THE ONGOING
“DETENTION” DEBATES IN IRAN
The debates regarding the
individuals that were detained during the protest demonstrations after the
Presidential Elections held on June 12 hold their place in the agenda. Available
information indicates that the casualties during the said incidents are much
higher than the twenty something scores announced by the government. In fact, it
is said that it reaches up to 300. Furthermore, five more protestors, two being
in prison, have recently lost their lives.
Following the deaths of Mohsan
Rouhalamini and Mohammad Kamrani in the Kahrizak Prison near Tehran because ill-treatment
and torture, Spiritual Leader Ali Khamanei ordered that the mentioned prison to
be closed. Abdoulhousein Rouhalamini, father of Mohsan Rouhalamini, who died in
detention, is a conservative politician. He is known to be an ally of Mohsan
Rezai, who ran against Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in the elections.
On the other hand, led by a
deputy named Kazem Jalali, the members of the Majlas Human Rights Commission
initiated an inspection in the prisons in Tehran. As a result of the inspections,
it appeared that several relatives of politicians working in the government have
been arrested and imprisoned because of their involvement in protest
demonstrations.
Under these circumstances, Mir
Hossein Musavi, who has controversially lost against President M. Ahmedinejad in
the Presidential elections, Mahdi Karrubi, Secretary General of National Trust,
and former President Mohammad Khatami wrote a letter to the ulamah residing in
Qom and Mashad. The said letter requested that the detainees should be released,
the bodies of the deceased should be delivered to their families and suffered
families should be assisted. Several families that have lost or missed a member
are wondering whether the ulamah will attempt anything or not.
Meanwhile, the Islamic
Consultation Council established a commission on July 27, led by Parviz Sorouri,
so as to investigate the status of the detainees and to present a report to
Majlas. Experts indicate that the government is in an effort to give the message
that the detentions have been maintained on a legal basis and in accordance with
human rights. Several international institutions, Amnesty International in
particular, and Iranian expatriates organized the “Global Day of Action” against
the Human Rights Violations of the Ahmedinejad Government on July 25 in several
parts of the world. “The UN High Commissioner of Human Rights is going to take
action against the human rights violations in Iran,” said Farhan Haq, the
spokesperson of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon after the said
organization that attracted the attention of the global public opinion.
