 Since March 2006, the Judiciary has executed a
total of 12 men in Khuzistan, also ethnic Arabs, accusing them of carrying out
bombings in Ahwaz, capital of Khuzistan, in October 2005
and January 2006. At least another 13 ethnic Iranian-Arabs have been sentenced
to death in Khuzistan.
For Immediate Release
(New York,
February 15, 2007) – The
Iranian Judiciary should immediately halt all executions of people who have
been sentenced to death in secret following unfair trials that do not meet
minimal international standards of justice, Human Rights Watch said today. In
the past year, at least a dozen Iranians of Arab origin have been condemned in
this way.
On February
14, 2007 the Iranian authorities executed three men in the southern
province of Khuzistan:
Majed Albughbish, 30, Abdolreza Sanawati, 34, and Ghassem Salamat, 41. On
February 13, prison officials informed the families, who were visiting the
prisoners, that the three men, all Iranians of Arab origin, would be executed
the next day.
Since March 2006, the Judiciary has executed a
total of 12 men in Khuzistan, also ethnic Arabs, accusing them of carrying out
bombings in Ahwaz, capital of Khuzistan, in October 2005
and January 2006. At least another 13 ethnic Iranian-Arabs have been sentenced
to death in Khuzistan.
“Iran
has accused these men of capital crimes, and it must ensure they receive fair
trials and full due process protections,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of
the Middle East and North Africa
division at Human Rights Watch. “Instead, the Iranian Judiciary has conducted
secret trials that deny the defendants the most basic legal rights.”
According to Emad Baghi, an Iranian human rights
defender who has vigorously campaigned to stop the executions, the authorities
arrested 19 men who belonged to a group named Kataib in March 2006, accusing
them of involvement in bombings. The authorities held the men in solitary
confinement and denied them access to their lawyers until the day before their
trials. The Judiciary did not allow the lawyers access to the accused men’s
files until one day before their trial.
On July 17, 2006,
the revolutionary court in Ahwaz sentenced 10 of the men
to death following a one-day secret trial held on July 16. Judge Sha’bani
sentenced the men to execution by hanging under Iran’s
penal code, charging them as Mohareb, meaning “enemies of God.” The
court sentenced the other nine men to imprisonment.
Iran
has now executed all 10 men sentenced on July 17, despite strong international
condemnations, including an appeal by three senior United Nations human rights
officials: Philip Alston, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or
Arbitrary Executions; Leonardo Despouy, UN Special Rapporteur on the
Independence of Judges and Lawyers, and Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on
Torture.
On January 10, the three UN officials issued a
public appeal to the Iranian government to stop the executions, stating that
the trials “made a mockery of due process requirements.” The Iranian
authorities ignored this and other international appeals, executing four of the
men on January 24, and three more on February 14. Another three men were
executed on December 19, 2006.
The judiciary has sentenced to death another 13
Iranians of Arab origin for armed activity against the state. They are: Zamel
Bawi; Awdeh Afrawi; Nazem Bureihi; Alireza Salman Delfi; Ali Helfi; Jaafar
Sawari; Risan Sawari; Mohammad Ali Sawari; Moslem al-Ha’I; Abdulreza Nawaseri; Yahia
Nasseri; Abdulzahra Helichi; and Abdul-Imam Za’eri.
Human Rights Watch calls on the Judiciary to
rescind their death sentences, and to grant new trials that meet international
fair trial standards and are open to the public.
Iran
executes more people annually than any other nation but China.
In an alarming development, the number of publicly known executions rose 70
percent in 2006 as compared to 2005. Human Rights Watch believes the true
number of executions is higher, but remains unknown due to the Judiciary’s lack
of transparency and public accountability. Iran
also executes more juveniles annually than any other nation.
“Today Iran
stands out for handing down the death penalty on a grand scale without giving
defendants a fair trial,” Whitson said.
Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment under
any circumstances due to its inherent cruelty and irreversibility.
For
broadcast-quality audio commentary by Iran
researcher Hadi Ghaemi on human rights conditions in Iran
over the last year, please visit:
|
Click Here to view