11/1/2002
Attention Drawn to Persecution of Iranian Members Of Parliament

The international NGO Human Rights Watch has again drawn world attention to the persecution of elected members of the Iranian Parliament for expressing views that run counter to those of the Government. Since April 2000, more than sixty MPs of the majority reformist movement have been summoned to court for matters believed to be politically motivated. In particular Human Rights Watch has made clear its grave concern about the politically motivated convictions in late December of Iranian parliamentarian Hossein Loghmanian and two other Members of Parliament.

"This is a blatant attempt to intimidate and silence Iran's parliament. The imprisonment of parliamentarians for conducting debates and representing their constituents' point of view marks a new low for Iran," said Hanny Megally, Executive director of Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa division.

According to Human Rights Watch, Iran's conservative dominated judiciary issued a statement several days after Loghmanian's arrest on December 25th saying that Loghmanian had been jailed for describing the courts as 'unjust,' for saying journalists convicted of 'insulting Islamic sanctities' were 'brave,' and for denouncing the courts' decision to close offending newspapers.

This was apparently a reference to a speech the MP had given parliament last year in which he had criticised the judiciary for "decapitating freedom of expression" and "attempting to threaten and intimidate parliament" by its closure of many pro-reform newspapers. Loghmanian had also denounced the arrest of Ezatollah Sahabi, a political veteran who has been detained without trial in an unknown location for more than a year.

Loghmanian is one of several MP's who have become targets of judiciary wrath for critical comments on domestic political developments, say Human Rights Watch. On December 20, an appeals court confirmed a ten-month sentence against him for libel and slander of the judiciary.

A second MP, Fatemeh Haghighatjou from Tehran, is being jailed for seventeen months after losing her appeal in a similar case. She was alleged to have criticised the Revolutionary Court for its reliance on defendants' confessions, which she said had been coerced by torture. She also condemned arrests and detentions carried out without necessary warrants. The court found her guilty of "insulting the judiciary and spreading lies."

A similar charge of spreading lies and insulting state officials resulted in a seven-month imprisonment and a fine of two million Rials ($2000) for a third MP, Mohammad Dadfar, on December 10, Human Rights Watch say, although to date he has not been imprisoned.

Human Rights Watch draw attention to Article 86 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran which says that "members of parliament are completely free to express their views and cast their votes in the course of performing their duties as representatives, and they cannot be prosecuted or arrested for opinions expressed in the parliament or votes cast in the course of performing their duties as representatives."

They are saying that Mr. Loghmanian's statements fall well within the boundaries of speech protected under international law, including Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is a party, and that his conviction represents a violation of his basic right to freedom of expression.

The leadership of the parliamentary majority faction has called on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (who has the final say in all state matters) to declare the prosecutions and imprisonment of parliamentarians unconstitutional. "These recent developments reflect badly on Ayatollah Khameini's role as the protector of rights that are enshrined in Iran's own Constitution," said Hanny Megally. "His silence in the face of the political manipulation of the judiciary further undermines the rule of law in Iran."