Human Rights Situation in Iran
On Oct. 21, Iranian security forces beat and arrested dozens of workers during peaceful protests in the western city of Arak.
The workers were all from AzarAb Industries, a large manufacturing and construction company located in the western province of Markazi, calling for humane working conditions and fair pay. Peaceful protestors, young people and uninvolved individuals have been targeted in these arrests throughout October. Article 27 of the Iranian Regime Constitution protects a citizen’s legal right to protest; however, any form of dissent against the regime could warrant an arrest of demonstrators, human rights defenders and critics. This is especially apparent in the rampant suppression in the AzarAb protests.
Reports from inside the Tehran Penitentiary Complex and Karaj Central Prison reveal the unjust and substandard living conditions within the detention centers. Prisons in Iran are insufficiently resourced. Lack of food, water and sanitation conditions deprives those imprisoned to their right to life and dignity. Disease and malnutrition are pervasive throughout the facilities. The Association in Defense of Freedom in Iran publicized that any protest from prisoners within the detention centers could lead to torture, rape, or murder. Furthermore, those who are held within these prisons have gone without trial or were subjected to a sham hearing. The ADFI further details that “during the past year, 242 people have been hanged in Iran. Of those executed, at least 5 were under the age of eighteen, at the time of the crime.”
ACHRS stands in solidarity with the Iranian people, and demands that foreign governments and news outlets provide a platform for the voice of Iranians to be heard. There is an urgent need for the international community to respond to these human rights abuses in Iran and work towards the cessation of arbitrary arrests, executions, and suppression of freedom of speech. For further information, please consult the links to follow.
