Category: Iran

Iran: forced virginity test


Woman at risk of a forced virginity test in Iran

Atena Farghadani
Atena Farghadani

On 1 June, Atena Farghadani, a 29-year-old painter and activist, was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison simply because she was seen to be critical of the Iranian regime in her art and in her peaceful activism.

Atena had used her right to freedom of expression to show her dissent at a new government Bill in a cartoon she’d drawn; she associated with the families of political prisoners; she posted anti-government messages on Facebook.

Atena’s peaceful activism led to her arrest in August 2014, a period of detention and release before being rearrested in November.

In June 2015, she was prosecuted by the Iranian state and found guilty of charges including:

  • Gathering and colluding against national security
  • Insulting members of parliament through paintings
  • Spreading propaganda against the system
  • Insulting the President and insulting the Supreme Leader.

Atena’s trial lasted just half a day. The ‘evidence’ against her relied on Atena’s answers under long stretches of interrogation, while she was held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer or her family.

Atena is now imprisoned for 12 years and nine months, simply for being seen to be critical of the authorities.

Now facing adultery charges for shaking hands with her lawyer

Atena’s lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, visited Atena in prison after her trial and shook her hand. The handshake led to charges of ‘illegitimate sexual relationship short of adultery’ and ‘indecent conduct’ being brought against both Atena and her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, who will be tried for those charges in due course.

Mohammad was arrested on 13 June for shaking Atena’s hand, and released three days later after he’d paid a bail amounting to around $60,000.  Both Mohammad and Atena will be tried for indecent conduct and illegitimate sexual relationship for shaking hands in prison.

On 9 October we saw a note leaked from prison by Atena that said ahead of her trial for this ‘crime’ she was forced to have a virginity and pregancy test – apparently to investigate the charge against her. Such virginity testing is internationally recognised as a form of violence and discrimination against women and girls.

Iran’s judicial authorities really have reached a new low.  Tell them they must immediately release Atena and investigate the mistreatment she says she’s experienced.

Prisoner of conscience

Atena has effectively been punished for her cartoons with a sentence that is itself a gross caricature of justice. No one should be in jail for their art or peaceful activism”
Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa

Atena is a prisoner of conscience – she has committed no real crime. She is being unfairly punished simply for exercising her right to free speech, association and assembly.  Iran has pledged to protect free speech, including through artistic activities, as a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Please sign the petition and call on Iran’s Supreme Leader and the Head of the Iranian Judiciary to release Atena immediately.

Beaten in detention, punished for speaking out

Last August, 12 members of the Revolutionary Guards came to Atena’s house.  They confiscated her personal belongings, blindfolded her and took her to Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.  Atena was released in November last year, but rearrested just six weeks later. In the time that she was released, she gave media interviews and posted a video on YouTube describing how the prison guards had interrogated her for 9 hours every day for six weeks.  She said that female prison guards had beaten her and subjected her to degrading body searches.

Just weeks after posting her YouTube video, Atena was once again arrested – possibly as reprisal for speaking out.

Hunger strike in protest at prison conditions

Atena was kept in solitary confinement for over two weeks when she was detained last year in Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.  During that time she was denied access to her lawyer or family.  After her release from detention, she said that she’d been beaten by prison guards.

Three weeks after she was rearrested in January this year, Atena went on hunger strike to protest that she was being held in extremely poor prison conditions, in a jail that does not have a section for political prisoners.  Atena’s health suffered considerably as a result; her lawyer told us that Atena had suffered a heart attack and briefly lost consciousness in late February as a result of her hunger strike.

Call on Iran to release Atena and reunite her with her family immediately: she has committed no crime.

If you are moved to sign the petition, please go to:

Amnesty article with petition

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#Iran urgent action: juvenile offender to be executed


No to the death penaltyWe attach an urgent action concerning Iran, which along with Pakistan, China and Saudi Arabia are the world’s leading executioners of its citizens.  This concerns a juvenile who was 15 at the time of the alleged crime.  He was charged with the murder of a friend but was denied access to a lawyer at the investigation stage and he alleges he was tortured in custody.

His execution has been delayed to 10 August so this case is urgent.  It is believed that an astonishing 72 juveniles have been executed between 2005 and 2014 and around 160 are currently on death row.

Please write if you have time.

Urgent Action: Iran

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Outpouring of protest about #Indonesia #executions


The media has devoted considerable space to the #executions of five people in #Indonesia.  It has been on No to the death penaltythe main news and in all of the main papers in the UK to a greater or lesser extent.  There is a general sense of outrage that the execution and the manner of its doing – that is by firing squad – are barbaric.  One would be forgiven for thinking that Indonesia is the only place where people are being executed.

It isn’t.   We must not forget that China continues to execute more than the rest of the world put together although the precise number is not known because it is a state secret.  Executions continue at a faster rate than previously in Iran.  Public beheadings still continue in Saudi Arabia.  And in the southern states of USA, many are executed after spending years and years on death row.  Pakistan has been busy too.  The list is a long one.

Amnesty is opposed to the death penalty in all cases.  We should be outraged wherever it happens not just in one country such as Indonesia.  If you feel outraged at the use of this penalty, why don’t you join us and write letters or send emails?  Follow this site or the Amnesty site for urgent actions.

Latest death penalty report

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Unreliable hair evidence used in #deathpenalty trials


It has been revealed in the last week or so that FBI analysis of hair samples is seriously flawed and that astexas execution many as 32 people have been sentenced to death based on this evidence, of whom 14 have been executed or have died in prison .  The problem has arisen because of sloppy work by FBI examiners who have made claims about the ability to identify people from hair samples that are scientifically unsound.  It is, according to the Washington Post, possibly the largest forensic science scandal in America’s history.  Another 1,200 cases remain to be investigated.

Our view of the American justice system is strongly influenced by programmes like CSI and NCIS where clean cut, young, handsome and amazingly certain forensic examiners solve cases by clever scientific means.  Stories often centre (or should we say ‘center’ for our American readers) around one of them poring over a crime scene and finding a tiny piece of evidence.  Then back to the lab where they announce that said tiny piece of evidence is crucial in identifying the killer.  Forensic scientist and police officers dash about the place and sure enough, find the killer who has a matching piece of evidence tying him to the scene.  There seldom seems to be any doubt in what they say and we are left at the end of the episode with the right man or woman ‘going down’.

The problem is that not all science is like that.  There is not always that degree of certainty, merely probabilities.  When it comes to condemning a person to death – the ultimate penalty from which there is no retreat – then it is necessary to be certain.  The problem is made worse because defendants who are poor are not able to employ lawyers able to challenge the evidence properly.  Some lawyers may be doing their first capital trial and have little relevant experience.

You might think that having admitted a major flaw in the evidence given by FBI experts, speedy reviews would be underway to put matters right.  Well no, not in every state there isn’t.  Appeal courts often refuse to look at newly discovered evidence because claims of actual innocence are never grounds for habeas corpus relief.

The USA is the only country in the Americas with the death penalty and the southern states are the keenest users of it.  As we have commented before, it may seem unfair that we frequently highlight the use of the death penalty in the States:  China is the worlds biggest user of the death penalty, the precise number is unknown because it is a state secret, but it runs into thousands.  Iran is close behind.  The difference is that the States is the de facto leader of the free world.  But there is a point here that China is a closed society which severely limits access to the internet and curtails a free press.  America by contrast is a more open society and newspapers like the Washington Post are able to publish this information.  So we can read about it and comment on what we see.

No to the death penaltyAmnesty is opposed to the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.  It is the ultimate cruel and degrading punishment.  It is not a deterrent and there is plenty of evidence to show that it acts against the poor and those least able to defend themselves.  That one of the main methods of condemning people is flawed is yet another plank in the argument to end the use of this penalty in the USA.

Sources:

Washington Post: 18 April

Guardian: 23 April

Wikipedia

Social Science Research Network The Shifted Paradigm: Forensic Science’s Overdue Evolution from Magic to Law.  William Tucker Carrington, University of Mississippi and M Chis Fabricant, Innocence Project Inc.

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Death penalty report


texas executionThis month’s #deathpenalty report is attached thanks to Lesley.  It makes depressing reading especially concerning countries in South East Asia and #Pakistan.

Report

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Death penalty, Iran


We attach a case raising a number of concerns in #Iran.  Iran is one of the world’s leading countries in the use of the death penalty, second to China.  This case involves a woman, Reyhaneh Jabbari who was arrested for murder but her trial was seriously flawed, she was denied legal help, kept in solitary confinement and ill-treated and possibly tortured.  She was due for execution yesterday but following an outcry, it has been delayed for 10 days.

If you can find time to write that would be appreciated.

Urgent action

 

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Death Penalty summary


This is the April summary for the group on the #deathpenalty and its use around the world prepared by Lesley (Word).

Death penalty summary April 14

 

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Group meeting, April


We had our monthly meeting on 10 April and these are some quick notes ahead of the minutes which will appear in the ‘about us’

Amnesty logo
Amnesty logo

tab above.

  • UPDATE [May 2015]: We must record that this money was never received by the group.  The £800 received from Bishop Wordsworth school was gratefully received and there was a discussion on how it would be spent
  • Lesley gave the update on the death penalty and there will be a separate post on that soon.  The press release on Sakineh in Iran was published in the Journal today but the fact she was due to be stoned to death was edited out
  • the North Korea campaign action on 15 April was discussed and the string of NK flags was displayed
  • John Glen’s assistant has now replied and a meeting will be arranged on a Friday evening to fit around JG’s parliamentary activities.  Probably June
  • conference planning proceeds and there was a meeting of the group yesterday.  We will be in ‘competition’ with the Cathedral who have half a million of Lottery money plus sponsorship.  No reply yet from Robert Key who is chair of their event.  However our conference will focus on the actual substance of the Magna Carta and its relevance today ie the human rights angle.  The proposed bid to the City Council was discussed and Peter will submit that by Monday
  • AI’s strategic plan was discussed.  The key point here was whether AI was offering support to groups with these campaigns?  Recent history is not encouraging.  Andrew to circulate for comments
  • film at the Arts Centre was discussed
  • the new regional rep. Caroline Butler, is to be invited to the meeting
  • there is to be a stall on 21 June
  • 10 October is the World Day Against the Death Penalty and the group will be planning an event for that
  • need to give some thought to the Cathedral Service
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