HRC44: Oral statement during ID with SR on the independence of judges and lawyers

Agenda Item 3:ID with the SR on the independence of judges and lawyers

Organisation: Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker:Claire Denman

Thank you Madame President,

CSW thanks the Special Rapporteur for his latest report, especially the call to strengthen the independence of the judiciary.

We would like to draw the Council’s attention to violations experienced by religious minorities in Iran, and particularly religious leaders, who are regularly subjected to miscarriages of justice.

There are currently 97 Baha’is imprisoned on false charges related to their faith. Christians also continue to receive excessive sentences following conviction on unfounded national security-related charges.

Members of minority faiths are regularly obliged to appear before Revolutionary Courts, where proceedings lack transparency and judges lack impartiality. Judges Moghisheh, Ahmadzadeh and Salavati, are particularly responsible for harsh verdicts following trials marked by an absence of due process.

We urge Iran to ensure due process and judicial independence. We also urge an end to the equating of peaceful adherence to a minority faith with crimes against the state, and the release of all those detained for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief.

Finally, we encourage Iran to abolish revolutionary courts, as recommended by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the former Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.

Thank you