Arrest and ignorance of Hassan Hajipour, Civil activist

Human Rights in Iran – Monday, August 3, 2020, Mashhad security forces arrested Kourosh “Hassan” Hajipour, a constitutionalist civil activist residing in this city and transferred him to an undisclosed location.

According to the report of Human Rights in Iran, Kourosh “Hassan” Hajipour, a constitutionalist civil activist living in Mashhad (northeast of Iran) was arrested by the security forces of this city on Saturday, July 25, 2020, and transferred to an unknown

Talking to the reporter of Human Rights in Iran, a credible source stated: “At the time of Hassan Hajipour’s arrest, the officers refused to provide an arrest warrant or a court order, and after ransacking his home and confiscating his cell phone and a former regime’s flag with the lion and sun emblem in the center, they took this constitutionalist civil activist away with themselves.”

“Hassan Hajipour has only been in contact with his family once since Saturday (July 25, 2020) and has stated that he is being interrogated in the detention center of the Mashhad Intelligence Department, but according to his family’s referral to the Prosecutor’s Office and the Mashhad Intelligence Department, no response has been given to the family”, the reliable source added.

Arresting people without informing them of their charges at the time of arrest and impossibility of access to a lawyer for the accused are among the violations of international human rights instruments, Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted on December 16,1966.

Also enjoying the right to a fair trial by an impartial tribunal in the presence of a jury and by preserving the right of the accused to appoint his or her lawyer in a trial, is one of the issues accentuated in International Instrument of Human Rights, including Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and Article 14 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted on December 16, 1966.

In most cases, the extrajudicial and arbitrary detention of citizens and civil activists with vague and trumped-up accusations is in the line of suppression of Freedom of Expression and opinion, which in International Instrument of Human Rights, in Article 19 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as in Article 19 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on December 16th 1966, there is emphasis on not suppressing of the individuals because of Freedom of Expression and opinion. Regarding the principle of freedom of expression, every individual has the right to express his/her opinions and viewpoints in any way possible, without considering border restrictions.

Article 5 of the Criminal Procedure Code stipulates that the accused shall be informed of the charges and provided access to a lawyer as soon as possible. Other defensive rights are mentioned in law, but extrajudicial actions taken by the security services violate the laws that they themselves drafted and claim to be enforced.