Iran: Mullahs Terrified Of Human Rights Critics

There is no argument or debate over the fact that Iran has a dismal report card of human rights violations. The mullahs’ regime is also known to take extremely harsh measures against rights advocates. A recent shocking sentencing of 16-years behind bars issued for renowned human rights advocate Narges Mohammadi is one such case. This mother of two is already suffering from several cases of severely chronic illnesses and such a measure marks a comprehensive assault targeting human rights activists in Iran. This measure also resembles how abusive is Iran’s so-called criminal justice apparatus and the undeniable fact that the mullahs’ use this government branch as means to impose even further crackdown. This shows how utterly terrified the mullahs in Tehran are of human rights critics, and to what lengths they are willing to resort to silence these voices.

Narges Mohammadi, a renowned human rights advocate and known for her struggle against the death penalty in Iran, is also the vice president of Iran’s “Center for Human Rights Defenders” in Iran. A so-called “revolutionary” court in the Iranian capital sentenced Mohammadi to 16 years behind bars for boasted offences related to national security issues, related to her work as a human rights advocate.

“Narges Mohammadi’s sentence is yet another chilling example of Iran’s use of vaguely worded national security charges to crack down on peaceful freedom of expression… The authorities have made clear their ruthless determination to silence human rights defenders and instil fear in would-be critics of their policies,” said Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Amnesty International . This leaves no doubt that Mohammadi is being punished unjustly because of her continued work and commitment to the plight of human rights in Iran. This activist is already behind bars in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison link erving a separate sentence of 6 years, again in relation to her work as a human rights advocate.

Mohammadi gained international attention in 2012 after Amnesty International highlighted her case in its annual campaign of “Write for Rights.” In April 2012 she began her 6-year sentence, only to be released three months down the road due to her deteriorating medical status. She suffered partial paralysis provoked due to her detention under harsh conditions. Iranian authorities had her arrested once again in May 2015, resulting in her transfer yet again to Evin Prison to continue serving her initial 6-year sentence. Mohammadi’s medical conditions further deteriorated in October 2015 when she suffered a number of dangerous seizures. Authorities were reluctant but forced to allow her hospitalization, only to be returned back to prison 17 days later despite her physician’s emphasis on her need to remain under medical care and hospitalized.

Once again, Iran’s “courts” have sentenced Mohammadi to an additional 10 years behind bars under the bogus charge of “establishing an illegal entity” for her engagement with the Legam group. She was also sentenced to another five years for “assembly and collusion with the intention to commit crimes against national security. Mohammadi was slapped yet another year for the vaguely worded accusation of “propaganda against the establishment.” Interviews Mohammadi gave to international media outlets and a meeting back in March 2014 with then E.U. foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton were preposterously used as “evidence” against her.

Mohammadi will face serving another at least 10 years behind bars if this new conviction and sentence are eventually upheld. Iran’s 2013 penal code stipulates an individual convicted to a series of charges will have to serve the longest single sentence.

“Narges Mohammadi’s sentence [aims to] take revenge against a human rights activist who is opposed to the death penalty and seeks its gradual elimination… Indeed, sometimes the judgment of a judge is just a tool in the hand of the powerful,” said Narges Mohammadi’s husband Taghi Rahmani to Amnesty International.

Iranian authorities have gone one step further in a cruel act of denying Mohammadi the right of access to her 9-year old twin children, whom were forced to move abroad to live with their father as they had no relatives to take them into custody in Iran with their mother in jail. From last summer onward Mohammadi has only been permitted one telephone call with her children, undoubtedly grueling for a mother and yet another method of imposing pressure used by and human rights violations resorted to by Tehran.

Outraged over this new atrocious measures, the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a statement demanding the urgent release of political prisoner Narges Mohammadi. The UN has never been fond of Iran’s human rights record. The UNHRC and other human rights mechanisms have long demanded Iran to release Mohammadi, with all calls falling on deaf ears. Her conviction reflects the fact that the tolerance of human rights advocacy has deteriorated in Iran, especially under the tenure of “moderate” President Hassan Rouhani from June 2013 onward. The UNHRC went on to call on Iranian officials to immediately release Mohammadi and all others detained for the sole reason of defending human rights.

The Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, the main Iranian opposition group, strongly condemned the new ruling issued against Mohammad, adding this proves the mullahs’ weakness, making it entirely vulnerable in the face of even the smallest protest and opposition. The NCRI called on the international community to end its silence and strongly denounce vis-à-vis the waves of executions, crackdown, arbitrary arrests and Middle Ages punishments imposed by the mullahs in Tehran.

The question that comes to mind is why does Iran go to such great lengths, and at such a high price of international embarrassment, to impose such harsh measures against a simple human rights advocate? The question is all too simple from the mullahs’ point of view. They have already accepted to forgo their nuclear ambitions. Tehran is also under extreme pressure to end its support for Bashar Assad in Syria to allow for tangible ceasefire and peace after 5 years of carnage; this would eventually lead to Iran losing its influence across the Middle East. Considering all these major strategic setbacks, Tehran views it as simply unacceptable to begin backing down on any human rights policies, knowing this is the ultimate “Achilles’ Heel” that will inevitably mark the beginning of its end.