Advocacy

October 10, 2012

Opposing Int’l Support for Drug Trafficking Prevention While the Death Penalty Exists for Drug-Related Offenses

We, the undersigned organizations, strongly oppose the continuing use of the death penalty in the Islamic Republic of Iran. We are concerned that Iran’s radical policies, which allegedly aim to eradicate drug-trafficking and result in the execution of several hundred prisoners every year, are supported in part by international funding.Of the countries that continue to apply the death penalty in their domestic jurisdictions, Iran leads in number of executions per capita. Many of these executions are conducted in secret and go unreported by official sources. According to reports from human rights groups that document executions in Iran from both official and unofficial sources, roughly 650 executions were carried out in 2010 and 670 in 2011. At the time of the publication of this statement, at least 332 individuals have been executed in 2012. Of these executions, it is estimated that more than 70% are for drug-related offenses.
February 13, 2012

Iran: Anniversary demonstrations on 14 February must be allowed to take place peacefully

Amnesty International is calling on the Iranian authorities to respect freedom of assembly and allow peaceful demonstrations in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran on 14 February 2012, amid fears that the authorities may once again use excessive use of force to quell protests, as has happened in previous years.The demonstrations - called by the Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope - mark the one year anniversary of demonstrations called by opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, in support of the people of Egypt and Tunisia which were brutally repressed and left at least two people dead.Amnesty International also reiterated its call for the immediate release of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been held under unofficial house arrest since 10 and 14 February 2011 respectively. Mir Hossein Mousavi’s wife, Zahra Rahnavard, is also held, while Mehdi Karroubi is currently held on his own and has been denied any contact with his family since the day after he told his wife in December 2011 that he believed the upcoming parliamentary elections would be fraudulent.
January 19, 2012

Why Did Arseh Sevom Join in the Internet Strike Yesterday?

Here's why... We joined because if passed, the law to protect intellectual property would have all sorts of debilitating and unintended consequences for people using the internet all over the world.Those include:
  • The closure of social networking sites with links to content owned by the entertainment industry: this could include Twitter, Tumbler, and even Facebook.
  • Precedent setting censorship laws that could (would) spread around the world.
  • And more...
January 5, 2012

Urge Iran’s Parliament to Reject Anti-Human Rights Penal Code

Arseh Sevom and United4Iran urge you to send letters protesting discriminatory laws. Click here to join the campaign.The UN Secretary General, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, the UN General Assembly, and the UN Human Rights Council have repeatedly called on Iran to revise its penal code to adhere to international human rights standards. In February 2010, the Iranian government accepted specific recommendations made under its Universal Periodic Review to ensure that its laws were in conformity with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to which it is a party.Nonetheless, today, Iran’s parliament is preparing to pass the “Islamic Penal Bill” - legislation that flouts its legal obligations under the ICCPR. The legislation endangers free expression and reinforces laws that violate the rights of Iranian citizens. The bill fails to prohibit stoning, lashing, and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading punishments; redress discriminatory laws; or, raise the age of majority for girls and boys. In a particularly worrisome clause, the bill expands punishment for “actions against national security”, a charge that has routinely been used to persecute dissidents.