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Political Repression in Iran:

Since 2019, the Iranian government has been categorised as an authoritarian regime. Iran’s history with political repression is a long and complex history stemming from movements of democracy under dictatorships.

Historical context:

While Iran's history spans centuries, there is one notable year that signaled a significant shift in its modern-day political culture. In 1953, the US Central Intelligence Agency led a coup against the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Muhammad Mossadegh. Known as Operation AJAX, the planned coup's goal was to "to create, extend, and enhance public hostility and distrust and fear of Mossadegh and his government." Under Kermit Roosevelt's leadership, the United States was successful in overthrowing the Prime Minister and restoring the Shah of Iran as the supreme leader. With Mossadegh out, Fazlollah Zahedi was chosen by the US as the new Prime Minister of Iran under the Shah's leadership. As a result of the CIA's interference in Iran's political realm, the US managed to disrupt the natural progress of democracy and catapulted Iran into arthurian governance for the years to come. The Shah of Iran became the Shah of Shahs, an unchecked dictator who promised democratic reform but instead revered any progress Mossadegh made. Since then Iran has not achieved political stability. It has experienced regime change after regime change, from dictators, to Monarchs, parliamentary systems to presidents, no matter the system political repression has been a consistent factor.

Political Repression as a violation of human rights:

In 2019, Iran experienced some of the worst political repression since the Iranian Revolution. A harsh crackdown from the Government came after widespread protests in response to a hike in fuel prices. The protests began in November 2019 and lasted weeks when the pierce of gasoline increased by over fifty percent. An estimate of 180 to 450 people were killed and approximately 2000 individuals were wounded. About 7000 people were detained by government forces. 2009 was the last time Iran saw a similar crackdown from the Government. Protests erupted after the 2009 contested election resulting in 72 people dead. These protests lasted about 10 months and were met with a similar response by the Iranian Government.

Iran has continued to close its borders to independent human rights observers. As a result, the 2019 Democracy Index shows that Iran scored 2.38, categorising its government as an authoritarian regime.] The 2020 world press freedom index ranked Iran 173 out of 180 countries, categorising it as having some of the toughest restrictions on the press. According to Reporters Without Borders, approximately “860 journalists and citizen-journalists have been imprisoned or executed since 1979”. Additionally, the Human Rights Watch report states that Iran has  “unrelenting repression”. Approximately 14 individuals with dual and foreign nationalities were arrested to links with “Western academic, economic, and cultural institutions ''.

Contemporary political repression

Human rights watch report - “Unrelenting repression”

https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/17/iran-unrelenting-repression


 * 14 individuals with dual and foreign nationalities were arrested to links with “Western academic, economic, and cultural institutions”
 * “The government discriminates against Baha’is and other religious minorities, including Sunni Muslims, and restricts cultural and political activities among the country’s Azeri, Kurdish, Arab, and Baluch ethnic minorities”

Current events

In 2019, 180 people were killed in some of the deadliest political unrest since 1978. The unrest came after a fifty percent increase in oil prices.

Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi, founded the banned Defenders of Human Rights Center - fled the country after 2009 “disputed re-election of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, which sparked unprecedented protests and harsh crackdowns by authorities.”

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/8/iran-rights-activist-mohammadi-freed-after-sentence-cut

“UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called on Iran to “immediately release” political prisoners who have been excluded from a push to empty prisons amid the coronavirus pandemic”


 * A prominent human rights activist, Narges Mohammadi was released from prison due to health concerns.