More Human Rights Violations Iran During 2007
During the period ranging from December 2006 to December of 2007, tens of human rights violations have taken place in Iran. And on the eve of the International Human Rights Day, a young man was hung to death in Iran on charges that he had committed a crime when he was 13 years old. Some officials in the town of Kermanshah publicly said that the purpose of the execution was to “teach a lesson to the youth of Kermanshah.”
This sentence was issued contrary to the existing laws of Iran and it may be said that a young man was executed, and then they tried to provide a legal justification for it. But the question what crime had he committed? They say for a crime that he had committed when he was 13 years old!
The age of 13 is not the end of adolescence in Iran. The legal age for women is 9 and for men it is 15, according to existing laws. Legal age according to Iranian law is when a person acquires legal criminal responsibility. There are regulations for the death penalty in nations that have not revoked this punishment. One of those rules is that the person who has committed the crime must be of legal age.
Makvan Moloodizadeh was still a minor of 13 when he committed the declared crime, that is 2 years short of being of legal age. His death by hanging when he had reached the age of 20, i.e. 7 years after the crime, is more like a murder than the execution of justice. Legal language cannot express this wrong. People do not know what to do with those individuals who have legal training and education, and possibly judicial experience and yet ignore the rule of law in issuing the death penalty. What is the recourse to such behavior? What forum will investigate and try these individuals? The law is actually clear on this: courts and administrative bodies are apparently the forums for such violations. Still, everyone knows that cases in these institutions are taken up on the basis of expediency and interest, and not justice.
The Human Rights Commissioner of the UN has protested to the death of Moloodizadeh, saying, “International law prohibits executing individuals who are less than 18 years of age. Iran must honor its international obligations.” But the Commissioner probably does not know the purpose that Iranian officials are following with such executions. He does not know that what they are trying to do is habitualize Iranians to seek redress within the domestic laws of the country and not seek international remedies for their grievances. It is many years since Iran has stopped honoring its international responsibilities. At the same time, Iranian officials aggressively demand the benefits that these international arrangements provide. The Commission probably knows that in a country where defense attorneys have no rights, and their activities have been curtailed by law, officials can make any accusations against any individual. Behind the closed doors of Iranian courts and tribunals even domestic laws are violated and ignored, let alone international obligations and rules.
The year 2007 ends in Iran while there has been a systematic and widespread disregard for human rights in Iran. Atrocities have been committed by such violators. The list of such violations is beyond the scope of this writing, but it is very, very long. All these violations have one point in common, which is this: They want to reduce the expectations and demands of people, human rights activists, civil rights activists etc and thus lower their expectations vis-à-vis international standards and rules that have been created.
The hanging of Moloodzadeh and Zahra Bani Yaghoob on the eve of the International Human Rights Day had a clear message to the public: “Be content with what you are getting; do not make human rights demands; accept the harsh civil law and criminal law amendments that the hardliners of the Islamic Majlis have passed into law; don’t be deceived by the government’s signatures on international conventions, particularly the one on a child’s rights; we will trample on our laws at will, let alone the international convention on a child’s rights; we will kill children if necessary; we will kill women; we will torture students; we will lay off teachers and workers; we will charge civil activists with espionage; we will even silence vocal clerics.”
This is the frightening message 28 years after the 1979 revolution that came about to eliminate injustice, inequality and discrimination. This message spreads fear when the head of Iran’s judiciary announces, after all these violations, that he “had ordered to stop the execution of court sentences … to prosecution be restarted.”
We have two choices: Either to accept the words of the head of the judiciary as honest words, which means we accept the negation of any security. If the head of the judiciary is not listened to and cannot take a national position and stop this mess, how are the courts expected to take up people’s problems and implement justice? Or, to believe that the head of the judiciary is not sincere in his remarks, i.e. that he is secretly in cahoots with the law breakers around him and so only masquerades as a person who is against violence and illegal activities. The acceptance of this possibility is frightening as well as it only brings about pessimism and fear. So what are people expected to do when the head of the judiciary himself does not respect the laws?
Regardless of which of the two possibilities we subscribe to, the result is that same, which is that we cannot trust the judiciary to enforce justice and the rule of law. Under the circumstances, may be the only alternative is to request those who execute laws and the dictators the following: Forget about human rights. Just enforce the existing regressive laws.
So as the year draws to its close and we think about the crimes that were committed in 2007, what guarantee is there that they will not take place again?
And as the cold days winter approach and people better cover their bodies against the chill, agents of the Islamic Republic of Iran rush to the ski resorts to check and see whether there are any women who may not be observing the Islamic attire under their heavy ski jackets!
So on the occasion of the International Human Rights day, my congratulations go to all Iranian women who have become the victims of suppression in all seasons.
Mehrangiz Kar is an attorney residing in the US.