
overcrowded cells. Prisoners have to take a
shower with a single pitcher of water. There are
prisoners with HIV and hepatitis who are not
being treated or segregated from other
prisoners. The authorities have not taken any
action to deal with this problem.
Diezelabad Prison of Kermanshah
The cells made for three, are filled with seven
prisoners. The cells are inspected every other
day, the inmates' belongings confiscated and
their books torn. Prisoners get fresh air for only
half an hour. The cells lack any form of
ventilation, heaters or cooling system. The prison's
store sells only wafers, tea and artificial fruit juice
and prisoners do not have access to any other
item. To extract confession, interrogators
commonly threaten prisoners with rape.
Karaj Central Prison
Karaj Central Prison was built for 2,000 inmates.
Currently, 8,300 inmates are in extremely
inadequate conditions at this facility. A 20 square
meter room is home to 45 inmates using three-
level bunkbeds. There is no medical care for the
inmates. Food quality is very low.
In response to their complaints, the ward chief
says they are given 37,000 rials (around 25 cents)
for each inmate and they do not have enough
money to provide food.

The Great Tehran Penitentiary

Located in Tehran Province’s Fashafouyeh
district, 20 miles southeast of Tehran, the Great
Tehran Penitentiary was built in 2015 primarily for
holding inmates convicted of drug-related
offenses. Iran’s judiciary has also used the GTP to
incarcerate dissidents and anti-state protesters.
Multiple former detainees have pointed out the
inhumane living conditions in the GTP, the largest
detention facility in the country. A journalist

11

Persecution of
ethnic minorities
E
thnic minorities including Kurds, Baluchis,
Azeris, Lors and Arabs have been
subjected to oppression for years at the
hands of the Iranian authorities.
Arabs
Hundreds of people were arrested around Ahvaz
last year amid protests against the regime’s
discriminatory policies, water and power cuts and
poverty.
Fifteen year-old Ma’edeh Shabaninejad was one
of those arrested in March at her aunt’s house in
Ahvaz, where she was hiding after security forces
raided her own home and confiscated her
poems.
In a sweeping crackdown against the Ahwazi
Arab ethnic minority in recent months, authorities
arrested at least 700 of people in Khuzestan
province. The wave of detentions follows a
deadly armed attack on a military parade in the
city of Ahvaz in September. Amnesty
International believed that "authorities are using
the attack in Ahvaz as an excuse to lash out
against members of the Ahwazi Arab ethnic
minority, including civil society and political
activists, in order to crush dissent in Khuzestan
province."
Iranian authorities did not disclose the fate and
whereabouts of hundreds of the detainees being
held without access to their families or lawyers.
At the same time, Ahwazi Arab activists outside
Iran told Amnesty International that 22 men,
including civil society activist Mohammad
Momeni Timas, have been killed in secret.
Turks
Azerbaijani Turkic minority rights activists were also
targeted.
Iranian authorities arbitrarily detained 120 people
in connection with two separate Azerbaijani
Turkic cultural gatherings that took place in July
and August 2018.
They were targeted solely for peacefully
exercising their rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly, including through their
advocacy promoting the rights of the Azerbaijani
Turkic minority in Iran.
There were disturbing reports of torture and other
ill-treatment committed by security forces during
and after the arrests, particularly those which
took place in July.
Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report
Baluchis
Iran's Baluch minority numbers between one and
four million people, based mainly in the
southeastern region of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Discrimination and poverty in Baluchestan region
have led to many security implications. Even the
state’s own research institutes have maintained
that discrimination against the Baluchis has
created poverty in the region.
Recently, IRGC-linked news agency Tasnim
published a research that poverty in the province
has led to a marked increase in the number of
those who leave schools, concluding that the rise
in drop-outs has had various social, economic,
cultural and security implications.
In the meantime, several Baluchis have been
killed while smuggling gas-oil to make ends meet
in this unemployment-stricken area. Security
forces are not answerable for the murders.
Baluch human rights activists believe that dozens
of Baluchi people, including innocent bystanders,
are killed every year in anti-smuggling operations
in Iran’s Baluch populated province.
This include Killing of a young man in Khash under
the pretext of having 10 liters of fuel on
November 20, the burning of two young people
in their car on the road from Iranshahr to Sarbaz
on October 15, killing a young man and injuring
another on the road from Mehrestan to Saravan
on May 30, killing two young people from
Dashtiari on May 25 and injuring a woman at
Friday Bazaar of Iranshahr due to blind shooting in
pursuit of a car on May 24, shooting of a young
Baluchi laborer in Saravan due to having a few
boxes of mango on May 22, killing a young man
in the city of Saravan by direct shooting on the
pretext of carrying four bags of rice in his car on
May 10, killing a fellow Baluch by firing a bullet on
the road to Khash and injuring the driver of the
car who was earning a living by picking up
passengers on April 27, firing on a Baluchi fellow
from Qasr Qand village carrying 10 bags of rice in
his car on March 30, are other examples of crimes
of the religious fascism ruling Iran against Baluch
compatriots.
Innocent toddler shot dead by state police in April, in
Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province. The victims are
identified as Moslem Bameri, 27, Hamzeh Bameri, 18
and the three year old Hasna Bameri.
12
 Kurds reason why some citizens are selling their kidneys.
Regime forces, mainly the IRGC, continued to He adds: “The mental situation of the citizens is
unlawfully attack and even open fire on scores of very troubling. Hygiene and sanitation are very
unarmed Kurdish men known as Kulbars who carry inadequate, and the municipality hasn’t yet
huge packs of goods on their backs and cross the given us any money to do something. I wish the
boarder on foot to supply them with goods not Ministry of Interior would say what services they’ve
widely available in Iran, like alcohol, foreign provided for a city like Sarpol-e Zahab.”
clothing, and other consumer goods. On September 5, Irna news agency wrote about
At least 81 Kurdish porters were shot dead by the the housing situation: “Earthquake-stricken
state security forces in 2018 in the mountainous [families] with sick or elderly members or little
border region. children are more concerned, because if they
Iranian security forces began in December 2017 don’t succeed in building their shelters, they have
to block footpaths kulbars use to carry goods into to spend a second cold winter in makeshift trailer
Iran from Iraqi Kurdistan. Much of the local houses and tents, not to mention the grueling
economy in Iran's predominantly Kurdish region summer heat they have to bear right now.”
relies on such trade.
The border blockade deprived residents of
imported products to sell in local stores, which
have suffered from a lack of customers because
of widespread poverty in the region.
There was a heavy police presence across
Kurdistan province to confront protests in the
majority Kurdish regions with merchants going on
strike to highlight the financial losses they’ve
suffered since Iran closed the border. The state
security forces arrested at least 30 Kurdish people
during the protests.
In March, the state security forces also arrested 20
Kurdish activists in the run-up to Nowruz
celebrations, which mark the start of the Persian
new year. The arrests took place in the village of
Nay, in Marivan County, Kurdistan Province.
Around the same time, 11 Kurdish rights activists,
including outspoken journalist, Adnan
Hassanpour, were arrested in Marivan. All the
detainees were reportedly accused of
participation in a rally for supporting the city of
Afrin and its residents in Syria, where was
surrounded by Turkish military units at that time.

Earthquake
Another Iranian regime’s crime was seen in the
deliberate negligence of earthquake victims in
the Kurdish-majority province of Kermanshah,
western Iran.
After a year, the conditions have become very
difficult for the homeless survivors as the
authorities continue to fail in providing the aid
these people need and deserve.
Iranian state-run media are broadcasting
shocking reports acknowledging that many
people still don’t have a proper place for living
and are forced to take shelter in cemeteries.
The housing situation is so catastrophic that some
of the residents are reportedly selling their kidneys
in order to rebuild their homes.
In an interview with Iran’s ILNA news agency on
September 14, Sarpol-e Zahab’s City Council
Chairman accuses Hassan Rouhani’s
administration of inaction and considers this the

13
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

One of the main reasons is the law that sets the

legal age of marriage for girls at 13 and allows
Discrimination against fathers to wed them even earlier. At the same
time, the mullahs’ parliament has been refraining
women and girls so far to pass a bill seeking to raise the minimum
age of marriage for girls.
Shahrbanou Imami, member of Tehran’s City

W
Council and former member of the mullahs’
omen are discriminated against in parliament, told an IWD gathering at Tehran’s
law and practice, including in Melli University that there were 15,000 young
access to divorce, employment, widows under 15 years of age in Iran. (The state-
equal inheritance and political run ILNA news agency, March 8,2018)
office, and in family and criminal law.
The Global Gender Gap 2017 report ranks Iran
140th among 144 countries.
Women's participation in City Councils amounts
to 1.7 per cent. "Women almost disappear in
senior management positions."
Women were the first victims of Iran’s bankrupt
economy in light of the flagrant discrimination Early marriage
against women institutionalized in the law and of girl children
numerous restrictions imposed on their
employment and education. 41,000 children
Hassan Ta’ii, job market advisor to the Minister of under 15 years of age get married every
Labor, said in September 2017, that working year in Iran
women receive %77 of men’s wage for equal
work, and as such they lag 10 years behind their 4,164 girls
male colleagues. between 10 and 15 years of age got
Many colleges educated women resort to jobs married in East Azebbaijan
with salaries as low as one-third of the minimum
wage. 532 girls
Leila Falahati, from the presidential Directorate between 10 and 15 years of age got
on Women and Family Affairs, set women’s married in Kurdistan
economic participation rate at an optimistic 17
per cent in Iran. This leaves Iran way behind other 1,485 girls
economic powers in the Middle East region. (The under 14 years of age were wedded in
state-run ISNA news agency, January 13,2018) Zanjan
This is while the latest estimates according to
official figures stood at 11.8 per cent. At least 2,000 girl children
The unemployment rate among young women have undergone repeated miscar-
doubles that of men. Only 16.2 per cent of the 21 riaged and will soon become young
million-strong workforce are women. widows
Women’s employment in Iran is contingent on
gender segregation at the work place. If
women’s place of work is not separate from men,
companies and workshops are not allowed to
employ women.
Also, many of the public places including classes,
university entrances, parks, city buses, trains and
etc. have already been segregated.
Authorities have defied ongoing public pressure
to open football stadiums to women spectators.
Acts of violence against women and girls,
including domestic violence and early and
forced marriages are widespread.
The phenomenon of child brides in Iran has taken
on catastrophic dimensions.
At least 180,000 early marriages are registered in
Iran every year.
At least 37,000 of them are given to marriage
between 10 to 15.

14
 Human trafficking

N
ot only the Iranian regime does not
take any significant or effective
measures to confront the trafficking in
persons, but it does facilitate the
operations of human trafficking gangs since it
profits greatly from sex slavery both domestically
and abroad.
The Global Slavery Index 2018 has classified Iran
among “the 10 countries with highest prevalence
of modern slavery.”
According to the Global Slavery Index 2018, Iran
is also “the subject of various UN Security Council Militia Basij Force which is
resolutions reflecting the severity and extremity of
the situations there.”
involved in violent
The U.S. State Department has classified Iran’s crackdowns and serious
ruling regime since 2006, in the third tier of human rights abuses within
countries involved in trafficking in persons. Tier 3
countries do not fully comply with the minimum Iran, continued to recruit
standards, and are not making significant efforts and train child soldiers for
to do so, as opposed to Tier 2 countries that are
making significant efforts to bring themselves into
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary
compliance with the standards. Guards Corps (IRGC)
According to the U.S. State Department ’s annual
Trafficking In Persons 2018 report, in Iran,
“trafficking victims reportedly continued to face
severe punishment, including death, for unlawful
acts committed as a direct result of being
subjected to trafficking."
Government officials were allegedly complicit in
the coerced recruitment of Afghan men and
boys as young as 13 years old residing in Iran to
fight for Iranian-supported militias operating in
Syria.
The Iranian government also provided financial
support to militias fighting in Iraq that train, and
indoctrinate child soldiers who are coerced into
combat under the IRGC's direction.
Despite credible reports, Iran did not investigate
or hold any complicit officials accountable for
their involvement in trafficking crimes.
The militia Basij forces also continued to recruit
and train fighters for the IRGC's elite Quds Force,
including Iranian children as young as 12, who
then deploy to Syria to support the government
of Assad.
Referring to how the Iranian regime uses child
soldiers fighting in the most dangerous combat
situations, Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the
United Nations said “Since at least early 2015, the
Iranian regime has used the Basij to recruit and
train Iranian children to fight in Syria to support
the brutal Assad regime. The Basij also targets
Afghan immigrants in Iran, some as young as 14
years old, to fight in Syria.”

15
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

Furlough, temporary leave typically granted to

prisoners in Iran for a variety of familial, holiday
Inhumane treatment of and medical reasons, is routinely denied to
political prisoners as a form of additional
prisoners punishment.
The Iranian authorities tortured jailed human rights
defender Arash Sadeghi, who has cancer, by

I
deliberately depriving him of the specialist
ll-treatment of prisoners remained common. medical care health he desperately required.
As an example inmates of Karaj Central Prison, Zeinab Jalalian, a Kurdish prisoner who is serving a
located west of Tehran, are held in the worst life in prison sentence in Khoy prison in West
conditions possible. Azarbaijan province, is reportedly in urgent need
Prison time with hard labor may not be of medical treatment for her eye.
specifically mentioned in the Iranian regime’s Imprisoned Iranian teacher Mohammad Habibi, a
laws, yet these prisoners are placed are under member of the board of directors of the Iran
such harsh conditions. Some prisoners are forced Teachers Trade Association – Tehran, was denied
to provide documents permitting authorities to the specialized medical care he required. In
use them for any physical labor outside of the August 2018, this human rights defender, was
prison. The inmates work from morning until the briefly transferred to a hospital in Tehran, where
afternoon. The money provided on a monthly he was seen by a general practicing doctor who
basis for the work of these inmates is deposited said that he needed to have his kidneys
into the prison’s account. If the inmate seeks to examined urgently by a specialist physician.
enjoy any leave, they must agree to do physical Despite this, he was taken back to prison without
labor. These inmates are only allowed a monthly receiving the specialized medical care he
leave of two or three nights. needed.
300 to 350 of these inmates are currently working In 2018, several political prisoners in Iran,
on a highway stretching north of Tehran, and embarked on hunger strike to protest their prison
none of them are receiving any money. This is just conditions and to have their rights recognized.
one example of the harsh labor authorities are
forcing these inmates into.
Political prisoners were mostly targeted. Female
political prisoners Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee and
Atena Daemi were illegally transferred from
Tehran’s Evin prison to Shahr-e Rey prison on 24
January. They said that male prison guards
physically and verbally assaulted them including
through sexual slurs, kicking and punching, after
they protested that their transfer was illegal and
violated Iran’s own regulations on the separation
of different prisoners’ categories.
In 2018, prisoners faced denial of medical care,
refusal to transfer inmates to hospital despite life
threatening illness, indefinite solitary confinement,
poor nutrition, denial of family visits.

Denial of treatment
Political prisoners, including elderly inmates, are
singled out for harsh treatment, which often
includes denial of medical care. The threat of
withheld medical care has also been used as an
intimidation tool against prisoners who have
challenged the authorities or filed complaints.
Yet no Iranian official has been held accountable
for the multiple documented cases of death or
irreparable harm suffered by political prisoners
due to the lack of proper medical care in prison
and the authorities denying them adequate Arash Sadeghi has been imprisoned
recovery time or outside medical treatment and since June 2016, serving two separate
care. prison terms totalling 19 years. He is being
solely punished for his peaceful human
rights activities

16
 Lack of due process he had been transferred to a small solitary
confinement unit and was deprived of family
In many cases, prisoners were denied due visits, phone calls and any communications with
process. other prisoners. He was also deprived of free
48-year-old physician, Farhad Meysami, had airtime, reading, television, and access to
limited access to his lawyer since arrested by medication and food suitable for his health
agents of the Intelligence Ministry on July 31, 2018 condition.
and was only allowed to retain one more than a According to the latest news that was obtained
month after he was arrested. He was told that he in March, Davoodi had been on hunger strike in
would have to choose his lawyer from a list hand- the quarantine section of Zahedan prison since
picked by the head of Iran’s judiciary. February. Davoodi had described the reason for
Meysami launched a hunger strike demanding going on hunger strike as such: “I am on hunger
full due process, dropping of the “false” charges because I have been deprived of free air and
against, and stopping harassment of his family by sunlight since August.”
security officials.
Prominent teachers' rights activist Hashem
Khastar, who mysteriously disappeared October
23 in the city of Mashhad in northeast Iran, was
detained by the Intelligence Ministry at a
psychiatric hospital.
Mr. Khastar’s wife, Sediqeh Maleki, insisted that
her husband was not suffering from any mental or
physical illness, and that he had been detained
for unknown reasons without clear charges.

Denial of family visits Maryam Akbari, Golrokh Iraee, Atena Daemi

Iran Human Rights Monitor has documented
multiple instances wherein political prisoners,
including the mothers of small children, have
been banned from seeing their families or talking
to them on the phone.
Political prisoners Atena Daemi, Golrokh Iraee
and Maryam Akbari Monfared, were deprived of
family visits in September upon an oral notice by
the head of the women’s ward. Prison agents
argued that the reason for this illegal measure
was the prisoners’ verbal conflict, shouting
slogans in the meeting hall. Nasrin Sotoudeh
The daughter of imprisoned defense attorney
Nasrin Sotoudeh was threatened to be deprived
of visiting her mother if she did not observe the
veil. The threat was made on September 16, 2018,
when Mehraveh Khandan, and her brother had
gone to Evin to visit their mother. Meanwhile, the
prosecutor sent a letter to Sotoudeh warning that
if she did not observe the hijab, she would not be
able to have visitation. Sotoudeh gave up her
family visitation right in protest against the
prosecutor’s demand that she receives visitors
Arzhang Davoodi
fully draped in a hijab.

Indefinite solitary confinement

Iran used indefinite solitary confinement, sensory
deprivation and isolation as a method of putting
pressure on prisoners.
Iranian teacher and political prisoner Arzhang
Davoodi, held at the quarantine section of the
Zahedan prison is currently suffering from
deteriorating physical conditions. There has been
no news of Mr. Davoodi since March.
In his previous message, Davoodi had said that
Farhad Meysami
17
 Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report

Lawyers, human rights

defenders, environmental
activists

I
ran Human Rights Monitor detected a surge of
political repression targeting human rights
defenders, lawyers, Women’s and civil rights
activists, teachers and labor activists, students,
journalists and online media activists as part of an
escalating crackdown to quash Iran’s civil
society.
Iranian leaders have often accused independent
civil society groups and activists of acting on Amnesty International:
behalf of Tehran’s western enemies. The human rights situation
During 2018, at least seven human rights lawyers,
in Iran has reached crisis
150 student activists, 55 environmentalists and
other civil society activists were arrested by point. Mild expressions of
Iranian authorities and charged with vague concern are not enough.
national security offences. Five environmentalists
were charged in Iran with national security crimes We call on the
punishable by death. international community
The arrests happened within the context of the
to demand that the
numerous protests that have been taking place
in Iran since the beginning of this year. Iranian authorities stop
The attorneys are sometimes handed harsh attacks on human rights
sentences for speaking out on behalf of clients,
and subject to absurd irregularities. defenders, including
In January, Mohammad Najafi, a lawyer from the human rights lawyers and
central Iranian city of Arak was arrested. He faces
women’s rights activists. It
years behind bars for publicly revealing the fate
of a protester killed in prison. should urge the authorities
Then in September, Mr Najafi’s lawyer, Arash to immediately and
Keykhoshravi, was also arrested. Two weeks later,
two more lawyers were arrested while visiting Mr unconditionally release
Keykhosravi’s home to confer with his family. those most recently
Among the other lawyers targeted was
detained and ensure that
Abdolfattah Soltani, who was serving a 13-year
sentence on national security charges. every detainee is
Abdolfattah Soltani, one of Iran’s most famous provided access to a
human rights lawyers, was briefly granted a prison
furlough in August to attend the funeral of his 30- lawyer of their own
year-old daughter, Homa, whose burial was choosing from the time of
turned into a political protest. He has been
arrest.
released on probation.
In addition to lawyers, Iran rounded up women’s
rights activists, including lawyer Hoda Amid,
Najmeh Vahedi, and Rezvaneh Mohammadi.
Dozens of teachers and labor activists were
targeted solely for exercising their human rights.

12
Five eco-activists in Iran could face the death In fact, Jon Paul Rodríguez, a biologist at the
penalty Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research and
chair of IUCN Species Survival Commission,
Five environmentalists arrested in Iran for “spying” explained that the work that the researchers had
in January could face the death penalty after been doing was so valuable because the only
they were charged with “sowing corruption on information we have on the critically endangered
Earth”. Asiatic cheetah comes from camera traps.
Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, Houman The arrests and charges against the
Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani and Morad Tahbaz, all environmentalists have shaken the international
members of the Persian Wildlife Heritage scientific community, with hundreds of scientists
Foundation, were focused on the conservation of signing a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah
different wildlife species in Iran, including the Ali Khamenei to ask that he ensures a fair and
Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus). “transparent” trial for the researchers.
They put camera traps down near the cheetahs’
habitat to monitor the big cats, after receiving
permission from the Iranian government, but the
country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
alleged that the team was spying on Iran’s missile
program.
Thus the five were arrested, along with other
PWHF members Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Abdolreza
Kouhpayeh, Sam Rajabi, and Kavous Seyed
Emami. The first three are still being held in prison
and are not believed to be facing the death
penalty, but Emami, an Iranian-Canadian
professor, died just weeks after his arrest under
suspicious circumstances in prison. The official
response was suicide, but that does not explain
why his body was hastily buried and his wife and
children – also Canadian citizens – are being
prevented from leaving Iran.

The charges
After spending months in prison without charge,
five of the environmentalists were charged with
“sowing corruption on Earth” in early October.
Depending on the media report, you might be
told that Kashani was charged with it, but is not
facing the death penalty. If convicted, they
could face sentences ranging from six months up
to the death penalty.
Either way, Tara Sepehri Far, a researcher with
Human Rights Watch (HRW) believes that this is a
“bizarre charge” for environmentalists.
She had previously written: “Nine months of pre-
trial detention with no clear charges and no
access to a lawyer is an unusually long time even
by Iran’s dismal due process standards. It’s hard
not to conclude that the authorities are struggling
to gather enough evidence to charge them with
any recognizable crime.”
This fits perfectly with the recent revelation that
the investigation by the Iranian Parliament
actually found no evidence that any of the
environmentalists were spies. This is
understandable if, like the experts cited in a
statement from the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, you cannot
fathom how working to preserve Iranian flora and
fauna would possibly be linked to espionage
against Iranian interests.

19
Iran Human Rights Monitor, 2018 annual report