A/HRC/37/68/Add.1
the prisons of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Draft also attempts to continue to ignore the
government's compliance with standards in prisons, as well as numerous legal humanitarian
affections provided to prisoners; which are in response to all claims made in this draft. It is
therefore necessary to remove this paragraph from the final report.
According to the announcement dated 4 Nov. 2017 of the court of the West Azerbaijan
Province, Mr. Mohammad Nazari, was arrested on July 5, 1994 and he was charged with
acting against the security of the country, re-joining the dissolved Democratic Party and
returning to Iran to carry out assassination operations; and was sent to prison. Upon exhaustion
of the relevant legal procedure, he was sentenced to death in accordance with the verdict No.
1373 of Sep. 10, 1994 issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Mahabad, and the
judgment was confirmed on Dec. 15, 1994 in the application of Order No. 906/31 issued by
Branch 31 of the Supreme Court of the country. He has been pardoned by the Supreme Leader
in 1999 on the occasion of the birth of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and his death
penalty was changed to life imprisonment. Then on Dec. 7, 2007, in continuation of his term of
imprisonment, he was transferred from Orumieh to the Raja'i Shahr prison in Karaj city. He
went on hunger strike a few months ago and subsequently used the medical treatment of
outside the prison, which is acknowledged in this draft paragraph. It should be noted that with
favorable opinion of the Urmieh prison (near the place of his family), his request of transfer
have been approved. He is currently in the prison of Orumieh near the family. Therefore the
claim in this paragraph is incorrect and needs to be corrected.
Reply to paragraphs 29
Firstly, it should be noted that the statistics presented in these paragraphs do lack
documentation in absence of mentioning legitimate sources, while it is highly expected that an
international report to rely on documented and verified information and sources.
"Islamic Hodoud"(Islamic punishments) are punishable and effective punishments that are well
included in the Iranian law. Of course, the relative deterrence of punishment is obvious and it
is recognized and confirmed by various scholars of law and criminology. If the punishments
were absolutely deterrent, the crime would not continue to be committed in the world. The
question is if the use of long-term prison sentences has created an absolute deterrent to offenses
in Western countries?! By accepting the relativity of deterrence of punishment, Islamic
jurisprudents have also made a comprehensive research on the more effective and more
humane nature of Islamic punishments on the use of imprisonment or confinement. Also, the
physical punishments which are anticipated in the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran are
legislated and legalized, and therefore they are not in contradiction with Iran's obligations
under paragraph 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
As for the issue of the use of lash punishments in the Islamic law, it has been considered and
stipulated to prevent similar crimes and to reduce the use of sentences of imprisonment, which
by themselves, have had major social, moral and economic consequences. Regrettably, this
punishment has been interpreted wrongfully, by the West, as a degrading punishment. Lash
punishments are issued and enforced as a substitute punishment for limited cases and, at the
discretion of the judge, could be replaced by cash penalty. In addition, research shows that, in
most cases, convicts prefer to receive a few lashes rather than going through a few months of
imprisonment.
The punishment of amputation is an Islamic punishment and deterrence that is reflected in the
laws of the country and may be implemented in very rare cases where the crimes committed
have undermined public safety or a large amount of people's feelings. On the other hand, it is
worth recalling that the issuance of a reprimand for amputation is very rare, and in assuming
the issuance, the circle of execution of sentences in the direction of proposing the conversion
of punishment, will endeavor to establish reconciliation meetings and compromise and obtain
consent from the holder of the right (which in many cases leads to success)
Reply to Paragraph 30
Contrary to the allegations raised in this paragraph, it is necessary to refer to a part of the
country's progress and achievements in the field of the press: the law of publication and access
to information approved in 2009 guarantees the right to free access to public information for
any Iranian person in the framework of laws and regulations. Also under the Article 11 of the
Press Law, adopted in 2000, the Board of Supervision of the Press is responsible for reviewing
the application for licensing and the recognition of the applicant and the responsible director.
In addition, as stated in this paragraph, Article 26 of the Citizen's Rights Bill also recognizes
the right to freedom of expression for any Iranian citizen in such a way that this right must be
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