Defenders of Human Rights Center
Encyclopedia
The Defenders of Human Rights Center (also known as the Centre for the Defence of Human Rights, Persian
: کانون مدافعان حقوق بشر ) is Iran
's leading human rights
organization.
, the organization has been active in defending rights of women, political prisoners and minorities in Iran. Several of the most prominent Iranian lawyers founded the organization and are members. Shirin Ebadi
, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize
laureate, is the current president of DHRC. Ms. Ebadi along with four other notable Iranian lawyers, Abdolfattah Soltani
, Mohammad Seifzadeh
, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah
and Mohammad Sharif, are the founding members of the organization.
The Center is a member of the International Federation for Human Rights and received the 2003 Human Rights Award of the French National Commission of Human Rights.
No permit is required for organizations like DHRC to operate in Iran, but it may be advantageous to have one. During neither the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
, nor that of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has the DHRC succeeded in obtaining official registration. DHRC requested a permit in February 2004. In September 2006, the Political Deputy of the Ministry of the Interior announced that the Commission had approved the request, but the Ministry of the Interior has never issued a permit.
and family of Zahra Kazemi
among many others.
. On that day, security officials shut down the DHRC offices, without presenting a court order allowing them to do so.
According to Shirin Ebadi, on 22 and 29 December 2008 the DHRC offices were searched and much property was illegally seized, some of which has not been returned. On 1 January 2009, a mob of basij
i attacked and vandalized the building while police looked on.
There was widespread condemnation of these actions. U.N.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
issued a statement of concern. The European Union
called on Iran "to respect their international human rights commitments and the right to peaceful assembly."
Security officials have threatened people scheduled to attend DHRC meetings, which were obstructed and prevented from taking place. Police came to disperse those present.
(IRNA), accused Shirin Ebadi and her daughter of being followers of the Bahá'í Faith
, which is not a recognized religion in Iran. Ebadi has denied this claim, although the secretary of the DHRC, Zhinous Sobhani, is a Baha'i. Sobhani was arrested on 14 January 2009 and held in Tehran’s Evin Prison
for 55 days before being released on 70 million toman [about $70,000 US] bail. Abdolfattah Soltani, a DHRC lawyer, told the BBC: “In all probability, the reason for her arrest was her work with the DHRC, and also because she is a Bahá'í, although neither of these is a crime, and no other charge [against her] has yet been announced.” Jinous Sobhani was also secretary for the Mine-Clearing Collaboration (MCCC) Campaign and worked for the Organization for Defending Mine Victims. She was arrested again following the 2009 Ashura protests and in September 2010 was sentenced to two years in prison.
IRNA accused the Deputy Chair of DHRC of “spreading propaganda against the state,” although no official such charge has ever been made.
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah of DHRC was reportedly arrested, along with a number of others, in Tehran on 8 July 2009. He is said to have provided legal representation for some of the hundreds of people arrested following the June election.
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
: کانون مدافعان حقوق بشر ) is Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
's leading human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organization.
Organization
Based in TehranTehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, the organization has been active in defending rights of women, political prisoners and minorities in Iran. Several of the most prominent Iranian lawyers founded the organization and are members. Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi
Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran. On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's,...
, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
laureate, is the current president of DHRC. Ms. Ebadi along with four other notable Iranian lawyers, Abdolfattah Soltani
Abdolfattah Soltani
Abdolfattah Soltani is a well-known Iranian human rights lawyer, and spokesman for the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which was co-founded by the Nobel Peace Prize-winner Shirin Ebadi. He has twice been incarcerated in the Islamic Republic of Iran for political offences in 2005 and 2009...
, Mohammad Seifzadeh
Mohammad Seifzadeh
Mohammad Seifzadeh is an Iranian lawyer, a former judge, human rights activist and a cofounder of Centre for the Defence of Human Rights in Iran. He and the older brother of Hossein Seifzadeh, Iranian Political Scientist....
, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah
Mohammad Ali Dadkhah is a well-known Iranian human rights lawyer who is a political prisoner in Iran. He is associated with the Defenders of Human Rights Center founded by several of the most prominent Iranian lawyers and headed by Shirin Ebadi, 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.Dadkhah spoke for...
and Mohammad Sharif, are the founding members of the organization.
The Center is a member of the International Federation for Human Rights and received the 2003 Human Rights Award of the French National Commission of Human Rights.
No permit is required for organizations like DHRC to operate in Iran, but it may be advantageous to have one. During neither the presidency of Mohammad Khatami
Mohammad Khatami
Sayyid Mohammad Khātamī is an Iranian scholar, philosopher, Shiite theologian and Reformist politician. He served as the fifth President of Iran from August 2, 1997 to August 3, 2005. He also served as Iran's Minister of Culture in both the 1980s and 1990s...
, nor that of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has the DHRC succeeded in obtaining official registration. DHRC requested a permit in February 2004. In September 2006, the Political Deputy of the Ministry of the Interior announced that the Commission had approved the request, but the Ministry of the Interior has never issued a permit.
Accomplishments
DHRC has helped defend many legal cases such as "the chain murders of Iranian intellectuals" and those of Iranian bloggers, as well as defending Akbar GanjiAkbar Ganji
Akbar Ganji is an Iranian journalist and writer. He has been described as "Iran’s preeminent political dissident", and a "wildly popular pro-democracy journalist" who has crossed press censorship "red lines" regularly...
and family of Zahra Kazemi
Zahra Kazemi
Zahra "Ziba" Kazemi-Ahmadabadi was an Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer, residing in Montreal, Canada, who died in the custody of Iranian officials following her arrest....
among many others.
Closure of office
The DHRC had planned to hold on 21 December 2008 a ceremony in honor of the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human RightsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...
. On that day, security officials shut down the DHRC offices, without presenting a court order allowing them to do so.
According to Shirin Ebadi, on 22 and 29 December 2008 the DHRC offices were searched and much property was illegally seized, some of which has not been returned. On 1 January 2009, a mob of basij
Basij
The Basij is a paramilitary volunteer militia established in 1979 by order of the Islamic Revolution's leader Ayatollah Khomeini. The force consists of young Iranians who have volunteered, often in exchange for official benefits...
i attacked and vandalized the building while police looked on.
There was widespread condemnation of these actions. U.N.
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...
issued a statement of concern. The European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
called on Iran "to respect their international human rights commitments and the right to peaceful assembly."
Threats
Office staff have been threatened and forced to resign. Several members of DHRC, the Committee to Defend Free, Healthy and Fair Elections and the National Council of Peace have been summoned for interrogation and 'encouraged' to end their cooperation with those organizations and efforts. Some have also been illegally barred from travel outside Iran.Security officials have threatened people scheduled to attend DHRC meetings, which were obstructed and prevented from taking place. Police came to disperse those present.
Baha'i Faith
The official governmental news agency, the Islamic Republic of Iran News AgencyIslamic Republic News Agency
The Islamic Republic News Agency , or IRNA, is the official news agency of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is government-funded and controlled under the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. The agency also publishes the newspaper Iran. , the Managing Director of IRNA is Ali Akbar...
(IRNA), accused Shirin Ebadi and her daughter of being followers of the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
, which is not a recognized religion in Iran. Ebadi has denied this claim, although the secretary of the DHRC, Zhinous Sobhani, is a Baha'i. Sobhani was arrested on 14 January 2009 and held in Tehran’s Evin Prison
Evin Prison
Evin House of Detention is a prison in Iran, located in Evin, northwestern Tehran. It is noted for its political prisoners' wing, where prisoners have been held both before and after the 1979 Iranian Revolution...
for 55 days before being released on 70 million toman [about $70,000 US] bail. Abdolfattah Soltani, a DHRC lawyer, told the BBC: “In all probability, the reason for her arrest was her work with the DHRC, and also because she is a Bahá'í, although neither of these is a crime, and no other charge [against her] has yet been announced.” Jinous Sobhani was also secretary for the Mine-Clearing Collaboration (MCCC) Campaign and worked for the Organization for Defending Mine Victims. She was arrested again following the 2009 Ashura protests and in September 2010 was sentenced to two years in prison.
IRNA accused the Deputy Chair of DHRC of “spreading propaganda against the state,” although no official such charge has ever been made.
Other arrests
Abdolfattah Soltani was himself detained in June 2009.Mohammad Ali Dadkhah of DHRC was reportedly arrested, along with a number of others, in Tehran on 8 July 2009. He is said to have provided legal representation for some of the hundreds of people arrested following the June election.
Honours and awards
- 2003 Human Rights Award from the French National Commission of Human Rights.
- 2003 Nobel Prize, for the president of DHRC.