Iran: OMCT brief highlights systematic use of internal exile to suppress human rights defenders and minorities

While tab'eed has its basis in Sharia law, it is rarely applied in other countries today. In Iran, however, authorities have recently expanded their use of internal exile to target political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and members of ethnic and religious minorities. This form of punishment can either take the form of banishment, where individuals are forcibly relocated to economically deprived and remote regions and forced to stay for one or two years, or prison transfers, where political prisoners are moved to distant facilities, severing their ties to family and community.

The brief highlights several critical issues surrounding the use of tab'eed in Iran. Exiled individuals are often abandoned in remote areas without personal belongings, facing extreme hardship and lacking access to basic necessities, forcing them into dependency on local residents without any financial or social support. Authorities also prohibit meetings and gatherings, making social integration impossible, while restrictions on communication severely limit access to family and legal representation, compounding the psychological strain. Exiling individuals to communities of different ethnic or religious backgrounds further isolates them from local support networks, increasing their vulnerability. Additionally, by relocating individuals to impoverished regions, the IRI makes it difficult for them to find work, perpetuating a cycle of poverty and dependency. Most alarmingly, the disproportionate use of exile against specific groups undermines principles of equality and non-discrimination, demonstrating a clear abuse of state power. This further entrenches the social, political, and economic isolation of these communities, deepening the cycle of repression. This practice violates the absolute prohibition of tortue and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and punishment amplifying the suffering of those already targeted by a regime that prioritizes control over justice

The brief documents numerous cases of political activists and human rights defenders being exiled as part of their punishment. Prominent figures like journalist Ahmad Zeid Abadi and Azeri rights advocate Siamak Mirzaei have been sentenced to years of exile following imprisonment. Many exiled individuals are forced to rely on the goodwill of local residents for survival, with no financial or social support from the authorities.

The practice of tab'eed also extends to prisoners still serving their sentences, who are transferred to remote and isolated facilities far from their families. A notable example is Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, who has been repeatedly relocated due to her continued activism from within prison walls. Other well-known figures such as Nasrin Sotoudeh and Maryam Akbari Monfared have faced similar punitive transfers.

OMCT calls on the Iranian authorities to end the use of internal exile as a tool of repression and to ensure the protection of human rights defenders and minority communities in line with international law.