By Dherar Belhoul Alfalasi
February 1, 2016
We're talking of Iran, which is not different from Daesh, the terrorist organization. The only difference is that while the world unites to fight Daesh, the same world is ignoring Iran's monumental atrocities. One good example is how this country treats its own prisoners.
If you think Daesh is the worst terrorist organization in using faith to justify its devious crimes, then you may need to reconsider. And if you think North Korea has the worst record in mistreating prisoners and for weird methods of execution, then you definitely need to update your information.
There is one country with which Western countries are competing to normalize their diplomatic and commercial ties, while ignoring the fact it boasts both the worst record of misusing faith to justify crimes and tyranny, and the largest record of prisoner abuse and death sentences per capita.
We're talking of Iran, which is not different from Daesh, the terrorist organization. The only difference is that while the world unites to fight Daesh, the same world is ignoring Iran's monumental atrocities. One good example is how this country treats its own prisoners.
Last year, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed bluntly announced that 85 per cent of female and 35 per cent male prisoners are ''routinely raped in Iranian prisons''. According to him, "torture in Iran has become steadily systematic, officially sponsored and wide-spread".
Shaheed's statement confirmed what former presidential candidate Mahdi Karroubi previously said in an open letter to former president Hashmi Rafsanjani about thousands of his supporters who were reportedly raped in prison in the aftermath of 2009 pro-reform protests.
The Iranian regime uses religion as cover for its shameful crimes. Back in the 1980s, Ayatullah Mesbah Yazdiwas, allegedly issued death Fatwas against anyone who disagreed with his evil theological ideology.
Prison guards, police detectives and members of the Revolutionary Guard allegedly ‘sexually abuse and even rape their prisoners and suspects''. This includes men, women and children, according to some accounts.
The Revolutionary Guards allegedly offer female prisoners as 'sexual rewards' to its members upon completion of their tasks. Another shocking practice in Iranian prisons is to force inmates to watch the execution of fellow inmates. In addition, there have been several cases in which the inmates were forced to ''watch other inmates being raped by detectives or guards'', according to some accounts.
Furthermore, Iran has a long record of raping and executing children. Execution of children and underage prisoners by itself is a violation of international law, leave aside torture and rape.
Only last November, the UN condemned the execution of two teenage prisoners for charges that were never proven. Suspects are routinely denied basic rights such as the presence of a lawyer. Some trials that ended with a death sentence took less than five minutes to reach a verdict.
To understand the logic behind this behaviour, we need to be reminded that the majority of such victims come from ethnic or religious minorities and are mostly rights activists. While ethnic and religious humiliation is behind the savage torture of those activists, members of Persian opposition groups such as the secular People's Mojahedin Organization and those who supported the 2009 presidential candidates were crushed by the regime.
Several international organizations that monitor human rights violations in Iran have also reported another concerning practice. Iranian authorities often foist charges to justify their inhuman measures against inmates. Underage prisoners are often executed on allegations of drug trafficking.
In fact, this underage issue is a matter of big concern. Male teens are considered adults and legally responsible at the age of 15; three years before teens in other countries. A female, on the other hand, is considered mature and legally responsible at the age of only nine. In many cases, girls that young were forced to marry elderly men who would die for one reason or another, and the poor girl gets herself a death sentence without even realizing what happened!
Last year alone, Iran executed 1084 people; a large percentage of whom were women and children. Many sources believe the actual number may be double that figure because some executions go unreported as the regime controls all media.
With all these documented atrocities, a legitimate question arises: is it right to reward such a regime by lifting international sanctions or should we treat it like Daesh?
Dherar Belhoul Alfalasi is an Emirati writer
Source: khaleejtimes.com/editorials-columns/the-world-should-wake-up-to-irans-abuses
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