Islam and Human Rights

A few excerpts from the UN’s Report of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran :

Amputation and corporal punishment, although justified by the authorities as Islamic punishments, remain a serious cause for concern.

The death penalty is imposed for certain hudud crimes, including adultery, incest, rape, fornication for the fourth time by an unmarried person, drinking alcohol for the third time, sodomy, sexual conduct between men without penetration for the fourth time, lesbianism for the fourth time, fornication by a non-Muslim man with a Muslim woman, and false accusation of adultery or sodomy for a fourth time. Furthermore, the death penalty can be applied for the crimes of enmity with God ( mohareb ) and corruption on earth ( mofsed fil arz ) as one of four possible punishments. Under the category of ta’zir crimes, the death penalty can be imposed for “cursing the Prophet” (art. 513 of the Penal Code). The death penalty may also be applied to such crimes as drug smuggling or trafficking, murder, espionage, and crimes against national security.

Concerns have been expressed over an increasing crackdown in the past year on the women’s rights movement in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Women’s rights activism is sometimes presented by the Iranian Government as being connected to external security threats to the country.

Reports continue to be received about members of the Baha’i community being subjected to arbitrary detention, false imprisonment, confiscation and destruction of property, denial of employment and Government benefits, and denial of access to higher education. A significant increase has been reported in violence targeting Baha’is and their homes, shops, farms, and cemeteries throughout the country. There have also been several cases involving torture or ill-treatment in custody.

The Human Rights Committee expressed its concern at the extent of the limitations and restrictions on the freedom of religion and belief, noting that conversion from Islam is punishable and that even followers of the three recognized religions are facing serious difficulties in the enjoyment of their rights.

In addition, the special procedures have raised a number of communications concerning members of the Nematollahi Sufi Muslim community, the Kurdish community, the Sunni community, the Baluchi community, the Azeri-Turk community, and the Christian community who have reportedly been subjected to arbitrary arrests and torture, allegedly in connection with peaceful demonstrations for their rights, such as the right to speak their own language and to hold religious ceremonies

There have been increasing reports of tightening curbs on the media in the recent past. The crackdown has affected print media, weblogs, and websites, and journalists have been imprisoned. A well-known human rights defender in the country said that in the period from March 2007 to March 2008, approximately thirty newspapers and magazines had been suspended in the country, including Sharq and Hammihan dailies as well as Madrese , Zanan and Donyaye Tasvir , Sobh-e Zendegi , Talash and Haft . Some women’s rights activists were indicted on national security grounds owing to their weblogs. It is further reported that during the month of May 2008 alone, more than eighteen weblogs focusing on discriminatory laws against women (the “one million signatures” campaign) had been filtered. The censorship of books has reportedly been tightened, affecting negatively the environment for the publishing industry and writers. The Iranian Government appears to encourage self-censorship openly, as the Islamic Culture and Guidance Minister was quoted in the media as saying that if book publishers were to do some self-censorship, they wouldn’t have to complain so much.

The Human Rights Committee . . . noted that contrary to the provisions of articles 18 and 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, members of certain political parties who did not agree with what the authorities believed to be Islamic thinking or who expressed opinions in opposition to official positions had been discriminated against. Self-censorship also seemed to be widespread in the media, and severe limitations appeared to have been placed upon the exercise of freedom of assembly and of association.