The Global Community Remains Helpless in the Face of Human Rights Violations in Iran.

If you are looking for a record violation of human rights today, focus your flood lights on the Islamic Republic Regime.

Just looking at one case of Mr. Azematollah Fahand whose children and wife I personally know, the IRAN Human RIGHT’ssite a human rights organization, enumerates the following list of human rights violations. The following case is one example but by far is not isolated. In fact since the unfortunate execution of Mr. Farhand in 1979 the Bahaí community of Iran continues to be the target of on going injustice and violations of human rights. There are so many untold sad stories from Bahaí children who are now adults never having had the permission by their government to attend university. So many years of sufferings and injustice. Let us keep our voices rise in protest to all this inhumanity.

Based on the available information, some or all of the following human rights may have been violated in this case of Azematollah Fahand and many others:

• The right to liberty and security of the person. The right not to be subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention.Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 9.1.
• The right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas.UDHR, Article 19; ICCPR, Article 19.1 and ICCPR, Article 19.2.
• The right, as a member of a religious or ethnic minority, to enjoy one’s own culture or to profess and practice one’s own religion.UDHR, Article 18; ICCPR, Article 27.
• The right to equality before the law and the right to equal protection of the law.UDHR, Article 7; ICCPR, Article 26.

The right to due process

• The right to be presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent and impartial tribunal in accordance with law.UDHR, Article 11.1; ICCPR, Article 14.1 and Article 14.2.

Pre-trial detention rights

• The right to know promptly and in detail the nature and cause of the charges against one.UDHR, Article 9(2); ICCPR, Article 9.2 and Article 14.3.a
• The right to counsel of one’s own choosing or legal aid and the right to meet with one’s attorney in confidenceICCPR, Article 14.3.d; Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 1 , Article 2, Article 5, Article 6, and Article 8.
• The right to adequate time and facilities for the preparation of the defense case.ICCPR, Article 14.3.b; Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, Article 8
• The right not to be compelled to testify against oneself or to confess to guilt.ICCPR, Article 14.3.g.
• The right not to be subjected to torture and to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.UDHR, Article 5; ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1, and Article 2.

Trial rights

• The right to a fair and public trial without undue delay.ICCPR, Article 9.3, Article 14.1, Article 14.3.c.
• The right to examine, or have examined the witnesses against one and to obtain the attendance and examination of defense witnesses under the same conditions as witnesses for the prosecution.ICCPR, Article 14.3.e.
• The right to have the decision rendered in public.ICCPR, Article 14.1.

Judgment rights

• The right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction.ICCPR, Article 14.5.
• The right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence.ICCPR, Article 6.4.

Capital punishment

• The inherent right to life, of which no one shall be arbitrarily deprived.Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), Article 3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), Article 6.1; Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, Article 1.1, Article 1.2.
• The right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.ICCPR, Article 7; Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Article 1 and Article 2.

When we examine the Pre-trial Detention rights we realize the blatant human rights violations in the case of the 7 Bahaí leaders, who have been in prison for over a year. These human rights violations are likewise committed in the case of the increasing number of Bahaís being arrested daily.

Can we stop shouting for help and justice?

Keyvan