Latest news with #IndependentInternationalFact-FindingMission
Scoop
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Scoop
Human Rights Council Hears Alarming Updates On Executions In Iran And Global Civic Space Crackdown
June 2025 At least 975 people were executed in Iran in 2024, the highest number reported since 2015, according to a report Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al-Nashif, presented to the Geneva-based Council on Wednesday. Of the total executions, just over half were for drug-related offenses, 43 per cent for murder, two per cent for sexual offenses, and three per cent for security-related charges. At least four executions were carried out publicly. 'These cases are marked by serious allegations of torture and due process violations, including lack of access to a lawyer,' said Ms. Al-Nashif. Violence and discrimination against women At least 31 women were reportedly executed in Iran last year, up from 22 in 2023. Of the 19 women executed for murder, nine had been convicted of killing their husbands in cases involving domestic violence or forced or child marriage, areas in which Iranian women have no legal protections. Some executions were reportedly linked to protests that began in September 2022 under the banner 'Women, Life, and Freedom.' Beyond executions, femicide cases surged, with 179 reported in 2024 compared to 55 the year before. Many stemmed from so-called 'honour' crimes or family disputes, often involving women and girls seeking divorce or rejecting marriage proposals. Ms. Al-Nashif also warned that the suspended Chastity and Hijab Law, if enacted, would pose a serious threat to women's rights. Penalties for violations such as improper dress could include heavy fines, travel bans, long-term imprisonment, or even the death penalty. In addition, of the 125 journalists prosecuted in 2024, 40 were women, many reporting on human rights and women's rights issues. Religious and ethnic minorities 'In 2024, the death penalty continued to have a disproportionate impact on minority groups,' Ms. Al-Nashif told the Council. At least 108 Baluchi and 84 Kurdish prisoners were executed in 2024, representing 11 and 9 per cent of the total, respectively. The report also raised concerns over the lack of official data on the socioeconomic conditions of ethnic and ethno-religious minorities and non-citizens, which hampers efforts to assess their situation and measure the impact of targeted policies and programmes. Looking ahead While Iran continued engagement with the Office of the UN High Commissioner and other human rights mechanisms, it denied access to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran. 'Our Office remains ready to continue and build on its engagement with the Iranian authorities on the range of issues highlighted in the report of the Secretary-General for the promotion and protection of all human rights,' Ms. Al-Nashif concluded. Global 'Super Election' cycle undermined democratic participation In the Council's afternoon session, Gina Romero, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, presented her report on how the 2023–2025 'super election' cycle has affected civic space around the world. In 2024, half of the world's population elected their local, national and international representatives. While Ms. Romero's report on this cycle does not assess the integrity of the elections, it identifies troubling global patterns of systematic repression of the exercise of peaceful assembly and association. 'The misuse of restrictive laws, smear campaigns, disinformation targeting civil society intensified globally in the super electoral cycle, undermining electoral participation and freedom of association,' she said. Political repression and violence As criminal justice systems are used to repress the opposition, leaders and members of political parties faced undue restrictions and political persecution. Civil society activists and election observers have also faced harassment, arbitrary detention, torture and murder. 'When political parties, civil society, and peaceful assemblies are suppressed, genuine political pluralism and competition cannot exist,' argued Ms. Romero. 'I stress that these conditions are incompatible with free and genuine elections and risk legitimising undemocratic rule.' Minority representation Ms. Romero also underscored that women's political leadership remains severely underrepresented, while LGBTIQ individuals and their organizations faced attacks during the super electoral cycle. Both groups experienced physical and online political violence, restricting their electoral participation and accelerating the decline of their rights after the elections. Calls to protect freedoms Amid global crises and a rapid democratic decline, Ms. Romero emphasized the urgent need to protect the rights to peaceful assembly and association throughout the entire electoral cycle. She outlined key recommendations, including strengthening legal protections before elections, ensuring accountability afterward, regulating digital technologies and promoting non-discriminatory participation throughout. 'Dissent is a fundamental element of democratic societies,' she concluded in Spanish. 'Rather than being suppressed, it should be welcomed and permanently protected.'
MTV Lebanon
14-03-2025
- Politics
- MTV Lebanon
Iran using drones and apps to enforce women's dress code
Iran is using drones and intrusive digital technology to crush dissent, especially among women who refuse to obey the Islamic republic's strict dress code, the United Nations has said. Investigators say Iranian security officials are using a strategy of "state-sponsored vigilantism" to encourage people to use specialist phone apps to report women for alleged dress code violations in private vehicles such as taxis and ambulances. Their new report also highlights the increasing use of drones and security cameras to monitor hijab compliance in Tehran and in southern Iran. For women who defy the laws, or protest against them, the consequences are severe – arrest, beating, and even rape in custody. The findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran come after it determined last year that the country's theocracy was responsible for the "physical violence" that led to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Witnesses said the 22-year-old Kurd was badly beaten by the morality police during her arrest, but authorities denied she was mistreated and blamed "sudden heart failure" for her death. Her killing sparked a massive wave of protests that continues today, despite threats from the state of violent arrest and imprisonment. "Two-and-a-half years after the protests began in September 2022, women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic discrimination, in law and in practice, that permeates all aspects of their lives, particularly with respect to the enforcement of the mandatory hijab," the report said. "The state is increasingly reliant on state-sponsored vigilantism in an apparent effort to enlist businesses and private individuals in hijab compliance, portraying it as a civic responsibility." At Tehran's Amirkabir University, authorities installed facial recognition software at its entrance gate to also find women not wearing the hijab, the report said. Surveillance cameras on Iran's major roads are also being used to search for uncovered women. Investigators also said they obtained the "Nazer" mobile phone app offered by Iranian police, which allows "vetted" members of the public and the police to report on uncovered women in vehicles, including ambulances, buses, metro cars and taxis. "Users may add the location, date, time and the licence plate number of the vehicle in which the alleged mandatory hijab infraction occurred, which then 'flags' the vehicle online, alerting the police," the report said. According to the report, a text message is then sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them they had been found in violation of the mandatory hijab laws. Vehicles could be impounded for ignoring the warnings, it added. The UN investigators interviewed almost 300 victims and witnesses – they also looked in-depth at Iran's judicial system, which they said lacks any real independence. Victims of torture and other violations were also persecuted while their families were "systematically intimidated", according to their report. They also found evidence of the extrajudicial executions of three child and three adult protesters, later dismissed by the state as suicides. The report also established additional cases of sexual violence in custody, citing the case of one arrested woman who was beaten severely, subjected to two mock executions, raped and then gang-raped. The report will be presented to the Human Rights Council on 18 March.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran turns to tech to crush dissent: UN probe
Iran is increasingly using digital and surveillance technology and "state-sponsored vigilantism" to crush dissent after the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022, a UN investigation said Friday. Tehran is making "concerted state efforts to stifle dissent, perpetuating a climate of fear and systematic impunity", the United Nations' Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said in a new report. These involve "the increased use of technology and surveillance, including through state-sponsored vigilantism". Iran was rocked by demonstrations after the September 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rule for women based on Islamic sharia law. Widespread anger led to weeks of taboo-breaking protests against the country's government under supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In November 2022, the UN Human Rights Council created a high-level investigation into the deadly crackdown. The fact-finding mission's chair Sara Hossain told a press conference Friday that the trajectory had shifted from extreme violence during the protests' peak to "a silencing and repression that's ongoing". - Criminalisation and surveillance - "For two years, Iran has refused to adequately acknowledge the demands for equality and justice that fuelled the protests in 2022," Hossain said. "The criminalisation, surveillance and continued repression of protesters, families of victims and survivors, in particular women and girls, is deeply worrying." Since April 2024, Iran increased the policing and criminal prosecutions of women defying the mandatory wearing of the hijab, the probe said. In its first report, the mission found that the violent crackdown on peaceful protests and discrimination against women and girls resulted in serious rights violations, many amounting to crimes against humanity. Its new report went deeper into patterns of violations and crimes, and their evolution following the protests. The investigators said that so far 10 men had been executed in the context of the protests, while at least 11 men and three women remain at risk of being executed. - Technology 'amplifying' control - "The state has leveraged digital tools to silence dissent, with technology amplifying and extending state control to restrict freedom of expression and association, and to control narratives," the mission said. Hossain said Tehran had "massively engaged" in surveillance and restriction of speech in the digital realm. The Nazer app, for example, allows vetted individuals to report non-compliance in private vehicles. In September, it was updated to monitor women "in ambulances, public transport or taxis", the report said. The confiscation of vehicles from women for alleged violations of the hijab laws also persisted, it added. Mission member Shaheen Sardar Ali highlighted the "chilling enhancing of surveillance through apps, drones and the use of facial recognition technology", which is "very far-reaching and highly intrusive". Hossain said that while facial recognition technology was being used worldwide, "what's unusual and extraordinary" in Iran was its use to monitor "what a woman wears or doesn't wear". Furthermore, in April 2024 in Tehran and southern Iran, the state used aerial drone surveillance to monitor hijab compliance, the report said. - 'Continuously intimidated' - Iran's judicial system lacks basic independence, the mission said, and victims seeking accountability are denied justice and "continuously intimidated, threatened, arrested, and subjected to criminal prosecution" along with their families. "It is therefore imperative that comprehensive accountability measures also continue to be pursued outside the country," Sardar Ali said. The probe, which is wrapping up, has collected and preserved 38,000 evidence items and interviewed 285 victims and witnesses over two years Iran denied the mission access to the country. Rather than seeking a prolongation of its own investigation, the mission called for a new probe into rights violations with a broader scope than just the protests and their aftermath. The report will be presented to the Human Rights Council on Tuesday. rjm/js
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran using drones and apps to enforce women's dress code
Iran is using drones and intrusive digital technology to crush dissent, especially among women who refuse to obey the Islamic republic's strict dress code, the United Nations has said. Investigators say Iranian security officials are using a strategy of "state-sponsored vigilantism" to encourage people to use specialist phone apps to report women for alleged dress code violations in private vehicles such as taxis and ambulances. Their new report also highlights the increasing use of drones and security cameras to monitor hijab compliance in Tehran and in southern Iran. For women who defy the laws, or protest against them, the consequences are severe – arrest, beating, and even rape in custody. Iranian women 'ready to pay the price' for defying hijab rules A really simple guide to the protests in Iran Iran reportedly executed at least 901 people in 2024, UN says The findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran come after it determined last year that the country's theocracy was responsible for the "physical violence" that led to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Witnesses said the 22-year-old Kurd was badly beaten by the morality police during her arrest, but authorities denied she was mistreated and blamed "sudden heart failure" for her death. Her killing sparked a massive wave of protests that continues today, despite threats from the state of violent arrest and imprisonment. "Two-and-a-half years after the protests began in September 2022, women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic discrimination, in law and in practice, that permeates all aspects of their lives, particularly with respect to the enforcement of the mandatory hijab," the report said. "The state is increasingly reliant on state-sponsored vigilantism in an apparent effort to enlist businesses and private individuals in hijab compliance, portraying it as a civic responsibility." At Tehran's Amirkabir University, authorities installed facial recognition software at its entrance gate to also find women not wearing the hijab, the report said. Surveillance cameras on Iran's major roads are also being used to search for uncovered women. Investigators also said they obtained the "Nazer" mobile phone app offered by Iranian police, which allows "vetted" members of the public and the police to report on uncovered women in vehicles, including ambulances, buses, metro cars and taxis. "Users may add the location, date, time and the licence plate number of the vehicle in which the alleged mandatory hijab infraction occurred, which then 'flags' the vehicle online, alerting the police," the report said. According to the report, a text message is then sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them they had been found in violation of the mandatory hijab laws. Vehicles could be impounded for ignoring the warnings, it added. The UN investigators interviewed almost 300 victims and witnesses – they also looked in-depth at Iran's judicial system, which they said lacks any real independence. Victims of torture and other violations were also persecuted while their families were "systematically intimidated", according to their report. They also found evidence of the extrajudicial executions of three child and three adult protesters, later dismissed by the state as suicides. The report also established additional cases of sexual violence in custody, citing the case of one arrested woman who was beaten severely, subjected to two mock executions, raped and then gang-raped. The report will be presented to the Human Rights Council on 18 March. Iran's defiant women: 'I wear what I like now' Rare accounts of life for women inside notorious Iranian prison 'I was in Iran's police - then joined protesters'
BBC News
14-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Iran using drones and phone apps to monitor strict dress code for women
Iran is using drones and intrusive digital technology to crush dissent, especially among women who refuse to obey the Islamic republic's strict dress code, the United Nations has say Iranian security officials are using a strategy of "state-sponsored vigilantism" to encourage people to use specialist phone apps to report women for alleged dress code violations in private vehicles such as taxis and new report also highlights the increasing use of drones and security cameras to monitor hijab compliance in Tehran and in southern women who defy the laws, or protest against them, the consequences are severe – arrest, beating, and even rape in custody. Iranian women 'ready to pay the price' for defying hijab rulesA really simple guide to the protests in IranIran reportedly executed at least 901 people in 2024, UN says The findings of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran come after it determined last year that the country's theocracy was responsible for the "physical violence" that led to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Witnesses said the 22-year-old Kurd was badly beaten by the morality police during her arrest, but authorities denied she was mistreated and blamed "sudden heart failure" for her death. Her killing sparked a massive wave of protests that continues today, despite threats from the state of violent arrest and imprisonment."Two-and-a-half years after the protests began in September 2022, women and girls in Iran continue to face systematic discrimination, in law and in practice, that permeates all aspects of their lives, particularly with respect to the enforcement of the mandatory hijab," the report said."The state is increasingly reliant on state-sponsored vigilantism in an apparent effort to enlist businesses and private individuals in hijab compliance, portraying it as a civic responsibility." At Tehran's Amirkabir University, authorities installed facial recognition software at its entrance gate to also find women not wearing the hijab, the report cameras on Iran's major roads are also being used to search for uncovered also said they obtained the "Nazer" mobile phone app offered by Iranian police, which allows "vetted" members of the public and the police to report on uncovered women in vehicles, including ambulances, buses, metro cars and taxis."Users may add the location, date, time and the licence plate number of the vehicle in which the alleged mandatory hijab infraction occurred, which then 'flags' the vehicle online, alerting the police," the report said. According to the report, a text message is then sent to the registered owner of the vehicle, warning them they had been found in violation of the mandatory hijab laws. Vehicles could be impounded for ignoring the warnings, it added. The UN investigators interviewed almost 300 victims and witnesses – they also looked in-depth at Iran's judicial system, which they said lacks any real independence. Victims of torture and other violations were also persecuted while their families were "systematically intimidated", according to their also found evidence of the extrajudicial executions of three child and three adult protesters, later dismissed by the state as report also established additional cases of sexual violence in custody, citing the case of one arrested woman who was beaten severely, subjected to two mock executions, raped and then report will be presented to the Human Rights Council on 18 March.
