[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 187 (Monday, November 27, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S17534-S17535]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______


                      IRANIAN HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to deplore Iran's 
abominable human rights practices, and to remind my colleagues that 
Iran's continued abuse of the fundamental rights of its own citizens is 
one of the reasons why I have offered legislation intended to increase 
economic pressure on this outlaw regime in Tehran.
  Human rights organizations all over the world have been deploring the 
Islamic Republic of Iran's human rights abuses against women, religious 
and ethnic minorities for years.
  This is a country that sentences women to death for adultery, and 
then carries out the death penalty by bundling them into a postal sac 
and throwing them from the roof of a 10-story building.
  This is a country that still carries out public stonings, and even 
has a strict legal code to govern the size stones citizens are to use 
to stone their fellow citizens. Stones too large are not to be used, 
because death will be inflicted too quickly. Stones too small are to be 
avoided, because death doesn't come at all. The stones have to be just 
the right size to allow the victim to suffer for a very long time, and 
to ensure that they will die of their wounds.
  This is a country that continues to use paramilitary security forces 
to harass and intimidate people in the street, and that closes 
newspapers because of a political cartoon comparing the Supreme Leader 
to a comic strip figure.
  This is a country where to be a candidate in an election you must 
first be deemed to be a supporter of the sitting Government. And this 
is a country, Mr. President, that continues to be cited, year after 
year, by the Special Representative of the U.N. Subcommission on Human 
Rights for its systematic use of torture, arbitrary arrests, and 
summary executions.
  These practices were described in an article appearing in a Paris-
based newsletter nearly 5 years ago, which I ask to have printed in the 
Record at the conclusion of my remarks, along with more recent material 
supplied to my office by the Foundation for Democracy in Iran, a human 
rights advocacy group.
  Mr. President, I would like to call your attention to a few of the 
lesser known human rights abuses of the clerical regime in Tehran: its 
repression of religious and ethnic minorities.
  As cited by the 1995 report of Middle East Watch, and the February 
1994 report of U.N. Special Representative on Human Rights for Iran, 
the Iranian security forces conduct arbitrary arrests of Kurdish, 
Balouch, Turkomen, and other ethnic minorities, and to subject these 
minorities to cruel and degrading punishments in Iranian jails, 
including torture and summary execution.
  Similarly, as the State Department's February 1995 Report on Human 
Rights points out, the clerical regime discriminates against citizens 
of other religious persuasions than the dominant Shiite Moslem faith. 
Baha'is, Jews, and Sunni Muslims have been arrested over the past year 
for no other reason than their faith, and some of these individuals 
have been executed.
  In fact, the Islamic Republic has engaged in a deliberate policy to 
suppress the rights of its Sunni minority, and in particular members of 
the Balouchi tribes in eastern Iran. On February 1, 1994, riots broke 
out in Zahedan, Mashed, and Khaf after 500 municipal workers demolished 
a Sunni mosque in the Zahedan district. On January 10, 1993, Iranian 
Revolutionary Guards troops attacked Balouchi residents in the village 
of Robat, when the homes of an estimated 50 families were set on fire 
in an attempt to secure a single individual, Haji Pirdad. The U.N. 
Special Representative for Human Rights reported on February 2, 1994 
that 20 Balouchis were executed in December 1992 and February 1993 in 
Zahedan prison, while Amnesty International reported that 42 Balouchis 
including minors were executed between November 1991 and March 1992.
  I believe, Mr. President, that this behavior by the Islamic Republic 
just goes to show that we are dealing with an outlaw regime that cares 
little about its own people. If it cares so little about its own 
people, how will it act toward others?
  Iran is isolated and universally viewed as a pariah state. Its 
actions are abhorrent to the civilized world. As long as this warped, 
terroristic regime continues to punish the Iranian people with its 
misrule, this condition will continue. The tyrants in Tehran must 
understand their aggression and abuse of the good people of Iran will 
not last, and one day they will be brought to task for their actions.
  While the tyrants continue to rule in Tehran, sanctions are a clear 
way to keep up the pressure on Iran and to deny them the ability to 
carry out their aggression on the outside world as well as against 
their own people. We do not take these issues lightly. It is a pity 
that the regime cannot act like a civilized country and not be so 
abusive. If only Iran would not conduct these brutal actions, we would 
not have to place sanctions on it.
  The article follows:

                 [From Mednews, No. 4.4, Dec. 3, 1990]

                      Human Rights Abuses in Iran

       The ``moderate'' regime in Tehran so dear to Washington 
     policymakers has failed the test again--the test of human 
     rights. Three recent reports on human rights abuses in Iran 
     show beyond a doubt that extreme caution is still needed in 
     dealings with the current regime in Iran.
       The reports were prepared independently by Amnesty 
     International, the United Nations, a Paris-based Iranian 
     exile group, the Foundation for the Independence of Iran. All 
     three conclude unequivocally that human rights abuses have 
     increased markedly since the end of the Gulf war, despite 
     Iranian government claims to the contrary.
       In his second report in thirteen months, which was released 
     in late November, the UN's Reynaldo Galindo Pohl confirms 
     that at least 113 Iranians have been executed since March 21, 
     the start of the Iranian New Year.
       In fact, Pohl's figures fall far short of the mark--once 
     again. Accounts published in the official Iranian media alone 
     show more than 600 deaths by execution since March 21. Last 
     year, that figure reached 2,500. When he questioned the 
     Iranian authorities about the executions during his first 
     visit to Tehran during the fall of 1989, Mr. Pohl was told 
     that the victims were ``ordinary criminals,'' not political 
     prisoners, and that all had been ``treated in confirmity with 
     the Ta'zirat and the standards of Islamic law.'' Allegations 
     of torture and summary execution were groundless, Pohl 
     explained, since Iran did not maintain that its laws adhered 
     to the universal declaration of human rights.
       Amnesty International recently quoted Iran's ``Islamic'' 
     law on lapidation and concluded: ``In Iran, stoning someone 
     to death isn't against the law. Using the wrong stone is.'' 
     [See illustration.] Yet another Amnesty report on Human 
     Rights abuses in Iran is scheduled for release on December 5.
       The Foundation for the Independence of Iran has chosen to 
     stick to accounts published in the Iranian press, and 
     recently presented a detailed report to the French government 
     on human rights abuses in Iran.
       Here are just a few of the more startling examples the 
     Foundation discovered:
       July 26: Keyhan announces that forty women have recently 
     been stoned to death. ``Whippings, sectioning of fingers and 
     hands are common punishments'' in Iranian prisons.
       August 17: The Iranian Press Agency (Irna), quoted by 
     Nimrooz, acknowledges that 14,000 persons have been arrested 
     during the past two months, mostly for drug trafficking. On 
     the personal orders of President Rafsanjani and Intelligence 
     Minister Fallayian, they were deported to work camps on the 
     Island of Endourabi.
       August 24: Nimrooz reported that a woman accused by her 
     husband of infidelity was sentenced to an unusual death in 
     Tehran. She was sewn into a burlap bag and thrown off the 
     roof of the Ministry of Justice.
       August 30: Keyhan reports that 45-year old Ebaolollah Kiani 
     was condemned to death by stoning in the central square of 
     the town of Nahavandi, for having had intercourse with a 
     woman.

[[Page S 17535]]

       August 31: Nimrooz reports that anti-government slogans 
     chanted during a football match in Tehran led to mass 
     arrests. Two thousand persons received prison terms ranging 
     from 5 years to life, while many others were executed, 
     [Opposition sources believe as many as 400 were sentenced to 
     death].
       September 7: Nimrooz reports that a fight between two men 
     in the town of Rey ended in blows and the death of one of the 
     men, Hassan Ahmadi. As punishment, the mollahs of the town 
     ordered that his assailant, Nader Zandi, be taken to the town 
     square and beaten to death by the crowd, under the principle 
     ``an eye for an eye . . .''
       September 13: Keyhan lists the names of 51 persons who were 
     hanged in a single day in the cities of Mashad and Khach, on 
     charges of drug-trafficking and illegal possession of 
     weapons.
       October 4: Keyhan lists the names of 65 persons executed by 
     hanging in the towns of Mashad, Zahedan, Malayer, Busheir, 
     Ardebil, and Sabzevar. In Kermanshah two petty criminals had 
     fingers chopped off as punishment for theft.
       Meeting with members of the French government's Human 
     Rights Commission on November 22, the Foundation's President, 
     Colonel Hassan Aghilipour, noted that the new European 
     Charter just signed by 34 heads of State in Paris ``devoted 
     45 lines to human rights,'' while in Iran executions and 
     deportations were occurring daily. ``There are 150,000 
     Iranians now condemned to Islamic gulags in the southeast of 
     Iran and on the Persian Gulf islands,'' Aghilipour said.
                                                                    ____

                                                 October 20, 1995.
     Subject: Execution and arrest of Kurds in Iran.

                    Foundation for Democracy in Iran

       The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is concerned over 
     recent reports from Iranian Kurdistan regarding the execution 
     of 10 Kurds and the arrest of at least 26 others.
       According to the opposition Democratic Party of Iranian 
     Kurdistan (DPIK). 10 Kurdish political prisoners accused by 
     the regime of being DPIK supporters were executed or died 
     under torture in late September.
       Six of the prisoners, Kurdish villagers from northwestern 
     Iran, were executed by firing squad after a year of detention 
     in Orumiyeh prison, the group said. Three others died under 
     torture. The tenth, a Kurdish villager identified as Rashid 
     Abubakri, was hanged on Sept. 21, also in Orumiyeh prison. 
     All were detained and executed on the grounds they were 
     supporters of a banned political opposition group.
       In early October, the Iranian press reported that 345 
     persons had been arrested in Orumiyeh district at the same 
     time as the alleged DPIK sympathizers were executed. On 
     October 7, 1995, the DPIK released the names of 26 Kurdish 
     civilians it claims have been arrested over the past two 
     months in the Orumiyeh and Salmas regions in northwestern 
     Iran, on charges of cooperating with a banned political 
     opposition group. Those arrested were identified as follows:
       1. Asgar Darbazi, son of Omar, native of the village of 
     Barazi.
       2. Aziz Hayavani, son of Shino, native of the village of 
     Barazi.
       3. Pros Azizi, son of Hussein, native of the village of 
     Barazi.
       4. Dino Ibrahimi, son of Saleh, native of the village of 
     Barazi.
       5. Salahaddin Faghapur, son of Saleh, native of the village 
     of Barazi.
       6. Ghamar Mirazai, son of Timur, native of the village of 
     Dostan.
       7. Saleh Amini, son of Khaled, native of the village of 
     Gozek.
       8. Yunes Amini, his son, born in the same village.
       9. Naji Mohammadi, son of Mohammad, native of the village 
     of Gozek.
       10. Omar Mohammadi, son of Timur, native of the village of 
     Gozek.
       11. Doctor Shirvan, son of Mostafa, native of the village 
     of Haraklan.
       12. Sadigh Alizadeh, son of Abubakr, native of the village 
     of Haraklan.
       13. Afshar Laal, son of Abdul Rahman, native of the village 
     of Kalarash-Sofla.
       14. Shafigh Hakkari, son of Reza, native of the village of 
     Kalarash-Sofla.
       15. Bakra Hakkari, son of Sultan, native of the village of 
     Kalarash-Sofla.
       16. Taghsim Mirzai, son of Mirza, native of the village of 
     Tarikan.
       17. Nuraddeen Taheri, son of Jahanghir, native of the 
     village of Tarikan.
       18. Farhad Zareh, son of Sayda, native of the village of 
     Sharvani.
       19. Tajaddeen Faghazadeh, son of Sadigh, native of the 
     village of Sharvani.
       20. Nasser Zarch, son of Mullah Sultan, native of the 
     village of Sharvani.
       21. Majid Husseini, son of Mullah Sayed, native of the 
     village of Sharvani.
       22. Nosrat Hassanzadeh, son of Khaled, native of the 
     village of Sharvani.
       23. Faysal Zareh, son of Tamo, native of the village of 
     Sharvani.
       24. Sadigh Majidi, son of Mamo, native of the village of 
     Hamamlar.
       25. Zaher Ahmadi, native of the village of Koran.
       26. Ahmad Sultani, son of Smeh, native of the village of 
     Islamabad.
       The Foundation condemns the execution of individuals for 
     their political beliefs, and calls on the UN Rapporteur for 
     Human Rights to investigate these reports. The Foundation 
     further condemns the recent round-ups of Kurdish civilians by 
     the Iranian authorities as a clear attempt to intimidate 
     citizens from the legitimate non-violent expression of their 
     political beliefs.
                                                                    ____

                                                 October 22, 1995.
     Subject: New Security Violates Human Rights.

                    Foundation for Democracy in Iran

       The Foundation for Democracy in Iran is concerned that a 
     sweeping new security law voted by the Iranian Parliament 
     (Majlis) on October 17 adds a new threat to the human rights 
     of ordinary Iranian citizens. The new law criminalizes a wide 
     variety of non-violent political activity, and creates broad 
     categories of ``seditious'' behavior that are punishable by 
     law. It also creates a sweeping new ``national security'' 
     provision, which can be used against political opponents both 
     inside and outside Iran. This new law goes far beyond 
     existing statutes in the Islamic Republic and suggests that 
     recent riots in South Tehran and labor strikes in major 
     factories may have destabilized the regime much more than 
     previously thought.
       The law imposes a penalty of two to ten years in prison for 
     anyone, regardless of ideology, who forms or leads a group of 
     more than two members, in Iran or abroad, with the aim of 
     threatening the country's security, Tehran radio reported. 
     For defendants who are found by an Islamic court to be 
     ``mohareb''--infidels--the penalty is death.
       Under this provision, the Islamic Republic could claim 
     legal justification in kidnapping political opponents living 
     outside of Iran. A first instance of this appears to have 
     occurred on September 27, when Ali Tavassoli, a former 
     central committee of the Fedayeen (Majority) Organization, 
     was reportedly kidnapped by Iranian government agents in 
     Baku. Mr. Tavassoli had traveled to Azerbaijan from Britain 
     for a business meeting. According to the Fedayeen he had 
     retired from their active leadership in 1989.
       Other provisions of the new law raise the intimidation 
     level against ordinary Iranians for any contact with 
     foreigners or fellow citizens suspect of contact with 
     foreigners.
       The new law:
       imposes a maximum ten year jail sentence on anyone 
     convicted of passing ``confidential'' information on Iran's 
     domestic or foreign policies to unauthorized persons;
       imposes a maximum ten year jail sentence on ``attempts to 
     demoralize the armed forces and the police,'' including 
     appeals to soldiers to desert.
       a maximum five year jail sentence for foreign nationals 
     caught spying in Iran on behalf of a foreign state;
       This sweeping new security law is a clear violation of the 
     fundamental human rights of Iranian citizens. The Foundation 
     vigorously condemns these efforts by the Iranian regime, and 
     calls on Iran's Majlis to rescind the law before it goes into 
     effect.

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