UN to Investigate Iran Human Rights Violations? | DW News

Nov 24, 2022 | The UN Human Rights Council was considering an international investigation into the human rights situation in Iran. United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk warned on Thursday, Iran is, "in a full-fledged human rights crisis." He was speaking at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council on what it called "the deteriorating human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran" in Geneva. …

Persecution, Torture, Murder: Iran Blasted on Human Rights ahead of UN Hearing

FOX NEWS: On the eve of Iran's defense of its human rights record Friday before a key United Nations panel, a lawyer for the woman executed in the Islamic Republic over the weekend for allegedly killing her attempted rapist accused the regime of widespread torture and murder.

A UN-appointed human rights advocate had already prepared a voluminous account of Tehran's egregious transgressions, including persecution and imprisonment of religious minorities, alarming numbers of executions and systematic disregard of due process by Saturday, when Reyhaneh Jabbari, a 27-year-old woman who had spent the last seven years in prison, was hanged. Jabbari became an international symbol of the regime's brutality, with the UN and rights groups such as Amnesty International decrying her death sentence. Jabbari's execution served to punctuate this week's hearings, including the independent forum in Geneva on Thursday and a procedure today before a UN Human Rights Council panel. » | Jonathan Wachtel | Friday, October 31, 2014

Isa Haider Alaali Case: Bahraini Teen Fears Torture After Losing Asylum Claim

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: A Bahraini teenager fears he will be tortured when he is deported to the repressive Gulf state this week after his asylum application was rejected by the British Government.

Isa Haider Alaali’s deportation comes as the Royal Family have been playing host at the Royal Windsor Horse Show to the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and his son Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who faces a High Court judicial review over whether he has immunity from prosecution for alleged torture.

Activists staged protests over the weekend at an equestrian event as Prince Andrew – long criticised for his cozy relationship with the Gulf state – entertained Bahraini royals at Windsor on Friday.

Home Office documents obtained by The Independent show the 19-year-old is due to be flown back to Bahrain on Thursday morning. Mr Alaali, who was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia by a Bahraini court in March on charges of illegal gathering and rioting, is unable to appeal the decision. » | Alex Delmar-Morgan | Sunday, May 18, 2014

Violation Kingdom: US, Saudi Ties Tighten Amidst Human Rights Outcry

The US President is on his way to Saudi Arabia to meet King Abdullah. The countries enjoy a close relationship, and the talks are unlikely to touch on human rights violations in the Arab nation. One such case is that of a former Saudi diplomat - seeking asylum in the US, after coming out as gay. RT has been closely following his story, and Gayane Chichakyan now brings us the latest. It's easy to understand why returning home is not an option for the former diplomat. Being gay in Saudi Arabia leads to capital punishment. You can also find yourself on the wrong side of the law in the kingdom by posting on Twitter. Earlier this month, two Saudis received lengthy prison sentences for their activity on the microblogging site. Saudi Arabia enforces rigid rules of conduct for women - who are banned from travelling alone, driving, or talking to male non-relatives and are often subjected to domestic violence. Daoud Khairallah, international law professor at Georgetown University, believes the dire rights situation in Saudi Arabia is there to stay...

Punished for Being Yourself
THE AGE: Urgent action is needed to fight a rise in homophobia and hold governments accountable for human rights violations.

THE current president of the United Nations General Assembly, Libya's Ali Abdussalam Treki, has proclaimed that being gay ''is not acceptable''. Leave aside the bad joke that allows the representative of a nasty dictatorial regime to chair the assembly, Treki's comments echo a wave of homophobia that appears to be a strengthening theme in global politics.

In the past week there have been scary reports of mass rapes of suspected lesbians in South Africa, and systematic persecution and killings of suspected homosexuals in Iraq. The week before, a planned gay rights march in Belgrade was cancelled because the Serbian police claimed they could not protect the marchers from attacks from right-wing protesters.

The South African cases, which have resulted in several women being killed, remind us that even in countries with legal protection against discrimination - and South Africa was the first country to include sexual rights within its constitution - traditional assumptions about sex and gender are used to justify appalling brutality.

In Iraq the justifications for killings are religious, and globally there is a tacit alliance between organised Islam and the Catholic Church to prevent what is feared as the legitimisation of homosexuality. Ironically, Islamic countries such as Iran, which have a long tradition of homoerotic literature, now lead the world in criminalising, and in some cases executing, people for homosexual behaviour.

The world has never been as divided in attitudes towards homosexuality. In all Western countries legal prohibitions have been removed, and in some same-sex marriage has become legal. Openly homosexual politicians are increasingly evident, and no mainstream television series seems to be without its gay and lesbian characters.

For many political and religious leaders who dislike what they see as the unnecessary freedoms and hedonism of the West, homosexuality has become a crucial touchstone.

We should not be surprised that regimes such as those of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libya's Muammar Gaddafi rail against homosexuality, which they invoke as a symbol of Westernisation, unlike, for example, shopping malls or DVDs, which they embrace. >>> Dennis Altman* | Wednesday, September 30, 2009

*Dennis Altman is director of the Institute for Human Security, LaTrobe University.

Iran Inmates 'Tortured to Death'
BBC: Iran's defeated opposition presidential candidate has said that some protesters held after last month's disputed poll were tortured to death in prison.

The claim by Mehdi Karroubi comes days after he said a number of prisoners, both male and female, had been raped. Officials deny the rape claims, but admit that abuses have taken place.

The BBC's Jon Leyne says the opposition uses the issue to maintain political pressure without directly questioning Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's poll victory.

On Thursday, Mr Karroubi alleged that a number of detainees had been tortured to death.

"Some young people are beaten to death just for chanting slogans in [post-election] protests," his website said.

Mr Karroubi also called for the formation of an independent committee to review his evidence in "a calm atmosphere".

On Sunday, the defeated presidential candidate claimed that some opposition protesters were raped in detention.

The claim was supported by a number of human rights groups but quickly dismissed as "totally baseless" by the speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Larijani.

"Based on parliament's investigations, detainees have not been raped or sexually abused in Iran's Kahrizak and Evin prisons," said. >>> | Thursday, August 13, 2009

Mottaki the Joker: Iran Concerned about Human Rights Violations in the West!
IRNA: Iran on Tuesday expressed concern over violation of human rights in the West and growing number of victims to violence against Muslims.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that the growth of violation of human rights and organized Islamophobia in the West is alarming.

Mottaki made the remark in a meeting with his Ghanaian counterpart Akwasi Osei-Adjei, expressing concern about the violation of human rights and prevalence of anti-Islam moves in the West. Iran Concerned over Violation of Human Rights in West >>> | May 20, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)