Six Iranian human rights activists in Iran have called for resistance against all forms of human rights violations in the country because of the “widespread problems” they cause.
Their statement calls on all activists to put in “greater effort to spread an understanding of human rights and the protection of human dignity in society.”
Signed by Mehdi Khodayi, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Nasrin Sotoudeh, Abdofattah Soltani, Mohammad Seifzadeh and Mostafa Nili. all currently jailed by the Islamic Republic authorties, the statement stresses that “the promotion of fundamentals stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can guarantee growth, development, peace, stability and a healthy society and requires active social participation and an informed approach to issues of collective living in the modern world.”
The statement goes on to list instances of human rights violations in Iran, including “violating political freedom and supressing political dissidents and civil and human rights activists, the lack of free, open and competitive elections, the house arrest of opposition leaders and cracking down on protesters of the 2009 election, as well as violating freedom of the press, threatening and arresting journalists and limiting the media, blocking websites, persecuting bloggers, confiscating satellite dishes, jamming satellite programs, monitoring private phone calls and internet communications, restricting freedom of assembly, cracking down on independent organizations, religious, ethnic and gender discrimination, lack of attention to children’s rights as well as the rights of the accused and the persistence of the death penalty.”
The statement refers to the use of the death penalty in a “widespread and continued manner” as the “most regretful” instance of a human rights violation.
Iran has the second-highest rate of execution in the world, and drug-related crimes, murder, armed robbery and enmity against God are punishable by the death penalty, according to Iranian jurisprudence.
