UN Authority Figures

UN Human Rights Council's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: Member Seyed Mohammad Hashemi, Deputy Minister of Development and Interior of Iran since 2002

"Iranian police arrest [former MP] Mousavi Khoini on June 12 in Tehran during a peaceful protest for women's rights. He has been held for more than 100 days without charge, much of that in solitary confinement." Human Rights News, September 26. 2006

Mission of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention: "To investigate cases of deprivation of liberty imposed arbitrarily, provided that no final decision has been taken in such cases by domestic courts in conformity with domestic law, with the relevant international standards set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with the relevant international instruments accepted by the States concerned...To seek and receive information from Government and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and receive information from the individuals concerned, their families or their representatives" (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, "Introduction")

Iran's Term of office: 2002 -

Iran's Record on Arbitrary Detention:
"The constitution and penal code require warrants or subpoenas for arrests and also state the arrested person must be informed of charges within 24 hours; however, these safeguards rarely occurred in practice. Detainees often went weeks or months without charges or trial; frequently were denied prompt contact with family; and often were denied access to legal representation for prolonged periods. Bail was often set at extremely high levels, even for lesser crimes. Detainees and their families are often compelled to submit property deeds in order to post bail; many cannot afford to post bail...In practice there is neither a legal time limit for incommunicado detention nor any judicial means to determine the legality of the detention. In the period immediately following detention or arrest, many detainees were held incommunicado and denied access to lawyers and family members...Security forces often did not inform family members of a prisoner's welfare and location. Authorities often denied visits by family members and legal counsel. Prisoners released on bail did not always know how long their property would be retained or when their trials would be held. In addition families of executed prisoners did not always receive notification of their deaths. On occasion the government forced family members to pay to retrieve the body of their relative..." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2006, Iran)

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