A/HRC/28/70
reportedly informed on 16 January 2012 that they had been sentenced to death. The
Supreme Court has since upheld the sentence.12 On 22 April 2014, their execution sentences
were reportedly communicated to Urumia Prison’s Office for the Implementation of
Sentences.13 Throughout the entire judicial process they were allegedly not allowed to
choose their lawyer and instead were assigned court-appointed representation.14
B.
Fair trial standards
23.
In its Reply, the Government maintained that all accused individuals are granted the
full right to a fair trial, due to the existence of — and in accordance with — due process
laws.
24.
On 4 January 2015, Iranian authorities reportedly arrested 33 Baluchi residents of
Sarbaz Village (Sistan and Baluchistan Province), in relation to recent incidents in the area.
These incidents include the reported deaths of Messrs. Issa Shahraki and Adham Sabouri on
1 January 2015, which some officials described as criminal or terrorist acts. On 21 February
2015, the families of Messrs. Edris Baladehee, Amin Raeesi, Omid Bahram-zehi, Bashir
Baladehee, Abu Bakr Molazehi, Sattar Bahram-zehi, Amin, Youssef Bahram-zehi, Amer
Gahram-zehi, and Davoud Bahram-zehi wrote a letter to the UN Secretary General and the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran stating
their family members were detained incommunicado over the previous few months. In their
letter, they rejected authorities’ allegations and expressed concern regarding the detainees’
alleged lack of access to lawyers and fair trials. The family members pointed out the
contradictions in the “official” account of events and provided an alibi for each person and
demanded their release. Relatives and friends of Messrs. Mosayeb Vatankhah and Farhad
Bahram-zehi, who were also reportedly amongst the group initially arrested, have voiced
similar concerns to authorities and UN officials.
C.
Freedom from arbitrary detention
25.
Between 2012 and 2014, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD)
issued ten opinions regarding the detention of 13 Iranians. They include the aforementioned
opposition leaders along with several journalists, lawyers, a Christian pastor, and a student
activist. The Government only responded to three of the WGAD’s ten communications. In
its Opinions, the WGAD concluded that all individuals appear to have been detained for
exercising their rights to freedom of expression, opinion, religion, belief, or association, and
encouraged the government to immediately release individuals charged with peacefully
exercising fundamental freedoms and to compensate them for their arbitrary detention.
Ms. Nasrin Soutodeh, was released prior to the expiration of her sentence, and Mr. Bahman
Ahmadi Amouee and Mr. Kiarash Kamrani were released following the completion of their
sentences. None of the other individuals has been release or compensated, as recommended
by the WGAD.
26.
Green Movement leaders and former presidential candidates Mr. Mehdi Karoubi and
Mr. Mir Hossein Mousavi, along with Ms. Zahra Rahnavard, Mr. Mousavi’s wife, have
been under house arrest since February 2011. On 29 August 2012, the United Nations
12
13
14
28
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2012/02/kurdish-brothers/
Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan submission to the office of the Special Rapporteur on
23 April 2014,http://hro-kurd.net/Article.aspx?fld=fa/Scout&id=430.
Human Rights Organization of Kurdistan submission to the office of the Special Rapporteur on
23 April 2014,http://hro-kurd.net/Article.aspx?fld=fa/Scout&id=430.
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