Husband Confesses to Murder of 14-Year-Old Mobina Souri

Five days after news broke of the death of 14-year-old Mobina Souri, her husband confessed to having committed the murder. Souri is the victim of  what is classified under Islamic Law as an “honor killing”.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, “honor crimes” or “honor killings” are acts of assault or murder, usually towards women and usually committed by male relatives.

Under Islamic Law, in murder cases where the (usually-female) victim has been accused of “disgracing the family’s honor”, exemptions and sentence reductions are frequently granted to the murderers.

The scope of the ways “disgracing family honor” can be defined is extremely broad; women and girls can be accused for being victims of rape, getting a divorce (even from an abusive husband), committing adultery, or being suspected of having sexual relations before marriage.

14-year-old Mobina was also a victim of child marriage and was married to the young cleric in her village who ultimately killed her. The other suspects were released after the husband confessed.

 

Three People were Sentenced to Death and Lashes in Tehran and Isfahan

Iranian authorities sentenced three prisoners to death and lashes on the charge of drug felony and sexual assault. Two prisoners were sentenced to death in Najafabad Prison in Isfahan in the past few days. 33-year-old Majid Rezaipour, and 37-year-old Afshin Rezaipour, are in prison for drug felony. Moreover, according to Khorasan newspaper, a 25-year-old man was sentenced to death and lashes in Tehran. He assaulted six women while presenting himself as a taxi driver.

It should be noted that media inside Iran use “assault” when referencing to rape and various sexual harassment cases.

According to the international organizations, Iran ranks first in the world in executions per capita. From October 10, 2018, to October 8, 2019, the Iranian authorities issued death penalty sentence to 134 individuals and have already carried out 242 executions including 16 public executions.  At least five of the executed were juvenile offenders who were under the age of 18 at the time of committing the crime. Secret executions of prisoners reported by the independent sources and the human rights association indicate that 72% of executions are carried out in secret or without any public notice.

A Daily Overview of Human Rights Violations in Iran for December 21, 2018

The following is an overview of human rights violations in Iran on December 21th, 2018 based on the information compiled and verified by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

(1) A school bus driver in Bandar-e Mahshahr is facing charges after being accused of sexually assaulting a girl while transporting students. Two other school bus drivers were arrested yesterday.

(2) Two Sunni clerics, Molavi Khodabakhsh Eslamdoust and Molavi Esmail Eslamdoust were summoned to the Revolutionary Court in Chabahar.

(3) An 11-year-old hanged himself in Izeh due to poverty. More than 7% of suicides in Iran are committed by teenagers. Iranian news agencies reported that he committed suicide due to a family conflict, but some news in cyber space noted it happened because of poverty. Izeh is a city in Khuzestan province.

(4) Iranian border patrol shot three Kurdish couriers also known as kulbars, Rahman Shovaneh, Nader Nabizadeh, and AliMamand in Oshnavieh, Piranshahr, and Sardasht. Another kulbar, Salar Tanhaei, was found dead from hypothermia in Javanrud.

(5) Water crisis will cause 20 million people to migrate from the south of Iran. Ali Asadi Karam, a member of the parliament added that this migration which is due to the water scarcity will have so many social consequences.

(6) A prisoner in Nowshahr who was arrested on charge of murder and was sentenced to death, was saved from execution after 10 years in jail with forgiveness and consent of the next of kin. His execution was scheduled the next week.

(7) Three firefighters were injured in an unsafe workplace-related incident in a warehouse in Mashhad.

(8) A Sunni prisoner, Moloud Shaier, was released on parole from Urmia prison. She was arrested in January 2016 and was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on charges of “collaborating with Salafi groups”.

(9) Sam Nasir Moghadam is a political prisoner who was sentenced to two years imprisonment on charge of ‘propaganda against the State’ and ‘insulting the Supreme Leader’.

(10) Reporters Without Borders (RSF) had written to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, about the conditions of detained journalists in Iran, which is one of the world’s five biggest jailers of journalist. According to the worldwide round-up on deadly violence and abusive treatment of media personnel that RSF published yesterday. “Imprisoning journalists, denying them medical care while they are detained and denying them the right to a fair trial constitute a flagrant violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Iran is party,” RSF points out.

Iranian Parliament Deputy Immune from Prosecution Despite Accusations of Sexual Assault

Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) – Based on evidence, documents and testimonials HRANA has obtained from reliable sources, there are at least two new allegations of multiple counts of sexual harassment and assault against Salman Khodadadi, a current Member of Iran’s Parliament and the Chair of the Parliament’s Social Committee. Mr. Khodadadi was previously accused of sexual harassment and assault and was detained on the charge of raping his secretary and a visitor to his office. Mr. Khodadadi held the position of MP and was a member of the Parliament’s National Security Committee and Health Committee from 1996 to 2012. However, in 2012, Iran’s Ministry of Interior barred Mr. Khodadadi from running for Parliament. The Guardian Council reversed the ban in 2016 and allowed him to return as a member of Parliament the same year. In 2014, while Mr. Khodadadi was barred from the Parliament, he was appointed an adviser to Iran’s Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif.  

A 28-year-old woman who has asked to be identified as “Z.N.” broke her silence to HRANA. She claims to be a victim of Mr. Khodadadi and that he abused his position of power. Ms. Z.N. claims Mr. Khodadadi sexually assaulted and harassed her for four years. She tells HRANA that she knew Mr. Khodadadi through her father who was Mr. Khodadadi’s colleague in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). After her father’s death, Ms. Z.N. says she was searching for a job due to her mother’s illness and their difficult financial situation.

“One day, I went to the Governor’s office to seek help. I was informed that Mr. Khodadadi would be coming there to listen to the people’s problems. Mr. Khodadadi received my letter and told me to contact him. When I did, he said that he would help me gain a position with the Audit Court.”  

According to Ms. Z.N., she followed up with that promise and Mr. Khodadadi invited her to Tehran. Ms. Z.N. says she went with her mother on her first visit but they left without receiving any results. Ms. Z.N. says Mr. Khodadadi contacted her again and advised her to return to Tehran but alone this time. Once in Tehran, Ms. Z.N. allegedly attempted to track Mr. Khodadadi down until she was finally instructed to meet him at his office.

“Once in his office, he locked the door and raped me. He warned me to not tell anyone. I will never forget that day. It was as though the whole world came crashing down on me. My muscles were locked up and I felt paralyzed. He told me I had to leave immediately because a few of his colleagues were coming to see him. I asked him whether his intention was just to rape me, instead of helping me and my family. He replied that he wanted to help and have sex with me too. I left his office and headed to the train station to return home. On the way back, all kinds of thoughts crossed my mind and I even contemplated suicide, but because of my family and their situation, I decided to keep silent…He contacted me after the incident under different pretexts and managed to get me to come to his residential home in Tabriz where he raped me again.”

“After a long period of intimidation and enticement by Mr. Khodadadi, I finally called him to tell him that I didn’t want the job anymore. I told him to leave me alone or else I would file a complaint against him. He replied that I could not do a damn thing to him and hung up the phone on me. After a while he called me back and said that he likes me and wants to talk to me. I did not accept and didn’t go see him. He was even sending me threatening messages that if I didn’t go see him, he would hurt me. I still did not go, and out of fear for my life, I constantly moved residences.”

Ms. Z.N. claims that Mr. Khodadadi had more than one victim. “Some time later, I was with friends when I heard from one of them that Mr. Khodadadi had promised her a job as well and then raped her. This friend wanted to commit suicide on several occasions. That is when I understood that I was not the only victim, but none of the victims are prepared to file a complaint out of fear for their lives.”

“I waited for some time so that he would stop his harassment, but to no avail. I finally called him and begged him to leave me alone or I would tell everyone about what happened. He replied that if I say anything he would have me killed. I was very afraid. I took a train to Tehran and decided to go to the committee responsible for the supervision of MPs. I did not know how to access this committee so I went to the Parliament’ security and told them. First, they did not listen to me until I threatened to go to the Guardian Council. Finally, they accepted to consider my story but said that I would need to provide proof. I told them that I have voice and SMS messages containing threats.”

Mr. Khodadadi allegedly contacted Ms. Z.N. several times after the complaint was filed and said that if she did not withdraw her complaint that he would harm her.

“I told him that I will go through with my complaint because it was my right. He contacted me several more times and told me to visit him to resolve the problem. Again, he promised me a job and pledged to make everything right if I withdraw my complaint. I refused…Since April 2018, when I filed my complaint, I have contacted the Parliament’s security department multiple times, but each time they tell me that they need more time to investigate.”  

HRANA has obtained a copy of the documents in Ms. Z.N.’s case, including the threatening remarks made by Mr. Khodadadi. HRANA will consider releasing the documents publicly, but will first consider the victim’s safety and the progress made with the legal proceedings.

Salman Khodadadi’s Background:

Salman Khodadadi was born in 1962 and was recruited by the Islamic Republic’s security apparatus in his youth. During the 1980s purge of political dissidents he was working in the East Azerbaijan Intelligence office. He made an unsuccessful run for Parliament in the early 1990s but was appointed as Director of Ardabil’s Intelligence Bureau and later as the IRGC commander in Malekan.

In the sixth Parliament (2000-2004), Mr. Khodadadi was a member of the Parliament’s Health Committee, despite having no background in that field. Toward the end of his third term in Parliament, he was summoned to court on charges of moral corruption and engaging in illicit relationships, after two women pressed charges against him. He was released on bail. Since he had been elected for a fourth term to the Parliament and was sworn in as a Parliament Deputy, his case was closed.

When two women MPs raised objections regarding Mr. Khodadadi’s credentials, his case was sent to the Parliament for further investigation. Although some of the people of Malekan had gathered in front of the Parliament demanding Khodadai’s ousting, the Parliament voted to approve his credentials and allowed him to serve his term. Mr. Khodadadi refused to comment on his case citing ongoing investigation and his reluctance to provide material for enemies and foreign media.

In the parliamentary election that followed, Mr. Khodadadi was barred from running. However, due to his membership in the 1990s in the National Security Committee, he had a close relationship with Hassan Rouhani, the current President of Iran, and other current members of Mr. Rouhani’s cabinet. Mr. Khodadadi supported Mr. Rouhani in the 2013 Presidential election and was being considered for the position of Governor of Bushehr (Iranian southern province). Mr. Rouhani later changed his mind and Mr. Khodadadi was appointed an advisor to Javad Zarif.

In the most recent parliamentary elections, Mr. Khodadadi was once again barred from running for Parliament by the Supervisory Council (operated by the Executive Branch), but the Guardian Council lobbied on his behalf and he was elected one more time.  Mr. Khodadadi had the support of the “Omid List”, a list of candidates aligned with Mr. Rouhani. Once in Parliament, Mr. Khodadadi became the Chair of the Parliament’s Social Committee.

When he first began to serve in the Parliament, Salman Khodadadi was a management studies student. During his many terms in the Parliament, he received a Master’s degree in Political Science and a PhD in International Relations.

A cab driver sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl

HRANA News Agency – A cab driver has sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl multiple times.  Last year, a cab driver who was hired to take three little girls to school every day began abusing one of the children sexually after awhile.

According to a report by Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA), the driver owns a Ford Festiva, is visually impaired in one eye and had taken the girl to an abandoned building near the school.  The mother of the child says that she has no hope of recovery for her daughter.  “It has been years since my daughter has been potty trained, but she is having accidents now because of what has happened to her,” the mother says.

The mother has also reported that the cab driver assaulted her daughter for weeks by taking her to the abandoned building under false pretenses of wanting to play games.  “My children say the driver has a yellow knife that he keeps under his seat,” the mother adds while crying.  “He has threatened my kids.  When two of them weren’t there, he abused my daughter, Freshteh.  He threatened to cut her parent’s heads off if she didn’t keep quiet.”

“Freshteh is now undergoing psychiatric therapy and has been taking sedatives.  She is easily agitated and even fears her father and brothers,” the mother says.

 

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