Iran: 1. Penalties for illegal departure from Iran; 2. Are there sanctions imposed upon Iranian refugee claimants upon return to Iran?

1. & 2.               Iranians have left Iran for a number of reasons over the past decade, and the treatment of these individuals upon their return to Iran would, in some cases, be dependent upon the circumstances of their departure. For example, army deserters, draft dodgers, or criminals fleeing the country could face charges upon their return.

Recent information on the penalty for illegal departure from Iran is currently unavailable to the IRBDC. According to the UNHCR branch office in Canada, persons known to the UNHCR who returned in the past without documents were all either detained or disappeared. [ UNHCR, February 1989.] However, there is no other documentation available to the IRBDC which corroborates this statement. The Amnesty International Report 1989 refers to an incident reported in the Turkish press in August 1988. Allegedly, "40 [members] out of a group of 58 Iranian asylum-seekers handed over by the Turkish authorities to the Iranian authorities were executed in Orumieh on the Iranian side of the border". [ Amnesty International, Report 1989, (New York: Amnesty International Publications, 1989), p. 256.]

According to External Affairs Canada, each returnee is apparently dealt with on an individual basis, and there does not seem to be any set criteria for determining which people may experience difficulties, and which will not. [ External Affairs, 9 August 1989.]

Measures taken by the authorities against draft evaders and deserters allegedly included the death penalty for some Iranians in 1988. [ Immigration and Refugee Board Documentation Centre, Iran: Profile, December 1988, pp. 6-8, 29.] One article refers to a high incidence of absentee conscripts in 1985-1986, and a concomitant rise in the arrests of conscripts. [ Bill Frelick, "Conscientious Objectors as Refugees", World Refugee Survey, 1986 in Review, (U.S. Committee for Refugees, 1986), p. 31.] Western sources estimated there were 100,000 Iranian draft evaders by 1985-86, and that an additional 3,000 fled to West Germany in one month, during an Iranian conscription drive. [ Ibid.] The numbers are substantially lower since the end of the Iran-Iraq war. [ External Affairs.]

Articles 58 through 67 of the Public Military Service act cover the general penalties and public punishments for persons who evade conscription. In particular, those individuals evading conscription during war time do not receive their permanent completion/exemption card for a period of from five to seven years (Article 58), and without these cards, the draft evader cannot be employed in "any ministries, governmental and affiliated institutions, factories, workshops or private companies" (Article 62).

In January 1989, it was announced that a campaign to find draft dodgers was to begin on 8 January 1989. [ "Iran: Campaign Against Draft Dodgers to Begin", Summary of World Broadcasts, BBC Monitoring Service, 4 January 1989.] The official in charge stated that "as far as possible, severe punishments are envisaged to deal seriously and legally with those individuals who have evaded the sacred duty of being conscripts under various excuses during the eight year holy defence. The draft dodgers, who are found and arrested ... will not find leniency and they will not qualify for the four-month amnesty law." [ "Iran: Campaign Against Draft Dodgers to Begin", Summary of World Broadcasts, BBC Monitoring Service, 4 January 1989.]

In February 1989, a government plan to announce a general amnesty for Iranians abroad was discussed in the press. [ "Iran: Iranian prime minister comments on `The Satanic Verses' Affair, Foreign Loans, Amnesty for Iranians Abroad", Summary of World Broadcasts, BBC Monitoring Service, 20 February 1989.] The proposed plan apparently did not materialize, however, as evidenced by statements made by Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani in a news conference he conducted with the international press on 8 June 1989. During this conference, he discussed the high number of Iranian exiles who had left because they could not face the war, and stated that "we [the Iranian government] have not yet proclaimed a general amnesty. Those who have committed a major crime are at present being investigated. But the majority of the rest can return." [ "Iran: Rafsanjani's News Conference; Announces Candidacy for Presidency, Comments on Future Policy, Foreign Relations", Summary of World Broadcasts, BBC Monitoring Service, 10 June 1989.]

A scheme for encouraging the return of Iranians living abroad was announced by the Iranian government during 1989. Essentially, males of draft age can return to Iran for a visit and upon the payment of ten thousand dollars they will receive a new Iranian passport and exemption from military service for three years. [ External Affairs Canada, communiqué of 20 June 1989.] It should be noted that this announcement took place prior to Mr. Rafsanjani's remarks to the press in June.

In the FAX announcing this policy shift, External Affairs Canada cautions potential returnees to "read the fine print carefully" before returning. [ External Affairs Canada. Please see the attached telex.]

Amnesty International reports a large number of political executions in Iran during the last year. Although draft evaders are not explicitly mentioned in the report, a range of people (including, e.g. doctors) suspected of supporting Ayatollah Montazeri have been executed. [ Amnesty International, Biggest Wave of Political Executions in Iran Since Early 1980s, says Amnesty International, AI Index: MDE 13/31/88, 13 December 1988, p. 2] (Montazeri was nominated Khomeini's successor by a "Council of Experts" in 1985, but expressed reservations about it. [ Henry Degenhardt, Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, London: Longman Group UK Ltd., 1988, p. 164.] He fell into disfavour when he questioned Khomeini's ruling in the Salman Rushdie affair without having first read the book. [ Gwynne Dyer, "Iranian radicals drive moderates to hard lines", The [Montreal] Gazette, 17 July 1989.])

Between July 1988 and February 1989, Amnesty International recorded the names of over 1,700 reported execution victims; more than 900 persons were executed between January and May 1989. [ Amnesty International, Fear of Execution, AI Index: MDE 13/11/89, 10 February 1989; Over 900 Executions Announced in Five Months, AI Index: MDE 13/19/89, June 1989.] By the end of August 1989, the government announced that 851 persons had been executed for drug-related offenses out of a total of more than 1,200 executions during 1989. [ Amnesty International, Iran: Mass Executions of Drug Traffickers Continue, AI Index: MDE 13/20/89, 24 August 1989.]

On 19 August 1989, 79 persons were executed on drug charges, however, Amnesty International received allegations that there were persons executed for their political beliefs (supporters of groups opposed to the government of Iran) among the drug traffickers. [ Amnesty International, Iran: Political Prisoners Reportedly Executed as Drug Traffickers, AI Index: MDE 13/21/89, 15 September 1989.] Part of the recent upsurge in the execution of political prisoners is attributed to the interior minister, Mohtashemi, who allegedly ordered the execution of a number of political prisoners who had escaped execution in the past. [ Gwynne Dyer.]

Attachment:

-               Amnesty International, Report 1989, New York: Amnesty International Publications, 1989.