Iran Primer:

Since taking office in August 2013, President Hassan Rouhani has failed to deliver on promises to open up Iran politically, ease rigid social restrictions and address human rights abuses. Execution rates have steadily increased over the past decade. Political dissidents and journalists are often denied due process or imprisoned for vaguely-defined criminal charges, including “enmity towards God,” “corruption on earth,” and acts undermining state security. Minorities face discrimination in education, employment and property ownership. Laws are often ignored to quash opposition. Even juveniles are vulnerable to abuses.

In a 2016 report, U.N. Special Rapporteur for Iran Ahmed Shaheed said that many provisions of Tehran’s Islamic penal code “facilitate serious abuses” and criminalize the peaceful exercise of fundamental rights. Iran had at least 821 political prisoners or prisoners of conscience in March 2016, according to the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center.

Rouhani’s authority to enact large scale social or cultural change has been limited. Hardliners dominate the judiciary, intelligence agencies and security services. The president also does not appoint judges. But Rouhani does have the power to investigate state institutions that violate constitutional rights, according to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran....

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