Ahmad GhabelThe latest review of developments inside Iran from Arseh Sevom, the NGO pursuing civil society and human rights:
This week we mark the passing of religious scholar and political dissident Ahmad Ghabel and the award of the prestigious Sakharov Prize to filmmaker Jafar Panahi and imprisoned lawyer Nassrin Sotoudeh. The non-binding Iran Tribunal closed in The Hague. United for Iran released a report highly critical of the focus of the international community on Iran's nuclear program at the expense of human rights.
The economy continues to falter and workers are losing their jobs at alarming rates. Afghans continue to be repatriated, while the government does its best to widen the gender gap. The Tehran Symphony is now only available to those who can privately hire them, and a new film on the lives of transexuals in Iran has opened in the country.
Prominent religious scholar and political dissident Ahmad Ghabel passed away last week at the age of 58. In its report on his death, Radio Farda states: “With his death, Iran lost one of its most outspoken critics of the country who refused to be silenced despite pressure, multiple imprisonments, and solitary confinement.”
And the Sakharov Prize Goes to…
The European Parliament awarded the 2012 Sakharov Prize to filmmaker Jafar Panahi and imprisoned human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh to honour their courage in defending basic freedoms
"The award of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to the Iranians Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi is a message of solidarity and recognition to a woman and a man who have not been bowed by fear and intimidation and who have decided to put the fate of their country before their own. I sincerely hope they will be able to come in person to Strasbourg to the European Parliament to collect their prize in December", said European Union President Martin Schulz.
A delegation from the European Parliament was supposed to visit Iran on 27 October. The delegation had asked to personally deliver invitation letters to the Sakharov Prize laureates, but the visit was called off at the last minute when the Iranian authorities said a meeting with Panahi and Sotoudeh could not be guaranteed.
Sotoudeh, serving a six-year term, has begun a hunger strike to protest the pressures placed on her family. Prison officials changed visiting day from Sunday to Wednesday, making it extremely difficult to see her family at all.
The hunger strike has been widely represented in the international media and has raised reactions from human rights organizations and activists. In its recent Urgent Action, Amnesty International voiced concern about Sotoudeh’s deteriorating health, weakened as a result of her previous hunger strikes.
The Iran Tribunal [fa] closed on Saturday with the announcement of the judges that there was sufficient evidence that the Islamic Republic of Iran had committed crimes against its citizens in the 1980s that warranted further investigation by international bodies. Johann Kriegler, a former judge in South Africa’s Constitutional Court, announced, “There are six forms of gross human rights abuses to which the evidence presented to the Truth Commission and to this tribunal point incontrovertibly: murder, torture, unjust imprisonment, sexual violence, persecution, and enforced disappearance.”
Kriegler reiterated that individuals are responsible for the actions of the state and should be made accountable for crimes committed against citizens. The judges called on civil society and individuals to support the decision and to press for official investigations.
In closing statements, the judges expressed their sentiments about the three-day proceedings. “The breadth of your sadness is now part of my sadness; your hope part of my hope; your humanity makes me more human,” said judge Patricia Viseur Sellers.
The first stage of this tribunal, known as the Truth Commission, was held in June 2012 at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Action Centre. The second stage in The Hague investigated the findings of the Truth Commission and issued a judgment based on that and the testimonies of 19 witnesses.
The Truth Commission and the People’s Court do not represent any state power and therefore cannot compel the accused to stand before the court.
Towards a Human Rights and Democracy Agenda for Iran
United for Iran released a report in October critical of the international community’s human rights record in Iran. Dokkhi Fassihian, United for Iran’s director of programs and advocacy stated:
It is safe to say that the unrepresentative regime in
Tehran is not pursuing the interests of its own people. In dealing
with Iran on its nuclear program, and in imposing crippling sanctions
that affect ordinary Iranians, the global community should also pursue
a long-term strategy, which recognizes the urgent responsibility to
simultaneously demand respect for the rights of the Iranian people,
who are better suited to hold their leaders accountable in the
long-term.
A Bad Time to Start a Business?
Amid Tehran's financial instability, the World Bank published its results on Ease of Doing Business 2013, ranking Iran 145th out of 185 economies.
Under the "Starting Business" indicator, Iran fell 37 positions.
Radio Farda [fa] argues that a review of social and political changes together with economic developments is inevitable in the production of such report, even if it does not directly touch upon politics and society.
Unsurprisingly, Adel Azar, the head of Iran Statistics Center, announced that data on inflation is confidential and is only provided to relevant authorities. The Iranian Labour News Agency [ILNA] [fa] quotes Mr. Azar as saying that the unemployment rate for this summer increased by 1% compared to last summer’s 12.9%.
Gatherings, Strikes, and Job Losses
Kalemeh [fa] reports that more 300 workers lost their jobs in east Isfahan. In Kaveh, 30 workers were also fired for protesting five months of unpaid wages.
The ‘Coordination Committee to Help Form Worker’s Organizations’ [fa] reports that 20 workers were dismissed because of a decrease in factory production in Sanandaj.
According to ILNA [fa] the demonstration of around 1,200 workers from Iran's Entekhab group at the South Korean Embassy in Tehran finally ended. The aim was to retrieve a payment of $70 million which was promised to the Entekhab group when sanctions killed their acquisition of their South Korean counterpart.
The strike of truck drivers over poor wages ended last Thursday. The strike, which started on Wednesday, caused long queues for fuel in Iran at gasoline stations, as drivers feared shortages. Deutsche Welle reported of another strike by 400 workers in the Bonyan Dizel factory in Tabriz for more twenty days against forced movement of workers to other cities across the province.
Forced Repatriation of Afghan Migrants
The range of victims of the economic sanctions against Iran is expanding. Radio Zamaneh [fa] reports on the repatriation of close to 200,000 Afghan refugees to their home country in the last six months, many of whom were undocumented. Reasons given for their return include unemployment, lack of income, high prices, and school restrictions for their children.
Gender Gap and Further Bans for Women
The 2012 Global Gender Gap report lists Iran near the bottom at 127th of 135 countries. The report shows slight progress for women in Education and Health but highlights the gaps with men in Economic Participation and Opportunity, as well as in Political Empowerment.
In the most recent operation on the gender segregation front, Fars News [fa] reports of local regulations banning women from watching live volleyball games.
Tehran Symphony Orchestra has halted its activities due to unpaid wages. Mehr reports that the symphony’s activities are now limited to exclusive programmes, requested by the Music Bureau of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance.
The film "Facing Mirrors" by Negar Azarbaijani is now open in Iran. This movie, the first of its kind, follows the lives of transsexuals, revealing the difficulties they face in society.