A/HRC/28/70 by the NGO.69 Government agencies must act within a week of receiving establishment requests for permits.70 97. Restrictions on NGO activities: Under the draft, assemblies, publications, online activities, and educational materials would require permits.71 Annual performance and financial reports must also be submitted to authorities that issue activity licenses.72 NGOs are required to provide onsite access to their information and documents in the presence of an NGO representative. Removing documents from NGO possession will require a court order.73 98. Restrictions on international cooperation: All cooperation and membership with international organizations, such as signing agreements and contracts, would require National Council permission,74 and the Council must also be notified of organizations’ participation in conferences and training courses outside of the country. 99. Disciplinary mechanism: Compliance would be monitored by either the secretariat or specialized agencies.75 Disciplinary steps can include a written warning with a deadline to correct breaches of the law, suspension of activity licenses for a maximum of three months, or the dissolution of the organization through the court.76 If adopted, the law would be retroactive and therefore applicable to all existing NGOs.77 100. In its Reply, the Government maintained that “the civil society comprising political parties, trade unions and professional and religious association are freely and extensively active,” adding that “any form of social activity” by “political party, society or association” requires observing laws and regulations and receiving a “permit from Article 10 Commission.” H. Freedom of religion or belief 1. Dervishes 101. On September 2011, the Ministry of Intelligence arrested seven members of the Gonabadi Dervish community (Sufi Muslims) in the cities of Shiraz and Tehran. On 13 July 2013, the Revolutionary Court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from seven to ten years. On 31 August 2014, they embarked on a hunger strike to protest that their due process rights had been infringed upon. The police interrupted the demonstrations subsequently organized by their families in front of the Office of the Prosecutor in Tehran and arrested multiple people.78 In late February, reports surfaced that some of these individuals’ sentences may have been reduced or converted to time on probation.79 102. On 27 December 2014, Mr. Hojatoleslam Younesi, the President’s Special Assistant on Religious and Ethnic Minorities, admitted in an interview that the treatment of the 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 Article 18. Article 18. Article 26. Article 28. Article 31. Article 32. Article 34. Article 34. Article 37. http://www.kaleme.com/1393/06/29/klm-198183/?theme=fast. http://www.majzooban.org/en/sufi-news/6585-half-of-the-sentences-of-jailed-gonabadi-dervishes-onprobation.html. 41