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Iran Human Rights Bulletin
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National Council of Resistance of Iran - U.S. Representative Office (NCRI-US)
No. 107 April 2, 2019
40 years of environmental mismanagement and government-led deforestation have
resulted in devastating, lethal flash floods in 30 of Iran’s 31 provinces. Rain has decreased
by 20% in the past 50 years, while floods have increased by 50%. Reports present a bleak
image of innocent people left without support. While the nation struggled with the
overwhelming effects of the flooding, the regime struggled to suppress news of its impact
and to ensure its own security. Meanwhile, arrests of civil, women’s and labor activists and
ethnic minorities continued.
Arbitrary Arrests:
Poet on a hunger strike
The poet of Ilam, Jacan Baran, is on hunger strike. Baran was
arrested by security forces after protesting the behavior of
government forces ten days ago. Intelligence forces raided the
Nowruz ceremony in Ilam province on March 19. According to a
source close to the prisoner, he has been on hunger strike since
March 21 at the Ilam Detention Center in protest to his arrest.
(Hengaw – Mar. 28)
Man arrested in Marivan for no apparent reason
http://www.kurdpa.net/farsi/idame/76477
Adel Nikkhah, 23, son of Omar, was arrested by intelligence forces
on March 26. According to an informed source, this young man
was transferred to an unknown location after his illegal arrest.
There is no information available on the reasons for the arrest or
his whereabouts (Kurdpa – Mar. 26)
Family arrested in crackdown on Ahwazi Arabs
https://bit.ly/2VcmcbI /
After four months of detention, a family from Iran’s Ahwazi Arab
ethnic minority remains in limbo. Hattab Zaheri Sari and his son
and daughter, Amin and Ameneh, were among hundreds of
people in Khuzestan province arrested during a sweeping
crackdown against the Ahwazi Arab ethnic minority in November
2018.
Hattab Zaheri Sari and his son were arrested on November 5,
2018. Ameneh Zaheri Sari, 20 a student of accounting, was
arrested at home on November 6, by forces of the Revolutionary
Guard Corps Intelligence.
The arrests and detentions were arbitrary and illegal. Security
forces raided residences after midnight or early in the morning without arrest warrants. They beat up
the whole family and hauled off their suspects.
The wave of detentions followed a deadly armed attack on a military parade in the city of Ahvaz in
September, during which at least 24 people, including spectators, were killed and more than 60 injured.
Amnesty International warned, “The timing (of the wave of detentions) suggests that the Iranian
authorities are using the attack in Ahwaz as an excuse to lash out against members of the Ahwazi Arab
ethnic minority, including civil society and political activists, in order to crush dissent in Khuzestan
province.”
Hattab Zaheri Sari is reportedly in poor health, but has been denied medical attention. Ameneh Zaheri
Sari is presently incarcerated in the women’s ward of Sepidar Prison of Ahvaz, where women have to
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______________________________________________________________________________ No. 107 Iran Human Rights Bulletin April 2, 2019 endure unsanitary conditions. Prison cells are full of lice, cockroaches and other insects. Inmates are given filthy blankets, and must sleep on floors contaminated from the broken sewage system. (Iran HRM – Mar. 26) Inhumane and Excessive Punishments: Amnesty International calls for the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoner https://www.radiozamaneh.com/439084 Amnesty International says Maryam Akbari Monfared, who has been in prison for more than 10 years, should be released immediately and unconditionally. Monfared was detained on December 31, 2009. In June 2010, she was sentenced to 15 years. Monfared has been shuffled around different penitentiaries over the course of her imprisonment. After writing several letters to clerics, prison authorities, and Ahmad Shaheed, then the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, she was returned to Evin’s Women’s Ward and has remained there since. Two of Maryam’s brothers were executed in 1981 and 1984. Another younger brother and a sister were also executed during the 1988 massacre. The UN Working Group on Forced or Involuntary Disappearances called on Iran to investigate the disappearance of Monfared’s relatives. (Radio Zamaneh – Mar. 29) Labor activist sentenced to prison without access to counsel https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2019/03/30/iran-sentences-labor-activist-to-prison- without-access-to-counsel/ Labor activist Arsham Rezaei (Mahmoud) has been issued a total of 8.5 years in prison at a trial that took place on March 15 without a lawyer or prior notice. Judge Mohammad Moghiseh sentenced the 27-year-old painter on charges of “spreading propaganda against the state,” “assembly and collusion against national security” and “insulting the Supreme Leader.” Rezaei was arrested along his two friends on January 7, 2019, by agents of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Intelligence Organization in Tehran and taken to Evin Prison. Keshvar Rezaei, his mother, said that her son was arrested for participating in peaceful protest rallies, informing the public about the condition of political prisoners and meeting with their families. Two other labor activists, Majid Hosseini and Mohammad Hosseinzadeh, who were detained around the same time as Rezaei, were released on bail. He was unable to post bail because his family had insufficient funds, his mother said. (Iran HRM – Mar. 30) Iran hands down heavy sentences to civil activists https://iran-hrm.com/index.php/2019/03/27/iran-hands-down-heavy-sentences-to-civil- activists/ The Iranian regime has stepped up pressure on civil activists, seeking to create an atmosphere of fear and terrorize a restless society. Rezvaneh Ahmad Khan Beigi was sentneced to four years and five months in prison. The health of the civil activist has deteriorated in prison; she suffered from seizures and epilepsy before being detained. Behnam Ebrahimzadeh, another activist, was sentenced to six years (of which he must serve five, subject to appeal) and ordered to copy three books by hand, for engaging in peaceful activities, including attending protests by sugar mill workers in southwestern Iran. ______________________________________________________________________________ National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office Page 2
______________________________________________________________________________ No. 107 Iran Human Rights Bulletin April 2, 2019 According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, the 41-year-old was held for 35 days mostly in solitary confinement in Evin Prison’s Ward 2-A before being transported to court without prior notice or the presence of his lawyer. In a 10-minute trial in February 2019, he was sentenced to one year on the charge of “propaganda against the state” and five years for “membership in illegal organizations.” The indictment referred to political comments Ebrahimzadeh had made on social media, his criticism of government relief efforts during a recent earthquake in western Iran, and his presence at demonstrations by Haft Tappeh sugar mill workers in Shush, Khuzestan Province, who were protesting unpaid wages. Gender equality advocate Rezvaneh Mohammadi was tried in absentia in Tehran on the unusual charge of “assembly and collusion against national security by seeking to normalize homosexual relations.” She did not attend her trial on February 17, and presiding Judge Mohammad Moghiseh refused to allow her lawyer to attend. Meanwhile, the lawyer of imprisoned labor activist Jafar Azimzadeh has appealed a flogging sentence against his client. “Following a decision by Branch 1190 of the Criminal Court in Tehran to flog Jafar Azimzadeh 30 times allegedly for being absent after spending time in furlough, I have lodged an appeal that will hopefully result in his acquittal,” attorney Mohammad Ali Jafari Foroughi told the state-run ILNA news agency on March 16. The secretary general of the Free Workers Union of Iran (FWUI), Azimzadeh was arrested on January 29, and told to serve the remaining five years of his six-year prison sentence issued for his peaceful defense of worker’s rights. He had been released from Evin Prison for medical reasons on July 2016 after a 64-day hunger strike. The authorities claim he was granted furlough (temporary leave) and never returned to complete his prison term. In yet another case, Sahar Kazemi, an environmental and civil activist and sports coach from Sanandaj, has been sentenced to five years in prison. In early February, former political prisoner Mahin Akbari, 57, was arrested in a raid on her residence and transferred to the Lakan Prison of Rasht after lengthy interrogations and torture in the detention center of the Intelligence Department of Rasht On February 18, Massoumeh Askari, a retired teacher, was sentenced to 5 years. Askari had been rearrested in December 2018 and held for one month in solitary confinement at Ward 209 of Evin Prison Human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, 55, was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes after two grossly unfair trials. The human rights lawyer was arrested for her defense of women activists and women protesting the compulsory veil. (Iran HRM – Mar. 27) Basic freedoms and rights abused: Attorney General says posting flood news on social media “disrupts security” http://www.irna.ir/fa/News/83256726 Iran’s Attorney General said today that publishing “fake” news on the floods that have swept Iran was a security violation, adding that those who published such news would be charged with “disrupting the security of the country”. Mohammad Jafar Montazeri said that the Attorney General’s office, Ministry of Interior and the Police were coordinated on the matter. “In the first stage, the sources of the false news should be identified and when identified, they will be dealt with,” the cleric added. According to IRNA state-run news agency, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli had complained about reports on social media showing government incompetence in dealing with the flood in the northern province of Golestan. “I told judicial authorities ______________________________________________________________________________ National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office Page 3
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No. 107 Iran Human Rights Bulletin April 2, 2019
and the prosecutor to deal with those who are behind publishing fake news and those who are looking
to exaggerate the problems in flood-stricken areas,” he added. (IRNA state-run news agency – Mar. 27)
Police to crack down on spread of flood reports
https://www.isna.ir/news/98010702046
Colonel Ramin Pashaie, the Social Deputy of Iran’s FATA (Cyber
Police), said the “police would deal with those who spread rumors
about the recent floods on social media.” He said such rumors
would “lead to the disturbance of public opinion and peace of the
society.”
“We have asked all provinces to monitor the internet and if they
witness any rumors or content that disturbs public opinion or
social peace, to quickly carry out necessary measures to deal with
the publishers once identified,” he added in comments carried by
ISNA. He also asked the public not to heed videos on social media
and to only follow the news from state-run news agencies. (ISNA
state-run news agency – Mar. 27)
Environmental catastrophe
https://life.shafaqna.com/FA/197805
According to the state-run Shafaghna website, in the course of 25
years, there have been more than 120 small and large floods in the
northern province of Golestan, with an average of around 5 floods a
year. The devastating 2001 flash flood in the northern province of
Golestan killed a record number of 500 people.
33% of forests have been destroyed nationwide, meaning that Iran’s
18 million hectares of forests have shrunk to just 12.4 million. Half of
Iran’s northern forests have been razed in the span of 40 years by the
ruling regime, shrinking northern forests from 3,600,000 hectares to
1,800,000 hectares. Every year, around 600 hectares of northern
forests are destroyed. 200,000 hectares of northern forests were
destroyed in forest fires in the past 40 years.
Esa Kalantari, the Head of Iran’s Department of Environment, said
Iran ranks first in the world in terms of erosion. The average debt of
soil is just 3cm, compared to the world average of around 3 m. It takes more than 300 years for 1 cm
of soil to form. The main cause of Iran’s erosion is the destruction of vegetation as a result of
deforestation and the unrestrained building of villas by regime elites in northern Iran.
Appendix:
119 dead in Shiraz flood
According to the Minister of Health, the death toll in the city of Shiraz today rose to 119.
https://www.tasnimnews.com/fa/news/1398/01/05/1975839
(Tasnim state-run news agency – Mar. 25)
The governor of Fars Province said that some of the victims of
the Shiraz flood had been listed on official websites.
The names of some of the dead and injured are as follows:
Somayeh Mizanchi, Female, 34
Hajar Hooshmand, Female, 29
Zahra Hooshmandi, Female, 30
Mahsa Vesali Hemat, Female, 14
Zohreh Vesali Hemat, Female, 32
Zahra Karimi, Female, Female, 30
Mohammad Arjmand, Male, 24
Yasna Ostovar, Female, 8
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National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office Page 4
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No. 107 Iran Human Rights Bulletin April 2, 2019
Leila Allah dadi, Female, 43
Kobra Akbari, Female, 32
Hamdieh Bahrami, Female, 29
Hamidreza Behi, Male, 24
Mostafa Bayat, Male, 34
Mahmood Bayat, Male, 62
An unknown woman, 50
An unknown man, 40
Soheyla Mohtasham, Female, 34
Maliheh Mohammadi, Female, 33
Mehdi Moradi, Male, 34
Parnian Moradi, Female, 3
Naser Moalemi Pour, Male, 52
Mehrangiz Mouri, Female, 62
Shokoufeh Zaheri, Female, 41
Fatemeh Abbasi, Female, 55
Arshia Ezati, Female, 4
Tabasom Ezati, Female, 6
Ali Gholam Hosseini, Male, 2
Narges Gholam Hosseini, Female, 4
Mohsen Gholam Hosseini, Male, 32
Jafar Fereidonie, Male, 38
An unknown child, Male, 14
https://www.farsnews.com/fars/news/13980105000878
(Fars state-run News Agency – Mar. 25, 2019)
Teenager drowns in Kohgiluyeh & Boyer-Ahmad Province
https://www.farsnews.com/kohgiluyeh-boyerahmad/news/13980106000272
The head of the Center for Accident and Emergency Management in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Jalal
Pouran Fard said that a teenager had died due to floods in this region. The 15-year-old was from the
village of Shush. Now all areas in the province have flooded. (Fars state-run news agency – Mar. 26)
Good Samaritan drowns in Masjed Soleyman
https://www.tabnak.ir/fa/news/887948
The head of the Red Crescent Office of Masjed Soleyman reported that “A man of about 36 years of age
died on the bridge.” Shapour Bagheri said, "Reportedly, the man fell into the water when he tried to
help persons stranded in a car.” (Tabnak state-run news agency – Mar. 26)
Flooding in Tehran as death toll climbs, more rain expected
https://www.radiofarda.com/a/iran-flood/29843276.html
Parts of the capital city of Tehran are reportedly
submerged in flood water. Traffic police have been
forced to close several roads and highways.
Meanwhile, Tehran police report that a seven-meter
(approximately 7.7 yards) long and five-meter wide
landslide occurred in Kan-Souleqan road, near the
capital. "Blocks of stone as heavy as four to five tons
have hit the road," Deputy Governor of Greater
Tehran Gholamhossein Aram announced, adding,
"No casualties have been reported, so far."
All restaurants and service stations in the basin of
Darakeh, Darband, Lavasan and Fasham, north of
Tehran, have been closed since March 25. Tehran's
Nahj ol-Balagheh park was closed down on March 26.
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National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office Page 5
______________________________________________________________________________ No. 107 Iran Human Rights Bulletin April 2, 2019 Flood warnings have also been issued for other Iranian provinces, including Tehran, Qom, Kermanshah, Markazi, Isfahan, and Khorasan. Local officials in Tehran have assured the public that all resources are ready and all emergency forces are on high alert, the official news agency, IRNA, reported. According to local news outlets, the Iran Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization has reported that a number of main roads were closed due to heavy rain, snow and risk of avalanche, landslide, and river flooding. People are warned to avoid unnecessary travel. At least 28 of 31 provinces have been affected by floods, and hundreds of people displaced. (Radio Farda – Mar. 26) Instead of helping flood victims, regime seeks to ensure its own security https://bit.ly/2V9SyUs / Flash flooding in southern and western Iran reached new levels on Monday, March 25, while Iranian social media harshly criticized authorities’ handling of the disaster. At least 30 of Iran’s 31 provinces witnessed flood conditions. Reports indicate at least 120 dead in the historic city of Shiraz alone. Meanwhile, the regime is trying to hide the real number of victims, with the state media reporting 19 people dead. The disaster comes during Iranian New Year (Nowruz) holidays when many Iranians travel. Flooding killed one person in Sar-Pol Zahab county in Kermanshah Province, where some residents still live in temporary cabins after their homes were destroyed in a strong earthquake that took hundreds of lives last year. The lives of those who live close to the banks of the Arvand river are at risk amid the possibility of an overflow. Dozens of people have also lost their lives or been injured in the provinces of Lorestan, Khushistan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Isfahan, Bushehr, Ilam, Kermanchah, Golestan and elsewhere. Reports from flood victims indicate that the regime has failed to provide much needed aid. News from various cities show a very bleak image of innocent people left without any support. Iranian social media has been abuzz with photos of people taking matters into their own hands and preparing for flash floods. The obvious negligence of officials prompted MP Kourosh Karampour to demand that those responsible for the mismanagement of the crisis be brought to justice. In recent years, the non-regulated construction of roads and buildings by the IRGC and other regime entities has obstructed the traditional network of rainwater that has protected the city for thousands of years, and allowed the overflow of water through the main city gate. One Iranian journalist accused a former Mayor of Shiraz of filling up a flood channel with rubble and turning it into a public road. Residents of Shiraz insist that provincial authorities have not taken recent weather warnings seriously and have not evacuated residents or banned traffic through the historic Quran Gate at the city’s northwestern entrance. Instead of taking preventive measures and responding properly to the flash floods, the Deputy Commander of State Security Forces, IRGC General Ayoub Soleimani, said today: “Ensuring security is our most important task in the devastated areas (…) The deployment of fixed and mobile patrols, with the collaboration of Bassij (militia) and IRGC, as well as the installation of checkpoints in many places, are measures that must be taken with all the necessary means to prevent crimes and possible damage.” (Iran HRM – Mar. 26) ______________________________________________________________________________ National Council of Resistance of Iran – U.S. Representative Office Page 6
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