Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006
Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 6, 2007

The Islamic Republic of Iran, with a population of approximately 68 million, is a constitutional, theocratic republic in which Shi'a Muslim clergy dominate the key power structures. Article Four of the constitution states that "All laws and regulations…shall be based on Islamic principles." Government legitimacy is based on the twin pillars of popular sovereignty (Article Six) and the rule of the Supreme Jurisconsulate, or Supreme Leader (Article Five).

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On June 14, human rights lawyer Saleh Kamrani, a member of the country's Azeri ethnic minority, was detained without charge and taken into government custody (see section 1.e). Charged with "propaganda against the system," according to AI, he was tried on September 13 and sentenced to one year's imprisonment. The sentence was suspended for five years, and he was released on September 18.

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http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78852.htm