Iran’s Ebadi protests against maltreatment in Evin
Monday, February 07, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, Feb 7 (IranMania) – Prominent Iranian lawyer, Shirin Ebadi through a letter to the Human Rights Commission of the Iranian Lawyers’ Association affiliated to the country’s Justice Department protested against the discriminatory behavior of Evin Prison’s guards toward her, Iran’s Sina News Agency reported.
The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is Nasser Zarafshan’s lawyer who was arrested in August 7th, 2002. Zarafchan was sentenced to two years imprisonment for opinions that he had expressed during interviews with the press, concerning the trial dealing with the assassinations of Iranian intellectuals, which came to a ‘conclusion’ in January 2001. He was also sentenced to three years imprisonment for "possession of firearms and alcoholic drinks”.
“Although there is no rule for lawyers regarding wearing a chador while entering the prison, the guards forced me to do so and carried out a body search in a bid to insult me.” Ebadi said
Ebadi asserted that since she decided to represent the family of Iranian-Canadian Zahra Kazemi at the trial of the security agent charged with her murder, many Evin Prison staff including the guards have taken a hostile approach towards her.
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"No torture in Iran’s judicial system": Alizadeh
Monday, February 07, 2005 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, Feb 7 (IranMania) – The Head of Tehran’s Justice Department took part in a press conference in Tehran on Sunday commenting on a variety of issues.
Concerning the recent statements issued by different European circles on Iran’s human rights and judicial situation, Alizadeh noted: “We have to make the Human Rights Commission understand two main issues. First, for certain crimes, we have our own rules and punishments and they have no right to comment on such matters. Second, in other cases we act as the rest of the world does. For example we also avoid illegal arrests and condemn torture. We have no such punishments as stoning or cutting body parts.”
Human rights advocates and organizations have recently built up pressure on Iran to change its policies regarding its judicial rules. However Iranian officials obstinately try to play down the protests through every possible means, turning a deaf ear to critics who decry Iran’s insular approach toward such issues.
"We have recently found out that many housing cooperatives affiliated to governmental organizations have been involved in illegal land grabs in different parts of the country. Therefore we have set up a special court to deal with the issue." Alizadeh said.
He declined to comment on the upcoming presidential elections saying: "Election is a matter of politics and the Judiciary prefers to distance itself from political issues."
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