۱۳۹۵ مرداد ۸, جمعه

My report on the so-called ‪‎sex crimes‬ and ‪‎crimes against‬ chastity and public morality under Iran's Penal Code



Is Sending a Romantic Text a Crime in Iran?



  • Iranians found guilty of “sex crimes” including homosexuality can face execution in some cases.
  • Other punishments include stoning and flogging, and there are harsh sentences for committing a sinful act in public.
  • Kissing between two people who are not married to each other is classified as illicit sexual activity. Texting, walking together in a park, or speaking on the phone can also be considered a crime.



In Iran, extra-marital sex is illegal. But how serious are “crimes against chastity and public morality” and so-called “sex crimes”? How much trouble can two consenting adults get into by sending each other texts of a sexual nature, walking in a park together, or even drinking coffee in a cafe? 

According to the Islamic Penal Code of Iran, “sex crimes” include intercourse between adults that are not married to one another (in Persian, zena) and lavat and mosahegheh (homosexuality for men and women, respectively).

“Crimes against chastity and public morality”  include illicit sexual relationships, and acts against public morality that do not fall under the definition of zena, committing a sinful act in public, women appearing in public places without an Islamic hijab, establishing or managing a “center for corruption or promiscuity,” or facilitating or encouraging people to engage in corruption or promiscuity. 

Depending on the nature of the offence and the status of the offender, authorities can order the following punishments for people found guilty of the crime of zena: death by stoning, execution (death by hanging), or floggings. 



When is zena punishable by death?

Under Iran’s Penal Code, zena is defined as sexual intercourse between a man and a woman who are not married to each other. The punishment for zena is stoning if it can be established that the man or the woman are medically sane and able to engage in sexual intercourse with their legal spouses but have had extramarital sex. 

The punishment for zena can be execution in the following circumstances:

  • If a couple engages in zena with a blood relative who they are prohibited from marrying, both people will be condemned to execution. 
     
  • If a man sleeps with his step-mother, he will face execution; [and since the step-mother is married, she will be condemned to stoning].
     
  • If a non-Muslim man has intercourse with a Muslim woman, the man will be punished by execution.

It is also worth mentioning that the punishment for rape — which also falls under the definition of zena — is execution. So in Iran, a person found guilty of consensual extra-marital sex can be handed down the same sentence as a rapist. Although execution is not always the punishment for other types of zena  — depending on the case, punishment could result in the guilty party receiving lashes — it is perhaps surprising that such a scenario exists under Iranian law. 

However, when the person guilty of zena is not married and has sex outside of marriage, the punishment is one hundred lashes.




Illicit sexual relations and acts against chastity other than zena

According to Article 637, if a man and a woman who are not married to each other become engaged in an illicit sexual relation other than sexual intercourse — such as kissing — or are found guilty of acts against chastity, they will be sentenced to punishment of up to 99 lashes.

But what is the difference between “illicit sexual relations” and “acts against chastity”?  Mousa Barzin Khalifeloo, a jurist based in Turkey, says illicit sexual relations refer to a “prohibited relations under sharia,” but not intercourse. However, he says, acts against chastity are not necessarily prohibited under sharia. Instead, they are acts that go against customs or mores in society. For example, if a married couple performs a sexual act in a public place, since they are married to each other, their act does not go against sharia, but it is not acceptable behavior because of Iran’s social customs. Barzin provides another example: “Under sharia, there is no rule about men’s clothing, but if a man appears without a shirt on the street, it would be against the custom of the society of Iran.”

When asked what kinds of relations are prohibited under sharia, Barzin says there is no consensus amongst judges in Iran on the matter. “Some judges argue that physical contact is required for a relation to be considered as an illicit sexual relation, but other judges argue that although the article specifically refers to kissing, this is just one example, and that the definition of illicit sexual relations should not be limited to physical contact between opposite sexes.” Barzin also says judges who view the law in this way tend to have a very broad interpretation of the term “illicit sexual relations.” In fact, many of them apply the term to anything they view to be in violation of sharia — “such as unmarried men and women walking together in a park, drinking coffee in a café or even speaking on the phone.” Barzin says he represented a female client who was charged with engaging in illicit sexual relations for sending romantic text messages.



Committing a sinful act in public places and roads

According to Article 638 of the Penal Code, individuals found guilty of committing a sinful act (harām) in public places or roads will face punishment for the crime, plus 10 days to two months’ imprisonment or up to 74 lashes. In addition to this, an addendum to the article stipulates that women who appear in public places and roads without wearing an Islamic hijab should be sentenced to between 10 days and two months’ imprisonment or a fine of between 50,000 and 500,000 rials (between 1.23 $ - $12.26). But the article stops short of providing any definition for what a “sinful act” might be. This ambiguity makes it possible for the Basij, Iran’s paramilitary volunteer militia, and the Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran (NAJA) to make broad interpretations when assessing what constitutes illicit behavior under sharia law — and both regularly respond accordingly, arresting women they deem to be violating Islamic dress codes or going against Iran’s public morality codes.

Naghi Mahmoudi, a jurist based in Germany, says one of his clients was charged with committing a sinful act for drinking coffee. “In 2009, a young woman came to my office and asked me to take her case. She said that a few days before, she and her (female) cousin had gone out together to drink coffee and have a chat at a local café. They were arrested in the midst of their conversation by members of the Basij and were brought to the Center for Fighting Against Social Corruption in Tabriz city. They were both released on bail. When I studied her case, I realized that my client and her cousin were charged with committing sinful acts by drinking coffee in a provocative way and also with not observing the rules on wearing Islamic hijab. Fortunately, I managed to obtain an acquittal verdict for my client.”



Establishments that Promote Promiscuity and Corruption 

Under Article 639 of the penal code, setting up or running a center that promotes corruption or promiscuity, or facilitating or encouraging people to do so, is punishable by a prison sentence of between one to 10 years. However, the article does not provide any definition of corruption or promiscuity — and, like other vaguely-defined crimes in Iran, this makes it possible for the judiciary to hand down this charge regularly, and use it as a means to silence dissent or punish civil society. 

Naghi Mahmoud gives the example of another of his clients, a man who had set up a cultural institution in East Azerbaijan, a province in northwestern Iran. Despite the fact that he secured official permission from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance of Eastern Azerbaijan for his activities, he was charged with establishing and directing a center used for corruption and promiscuity purposes. “The institution’s activities include teaching the Azeri Turkish language, researching the oral literature of Azerbaijan, and organizing a workshop to teach Azerbaijan’s myths and literature. One day, some plainclothes agents entered the institution and told my client that they had an order to seal the premises and arrest him. They confiscated and took all the books and CDs in the institution. When I read his case, I realized that authorities had pressed many charges against my client — but what struck me the most was the charge of ‘establishing a corruption and promiscuity center through teaching Azeri dance’. The charge was based on a CD about teaching Azeri dance, which the agents had found in my client’s office.”

Mahmoudi described his defense in court. “I argued to the court that ‘corruption’ is a vague charge that can be attributed to any illegal act. Promiscuity refers to zena and sodomy, or acts similar to zena and sodomy. Now, if a person establishes and runs a center in which corruption and promiscuity are committed and spread, he can be charged with this crime. But my client established this institution with official permission from the Ministry of Cultural and Islamic Guidance for cultural and artistic activities.” Mahmoudi finally managed to obtain an acquittal verdict for his client. 



Homosexuality

The punishment for homosexuality for women is 100 lashes for both women involved. But when it comes to men, it is a different matter. A differentiation is drawn between the “passiveparty and the “active” party, with different punishments for each. The punishment for the passive individual is execution, but the punishment for the active individual is 100 lashes (unless he is married, or it can be proven that he raped the passive individual, in which case the punishment is execution). The differentiation between the two types of punishments probably stems from Iran’s patriarchal culture, which allows for more severe punishment for the person who has been seen to not have maintained his so-called masculinity and conformed to a submissive role.



Iran has signed up to a range of human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. As part of this, Article 17 stipulates that “no one shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to unlawful attacks on his honor and reputation.” Iran’s practice of punishing consenting adults for sexual activity is a clear breach of its obligations and commitments to these rights. The international community must challenge the government on the matter on international platforms, and continue to place pressure on Iran to honor its citizens’ rights to privacy and a private life without interference.


http://en.iranwire.com/features/7368/


۱۳۹۵ تیر ۲۱, دوشنبه

گزارشم در خصوص تخلفات انتظامی پزشکان و مراجع رسیدگی به این تخلفات



کدام مرجع به تخلفات پزشکی رسیدگی می کند؟

«پدر و مادری شکایت کرده بودند که دخترشان برای انجام عمل سزارین به بیمارستان مراجعه و پزشک وی را جراحی کرده بود. پس از گذشت یک هفته از عمل سزارین دخترشان در اثر عوارض جراحی فوت می کند. پرونده برای اظهار نظر کارشناسی به پزشکی قانونی ارسال و کمیسیون پزشکی علت فوت را پارگی اثنی عشر و کیسه آب حاملگی و عفونت اعلام کرده و بی احتیاطی پزشک و قصور در پیگیری عوارض جراحی را عامل آن عنوان می کند. با اعتراض متهم پرونده به هیات ٥ نفره ارسال و این هیات نیز پزشک را ٩٠ درصد مقصر اعلام می کند. در نهایت پزشک به پرداخت ٩٠ درصد دیه زن و همچنین ١ سال زندان به جهت بی احتیاطی و عدم رعایت نظامات ایمنی محکوم می شود.»
این خلاصه یکی از پرونده هایی است که موسی برزین خلیفه لو، حقوقدان ساکن ترکیه با آن روبرو شده است: «همچنین با چندین پرونده قصور پزشکی در جراحی های ارتوپدی نیز مواجه شده ام. در این پرونده ها اغلب بیماران دچار نقص عضو شده بودند. در یک پرونده ای که وکالت آن را به عهده داشتم، بیمار ٤ بار به دلیل قصور و اشتباه پزشک تحت عمل جراحی قرار گرفته بود و علاوه بر ایجاد نقص در استخوان پا، سال ها از عوارض بیهوشی رنج می برد.»
این روز طرح بحث اشتباه یک پزشک در روند درمان عباس کیارستمی، فیلمساز و هنرمند مطرح ایرانی که دوشنبه ۱۴ تیرماه در بیمارستانی در پاریس چشم از جهان فروبست، بار دیگر تخلف و جرم پزشکی را در کانون توجه مردم قرار داده است. 
تخلف انتظامی پزشکان عبارت است از عدم رعایت مواردی که در آیین نامه انتظامی رسیدگی به تخلفات صنفی و حرفه ای شاغلان حرفه های پزشکی و وابسته، عنوان شده، مانند سهل انگاری در انجام وظیفه (دیر رفتن به اتاق عمل)، عدم رعایت موازین علمی، شرعی و قانونی (عدم رعایت حجاب در خصوص بانوان پزشک)، انجام اعمال خلاف شئون پزشکی (شخیص مصادیق آن در صلاحیت سازمان پزشکی است و توسط هیئت های بدوی و عالی انتظامی با توجه به عرف جامعه پزشکی تعیین می‌شود)، جذب بیمار از طریق تبلیغات گمراه کننده، تجویز داروهای روان گردان و مخدر و عدم رعایت تعرفه های پزشکی. رسیدگی به این تخلفات توسط سازمان نظام پزشکی و دادسرای انتظامی صورت گرفته و برای فرد متخلف عواقبی چون توبیخ، درج در پرونده، تعلیق پروانه پزشکی و محرومیت از حرفه پزشکی را به همراه خواهد داشت.
جرم پزشکی عبارت است از فعل یا ترک فعلی که در قانون برای آن مجازات تعیین شده و رسیدگی به آن در صلاحیت دادسرا و دادگاه است. جرایم پزشکی تابع مقررات کلی حقوق جزا هستند. برخی از این جرایم عبارتند از افشا نمودن اسرار بیمار، سقط جنین در غیر از موارد مجاز، ایراد صدمه بدنی و قتل. مقررات حاکم بر قتل و صدمه بدنی در امور پزشکی، تابع قوانین کلی است و در نتیجه اگر ثابت شود که پزشک، قصد جنایت داشته و یا جنایت نوعا کشنده باشد، عمد و در صورتی که مرگ یا صدمه،‌ به واسطه بی‌احتیاطی یا بی‌ مبالاتی یا اقدام به امری که مرتکب در آن مهارت نداشته است یا به سبب عدم رعایت نظامات واقع شود، شبه عمد محسوب می شود.
نقی محمودی،‌ حقوقدان ساکن آلمان نیز وقتی ساکن ایران بوده، با پرونده های تخلف پزشکی مواجه شده است: « سال هشتاد و چهار، موکلم به علت اسپاسم عضلانی شبانه به اورژانس یکی از بیمارستان‌های تبریز مراجعه کرده بود. انترن کشیک در بیمارستان مذکور، علت ناراحتی و بیماری موکلم را درد معده تشخیص داده و اقدام به تجویز قرص و همچنین آمپول دگزامتازون کرده بود. پس از تزریق آمپول مذکور، حال موکلم بدتر شده و به بخش دیگری منتقل و در عرض چند ساعت به کما رفته بود. صبح روز بعد پزشک متخصص، بیماری موکلم را شوک عصبی تشخیص و علت تشدید حالش را تجویز داروهای غیر مرتبط با بیماری وی عنوان کرده بود. شکایتمان را در سازمان نظام پزشکی طرح کردیم. پس از ارجاع شکایت به هئیت پزشکی، اقدام انترن کشیک در تجویز آمپول دگزامتازون و اشتباه در تشخیص بیماری، علت تام تشدید بیماری و کمای چندین ساعته موکلم اعلام و رای بر محکومیت انترن صادر شد.»
به طور معمول مهم ترین سوال این است که در صورت آسیب به بیمار و طرح شکایت، اثبات تقصیر بر عهده چه کسی است؟ به گفته موسی برزین خلیفه لو، «این بحث همواره در میان حقوقدانان محل اختلاف بوده است. به نظر می رسد قانون جدید مجازات اسلامی با کمی تعدیل نسبت به قانون سابق، اصل را بر مسئولیت پزشک گذاشته است.» 
ماده ۴۹۵ قانون مجازات اسلامی در این خصوص می گوید: «هرگاه پزشك در معالجاتي كه انجام مي‌دهد موجب تلف يا صدمه بدني گردد، ضامن ديه است مگر آنكه عمل او مطابق مقررات پزشكي و موازين فني باشد يا اين كه قبل از معالجه برائت گرفته باشد.» به اعتقاد برزین گرچه این ماده دارای ابهام است اما نشان دهنده آن است که در صورت آسیب به بیمار، پزشک مسئول است مگر اینکه موازین فنی رعایت شده یا برائت اخذ شده باشد که در آن صورت بار اثبات تقصیر بر عهده بیمار قرار می گیرد.
برزین در خصوص مشکلات طرح پرونده های پزشکی می گوید: « اغلب مراجع درمانی قبل از درمان، برائت اخذ می کنند و به هنگام شکایت از پزشک توسط بیمار صدمه دیده، پرونده برای اظهار نظر به کمیسیون پزشکی یا پزشکی قانونی ارجاع داده می شود که این مراجع نیز جز در موارد بارز تمایلی به مقصر دانستن پزشکان ندارند. در نتیجه در عمل اثبات تقصیر به نوعی بر دوش قربانی قرار داده می شود» 
برزین، پیچیده بودن رسیدگی به پرونده های قصور پزشکی و سخت بودن اثبات تقصیر پزشک را دلیل عدم شکایت و طرح دعوی بسیاری از قربانیان جرایم پزشکی عنوان می کند.
اما به تخلفات پزشکان در سایر کشورها چگونه رسیدگی می شود؟‌ در این خصوص مهری جعفری، وکیل ساکن بریتانیا می گوید: «در دعاوی مبنی بر قصور پزشکی، اولین مساله ای که باید مورد بررسی قرار گیرد، رعایت استانداردهای تعیین شده در قوانین و مقررات توسط پزشک است. برای بررسی این موضوع، وکیل بیمار معترض باید ابتدا از یک کارشناس مستقل در آن رشته درخواست گزارش کند. در این صورت، بیمارستان یا موسسه پزشکی موظف خواهد بود که بر اساس قانون آزادی دسترسی به اطلاعات شخصی، کلیه اطلاعات پزشکی مربوط به بیمار را در اختیار بیمار یا وکیل وی قرار دهد تا مراحل مداوا بررسی شود. تنها در صورت اخذ گزارش از کارشناس مبنی بر قصور پزشک، می توان در دادگاه طرح دعوی کرد. البته قبل از طرح دعوی نیز باید pre-action letter (نامه مقدماتی قبل از اقامه دعوی) همراه نظر کارشناسی خطاب به بیمارستان یا موسسه پزشکی نوشته شود.»
مساله مهم دیگر بحث «اجازه از مریض» است: «در سیستم انگلیس، بر خلاف ایران اخذ اجازه از مریض بدین صورت نیست که به مریض یک برگه ای دهند و از او بخواهند که آن را امضا کند؛ بلکه باید حتما برای بیمارجلسه ای تشکیل شود و در آن جلسه تمام عوارض و عواقب ناشی از انجام عمل جراحی با جزییات شرح داده شود و تنها بعد از آن بیمار می تواند برگه را امضا کند.»
 http://iranwire.com/features/9315/

۱۳۹۵ تیر ۱۷, پنجشنبه

My Report on the Charge of "‪‎Spreading Corruption on Earth: An Unclear Charge with a Clear Message"





“Spreading Corruption on Earth”: An Unclear Charge with a Clear Message


Iran is a dangerous place to be a journalist, a fact that is well documented — and one of the most common ways the judiciary punishes journalists is by handing down serious charges, often in connection with national security crimes. 

Because many of Iran's security-related crimes are poorly and ambiguously defined, so too are the charges linked to these crimes — and this scenario often means that journalists and activists face harsh punishment and persecution. Prior to the 1979 revolution, the Pahlavi maintained a mixture of secular and Islamic laws, but after the revolution, the Islamic government adopted a new penal code based on sharia law. It adopted new charges — some of them vaguely defined —without clarifying the language or updating it for a modern context. As a result, the definitions of some of these charges actually deviate from their literal meanings. 

For journalists and activists, some of the most dangerous charges include moharebeh and efsad fel arz — literally translated as “waging war against God” and “spreading corruption on earth.” Until 2013, these charges were covered under one article and considered to be one crime. It stipulated that any person who resorted to weapons to cause terror and fear or to breach public security and freedom was a mohareb  — a person guilty of moharebeh — and guilty of mofsed fel-arz (literally a person who “spreads corruption on earth”). But since amendments were adopted in 2013, spreading corruption has been considered a crime on its own and therefore defined separately. At the same time, a significant gap was introduced between the definition of efsade fel arz and how it is recognized in law. Judges regularly abuse the two charges to target peaceful critics, and because "spreading corruption on earth" is particularly vague, it became easy for judges to hand sentences down in line with this charge. 

Moharebeh (Allah) literally means waging war against God, but under Article 279 of the penal code it is described as “drawing a weapon on the life, property or honor [referring to female members of one’s family] of people or to cause terror as it creates insecurity.” Article 281 of the penal code stipulates that the charge of moharebeh applies to bandits, thieves and smugglers who resort to arms and disrupt public security or the security of roads.

In addition, under Article 504, a mohareb (a person who commits moharebeh) includes anyone who effectively encourages combatants, or encourages those serving in the military to rebel, escape, surrender, or to disobey military orders with the intention of overthrowing the government or to defeat national forces fighting against the enemy. 

Punishment for moharebeh includes: hanging, crucifixion, amputation of the right hand and the left foot or banishment. The judge appointed to deal with moharebeh cases has discretionary powers to decide which punishment will be implemented.  

Targeting Journalists 

When speaking on international platforms, Iran’s representatives have frequently argued that the charge of moharebeh is used exclusively for terrorist crimes. But this is not true: since the establishment of the Islamic Republic, the charge of moharebeh has been used against many peaceful political, cultural and civil rights activists, as well as against journalists and regime critics.

Farzad Kamangar, a Kurdish teacher and trade unionist who had never taken part in any armed activities, was executed on moharebeh charges in January 2014. Authorities executed journalist and civil rights activist Yaghoub Mehrnahad in July 2008 on the same charge. There are many more examples. 

Under Article 286 of the new penal code, a mofsed (a person who commits efsad fel arz) refers to a person who “commits crimes against individuals’ physical integrity, crimes against national security, causes disruption to the economic structure of the country, commits arson and destruction, distributes poisonous or dangerous substances, or runs corruption and prostitution centers.” The charge also refers to the scale of the damage done: the accused can be found guilty of spreading corruption if he or she “causes severe disruption to the public order of the country or causes extensive damage to the physical integrity of individuals or private and public property, or spreads corruption or prostitution on a large scale.” The punishment for efsad fel arz is execution. 

Mousa Barzin Khalifeloo, an Iranian jurist based in Turkey, argues that the crime of “spreading corruption on earth” is so broadly defined that what is considered to be criminal is broadened as a result, targeting larger numbers of people. One of the ambiguities, according to Barzin, is the phrase “large-scale.” He says no criteria has been set out to explain what this means and questions the vagueness of the term. “Does it mean the severity of the action taken or the extreme nature of the message delivered?” he asks. Furthermore, he questions whether the phrase refers to the number of people the message or activity might reach or impact. Or does it refer to the sustainability of such a message, and how it might affect society over an extended period of time?

Barzin says that, under the penal code, the punishment for crimes against national security and spreading lies is a maximum of 10 years in prison. But Article 286 stipulates that if these crimes are committed on “a large scale” and result in disruption, damage, or corruption as mentioned above, they amount to efsad fel arz — and can lead to punishment by execution. Judicial authorities frequently level the charge of “spreading lies” against the press, meaning it poses a risk not only to these professionals, but to society at large because it can result in vital information getting out.

Barzin also says that the law does not adequately define the term “security,” and as a result, “it can easily be used by independent judges against peaceful critics.” 




Justifying Suppression 

So why has esfad fel arz been separated from moharebeh in the new penal code? “It seems the government is trying to find a legal basis for suppressing peaceful dissent,” says Barzin. He says that although judges must provide evidence to hand down the charge of moharebeh, this is not the case for efsad. Authorities do not have to prove that weapons were deployed or that “armed activities” took place. They need little, if any, evidence to bring very serious charges against civil society activists and media workers – charges that can even result in execution. When the new penal code was brought introduced in 2013, authorities alleged it was more complete and more advanced. In some cases, this is true — for example, regarding the practice of juvenile execution. In other ways, though, the code has become  more problematic, especially for journalists. 

As Barzin argues — and as journalists who have been jailed for long terms, or the families of activists and journalists who have been executed as a result of these charges, know— instead of protecting national security and public safety and citizens’ rights, these laws silence dissent and crack down on those who try to disseminate information and news to the wider public, or who try to make change through peaceful activities.  

http://en.iranwire.com/features/7333/