Ahmad Montazeri
Ahmad Montazeri is a 60 year old Islamic cleric, and the son of the deceased Ayatollah Hossein Montazeri, who was one of the founders of the Islamic Republic of Iran, but was dismissed from power in 1989 for criticising the government of infringing on citizen’s human rights. In his capacity as an Islamic cleric, Ahmad Montazeri has been actively involved in promoting and supporting the rights of political prisoners and imprisoned human rights defenders. He has also been outspoken in denouncing human rights violations in Iran, and has given interviews with international media such as the BBC.
Hope for political reform in Iran surfaced when President Hassan Rouhani assumed office in 2013 and dozens of opposition political figures and human rights defenders were released. However, violations of the rights to freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly and movement of HRDs continue to be prevalent.
Human rights defenders and journalists are arrested, detained and prosecuted in unfair trials. HRDs continue to receive death threats and are subjected to harassment, arbitrary arrest and detention. They are refused bail or receive extreme bail conditions. HRDs are additionally subjected to systematic surveillance and their family members are targeted. Journalists have been subjected to flogging for criticising the government.
