Arash Hejazi

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Dr Shaheed, what you have presented is just the tip of the iceberg: An open letter to Dr Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran

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[Read the text in Persian Here]

Dear Dr Ahmed Shaheed,
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,

I am Arash Hejazi, an Iranian physician, writer, publisher and journalist, and the Doctor who tried to save the young girl shot to death by the Iranian Basij or the pro-government militia, orchestrated by the Revolutiosnary Guards of the Islamic Republic of Iran. I then spoke up about the circumstances of hear death to the international media and for that I have lost my publishing house in Iran, I have been prosecuted and persecuted, and I have had to go on exile, leaving my family and my life behind.

I read your Special Report with interest, and while I appreciate your efforts on producing an accurate image on the dyre situation of human rights in Iran, I would like to bring to your attention that what you have presented in your report, is just the tip of an immense iceberg of years of undermining human and basic rights of the citizens of Iran.

You didn’t mention,

  • The brutal crackdown of the Iranian pro-government militia, the police, and the Revolutionary Guards on the peaceful rallys of millions of people who were simply asking for the recount of the ballots of the presidential elections in June 2009;
  • The brutal murder of hundreds of unarmed civilans on the days that followed the elections. One of them which was documented, was the murder of Neda Agha-Soltan by a member of the Basij. Mothers of those murdered have tried so hard to get their voices heard, and even they have been persecuted and beaten by the Basij;
  • That the judiciary system of Iran has done absolutely nothing to bring the murderers of these innocent people to justice. Instead, it has done everything in its power to intimidate and threaten withnesses of these crimes;
  • The torturing and murder of several protesters after being arrested by the police. Even the government of Iran has admited the murder of three detainees under torture;
  • Hundreds of students that have been banned from continuing their studies, simply because the have been part of the Green Movement.
  • The legistlation of capital punishment for bloggers;
  • The fact that a muslim cleric, called Kazemeini Brujerdi has been imprisoned and tortured for years now, simply because he expressed his opinion that religion should be separated from the State;
  • The widespread and illegal censorsip on books and other media. I have explained the situation in my article ‘Censorship in Iran’;
  • The execution of prisoners of consciouns in Iran;
  • Mistreating political prisoners leading to unexplained deaths;
  • Undermining the rights of the minority groups in Iran, such as the Kurdish people;
  • Undermining the rights of the workers and their unions;
  • Undermining the children rights;
  • Undermining the rights of the guilds and trade unions;
  • Persecution and prosecution of the human rights activists.

Dear Dr Shaheed, this is a unique oportunity that destiny has placed on your path to make a difference. It might not be repeated. For the sake of hundreds of thousands of lives that have been destroyed in Iran in the past 30 years, I beseach you to do whatever in your power to reflect the truth, the whole truth, and nothing by the truth.

Kind regards,

Arash Hejazi

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