UN Authority Figures

UN General Assembly Sixth Committee, the Legal Committee, Vice-Chair: Iran

Two gay men, Abdullah Ghavami Chahzanjiru and Salman Ghanbari Chahzanjiri, were hanged in southern Iran on August 6, 2014. There were more than 400 executions in Iran in the first half of 2014 alone.

Mission of the Sixth Committee, the Legal Committee, of the General Assembly: "The Sixth Committee is the primary forum for the consideration of legal questions in the General Assembly." (General Assembly - Legal Committee web-site, "Sixth Committee")

Term of office: 2014-2015

Iran's Record on legal questions:
"The government and its agents reportedly committed acts of arbitrary or unlawful killings, including, most commonly, by execution after arrests and trials lacking in due process...The court system was subject to political influence, and judges were appointed "in accordance with religious criteria." The supreme leader appoints the head of the judiciary...Human rights activists reported trials in which authorities appeared to have determined the rulings in advance and defendants did not have the opportunity to confront their accusers or have access to government-held evidence...The government often charged political dissidents with vague crimes, such as "antirevolutionary behavior," "moral corruption," "siding with global arrogance," "enmity towards God" (moharebeh), and "crimes against Islam." Prosecutors imposed strict penalties on government critics for minor violations...Under sharia judges may find a person guilty based on their own "divine knowledge," or they may issue more lenient sentences for persons who kill others considered "deserving of death," meaning that the victim was believed to have done something serious and contrary to sharia...Courts admitted as evidence confessions that were made under duress or torture...Most rape victims did not report the crime because they feared retaliation or punishment for having been raped, as they could be charged with indecency, immoral behavior, or adultery for being in the presence of an unrelated male while unaccompanied...By law four Muslim men or a combination of three men and two women are required to have witnessed the rape for conviction...The law criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual activity, which may be punishable by death or flogging." (US State Department's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 2013, Iran)

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