The Death Penalty against four men in Ahwaz

Four men were executed by the Iranian authorities in Qeshm (Jesm) island on 24th November 2016 in the charge of corruption on the earth and other unclear reasons. The reliable sources in the island informed to the Ahwazi Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights that the death penalty against the men was held in the public in Qeshm. The reliable sources also added that the families of the victims were tried to halt the capital punishment against the men.

According to the sources from the island, the court was unfair and the four men could not access to the lawyer, all the men were also tortured by the Iranian security forces and were held in the secret detention for several months.

Another source from Qunitra (Dezful) in North Al-Ahwaz informed to the Ahwazi Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights that the Iranian security gourd also fired live bullets against four Ahwazi men in the road between Susa and Dezful, which caused the death of one man and injured another person.

The violation of human rights against Ahwazi in general and people in Qeshm Island in particular have recently increased. The Iranian forces were recently demolished the homes of three Ahwazi Arab families in the capital city on 22nd November 2016 and against several families in Qeshm, without issuing any notice of the demolition beforehand.

The Ahwazi Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights condemns the Iranian ill-treatments against Ahwazi in general, and against people in Qeshm in particular. The Ahwazi Organisation for the Defence of Human Rights calls the international community to increase the pressure against the Iranian authorities to halt the death penalty against other Ahwazi prisoners and has also condemned Iran’s demolition of the homes of Ahwazi which caused many people to live in poverty, homelessness and segregation. The AODHR is describing the problems as ‘’a grave violation of international humanitarian law’’.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Ahwaz is an Arab land that located in the South- West and South Iran. The name of Al-Ahwaz has changed to Khuzestan, Bushehr and Hormozgan in 1935 after invading the land in 1925. The Iranian both regimes such as Pahlavi era and Islamic republic era used different ways to suppress Ahwazi voices.

Qeshm (Jesm) is an Ahwazi island in the Strait of Bab Al-Salam (Hormuz), located in the Arabian Gulf.

A considerable number of Ahwazi in general and Qeshm in particular have been arrested by the Iranian authorities due to their activities. Therefore, many of the activists were died under torture, and many were sent to the death penalty or long life imprisonment.

The Iranian authorities also deprived Ahwazi of reaching their right to life, although Article 6 of the ICCPR states that “every human being has the irrefutable right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life”.

The Economic and Social Council encouraged all member states to offer a fair trial and the standard courts adopted at the United Nations bodies, including the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary issued in 1985, and guidelines on the role of prosecutors that issued in 1990, and in accordance with the recommendations of the Human Rights Committee in 2005, in which offered the detainees to access a lawyer and facing a fair trial.

The strategy of the Iranian authorities toward Ahwazi Arab people has an impact on Ahwazi Arabs. For instance, the demographic of Al-Ahwaz has changed due to bringing settlers to Al-Ahwaz; the vast majority of Ahwazi are unemployed, poor and homelessness due to demolishing the Ahwazi houses.

International law and property law & discrimination

International law allows forced displacement of civilians during an armed conflict only as a temporary measure to protect local populations or for imperative military needs. International law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of ethnicity or race at all times, including in states of emergency and armed conflict. In addition, international law forbids collective punishment or discriminatory detention.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 25: (1) ‘’Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, and housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of

unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control’’.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

Article 11: (1) ‘’The States Parties to the present Covenant recognise the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. The States Parties will take appropriate steps to ensure the realisation of this right, recognising to this effect the essential importance of international co-operation based on free consent’’.

Sunday November 27th, 2016

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