A/HRC/39/41
24.
Mr. Parvez was a source of information collected from June 2016 to April 2018 fo r
an OHCHR report published in June 2018 on the human rights situation in the State of
Jammu and Kashmir6 and has reportedly suffered reprisals for his assis tance. Defamin g
content against the JKCCS and Mr. Parvez is reportedly being circulated b y a g ro u p t h at
claims to have ISIS affiliation. The group has publicly incited deat h t h reat s ag ain st M r.
Parvez and his family, and used slanderous language against the work of the JKCCS.
7.
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
25.
The case of Ms. Raheleh Rahemipor was referred to in the 2017 report o f the
Secretary-General (see A/HRC/36/31, para 37 and Annex, paras. 41-42. On 16 M ay 2018,
four special procedures mandate holders raised concerns over allegations of reprisals in th e
form of continuous judicial harassment for her efforts in seeking the truth about the fate and
whereabouts of her brother and his infant daughter (IRN 9/2018). Ms. Rahemipor is a
65 year-old human rights defender, the sister of Mr. Hossein Rahemipor and the aunt to his
infant daughter, whose disappearances have been registered with the Wo rkin g Gro u p o n
Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances since June 2016.
26.
In February 2017, Ms. Rahemipor was sentenced by the Branch 15 of the
Revolutionary Court in Tehran to a year in prison “for spreading propagand a ag ainst t h e
system.” In September 2017, she was arrested while her first case was still pending in t h e
court of appeal. During her interrogation, she was allegedly pressured to withdraw the
complaints that stand before the Working Group and in return the prosecution against h er,
would be stopped, which she refused. She was released on bail after being held in detention
for one month. Similar concerns were raised in previous communications sent by the
special procedures on 5 August 2016 (IRN 23/2016), on 22 November 2016 (IRN
29/2016), on 26 January 2017 (IRN 3/2017) and on 18 September 2017 (IRN 27/2017). A
reference to her case was included in the February 2018 report of the Secretary -General o n
the situation of human rights in Iran (see A/HRC/37/24, para.47). A response by the
Government was received on 27 October 2017 but it did not address the allegation that Ms.
Rahemipor is being judicially harassed as a form of reprisal because she registered the
disappearance of her brother and niece with the Working Group on Enforced and
Involuntary Disappearances.
27.
On 5 May 2018, it was further reported that Ms. Rahemipor was tried by the Branch
28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court on the same charge as in February 2017, of “s p reading
propaganda against the system” for informing the Working Group about t h e cases o f h er
relatives and for participating in peaceful protests with other activis ts, wh ere s he h eld a
poster reading “You killed my brother. What did you do with his child?” During th e cou rt
session, the judge humiliated and verbally abused her for having communicated with
organizations outside Iran including United Nations bodies. The judge said that the
authorities made a mistake by releasing her on bail in the first case against her, and that she
should have been kept in prison. While she is awaiting the outcome of this n ew t rial, h er
other case in the appeal court is still pending.
8.
Iraq
28.
In the 2016 report of the Secretary-General (see A/HRC/33/19, para. 24), it was
noted that on 13 April 2016, three special procedures mandate holders raised concerns over
allegations of reprisals against Mr. Imad Amara and Mr. Faisal al-Tamimi, of A l W is s am
Humanitarian Assembly, an NGO that documents cases of enforced disappearances in Iraq
and submits them to the United Nations human rights mechanisms (see A/HRC/33/32, IRQ
1/2016). On 6 March 2016, Iraqi military forces stopped and searched Mr. Amara an d M r.
Al-Tamimi’s car while the two men were on their way to meet families of disappeared
persons. Both men were informed that a warrant had been issued for t h eir arres t, b efo re
being handcuffed, blindfolded and taken to an unknown location. Mr. Amara an d M r. A l Tamimi were severely beaten, insulted and threatened while being interrogated about t h eir
work for around two hours, before being released. The special procedures also raised
concerns over reports that other employees of Al Wissam had previously been subjected t o
6
GE.18-13325
OHCHR, Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of
Jammu and Kashmir from June 2016 to April 2018, and General Human Rights Concerns in Azad
Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit – Baltistan, 14 June 2018.
47