New Zealand Cuts Human Rights Dialogue With Iran
New Zealand has suspended its official bilateral human rights dialogue with the Islamic Republic, saying bilateral approaches were "no longer tenable" given Tehran’s gross violations.
New Zealand has suspended its official bilateral human rights dialogue with the Islamic Republic, saying bilateral approaches were "no longer tenable" given Tehran’s gross violations.
In a statement on Monday, New Zealander Minister Foreign Nanaia Mahuta said the decision sends a strong signal that bilateral approaches on human rights were not tenable with the Islamic Republic, which has been denying basic human rights and violently suppressing protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was arrested by the so-called morality police for attire deemed inappropriate.
She said, “Violence against women, girls or any other members of Iranian society to prevent their exercise of universal human rights is unacceptable and must end. This is clearly a difficult time for the people of Iran.”
Tehran and Wellington had established the dialogue in 2018 with the stated hope of advancing human rights issues and concerns, and held the first round of talks in 2021. The next round of negotiations was scheduled to take place later in 2022.
Last week, New Zealand’s officials confirmed that two New Zealanders, who had been detained in Iran for a number of months, had been released and were safe. The New Zealand government also last Wednesday updated its travel warnings for Iran and urged New Zealanders currently there to leave.
Amid nationwide unrest and widespread arrests, several foreigners visiting Iran have disappeared, confirming earlier reports that the Islamic Republic is taking foreign citizens hostage.
Their call came in a statement published by the Iranian Etemad and other newspapers on Sunday.
Iranian journalists and social media activists have also condemned a joint statement issued by the country's top intelligence organizations that accused the two female journalists of instigating "riots" in Iran by covering Amini’s death.
Iran's Ministry of information that operates under President Ebrahim Raisi's administration and the IRGC Intelligence Organization which operates directly under Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and reports to him had in a joint statement on October 28 accusing Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, two women journalists arrested days after protests began in September, of spying for several foreign agencies including the CIA, MI-6 and Mossad.
Many Iranian journalists, including Hassan Namakdoust Tehrani have pointed out that "what Hamedi and Mohammadi did was simply fulfilling their responsibility as journalists."
Reformist daily Sharq, for which Niluofar Hamid worked wrote: "Niloufar has been in jail for more than a month. Saturday, October 29 is her birthday, and we hope that she and all other journalist in jail return to their newspapers soon."
Meanwhile, Washington Post’s Jason Rezaian, an Iranian American journalist who was a hostage in Iran in mid-2010s and was released as part of a prisoner swap after the 2015 nuclear deal with the West, wrote on Saturday, "In a rare moment of agreement the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Intelligence & the Intelligence unit of the IRGC issued a ridiculous statement claiming journalists Niloofar Hamedi & Elahe Mohammadi are agents of the CIA, MI6, Mossad, Saudi intelligence & several other countries."
Reformist commentator Abbas Abdi referred to the Iran intelligence agencies accusation that the two journalists were trained by foreigners to report on Mahsa Amini's death, wrote: "Sending a prominent journalist such as Elaheh Mohammadi to a training session to learn to report is like sending a person with a Ph.D. in mathematics to a class to learn the rules of multiplication."
The managing editor of Ham Mihan, the newspaper where Elaheh Mohammadi's report about Mahsa Amini's death was published wrote that her coverage was similar the the IRGC-linked Fars news agency's account of the event and what other agencies had reported at the time with even more details. Gholamhossein Karbaschi pointed out that it is not easy for a reporter to work in a security atmosphere.
He said the authorities have told him that the accusations against the journalist had nothing to do with her job as a journalist. Nonetheless, the statement by the intelligence organizations is about Ms. Mohammadi's role as a reporter, Karbaschi said, adding that this attitude toward journalism is not in the interest of Iran's media environment. Referring to the point the agencies made about the reporters' trying to be the first to break the news, Karbaschi said this is what every good journalist does, and the authorities had better change their attitude.
He added: "No news will remain concealed forever and it will reach the whole world soon." Kartbaschi pointed out that "It is in the interest of the country to have the right news disseminated by domestic press rather than creating a situation in which Iranians get the news first from foreign-based media," referring to Persian broadcasters abroad.
Prominent Iranian journalist Niloufar Ghadirian, the former editor of Hamshahri daily wrote: "Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi will be always remembered as honest, brave and dedicated journalists. Their names will be remembered in journalism courses for many years."
According to information obtained by Iran International, Reza Haqiqatnejad was buried in an area far from his hometown in the southern Fars province without the permission of his family. The reason for the secret burial without any funeral service is not clear since he was not a member of any opposition group. The only explanation can be an IRGC attempt at revenge since he was a top analyst who exposed the regime’s contradictions and weaknesses.
The IRGC had taken away Haqiqatnejad’s body after his coffin arrived in Iran, preventing his burial in his hometown of Shiraz.
In a video message released on social media, the deceased journalist’s elderly mother had pleaded with authorities to let her see and bury his son. Haqiqatnejad, 45, passed away in Berlin after six months of battling cancer. He died on October 17 and his body was repatriated to Iran for burial on October 25.
He worked for Radio Farda, a Persian broadcaster in Prague financed by the US Congress.
His family had made arrangements for burial at a cemetery in Shiraz and acquired all the relevant permits but according to his relatives and friends, security forces have been pressuring the family to agree to his burial in a cemetery outside the city.
The abduction of his body drew numerous reactions by the public, who said the Islamic Republic is even afraid of his dead body.
The prime minister, who attended a large gathering of Iranians in Ottawa with his wife, said probably when the regime changes and the situation gets better in Iran, those responsible for oppressing the people will never be forgotten and will never be allowed to come to Canada.
Trudeau is the first Western leader to acknowledge that current protests in Iran can bring about regime change.
In a powerful show of solidarity with the people in Iran, hundreds gathered in the Canadian capital on Saturday to speak out against Iran’s religious, authoritarian government.
Demonstrators formed a human chain, tramped their feet, and chanted Mahsa Amini’s name. She was the young woman whose death in September sparked the uprising in Iran.
Iran has been gripped by six weeks of protests that swept the country when Amini, 22, was arrested for not following Iran’s strict dress rules for women known as hijab. She received fatal head injuries in police custody and died on September 16.
“We will stand with you, I will march with you, and I will hold hands with you,” Trudeau said, adding “We will continue to stand with this beautiful community and demonstrate to the world that we will not forget Mahsa Amini.”
Elsewhere in his remarks Trudeau stressed, “We know there are people in Canada now who have benefited from the corrupt, from the horrific regime in Iran and who are hiding amongst ... this beautiful community.”
In recent years, several Iranian officials accused of corruption or human rights abuses have been seen in Canada, either permanently or on a trip.
One of them was Mahmoud-Reza Khavari, the former CEO of the state-owned Melli Bank, who fled to Canada in 2010, after being accused of embezzling billions of dollars.
The other was Morteza Talaei the former commander of Tehran’s police force. He was in office when the regime beat the Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi to death in Evin Prison in 2003. A photograph was published on social media showing him at a gym near Toronto in 2020. His presence in Canada sparked outrage among Iranians who urged the government to expel officials and agents of the Islamic Republic.
During the rally on Saturday Trudeau said “Taking advantage of Canada's freedoms, Canada's opportunities, and using the riches they stole from the Iranian people to live a good life in Canada. Well, we say no more.”
The Canadian premier also noted that his government will be working to ensure his country is never again a safe haven for “killers, murderers, and those responsible for the oppression of Iranian people.”
Trudeau also raised his fist chanting slogans in Persian saying, “We will stand with you. I’ll march with you, I will hold hands with you. We will continue to stand with this beautiful community.”
After his statements, Trudeau accompanied hundreds of protesters in a march across the city.
Iranian diaspora also held similar demonstrations and formed human chains in other cities from Australian to Berlin and to Canada, including, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.
The shift in the Trudeau cabinet's approach to Iran comes as he was criticized earlier on Iranian social media for not participating at any event or demonstration related to Iran.
Many believe the Canadian government has realized the facts on the ground have changed and increasing pressure by the Iranian-Canadians has finally brought about a change in policy.
