Amnesty International Annual Report 2013
(January-December 2012)
IRAN
Islamic Republic of Iran
Head of state: Ayatollah Sayed ‘Ali Khamenei
(Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
Head of government: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (President)
The authorities maintained severe restrictions on freedoms of expression, association and assembly. Dissidents and human rights defenders, including minority rights and women’s rights activists, were arbitrarily arrested, detained incommunicado, imprisoned after unfair trials and banned from travelling abroad. There were scores of prisoners of conscience and political prisoners. Torture and other ill-treatment were common and committed with impunity. Women, religious and ethnic minorities, and members of the LGBTI community were subject to discrimination in law and practice. The cruel judicial punishments of flogging and amputation continued to be used. Official sources acknowledged 314 executions, but a total of 544 were recorded. The true figure may be considerably higher.
