One year ago, President Hassan Rouhani unveiled an Iranian bill of rights, called the Citizens’ Rights Charter, that would offer Iranians more personal freedoms. On Dec. 19, Rouhani, along with his advisers and Cabinet and parliamentary officials, marked the one-year anniversary of his citizens’ rights charter at a gathering called the National Conference Report on the Progress and Solutions for the Realization of Citizens’ Rights.
During his speech, Rouhani called for more transparency in the country and for Iranians to hold government institutions accountable. Rouhani stressed the importance of applying the law impartially to all, saying, “No one, not even the prophet of Islam, is above the law.” Rouhani recalled how the founder of the Islamic Republic, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, used to insist on the law being applied equally, saying, “Everyone must act according to the law. This is what citizens’ rights are, citizens’ rights means everyone acting according to the law.”
