The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
“We have received information that uniformed and plainclothes police in Iran are enforcing a violent crackdown throughout the country against women and girls under the country’s strict hijab laws – as well as men supporting them. There have been reports of widespread arrests and harassment of women and girls - many between the ages of 15 and 17,” Jeremy Laurence stated.
“On 21 April, the Tehran head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the creation of a new body to enforce existing mandatory hijab laws, adding that IRGC members have been trained to do so ‘in a more serious manner’ in public spaces. “Reports indicate that hundreds of businesses have been forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsory hijab laws, and surveillance cameras are being used to identify women drivers not complying with the laws,” he said.
The UN Human Rights Office is also very concerned that a draft bill on “Supporting the Family by Promoting the Culture of Chastity and Hijab” – which imposes even stricter punishments– is nearing final approval by the Guardian Council.
“While the latest draft of the bill has not been made public, an earlier version stipulates that those found guilty of violating the mandatory dress code could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, flogging, and fines. Corporal punishment constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and any detention, imposed for the exercise of fundamental freedoms, is arbitrary under international law. We reiterate that this bill must be shelved,” Laurence stated.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calls on the Iranian Government to eliminate all forms of gender-based discrimination and violence, including through the revision and the repeal of harmful laws, policies and practices, in line with international human rights norms and standards.
“This week, we also received reports that the Isfahan Revolution Court sentenced to death rapper, Toomaj Salehi. He was convicted and sentenced for “corruption on earth” over views he expressed in the context of nationwide protests in 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini had fallen into a coma in police custody, after being detained by the morality police for not wearing a headscarf properly,” the spokesperson said.
The High Commissioner urges the authorities to overturn Toomaj Salehi’s sentence, and calls for his immediate and unconditional release. All individuals imprisoned for exercising their freedom of opinion and expression, including artistic expression, must be released.
Nine men have already been executed in connection with the 2022 protests.
The High Commissioner urges the Iranian Government to immediately halt the application of the death penalty and establish a moratorium on its use. Until then, the death penalty may only be imposed for the “most serious” crimes, which refers to crimes of extreme gravity that result intentionally and directly in death.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org or
Jeremy Laurence + +41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence statement on Iran and hijab law
TRT: 0:
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26 April 2024 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1. Exterior shot: Wide shot Palais des Nations
2. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): “We have received information that uniformed and plainclothes police in Iran are enforcing a violent crackdown throughout the country against women and girls under the country’s strict hijab laws – as well as men supporting them. There have been reports of widespread arrests and harassment of women and girls - many between the ages of 15 and 17.”
3. Cut away: briefing room
4. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): “On 21 April, the Tehran head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the creation of a new body to enforce existing mandatory hijab laws, adding that IRGC members have been trained to do so ‘in a more serious manner’. Reports indicate that hundreds of businesses have been forcibly closed for not enforcing compulsory hijab laws, and surveillance cameras are being used to identify women drivers not complying with the laws.”
5. Cut away: briefing room
6. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): “While the latest draft of the bill has not been made public, an earlier version stipulates that those found guilty of violating the mandatory dress code could face up to 10 years’ imprisonment, flogging, and fines. Corporal punishment constitutes a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and any detention, imposed for the exercise of fundamental freedoms, is arbitrary under international law. We reiterate that this bill must be shelved.”
7. Cut away: briefing room
8. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jeremy Laurence, Spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR): “This week, we also received reports that the Isfahan Revolution Court sentenced to death rapper, Toomaj Salehi. He was convicted and sentenced for “corruption on earth” over views he expressed in the context of nationwide protests in 2022 following the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. Mahsa Amini had fallen into a coma in police custody, after being detained by the morality police for not wearing a headscarf properly.”
9. Cut away: briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN rights chief urges de-escalation in Tigray amid rising tensions and violence.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
In Sudan, sick and starving children ‘wasting away’ – UN humanitarians
Relentless violence, famine and disease are picking off Sudan’s children while attacks on healthcare and a lack of aid access hamper efforts to help them, UN humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Monday gave an update to the Human Rights Council on the situation in El Fasher, Sudan.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“A series of new Israeli operations and settlement plans in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, risk seriously undermining the viability of a Palestinian state and the realisation of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination,” the UN Human Rights Spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan told the bi-weekly press conference in Geneva today.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNIS
UN voices concern over chemical spraying incident on Lebanon’s Blue Line
The UN reiterated concerns on Friday at reports that Israeli forces sprayed herbicide over areas north of the Blue Line separating Lebanon from Israel. The development poses a “serious humanitarian risk” to civilians living there, said the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), briefing journalists in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
Gaza: Five patients evacuated as Rafah reopens while ‘too many stayed behind’ – WHO
As time is running out for thousands of critically ill patients in Gaza, hope is alive for medical evacuations to increase with the reopening of the Rafah crossing in the southern part of the Strip, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNOG , OHCHR
This Sunday marks five years of crisis in Myanmar. Jeremy Laurence, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights, and James Rodehaver, chief of the Myanmar team, today spoke on the conduct of recent military-imposed elections, deploring the failure to respect the fundamental human rights of the country’s citizens. The process served only to exacerbate violence and societal polarization.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Brutal Gaza war erased years of progress on education, in an “assault on the future itself” – UNICEF
Restoring Gaza’s shattered education system is “lifesaving” and getting children back into schools must be an immediate priority, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , HRC
Volker Türk, the UN Human Rights High Commissioner, made the following remarks during a briefing to a Special Session on Iran at the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , UNOPS , UNIS
Amid the launch of President Trump's Board of Peace and reconstruction talks on Gaza, UN aid agencies insisted on Friday that what Gazans need most is immediate relief from the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe there.
2
6
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | HRC
At UN, war crimes probe pledges to continue to work for all impacted by Hamas-Israel conflict
As President Trump launched the international Board of Peace plan for Gaza on Thursday, top independent rights experts tasked by the UN Human Rights Council with investigating grave abuses linked to the Hamas-Israel war pledged to continue their work seeking justice and accountability for all.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said Tuesday UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk was outraged by the repeated large-scale attacks by the Russian Federation on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.