Javaid Rehman also told the UN General Assembly’s human rights committee that the execution rate in the Islamic Republic is one of the highest in the world, with at least 173 carried out so far this year.
He said amendment to an Iranian anti-narcotics law had led to a fall in executions from 507 in 2017 to 253 in 2018 but said “there is more work to be done”.
He added that two of those executed this year were also children.
The use of death penalty for crimes committed by people under the age of 18 is prohibited under international human rights law.
Rehman said he was encouraged by the “enhanced dialogue” between Iranian authorities and the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights “on the administration of justice and child offender executions.”
But he criticised the way those calling for enhanced human rights from within Iran had been “intimidated, harassed, arrested and detained.”
“Between September 2018 and July 2019, at least eight prominent lawyers were arrested for defending political prisoners and human rights defenders, many of whom have received lengthy sentences,” he said.
A group of protesters calling for better labour rights at the Haft Tapphen Sugar Mill in the west of the country were also recently arrested on national security charges.
Seven were later sentenced to between six and 19 years in prison, though the head of the judiciary had ordered a review of their sentences.
ARBITRARY ARRESTS
Rehman, a British-Pakistani professor of Islamic law, said journalists reporting on the protest and other labour rights issues have also been arrested and detained.
At least 32 people, most of them women, have been arrested since January 2018 for protesting Iran’s compulsory veiling laws for women.
Rehman added that in many cases the woman arrested faced harsher sentences than the men.
He said ethnic and religious minorities were also disproportionately represented in Iran’s executions on national security-related charges and among its political prisoners.
“They are subject to arbitrary arrests and detention for their participation in a range of peaceful activities such as advocacy for the use of minority languages, for organising or taking part in peaceful protests, and for affiliation with opposition parties,” he said.
Rehman also called for Iran’s constitution, which currently only recognises three religious minorities – Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians – to be changed to allow all religious minorities and those who don’t hold any religious beliefs “to fully enjoy their rights.”
He added that the human rights situation in Iran is being exacerbated by a number of “distressing factors”, including a declining economic situation that Rehman said was “worsened by the impact of sanctions”.
The United States has levied sanctions on Iran since last year, when President Trump pulled out of a deal negotiated between Iran and a number of world powers regarding the regime’s nuclear programme.
Source » thesun