UNIVERSAL HUMAN RIGHTS
UN Paints Bleak Rights Picture In Iran
The UN
human rights expert on Iran has painted a bleak picture of rights abuses in the
Islamic Republic.
Ahmed Shaheed said human rights activists are
beaten with batons, raped, deprived sleep and undergo mock hangings among other
things.
Shaheed said Iran has executed at least 223
people over the first half of 2012, most for drug-related offensives.
Shaheed also condemned Iran's reliance on
stoning as a form of punishment.
Shaheed said Iran is now cracking down on
Internet users, with 19 bloggers and Internet commentators now detained, with
four of them sentenced to death in January after being accused of "enmity
against God" and "corruption on earth."
"Sakhi Righi" was sentenced to 20
years in prison for "publishing false information" and
"committing acts against national security" in what is believed to be
the harshest sentence yet to a blogger in the country.
Iran is also cracking down even more on websites
deemed to be promoting "terroristic, espionage, economic or social
crimes."
Shaheed also reported that at least 150
journalists have fled the country since the contested 2009 reelection of
President Mahmud Ahmadinejad.
Shaheed said Iran has detained more journalists
than any other nation on the planet.
The Committee to Protect Journalists, cited by
Shaheed, counted 179 reporters, editors and photojournalists jailed in Iran in
December, 2011.
Shaheed said his report is based in part on 99
interviews conducted with individuals inside and outside Iran between February
and June.
Iran's UN mission was unavailable for comment.
When the report was being prepared in March,
Iran's Foreign Ministry said Shaheed was relying on statements from
"terrorists."
The document will be the basis for a UN General
Assembly resolution critical of Iran's human rights violations.
That resolution should come up for a vote in
December.
Based on AP and Reuters reporting