UPDATE - Iran ‘must end’ crackdown on protesters, says international fact-finding mission

UPDATES WITH MORE ISSUES DISCUSSED BY COUNCIL

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - Iranian authorities must stop its crackdown on protestors and put an end to the wave of executions, mass arrests, and detentions, a fact-finding mission sent by the UN Human Rights Council said on Wednesday.

"It (Iran) must respect, fulfil, and protect the rights of all people in Iran, especially women and girls, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran said in its first oral update to the UN Human Rights Council.

Protests erupted in Iran in September 2022 following 22-year-old Mahsa Amini’s arrest by the country’s morality police and subsequent death while in police custody.

"Ten months on, Jina Mahsa’s family’s right to truth and justice remain unfulfilled, and we are concerned that domestic investigations have fallen short of international human rights norms and standards, including the requirements of promptness, independence, and transparency, said Sara Hossain, the chair of the mission.

The mission said that no official data is publicly available regarding those arrested, detained, charged, or convicted in connection with the protests.

“But reports continue to emerge of arrests and detentions of protesters, including women and girls refusing to comply with the country’s forced veiling law, and of harassment of their family members,” it added.

Viviana Krsticevic, a member of the mission, said: "We are concerned by the continuous detention of human rights defenders and lawyers defending the protestors and at least 17 journalists, including Nilufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who first reported on Jina Mahsa’s death in custody,"

According to reports received by the fact-finding mission, at least 26 individuals have been sentenced to death in connection with the protests, while dozens more have been charged with or face offenses carrying the death penalty. At least seven men have been executed.

It underlined that the mission has sent seven letters to the Iranian government on repeated requests for a visit to the country to gather information critical to its investigations.

"These have so far gone unanswered," it said.

At the Human Rights Council's 55th session in March 2024, the fact-finding mission will give a thorough report on its findings.

- Syrian refugees ‘fear returning’ to homeland

During the council's interactive dialogue with the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria, Paulo Pinheiro, the chair of the commission, said that the refugees surveyed said "they feared returning” due to the security situation in the country and the “risks they ran of extortion, being arrested and imprisoned, being conscripted and sent to the front lines, alongside a critical lack of livelihood and work opportunities. "

Noting that very small numbers from the over 7 million Syrians who fled abroad were returning, Pinheiro said that steps are needed be taken to ensure that those who returned faced no harm and could receive adequate assistance to make their return sustainable.

"Today such conditions did not exist," he said.

He said that “grave crimes” are still being committed in Syria such as “arbitrary arrests, torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearances and deaths in detention continued.”

"The Commission welcomed the initiation of proceedings at the International Court of Justice to hold the Syrian State accountable for failing to adhere to its obligations under the United Nations Convention against Torture," he said.

Additionally, he said, last week’s long-awaited General Assembly resolution establishing an international institution for the missing was also welcomed.

- Venezuela urged to release arbitrarily detained persons

The UN rights chief called on Venezuela to release arbitrarily detained persons and end restrictions on public information.

Volker Turk called for the release of "all those who are unlawfully or arbitrarily detained, including 16 people whose detentions have been deemed arbitrary by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; and people whose pre-trial detention has surpassed the legal limit."

Turk voiced concern about the case of Javier Tarazona, a leading human rights defender who has been detained for two years and who is reportedly in poor health.

"I urge resolution of these issues, and full implementation of other recommendations contained in my report to accelerate efforts to establish an effective, impartial and independent administration of justice," he said.

Regarding the restrictions on public information, freedom of opinion and expression, he said the situation is also concerning.

These include the closure of 16 radio stations nationwide, he said, noting that his office continues to document cases of undue restrictions to the registration of NGOs that work on human rights issues.

On Venezuela's upcoming national elections scheduled in 2024, the human rights chief said the elections "must be transparent, inclusive, and participatory."

"I urge the lifting of all undue restrictions on the right to participate in public affairs; full compliance with due process; and measures to prevent and sanction attacks, intimidation, and the criminalisation of people voicing dissent," Turk said.