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UN Watch forum on Iran to feature lawyer of 26-year-old Reyhaneh Jabbari, who was executed by Iran on Saturday
Victims, activists, experts to expose violations on eve of Iran's UN review
Geneva Residents: To request an invitation for the UN Watch forum on Iran this Thursday, which will take place at the UN in Geneva from
12:00 noon to 2:00 pm, please write to briefing@unwatch.org.
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GENEVA, Oct. 28, 2014 - One day before
Iran goes before a United Nations examination of its human rights
record, the non-governmental organization UN Watch will convene an
international forum of Iranian victims, activists and experts this
Thursday, October 30th, to expose gross and systematic violations that
are covered up in the regime's written submission to the UN review session. (See excerpts below.)
The UN Watch parallel event, to take place inside
the UN's European headquarters at the Palais de Nations in Geneva, will
feature leading figures on the subject of human rights in Iran:
Mohammad Mostafaei - Iranian human
rights lawyer who was forced to flee the country after being persecuted
by the authorities for his defense of individuals facing the death
penalty. Mr. Mostafei was the first lawyer of Reyhaneh Jabbari, a
26-year-old woman who was just executed by Iran on Saturday for
allegedly killing the man who was trying to rape her. Mr. Mostafaei is
the founder and director of Norway's Universal Tolerance Organization.
In 2011, he was awarded PEN's Ossietzky Prize.
Sepideh Pooraghaiee - Iranian
journalist and human rights activist who was jailed for 110 days in
Tehran's notorious Evin Prison. Ms. Pooraghaiee recently fled Iran,
finding asylum in France, after she was threatened by the government for
reporting on its crackdown against peaceful protesters. "I was in
danger because I know the truth," she says. "And it was bad for them."
Marina Nemat - Iranian dissident,
former prisoner of conscience and best-selling author, now living in
Canada, who was jailed as a political prisoner in Tehran when she was
only 16 years old. During her incarceration for two years in the
infamous Evin Prison, she was interrogated, tortured, faced execution,
and was raped by a prison guard who she was coerced to marry. Ms. Nemat
was the recipient of the European Parliament’s inaugural Human Dignity
Prize in 2007, and in 2014 was awarded UN Watch's Morris B. Abram Human
Rights Award.
Sohrab Ahmari - London-based editorial page writer for the Wall Street Journal. Born in Tehran, Mr. Ahmari was interrogated by Iranian security officials as a child when he accidentally brought a Star Wars
video cassette to school. He holds a law degree from Northeastern
University and previously served as a nonresident fellow at the Henry
Jackson Society. An alumnus of Teach for America, Mr. Ahmari is
co-editor of "Arab Spring Dreams," an anthology of essays by young
dissidents in the Middle East (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).
____________________
● “The laws of Iran repudiate all forms of torture.”
● “Iran has tirelessly worked to advance women’s rights.”
● "In order to protect the rights of the people, the
Supreme Leader has communicated the following general policies in 2014:
[...] the need to fulfill the legal and religious rights of women... the
protection of legitimate freedoms and the protection of the nation’s
fundamental rights."
● “In all stages of prosecution, including detection,
investigation and implementation of sentence – irrespective of race,
religion, gender or ethnicity – fairness is of paramount importance.”
● “Consistent with article 14 of the Constitution, the
Government is required to treat non-Muslims with respect and Islamic
justice and equity, and to respect their human rights.
●
“Alongside the recognized religious minorities, the rights of all
citizens – including the followers of the Baha’i sect – are respected.”
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