United States Department of State

“ The head of the judiciary is appointed by the Supreme Leader, who in turn appoints the head of the Supreme Court and the chief public prosecutor. According to the constitution, under the supervision of the head of the judiciary, the Court of Administrative Justice investigates the grievances of citizens with regard to government officials, organs, and statutes. In practice, however, citizens' ability to sue the government is limited. It appeared that citizens were not able to bring lawsuits against the government for civil or human rights violations. ”

“ All religious minorities suffered varying degrees of officially sanctioned discrimination, particularly in employment, education, and housing. In June the UNSR for Adequate Housing visited the country and reported that rural land, particularly that belonging to minorities, including many Baha'is, was expropriated for government use and owners were not fairly compensated. With the exception of Baha'is, the government allowed recognized religious minorities to conduct religious education of their adherents, although it restricted this right considerably in some cases. ”

“ The country's Islamic law permits a man to have up to four wives and an unlimited number of temporary partnerships (sigheh) , based on a Shi'a custom in which a woman may become the wife of a Muslim male after a simple religious ceremony and a civil contract outlining the union's conditions. Temporary marriages may last for any length of time and are used sometimes by prostitutes. Such wives are not granted rights associated with traditional marriage. ”

“ Sunni Muslims are the largest religious minority. The constitution provides Sunni Muslims a large degree of religious freedom. Sunni Muslims claimed the government discriminated against them, although it was hard to distinguish whether the cause for discrimination was religious or ethnic, since most Sunnis are also ethnic minorities, primarily Arabs, Balouchis, and Kurds. ”

“ The government increased control over the Internet during the year as more citizens used it as a source for news and political debate. A 2004 poll by a domestic press outlet found many citizens trusted the Internet more than other news media. In 2005 approximately 6.2 million citizens used the Internet, and there were 683 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) . All ISPs must be approved by the Ministry of Culture and Guidance, and the government used filtering software to block access to some Western Web sites, reportedly including the Web sites of prominent Western newspapers and NGOs. ”

“ The law empowers the Supreme Labor Council to establish annual minimum wage levels for each industrial sector and region. During the year President Ahmadinejad increased the minimum wage levels, but workers continued to claim that it was too low. There was no information regarding mechanisms to set wages, and it was not known if minimum wages were enforced. The law stipulates that the minimum wage should meet the living expenses of a family and should take inflation into account. However, many middle-class citizens had to work two or three jobs to support their families. ”

“ The law provides workers the right to establish unions; however, the government did not permit independent unions. A national organization known as Workers' House was the sole authorized national labor organization. It served primarily as a conduit for government control over workers. The leadership of Workers' House coordinated activities with Islamic labor councils, which consisted of representatives of the workers and a representative of management in industrial, agricultural, and service organizations of more than 35 employees. ”

“ The government, through a state-controlled entity called the Sound and Vision Organization, directly controlled and maintained a monopoly over all television and radio broadcasting facilities; programming reflected the government's political and socioreligious ideology. Because newspapers and other print media had a limited circulation outside large cities, radio and television served as the principal news source for many citizens. Satellite dishes that received foreign television broadcasts were forbidden; however, many citizens owned them, particularly the wealthy. ”

“ In March 2005 Judiciary Chief Shahrudi claimed the judiciary was pursuing "700 to 800" corruption cases related to state officials. However, he clarified that these offenses were usually the work of "junior administrators" and high officials should not be prosecuted for the activities of their subordinates. In October 2005 in responding to criticism of a government report on corruption that omitted names, Shahrudi said that those involved with financial crimes would not be publicly identified until they are found guilty or the appeals process exhausted. ”

“ Women have the right to divorce if their husband signed a contract granting that right or if he cannot provide for his family, is a drug addict, insane, or impotent. However, a husband is not required to cite a reason for divorcing his wife. ”

“ Religious minorities are barred from election to a representative body, except for the five Majles seats reserved for minorities, and from holding senior government or military positions, but they were allowed to vote. Although the constitution mandates an Islamic army, members of religious minorities did serve in the military, although non-Muslim promotions were limited by a military restriction against non-Muslims commanding Muslims. Reportedly non-Muslims can be officers during their mandatory military service but cannot be career military officers. ”

“ According to the law, a safety council, chaired by the Labor Minister or his representative, should protect workplace safety and health. Labor organizations outside the country have alleged that hazardous work environments were common in the country and resulted in thousands of worker deaths annually. The quality of safety regulation enforcement was unknown, and it was unknown whether workers could remove themselves from hazardous situations without risking the loss of employment. ”

“ The law prohibits employment of minors less than 15 years of age and places restrictions on the employment of minors under age 18; however, the government did not adequately enforce laws pertaining to child labor. The law permits children to work in agriculture, domestic service, and some small businesses but prohibits employment of women and minors in hard labor or night work. ”

“ Women cannot serve as president or as certain types of judges (women can be consultant and research judges without the power to impose sentences) . Eighty-nine women registered to run for president in 2005, but all were rejected by the Council of Guardians. This year women's rights activists made an effort to allow women to run for the Assembly of Experts. The constitution requires that Assembly of Experts candidates have a certain religious qualification. Citing this requirement, some religious leaders gave qualified support for the candidacy of women in the Assembly of Experts elections. ”

“ Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights The government continued to restrict the work of local human rights groups. The government denies the universality of human rights and has stated that human rights issues should be viewed in the context of a country's "culture and beliefs." ”

“ In January 2005 government officials told the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child that for many years there had been a moratorium on the death penalty for persons under 18. During the same month, according to credible reports, a man was executed for a crime committed when he was 17. According to an HRW report, during the year 30 juveniles were on death row.
In 2004 20 local human rights groups called on the judiciary not to sentence minors to death. ”

“ Much of the damage suffered by the citizens of Khuzestan Province during the eight-year war with Iraq has not been repaired; consequently, the quality of life of the largely Arab local population was degraded. Kurds, Azeris, and Ahvazi Arabs were not permitted to exercise their constitutional rights to study their languages.
Women
The constitution says all citizens, both men and women, equally enjoy protection of the law and all human, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, in conformity with Islamic rights. ”

“ A widely used model marriage contract limits privileges accorded to men by custom, and traditional interpretations of Islamic law recognize a divorced woman's right to a share in the property that couples acquire during their marriage and to increased alimony. ”

“ As an example of discrimination, Sunnis citedthe lack of a Sunni mosque in the nation's capital, Tehran, despite over a million Sunni inhabitants.
Members of the country's non-Muslim religious minorities, particularly Baha'is, reported imprisonment, harassment, and intimidation based on their religious beliefs. In November 2005 the domestic press quoted a leading cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Janati, secretary of the Guardian Council, as saying humans who follow anything but Islam are like animals who graze and commit corruption. ”

“ Many police officers were also corrupt. Civilian authorities did not fully maintain effective control of the security forces. The regular and paramilitary security forces both committed numerous, serious human rights abuses. According to a 2004 HRW report, the government's use of plainclothes security agents to intimidate political critics became more institutionalized since 2000. They were increasingly armed, violent, and well equipped, and they engaged in assault, theft, and illegal seizures and detentions. ”

“ In 2004 the government conducted a study on trafficking of women, passed a law against human trafficking, and signed separate Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Afghanistan, Turkey, the International Organization for Migration, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) . In December 2005 Iran, Pakistan, Greece, and Turkey formed a joint working group to fight human trafficking, according to Pakistani press reports. Domestic media reported that some trafficking networks were disrupted during the year. ”

“ In practice the government severely restricted freedom of speech and of the press. The Culture Ministry must grant permission to publish any book, and it inspects foreign printed materials prior to their domestic release. According to the Tehran-based Association for Advocating Freedom of Press, state pressure on journalists increased after President Ahmadinejad assumed office in August 2005. Journalists were frequently threatened and sometimes killed as a consequence of their work. ”

“ The December 19 UNGA resolution on the country's human rights expressed serious concern about continuing discrimination toward persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, including violent repression of Arabs, Azeris, Baha'is, Kurds, and Sufis. There was societal violence in northwest, southwest, and southeast regions of the country, populated by various ethnic groups. ”

“ In 2005activists on women's issues expressed concern that the woman selected by President Ahmadinejad to lead the Center for Women's Participation, which is affiliated with the office of the president, did not have a background in women's issues. In addition the government changed the name of the organization to the Center for Women and Family, raising concern that the organization sought to reorient debate on women's problems to focus only on those related to the home, concerns that proved accurate. ”

“ The constitution and penal code require warrants or subpoenas for arrests and also state the arrested person must be informed of charges within 24 hours; however, these safeguards rarely occurred in practice. Detainees often went weeks or months without charges or trial; frequently were denied prompt contact with family; and often were denied access to legal representation for prolonged periods. Bail was often set at extremely high levels, even for lesser crimes. Detainees and their families are often compelled to submit property deeds in order to post bail; many cannot afford to post bail. ”

“ Although a male can marry at age 15 without parental consent, the 1991 civil law states that a virgin female needs the consent of her father or grandfather to wed, or the court's permission, even if she is older than 18. ”

“ Reportedly, the UNHCR complained that governmentauthorities pressured Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan by suspending education and medical services and revoking residence permits. On October 12, the provincial government of East Azerbaijan province announced Afghan refugees could not remain in the province and had until October 22 to present themselves to authorities for their situations to "be clarified." The government accused many Afghans of involvement in drug trafficking. ”

“ Sufis are a minority Muslim sect whose practices focus on mysticism in Islam and involve dance and music. Sufis are sometimes regarded with suspicion by followers of more orthodox interpretations of Islam. Sufi organizations outside the country previously expressed concern about government repression of their religious practices, and during the year there werearrests in Qom, a center of orthodox Shi'ism, after calls by Shi'a clerics for restrictions on local Sufis. ”