{"id":3902,"date":"2025-03-15T04:35:23","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T04:35:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=3902"},"modified":"2025-03-15T04:35:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T04:35:24","slug":"iran-protests-human-rights-council-probe-condemns-online-app-based-repression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=3902","title":{"rendered":"Iran protests: Human Rights Council probe condemns online, app-based repression\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In their latest and final report<\/a>, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission<\/a> on Iran alleged ongoing serious rights violations by the Iranian authorities stemming from massive protests after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Amini, from the Iranian Kurdish community, had been arrested by the country\u2019s \u201cmorality police\u201d for allegedly not complying with rules on how the hijab should be worn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allegations of crimes against humanity<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn repressing the 2022 nationwide protests, State authorities in Iran committed gross human rights violations, some of which the Mission found to have amounted to crimes against humanity,<\/strong>\u201d said Sara Hossain, Chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe heard many harrowing accounts of harsh physical and psychological torture and a wide range of serious fair trial and due process violations committed against children, including some as young as seven years old<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since April 2024, the State has increased criminal prosecution against women who defy the mandatory hijab <\/em>through the adoption of the so-called \u201cNoor plan.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWomen human rights defenders and activists have continued to face criminal sanctions, including fines, lengthy prison sentences, and in some cases the death penalty for peaceful activities in support of human rights,\u201d the Independent Mission asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in Geneva on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council<\/a>, Ms. Hossain noted that Iran\u2019s ethnic and religious minorities \u201chad been specially targeted in the context of the protests\u201d, with \u201csome of the most egregious violations<\/strong>\u2026carried out in peak protest towns in minority-populated regions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testimonies gathered inside and outside Iran for the report which has been shared with the Iranian Government pointed to men, women and children being held \u201cin some cases at gunpoint\u201d with \u201cnooses put around their necks in a form of psychological torture\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online surveillance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Mission \u2013 which comprises senior human rights experts acting in an independent capacity \u2013 noted that these measures \u201ccome despite pre-election assurances\u201d by President Masoud Pezeshkian to ease the strict enforcement of mandatory hijab laws.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This enforcement increasingly relies on technology, surveillance and even State-sponsored \u201cvigilantism\u201d, the investigators stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSurveillance online was a critical tool for State repression<\/strong>. Instagram accounts, for instance, were shut down and SIM cards confiscated, in particular of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders,\u201d explained the Independent Mission\u2019s Shaheen Sardar Ali.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vigilantes and intrusive apps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Ali pointed to the use of the \u201cNazer\u201d mobile application \u201cwhich is a particular app that the Government has instituted, where after vetting, sort of normal citizens can also complain \u2013 file a complaint \u2013 against someone who’s just passed by and hasn\u2019t got the mandatory hijab. So, this technology that\u2019s being used for surveillance is really very far-reaching and highly intrusive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Fact-Finding Mission, 10 men have been executed in the context of the 2022 protests and at least 11 men and three women remain at risk of being executed, amid \u201cserious concerns over the adherence to the right to a fair trial, including the use of torture-tainted confessions<\/strong>, and due process violations\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mission\u2019s report will be presented to Member States at the Human Rights Council next Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Independent Mission was established<\/a> by the Human Rights Council in November 2022, with a mandate<\/a> to \u201cthoroughly and independently investigate alleged human rights violations\u201d in Iran related to the protests that began in September that year, especially with respect to women and children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was also tasked by the Council to establish the facts and circumstances surrounding the alleged violations, as well as to collect, consolidate and analyse evidence of such violations and preserve evidence, including in view of cooperation in any legal proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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