![](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2014\/03\/khamenei-rouhani.jpg\" "\\"Ali")
In August 2013, twenty-four years after serving as the representative of the Supreme Leader in the mullahs\u2019 highest security organization, the Supreme Security Council, Hassan Rouhani took office as the President of the Iranian regime.<\/p>\nIn August 2013, twenty-four years after serving as the representative of the Supreme Leader in the mullahs\u2019 highest security organization, the Supreme Security Council, Hassan Rouhani took office as the President of the Iranian regime.<\/p>\n
His foremost motto as the new man in office was \u201cmoderation.\u201d Those who advocate for change from within the religious dictatorship fell head over heels for the new president, hoping for an overture with Iran while keeping the regime in power. They hope for an end to the era of extremism marked by Mohmoud Ahmadinejad, which promises to open the doors to economic trade and political cohesion with the regime.<\/p>\n
One year later, the residents of cities and villages in Iran feel no change at best in the economic and social realms. Ali Tayebnia, Hassan Rouhani\u2019s Minister of Economy, said on August 2: \u201cDuring its history, the economy of Iran has never faced such complex conditions as today.\u201d He added: \u201cRight now, the government has a 250 thousand billion Toman debt\u2026 while government\u2019s budget is somewhere from 10 to 20 thousand billion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The regime\u2019s nuclear project is at a standstill and its meddling in Iraq and Syria has deepened. However, the foremost indicator for Rouhani\u2019s record is human rights.<\/p>\n
The situation of human rights in Iran<\/strong><\/p>\n During Hassan Rouhani\u2019s first year in office, there have been at least 793 executions, a number which is unprecedented in the past 25 years of Iranian history.<\/p>\n The executions include at least 31 women, 38 political prisoners, and 12 persons who were juveniles at the time of crime. At least 46 of these executions were carried out in public.<\/p>\n The number of executions in the second half of the Persian year 1392 (i.e. October 2013 to March 2014), at which point Hassan Rouhani has assumed office, doubled the figure of the first six months.<\/p>\n The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said in Geneva on 11 March 2014: \u201cDespite pledges made by the president during his campaign and after his swearing in\u2026The new government has not changed its approach regarding the application of the death penalty and seems to have followed the practice of previous administrations, which relied heavily on the death penalty to combat crime.\u201d<\/p>\n On June 5, a group of UN human rights experts announced that the execution of political prisoner Gholamreza Khosravi Savadjani on June 1 had been unfair. Amnesty International issued several calls to prevent his execution and on the final day warned of the imminent execution of this active supporter of the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK).<\/p>\n Mr. Khosravi was arrested in 2008 and initially condemned to six years in prison. While he was spending his time, he was tried once again in 2011 and was condemned to death on the charge of Mohareb (enmity against God) for allegedly collecting information and giving monetary assistance to a satellite television station, the body of Mr. Khosravi was not even returned to his family and was instead secretly buried.<\/p>\n The trend of intensification of violation of human rights in the past year is evident in all realms:<\/p>\n Human rights under Rouhani: Attacking the organized opposition<\/strong><\/p>\n On September 1, 2013, in an attack planned by and conducted at the behest of the Iranian regime, the forces of Tehran\u2019s proxy government in Iraq collectively executed 52 members of PMOI\/MEK in Camp Ashraf, which was the residence of refugees opposing the Iranian regime in Iraq. Six women and a man were also taken hostage.<\/p>\n Then, on December 26, a rocket attack targeted this same group of exiles in their new, ostensibly temporary home at Camp Liberty, killing four and leaving dozens injured. Such attacks require Rouhani\u2019s permission, as he is not only president but also remains the head of the Supreme Security Council.<\/p>\n Cleric Mahmoud Alawi, Rouhani\u2019s Minister of Intelligence, commented on the attacks by telling Etemad Daily News: \u201cWe congratulate the Iraqi nation, as well as the suffering Iranian nation, for this heroic act.\u201d<\/p>\n Human rights under Rouhani:\u00a0Ethnic minorities<\/strong><\/p>\n In a 10-point declaration on 30 May 2013, Hassan Rouhani promised to look into the demands of ethnic minorities. This promise not only was not kept by Rouhani, but repression and discrimination against minorities increased.<\/p>\n Of the 38 political prisoners hanged in the first year of Rouhani\u2019s Presidency, twenty-four were Baluchi activists, eight were Ahvazi Arabs, and five were Kurds. Additionally, Gholamreza Kosravi Savadjani was hanged for his support for the PMOI.<\/p>\n In one case alone, 15 Baluchi prisoners were hanged together; and in a revenge execution, eight Baluchi prisoners were collectively hanged in Zahedan Prison after the assassination of city of Zabol\u2019s General Prosecutor.<\/p>\n Four prisoners were among prisoners executed for supporting Kurdish political parties. Ahvazi Arab prisoners were among political prisoners executed during this period.<\/p>\n Human rights under Rouhani:\u00a0Religious minorities <\/strong><\/p>\n On 24 August 2013, a Baha\u2019i citizen by the name of Ata\u2019ollah Rezvani was assassinated in the city of Bandar Abbas, capital of the coastal province of Hormozgan. He was one of the active members of the Baha\u2019i community in this city.<\/p>\n In his March 2014 report, Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic, stated that 110 Baha\u2019is are currently in prison in Iran because of practicing their religion.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, at least 1500 students are deprived of university studies because of their belief in the Baha\u2019i faith.<\/p>\n On 26 August 2013, Saeed Abedini, a Christian Iranian\u2013American pastor was sentenced to eight years of hard labor in prison. Prior to that, Abedini had revealed in a letter that he had been beaten and denied medical treatment.<\/p>\n On the verge of Christmas, the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Vervir Avanessian, a retired pastor of the AOG Church, to three and a half years imprisonment.<\/p>\n On January 6, Hossein Saketi Aramsary, a newly converted Christian, was sentenced to one-year hard labor in prison on charges of evangelism.<\/p>\n In the first week of January 2014, the international Open Doors Organization declared that in terms of the harassment of Christians, Iran is amongst the top ten countries in the world.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Human rights under Rouhani:\u00a0Suppression of Women<\/strong><\/p>\n Based on a directive ratified by Tehran’s council of mayors and their deputies on 17 May 2014, the suppressive \u2018gender separation\u2019 plan has been secretly implemented in Tehran\u2019s municipalities by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, mayor of Tehran.<\/p>\n Based on this plan, \u201call senior or median directors should use only male employees for posts such as chief of bureau, secretary, phone operator, typist, and in charge of follow-ups, etc. from those employed in their office,\u201d according to state-run news agency\u00a0ISNA. In the course of implementation of this directive, some posts and jobs in the municipalities were banned for women, and a number of women lost their jobs in the municipality.<\/p>\n The implementation of this plan met with public abhorrence, especially by women. The regime\u2019s authorities steadfastly defended it. The head of Administrative Court of Justice, Ali Akbar Bakhtiari, described this plan as \u2018securing integrity of women\u2019s working environment\u2019 and said this move does not mean \u2018a gender discrimination or separation.\u2019 Mostafa Pour-Mohammadi, Rouhani\u2019s Justice Minister, regarded this plan as being \u201cin conformity with the regime\u2019s values that would increase the revenue.\u201d More than 183 members of the regime\u2019s parliament called this misogynistic plan \u201cspecial attention and tribute to women.\u201d<\/p>\n This plan has now extended to the regime\u2019s other organizations such as the Administrative Court of Justice\u00a0and state -controlled Tasnim News Agency, affiliated to the terrorist Quds Force.<\/p>\n In line with this policy Tehran municipality is planning to separate benches used by boys and girls in parks. The Science and Technology University of Tehran has issued a repressive plan titled as \u201cMoral Charter\u201d based on which \u2018no social intercourse of male and female students is allowed on the campus.\u2019 Rules of this charter ban using perfume or after-shave.<\/p>\n Human rights under Rouhani:\u00a0Repression in Universities <\/strong><\/p>\n Amnesty International announced in a report on 30 May 2011,\u201cStudent activists, reformists and academics perceived as secular are hounded by authorities\u2026. Despite initial welcome steps by President Hassan Rouhani\u2019s administration to allow the return of a number of banned students and academics to universities, the situation remains dire. Hundreds of students continue to be barred from higher education and many remain in prison, with some fresh arrests since President Hassan Rouhani\u2019s election. As the first academic year under his administration comes to an end, many restrictions remain in place.\u201d<\/p>\n Human rights under Rouhani:\u00a0Suppression of Press<\/strong> According to Reporters Without Borders, there are currently 65 reporters behind bars in Iran. To this effect, Iran is among the top five regime’s that have imprisoned the journalists.<\/p>\n It also has the highest number of women journalists imprisoned and has been described by the Committee to Protect Journalists as one of the worst overall suppressors of journalists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In August 2013, twenty-four years after serving as the representative of the Supreme Leader in the mullahs’ highest security organization, the Supreme Security Council, Hassan Rouhani took office as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[175],"class_list":["post-16964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-human-rights","tag-updated"],"yoast_head":"\n
Reporters Without Borders in its annual report on December 18, 2013 announced that 42 reporters or journalists have been arrested since the election of Rouhani and 12 publications have been shut down.<\/p>\n