Atena Daemi dreamed of an end to the death penalty in her country, Iran, and called for greater respect for human rights. For this reason she was imprisoned, beaten and held in solitary confinement. Today we will tell the story of this brave woman and see together the human rights situation in Iran.
Human Rights in Iran
Atena Daemi was imprisoned for her fight for human rights, which are often not respected in Iran, her native country. According to the most recent United Nations report on the situation of human rights, the country suffers from severe gender discrimination, a high percentage of arbitrary detentions and problems related to the application of the death penalty. Let’s see specifically what the problems are.
With regard to the death penalty and arbitrary detentions, high numbers of executions have been recorded in the country even for crimes that do not fall into the most serious categories. By serious categories the UN Human Rights Council means only those involving intentional killings. Executions have often been the result of trials held in an unfair manner and with the use of torture in order to extract a fictitious confession: in particular for circumstances with connections to the anti-government protests that have taken place in the country in recent years. The most emblematic case is that of Navid Afkari who was secretly executed after having participated in August 2008 in protests in the city of Shiraz. The UN Special Rapporteur sent to Iran, said he was concerned that these executions seem to conceal a desire, on the part of the government, to repress dissent.
The UN report highlights the high number of executions of minors: between January 1 and December 1, 2020, 3 minors were executed and more than 85 are on the death row. In Iran, the Penal Code provides for the death penalty for girls over 9 years of age and boys over 15 years of age for crimes such as murder and adultery.
Women’s rights are severely hindered not only by the law but also by social customs and conventions. Although women’s rights are codified in Articles 20 and 21 of the constitution, there is discrimination on marriage, divorce, and parental custody rights. An Iranian woman cannot marry without the permission of her father or paternal grandfather if the marriage in question is her first. Marriage between a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man is illegal, and marriage to a man of non-Iranian nationality must receive government consent.
Girls can legally marry as young as 13 but there have been cases of girls being married even at a younger age with paternal and court consent. Married women remain under the authority of their husbands, who may prohibit them from working, having a passport or traveling abroad. Regarding divorce, the husband has the absolute right to file for divorce while the wife can file only in specific cases.
Finally, freedom of thought and demonstration is limited in the country. Human rights defenders and their lawyers are harassed on a daily basis. Among the most famous cases are those of Golrokh Iraee Ebrahimi and Athena Daemi herself. Arrested both for condemning arbitrary executions of political prisoners and for singing a memorial song. Iraee was released in April 2019 while Daemi remains in prison. In addition to the arrests there is also rampant intimidation of family members of those arrested.
Excessive use of force and telecommunication disruptions during demonstrations is common practice. The UN Special Rapporteur reports an unprecedented internet shutdown requested by the government during the November 2019 demonstrations. In general, the government continues to censor websites and social media platforms. Telegram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube have been permanently blocked and are currently inaccessible.
The history of Atena Daemi
Athena Daemi bravely fought against the aforementioned human rights violations, and especially against the death penalty, arbitrary detentions and for the rights of women and children. She was arrested on October 21, 2014 and after 86 days of interrogation was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for the crimes of: “propaganda against the system,” “seditious gathering and collusion against national security,” “blasphemy and insulting the Supreme Leader,” and “concealment of evidence.” During the trial, her Facebook posts in which she argued against the death penalty were used as evidence. On September 28, 2016, after being released on bail, she sees her sentence reduced to 7 years. She is arrested again on November 28, 2016, and after filing a complaint against the “Islamic Revolution Guards Corps” (IRGC) for excessive use of force, she is tried on December 19, 2016 on charges of: “insult against the supreme leader and state officials,” “propaganda against the system,” and “resisting arrest”. She is convicted and three months and one day are added to her seven-year sentence. Her sisters, Ensieh and Hanieh, are also sentenced to the same sentence, but are acquitted 54 days later. On December 21, 2019, Daemi and other prisoners organize a sit-in as a protest against the crackdown and the state’s response to the November 2019 demonstrations. Following this event she was transferred to solitary confinement on December 28, 2019 and remained there until January 8, 2020. In addition, she was sentenced to 2 additional years in prison and 74 lashes. In addition to the usual charge of “propaganda against the system” she was charged with “disruption of prison order” for dancing and celebrating during the Ashoora festival. Daemi has refused to go to trial stating that such charges are baseless and based on lies.
Atena Daemi’s health condition during her stay in prison has deteriorated significantly. After the 55-day hunger strike she went on in 2017 to protest the sentences she and her sisters received, she began coughing up blood and having problems with weight loss, nausea, vomiting and kidney pain. Amnesty International at that time demanded that she be transferred to hospital and the doctors themselves stated that immediate hospitalization was necessary. Despite this, the transfer to hospital was denied by the prison authorities. Daemi’s health deteriorated further after her second hunger strike, which was carried out for 22 days in 2018 to protest her transfer to Shahr-e Rey Prison. The situation has worsened so much that the chairman of the European Parliament’s Human Rights Subcommittee, Pier Antonio Panzieri, also intervened, saying he was alarmed by the cruelty with which Daemi was being treated and called on the Iranian authorities to take action on the matter. To date it is known that Athena Daemi could suffer from the pathology of multiple sclerosis, but although it has been stated by a doctor in Gharchak prison that the woman is in immediate need of an MRI and a visit to a specialist, such measures have not yet been taken. Unfortunately, it is well known that one of the techniques of intimidation against prisoners used in Iran is precisely the denial of medical care.
Large Movements is monitoring the situation of Athena Daemi and believe it is important that her story and current condition be known. Human Rights are essential to the life of every human being and their respect should be the foundation of all government action. Atena Daemi struggled to secure these rights for herself and for all Iranian people, and we believe that her story should be told.
