Violation of Human Rights in Iran during a Week 13 January 2013

At a Glance

Violation of Human Rights in Iran during a Week

13 January 2013

Execution

 

Two hanged for drug trafficking

http://www.handsoffcain.info/news/index.php?iddocumento=17300151&srcday=0&srcmonth=0&srcyear=0&mover=
January 6, 2013: Two prisoners were hanged in the prison of Khomarabad (western Iran), reported the official news website of the Iranian police.
According to the report the prisoners who were not identified by name, were convicted of possession and trafficking of drugs. (Sources: Iran Human Rights, 06/01/2013)

Persian Source: http://www.farheekhtegan.ir/content/view/57961/43/

Death Sentences for Five Ahwazi Arabs Upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court

http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/news/inside-iran/1000000226-death-sentences-for-five-ahwazi-arabs-upheld-by-iran%E2%80%99s-supreme-court.html#.UPa0q_I7vTo

(11 January 2013) – Branch 32 of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) has upheld the death sentences of five Ahwazi Arab men convicted of muharibih (waging war against God), ifsad fil-Arz (sowing corruption on earth), propaganda against the Islamic Republic, and acting against national security, according to a source familiar with the case. The five men are: Hashem Shabaninejad (a poet, blogger, and teacher of Arabic literature), Hadi Rashedi (a chemistry teacher), Mohammad Ali Amourinejad (a blogger), Seyyed Jaber Alboshokeh and his brother Seyyed Mokhtar Alboshokeh. The Supreme Court verdict, communicated to the families of the five men on 9 January 2012, was issued by Judges Farajollahi, Gha’em-Maghami, and Lotfi.
According to a source close to the case, the five men, who are all from Khalafabad (Ramshir), were arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security (MOIS) in Spring 2011. The same source indicated that these men were severely tortured. Hashem Shabaninejad is reported to be suffering from psychological disorders as a result of the harsh torture he has endured. Another man, Hadi Rashedi, has suffered a broken pelvis. A different source, who was detained by the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security (MOIS) in Ahwaz during the same period in connection to the same case, reported that he heard the voice of Hadi Rashedi as he was being tortured.
These five individuals have reportedly been forced to make false confessions. Two of the men, Hadi Rashedi and Hashem Shabaninejad, were featured on a TV show on Press TV, the IRI’s English-language satellite channel, confessing to their alleged subversive acts. Reports indicate that all five men gave these confessions under severe physical and mental torture.  Despite serious doubts concerning the validity of these confessions, and despite the reported lack of credible witnesses, the trial court sentenced all five to death in July 2012 after over a year in detention. IHRDC posted a report on these five men after they were convicted. 
Both international law and the Constitution of the IRI prohibit torture and forced confessions. Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Iran has ratified, states, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” In addition, Article 14(3)(g) of the ICCPR expressly states that a prisoner cannot be forced to testify against him or herself or to confess guilt. Article 38 of the Constitution of the IRI prohibits torture for the purpose of extracting confession or acquiring information as well, and declares that all information obtained through torture and forced confessions is invalid.

 

Iran to hang dissidents on bogus charges

Monday, 07 January 2013

http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=26760:iran-to-hang-dissidents-on-bogus-charges&catid=5:human-rights&Itemid=27

Iran Focus, 7 Jan. – Friday prayer leader of the northwestern town of Marivan has gone to Tehran to prevent the prosecutor general and the judiciary from hanging two political dissidents, Loqman and Zaniar Moradi, according to their family, which requested anonymity fearing regime reprisals. 

The cleric has told officials in the capital that the two were not responsible for the murder of his son for which the authorities have falsely charged them to justify their execution.

 

Letters from Wife and Son of Political Prisoner Sentenced to Death; Gholamreza Khosravi

Friday, 11 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=776:1&catid=17:others&Itemid=2

HRANA News Agency – The wife and son of Iranian political prisoner, Gholamreza Khosravi who is sentenced to death, have sent letters to the world community to save their beloved.

 In the name of God, the Judge
I used to love autumn, with its leaves, the wind which touches these leaves used to make me happy and the autumn rains used to purify my soul.
But in the recent years, no more autumn, its leaves, winds and rains, can make me feel good, because he is not here and lack of his presence can be felt in every place in my life.
Well, why he doesn’t come? It’s too late… What he has done? What he is paying for?
I talk to myself, what a critical time; humans don’t see each other, don’t understand each other and every one think about his/herself.
Where are sympathy, collaboration and human rights? Where in the world can find them? And who can help? It seems all the doors are closed, but no, the doors are open but not for me, just for special people.
I don’t know what to do any more, from whom; I should seek the right of having my husband. May be in other countries, there are people who can help me. I do not lose my hope.
Fariba Khosravi, Wife of Political Prisoner; Gholamreza Khosravi
***
In the name of the only creator
I am Hesam Khosravi, the son of Gholamreza Khosravi. He is a caring, devoted, kind, religious, committed and hard-working father who loves his family and is depressed in grief of being away from his family.
I do love my father, because there are only good memories from him. I want to weep and cry because he is being held away from us. I want to know for what kind of crime he is being punished. I think helping an opposition TV does not provide this kind of punishment [death sentence]. I ask for his forgiveness with all of my beings, a forgiveness which every year we read in our religious books [in school] and I do believe in this forgiveness.
I hope my father be released as soon as possible and be with me, hand in hand to continue life, to achieve my goals; Graduate Studies and serving people.

 

Zanyar Moradi’s father interview with CHRR

Sunday 13 January 2013

http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/140373.html
Committee of Human Rights Reporters – A representative from the Supreme Judicial Council visited Rajai Shahr prison and met with 2 Kurdish prisoners on death row, Zanyar Moradi and Loghman Moradi about their case.
Eghbal Moradi, Zanyar’s father said in an interview with CHRR, “Unfortunately I do not have precise information regarding what transpired at the meeting but we found out per news from Tehran that unfortunately the Council has rejected a stay and the execution can take place at any time.”
The father of Zanyar Moradi said, “This past week there have been talks of the execution being imminent and unfortunately this is a reality. During the 42 months that Zanyar has been imprisoned he has been deprived of any visitation. Only once when he was first detained and before the charges against him were announced, his grandparents were able to visit with him. Loghman’s family was able to have 2 brief visitations during this time but we were not able to see Zanyar and we have not even had the right to a phone call.”
“When I read the letter Zanyar had written from prison, since I myself have spent a lot of time in the prisons of the Islamic Republic, I was not at all surprised by his sentiment. I knew that at any moment they could commit any injustice they desire towards my son. What Zenyar has written is very true. The abuse and torture he described is not surprising and the authorities do as they please. These boys were severely tortured and as they said they are willing to disclose details of what was done to them in a fair trial.”
Eghbal Moradi said, “I sincerely thank every single political and human rights activist from all over the world who has protested against this unjust death sentence for Zanyar and Loghman and I am hopeful that our efforts will have a positive result.”
CHRR asked Eghbal Moradi what request he had of the judicial authorities to which he responded that those in charge never listen or care about these predicaments. “The authorities have for the past 32 years heard the cries of the prisoners’ mothers, fathers and loved ones, yet the situation has worsened. Every time those in charge come under pressure, the prisoners pay the price. I have no expectation from the authorities; if they have any humanity they must hear our cries and know that this is not just my voice. This is the voice of all the people of this nation who are saying ‘enough is enough, stop this injustice, enough killing, enough executions.’”

Torture

Green Movement Activist Tortured to Death

Sunday 13 January 2013

http://persian2english.com/?p=24376
Persian2English – The body of Keramatollah “Keramat” Zareian, 27, was found in the bathtub of an apartment in Tehran, reported the Kurdpa News Agency. Zareian had been reportedly arrested by the city of Jahrom’s Intelligence bureau.
After Kurdpa News Agency received word of the incident, [its reporters] contacted Kermatollah Zareian’s sister by phone and asked about the details of her brother’s murder.
Hakimeh Zareian told Kurdpa: “Following the 2009 protests against the contested Presidential election, my brother was arrested in August 2009 by [IRI] security forces and then released after some time.
Due to pressure from security agents, he was forced to continue his studies in Singapore. He was later summoned by the IRI (Islamic Republic of Iran) to explain some issues. He was arrested upon his arrival at the Imam Khomeini airport. He was eventually released in the city of Jahrom (in the province of Fars in southern Iran) in February 2010. His family was contacted by phone to be informed of his release.
Keramatollah Zareian has lost two of his brothers in the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1988). He left his native city of Jahrom to go to Tehran and study in the University of Tehran’s faculty of the performing arts. He was once again summoned by the Ministry of Intelligence in August 2012 where he was interrogated and asked to leave Iran.
Hakimeh Zareian alleges that her brother was tortured in prison, and security agents attempted to extract forced confessions from him.
Finally, in a phone contact on November 16, 2012, agents informed his family that their son had an “accident” which had resulted in his death. Four days prior to this incident (November 12th), Keramatollah had called home.
Hakimeh explained to Kurdpa Agency that his brother suffered from severe spinal cord injury as a result of torture he suffered at the hands of IRI security agents. After killing Keramatollah, his body was left in a bathtub with the hot water running. As a result of the heat and humidity, the body was completely decomposed and was nearly unidentifiable.
Hakimeh added that the police has not allowed the family to follow up and investigate the case, and even offered them 200 million toman (Approximately $ 65,000 USD) to not file any complaints or press any charges. The Zareian family is under tight surveillance by the IRI security forces and has been warned against any contact with the media.
Keramatollah Zareian was born in 1985, and was a supporter of the Green Movement. His name appeared in the list of people arrested during the post-election protests.

Arbitrary Arrests

 

Journalist Mohammad Kimiayi arrested in Qazvin

Tuesday 08 January 2013

http://www.chrr.biz/spip.php?article19866
Committee of Human Rights Reporters - Agents from the Ministry of Intelligence of Qazvin detained Mohammad Kimiayi who contributed to many reformist newspapers and the weekly “Hadith-e Qazvin”.
On Tuesday January 1st, several Intelligence agents violently raided the residence of Mr. Kimiayi and detained the journalist. After conducting a search of his home, a multitude of his personal items were confiscated including cartons of books along with documents.
His family who spent days perusing Kimiayi’s whereabouts were finally told he had been arrested, was under interrogations and would stay in “temporary detention” until his trial date. This journalist suffers from a heart condition.
Security officials have refused to give any reason for Mohammad Kimiayi’s arrest or disclose the charges against him. Most probably the arrest of this journalist was related to the closure of the weekly, “Hadith-e Qazvin.” Last week Security agents raided the offices of this weekly publication and detained several staff members and the magazine’s editor, Rahim Sarkar. The staff was released after several hours of interrogations and Rahim Sarkar is still being held in detention.
According to news sources, in the past month agents of the Security Agency have subjected scores of Qazvin’s activists and journalists to interrogations and many have been detained.

 

Iran arrests 5 musicians over dissident contacts

Associated Press – Wed, Jan 9, 2013

http://news.yahoo.com/iran-arrests-5-musicians-over-dissident-contacts-204051030.html

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iranian police have arrested five members of an underground band suspected of producing music for Farsi-speaking, dissident satellite channels based in the U.S.

The semiofficial Fars news agency quotes senior police official Col. Sadeq Rezadoost as saying the band was producing songs for Los Angeles-based Iranian singers and providing videos to Farsi-speaking, dissident TV channels.
The Wednesday report says the five have been handed over to the judiciary for trial. It did not name the band.
Women-only groups are banned in Iran, and Western music is rejected as "decadent." Many Iranians turn to underground bands to get bootleg videos of foreign-based singers.
Contact with foreign-based dissident media outfits is also banned in Iran.

Prisoners of Conscience

Iran: Political prisoner Ali Moezi denied family visits

Tuesday, 08 January 2013

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/human-rights/12640-iran-political-prisoner-ali-moezi-denied-family-visits

NCRI – The authorities at Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison once again on Monday did not allow political prisoner Ali Moezi visit his family members.
The measure was ordered by “Judge Abolghasem Salavati” of Branch 15 of Tehran's “Revolution Court.”
Mr. Moezi is accused of ‘moharebe’ (enmity against God) and supporting the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).
Previously Ali Moezi had served a 2 jail term in Gohardasht prison for visiting his daughters in Camp Ashraf along with his family.

For the fourth time, Mr. Moezi is refusing to attend court sessions presided by Abolghasem Salavati declaring his trial as illegitimate.

Ali Moezi a political prisoner from the 1980s, has been suffering from kidney disease for some time now.

 

Iran: Mullahs’ parliament censors own report on Sattar Beheshti’s case

Tuesday, 08 January 2013

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/human-rights

NCRI - The report on the case Sattar Beheshti, dissident blogger who died in cutody, was censored in the Iranian regime’s parliament and the reason for Sattar’s death was deleted from the report.
Mehdi Davatgary, member of the regime’s parliament who oversees the case of Sattar Beheshti, said that during reading the report in the open session of the parliament a paragraph of the report was eliminated. But Ali Larijani, parliament speaker, said that Davatgary told him no paragraph was deleted.
Although the report is prepared so to cover up the crime, it contains several elements which point out the crime committed by the law enforcement authorities of the clerical regime.  The report reads: “The most possible cause of death could be the phenomenon of shock which is the result of beating and blow to the sensitive parts of the body or severe psychological stress.”
The report adds: “During legal investigation of the case, some of the agents confessed they breached the law in treating the deceased.”
According to the report, the place where Iranian regime’s cyber police detained Sattar Beheshti is not considered a “detention center” and there is “no justification for keeping him there” and the place “did not have minimum legal standards.”

 

Iran Lawmakers Find Cyber Police Guilty of Blogger Death: Mehr

By Ladane Nasseri - Jan 7, 2013

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-07/iran-lawmakers-find-cyber-police-guilty-of-blogger-death-mehr.html

Iran’s parliament said the Tehran branch of the cyber police unit is responsible for the death in detention of a blogger who had criticized the Islamic Republic’s government, the state-run Mehr news agency reported.

The finding was stated in a report by a special commission set up in November to investigate Sattar Beheshti’s death, and was read in a parliamentary session yesterday, Mehr said. Beheshti is accused of spreading propaganda, insulting the values of the Islamic Republic and seeking to act against national security, according to the news agency.
Officials from the cyber police unit arrested the blogger at home on Oct. 30 and transferred him to Evin Prison in the capital the following day.
The Tehran cyber police, acting against judicial orders, moved him on Nov. 1 to another location under its own supervision where he was held without a permit, according to the Mehr report. The location did not meet required standards, including having closed-circuit cameras, and Beheshti was kept there until his death Nov. 3, it said. Iranian officials said last year that Beheshti’s body bore bruises and that he may have died as result of a shock.
The case has drawn attention from human rights organizations abroad, with the U.S. calling for an investigation.
Iranian authorities last month fired the Tehran police chief in charge of the cyber unit for negligence, and arrested seven individuals linked to the case, three of whom remain in custody, Mehr said.

 

Iran: Evin political prisoners demand end to torturing to death of cellmates

Monday, 07 January 2013

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/human-rights/12637-iran-evin-political-prisoners-demand-end-to-torturing-to-death-of-cellmates

NCRI – A group of political prisoners in Tehran’s Evin prison demanded that Iranian regime stops torturing to death the prisoners in need of medical treatment by denying them the necessary treatment.

 Twenty political prisoners in Evin’s Ward 350 in a letter to prison officials identified 24 political prisoners in need of medical treatment.
Torturing prisoners to death by denying them access to medical treatment is a well-known policy of Ithe ranian regime.
During the past two years Mr. Mohsen Dokmechi, Mr. Hedi Saber, Mr. Mansour Radpour and Mr. Hassan Nahid were among the political prisoners who lost their life in prison since the Iranian regime denied them from receiving proper and timely medical treatment.
Photo: Mohsen Dokmechi, 53, a Tehran Bazzar merchant supporter of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) died in March 2011, prison due to deliberate denial of medical treatment by the mullahs ruling in Iran after nine months of imprisonment and torture.
Link: http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/images/stories/2011/resistance/docmahchi.jpg

 

Hunger-striking activist attracts international concern

Mon, 01/07/2013

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/hunger-striking-activist-attracts-international-concern

Twenty days into a hunger strike by jailed Iranian labour activist Reza Shahabi, labour organizations in various countries have expressed concern regarding Shahabi’s health.
The Committee in Defence of Reza Shahabi has issued a statement to report on the condition of the jailed executive member of Tehran’s Vahed Company transit drivers’ union. The statement reports: “Reza Shahabi is in very bad health after two and a half years of prison, interrogations and abuse and is in immediate need of medical treatment and relief.”
It goes on to add: “The only effective solution in this situation is the immediate release of Reza Shahabi and his hospitalization in a well-equipped institution.”
Reza Shahabi has been on hunger strike since December 17. He has been refusing food and medicine in protest against his mistreatment by prison authorities and demanding that he receive medical treatment outside of prison facilities.
The Committee in Defence of Reza Shahabi reports that labour organizations in France, UK, Denmark, the U.S. and Canada have written letters of support for Shahabi, demanding the authorities take responsibility for the jailed labour activist’s health.
On Tuesday, the Shahabi family gave the authorities a documented application calling for the release of Shahabi, but so far the authorities have not responded.
Shahabi was sentenced to six months in jail and a five-year ban from union activities. He is suffering from great pain due to neck and spine injuries and has been hospitalized on several occasions during his prison term.

 

Tehran’s Prosecutor General rejects inability plea of political prisoner to tolerate punishment

Saturday, 12 January 2013

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/human-rights/12671-tehrans-prosecutor-general-rejects-inability-plea-of-political-prisoner-to-tolerate-punishment

NCRI - Tehran’s prosecutor general rejected the petition for inability of a political prisoner at Gohardasht Prison, to tolerate punishment. Mohammad Bannazadeh-Amirkhizi, 63, a prominent merchant at Tehran’s bazaar, has prostate cancer and must be under active surveillance and receive regular monitoring, sonography and treatment.

Mr. Mohammad Bannazadeh-Amirkhizi was arrested during a raid on his workplace by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) on November 30, 2009. He was subsequently taken to the section 209 of Evin Prison. He is currently at Gohardasht prison.
His sister, Mrs. Kobra Bannazadeh-Amirkhizi who is nearly 60-years-old is also at that prison. She faces multiple health problems, but prison officials have prevented her from receiving necessary treatments.

URGENT ACTION

Trade unionist ends hunger strike
Further information on UA: 2/13 Index: MDE 13/002/2013 Iran Date: 10 January 2013

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/002/2013/en/e07a9266-4f09-4283-83e2-bc8b9897abcf/mde130022013en.html

Iranian trade unionist Reza Shahabi ended his hunger strike on 7 January after 22 days, after the prison authorities agreed to meet his demand to grant him medical leave.

Reza Shahabi (also known as Reza Shahabi Zakaria), treasurer of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Sherkat-e Vahed), was temporarily released from Tehran’s Evin Prison on the evening of 7 January after he was granted a five-day medical leave by the prison authorities. According to his family, he has lost 15kg and is suffering from low blood pressure. Reza Shahabi had told his family that he would continue his hunger strike until he was granted medical leave.

On 15 December, Reza Shahabi was transferred to a hospital outside prison for medical examinations, including an MRI scan, but was taken back to the prison before the examinations were carried out. He said the guard who went with him threatened to beat him if he resisted being taken back to the prison. In protest at the authorities’ treatment, Reza Shahabi stopped taking his medication that day and started a hunger strike two days later.

Reza Shahabi is serving a six-year prison sentence in Section 350 of Evin Prison after being convicted in April 2012 of “gathering and colluding against state security” and “spreading propaganda against the system” by Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran. Amnesty International considers Reza Shahabi a prisoner of conscience and will continue campaigning for his unconditional release if he is returned to prison.

No further action is required from the UA network at this time. Many thanks to all who sent appeals.

Protesting Letter of Behnam Ebrahim Zade about His Son's Sickness

Friday, 11 January 2013

 http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=777:1&catid=12:prisoners&Itemid=12

HRANA News Agency – Behnam  (As'ad) Ebrahimzade, labor activist who is imprisoned at Ward 350 of Evin Prison got informed about his son's sickness and transferring him to Mahak Hospital - the hospital for the children suffering cancer.

Ebrahimzade in a protesting letter under the title of "I was tolerating the jail's pain, abruptly a lot of pain came to me" is saying: "I do not know anything about my son, my wife is not giving me clear explanations about his situation and only hoping that I will get some days off to visit them".

The entire text of his letter is following:
The letter of political prisoner, Behnam Ebrahimzade

"I was tolerating the jail's pain, abruptly a lot of pain came to me".

I don't know when, maybe since 8-9 days ago that I have heard my son, Nima who is 13 years old, is transferred to the Mahak children hospital, that hospital is for children with cancer. A horrible experience which is impacted me very deeply.

I do not know anything about my son, my wife is not giving me clear explanations about his situation and only hoping that I will get some days off to visit them. For this matter I have asked for some days off that if my request will be granted, It will have deep affects on me and my sick son. This is the only moment for a father in his life which he does not want to lose that opportunity under any conditions.

For this matter with the help of the friends a bail is prepared and as always that I was trying to solve the deprivations I got a positive answer, But maybe again it is only words and not act.

With this circumstance and tons of thoughts on my mind about my son, Remembering the empty promises of the authorities driving me crazy and my pain is getting more terrible. I should be next to my sick son, it is my right, I am a political prisoner and the concerns about my sick kid made everything dark in front of my eyes. I have some options that one of them is fully hunger strike. I might get an answer.

I accept waiting and being patient with pressure and resistance but everything may happen. With all of the deprivations such as food, days off, vacation and phone calls, healthcare and ... , now the deprivation of being next to my sick son is going to falling me apart.

I repeat my request of days off with emphasis to be able to visit my son but at the same time I ask everybody to show solidarity for my son' rights and improving his health situation. Who was thinking that the person who is advocating the rights of the kids and labors for many years is now in Jail because of his believes and hearing that groups of kind people are visiting his sick son but he himself is not able to caress his deprived son.

I do the resistance that I have done until now, But who is going to respond to all of these unfair stuff and pains? Who is responsible for the situation which happened for my son?

I am hopeful of the efforts of friends, colleagues, doctors, nurses and all of the good and kind people. I appreciate all of those people visits to my family during these days.

I thank all of the doctors and nurses of Mahak hospital and all of those who tried to do something for improving my son's situation. Hope that my son, Nima and all of the other kids will recover as soon as possible.

(As'ad) Behnam Ebrahimzade - Political prisoner

January of 2013, Evin Prison, Ward 350

 

Warning of confiscating of Khosro Arasteh's bail delivered | Photo

Saturday, 12 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=780:1&catid=17:others&Itemid=2

HRANA News Agency –  A notice about confiscating the bail of Khosro Arasteh who was one of the injured and detainees of the protests after the election of 2009, has delivered to his family.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on Saturday, January 5th, a notice has been delivered to Khosro Arasteh's family that if he won't be present at revolutionary court of Karaj, the bail will be confiscated.

Khosro Arasteh was arrested during the extended arrests of 2009 post-election in March 1st of 2009 by security forces in Karaj when he was participating a protest, during a chasing and being shot twice.

After being in solitary confinement for 38 days and being interrogated many times, he has been brought by the authorities to the judge at branch 6 of revolutionary court in Karaj and has been sentenced with no access to lawyer.

Khosro Arasteh has been sentenced to three year in prison on charges of acting against national security (Article 499 on the Islamic Punishment).

While he was passing first year of his imprisonment, according to a new dossier he has been accused to "forming a group for acting against national security".

After a lot of efforts, his family provided  200 million tomans bail for Khosro Arasteh's permission for vacations and he fled to Turkey and seek political asylum.

Now after 1 year of his absence in Iran the revolutionary court of Karaj notified his family that if he won't be present in the court, the bail will be confiscated.

 

Mehdi Khazali renews hunger strike

Sat, 01/12/2013

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/mehdi-khazali-renews-hunger-strike

Mehdi Khazali, a jailed Iranian physician and blogger, has begun his sixth round of a hunger strike in Evin Prison.

The Kaleme website reported on January 11 that Mehdi Khazali has been refusing food since nine days ago and he has been transferred to solitary confinement by Evin authorities.
Mehdi Khazali was last arrested in November of 2012 after security forces attacked a writer’s gathering.
Kaleme reports that Khazali had broken his earlier strike when prison authorities promised to meet his demands. However, a lack of commitment to those promises and the persistent “illegal treatment of prisoners by the interrogators and judiciary officials” have led Khazali into another hunger strike.
Mehdi Khazali has been critical of the government in his blogs, and that has earned him 14 years in jail. He is also sentenced to 90 lashes.
Khazali is the son of Abolghasem Khazali, a hardline member of the Assembly of Experts, and the senior Khazali has disowned his son for his reformist stance in politics.

 

Heart surgery Done on Asadollah Hadi, Political Prisoner

Saturday, 12 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=779:1&catid=12:prisoners&Itemid=12

HRANA News Agency – Asadollah Hadi, the political prisoner at Ward 350 of Evin Prison has been hospitalized at the heart hospital of Tehran and heart surgery has been done for him.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), after a week of waiting and being rejected for his transfer to the hospital, finally he  has been transferred to the heart hospital of Tehran and heart surgery is done for him.

It is important to mention that according to the doctors of the hospital, early return to prison could be very dangerous for him.

Asadollah Hadi, the political prisoner at Ward 350 of Evin has acute heart problem and also problems of Miniks on knee, several times has been rejected to be transferred to the hospital by the authorities of the prison, Because he did not wear the prisoners uniform.

Asadollah hadi has been detained in 2009 on charges of acting against national security and disturbing public order, sentenced to 5 years of imprisoning.

Also he has been detained in 1980s.

 

A teacher has been detained in Oshnawiyah

Tuesday, 15 January 2013
http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=782:1&catid=16:miscellaneous&Itemid=2
HRANA News Agency – A Kurdish teacher from Oshnawiyah has been detained by security forces.

According to the reports by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), quoted from Moukerian News Agency, Azad Rasoulnezhad, teacher and International law student of Maragheh university has been called by the preservation department of education of Oshnawiyah, after his presence at this office, he has been arrested and transferred to the detention center of local intelligence office.

According to the report, Rasoulnezhad who has been transferred to intelligence office in Oroomyeh after a few days is accused to security charge.

Also on Tuesday Moukrian website released a news about summoning of 11 members of teachers union of Kurdistan in Sanandaj by the enforcement of the verdicts office in revolutionary court.

Freedom of Expression

 

Threats against media workers and families show regime’s true face

Published on Wednesday 9 January 2013

http://en.rsf.org/iran-threats-against-media-workers-and-09-01-2013,43883.html

Reporters Without Borders once again expresses its grave concern at the arbitrary arrests of journalists and netizens and the threats made against the families of foreigners and Iranians working for media organizations in Iran.

In the past three years, the press freedom organization has recorded a dozen arrests and instances of threats against the families of journalists working for foreign-based organizations and international news agencies.

In the past two months, several journalists and netizens have been summoned for questioning in cities such as Tehran, Bushehr, Karaj and Qazvin, two of them aged just 14 and 15.

On 25 December, agents from the intelligence ministry raided the head office of the weekly Hadith e-Qazvin in the northern city of Qazvin. They seized its computers and took the staff away for questioning. The journalists were released after three hours.

However, the weekly’s editor Rahim Sarkar is still held in intelligence ministry cells in Qazvin. He was previously arrested on 8 March last year and released four days later on bail of 50 million tomans (45,000 euros). Publication was halted for the second time in a year.

On 1 January, Mohammad Kimyai, a writer and contributor to Hadith-e Qazvin, was also arrested at his home by intelligence ministry agents. His family has been given no reason for his arrest. The journalist is held in solitary confinement in the intelligence ministry prison in Qazvin.

On the same day, a 14-year-old blogger was arrested by the Iranian cyber police in the northern city of Karaj. According to the cyber police website, the teenager had published “offensive content” on his blog and he had “confessed to his crimes after his arrest”.

Two weeks earlier, several netizens using social networks were summoned for questioning by the cyber police in the city of Bushehr. They included Sorosh Ghazizadeh, a 15-year-old blogger who was questioned for five hours. His father, Younes Ghazizadeh, is a well-known and outspoken journalist in the region. The arrest and interrogation of the young blogger could be a way of putting pressure on his father.

The government continues to threaten the families of journalists working for foreign-based organizations and international news outlets. The threats intensified after coverage in the international media of the protests that followed the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad in June 2009.

For the past year, the government has been taking reprisals against foreign news organizations in response to the strengthening of international sanctions in the field of telecommunications which restrict the Islamic Republic’s ability to spread its propaganda. The reprisals include:

• The accreditation of journalists working for the Reuters news agency has been withdrawn after a court case trumped up by agents of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance.
• “Journalists” close to the intelligence service have been imposed on some news organizations to intimidate them and exert greater control over their activities.
• Pressure and harassment has been stepped up against a number of Iranian and foreign journalists and correspondents working for international media organizations to force them to give up their work.
• Several journalists have been entrapped by government agents and accused of having “immoral relations banned under Islamic law”. Some have been threatened with stoning.

This was the fate of the young female journalist H.KA, who befriended a colleague from a prestigious European newspaper at a government-organized conference in Tehran in February 2010. She was summoned to the intelligence ministry a few days later and questioned about her relationship with a “foreign agent”. She was accused of spying and of having sexual relations with a “miscreant”, and was threatened with stoning or the death penalty unless she co-operated.

She was forced to sign a statement that she had been raped by her foreign colleague and subsequently to entice him to go to an area close to nuclear installations. H.KA, now in exile, is still subjected to pressure through her family.

Her case is far from isolated and illustrates the methods used regularly by the ruling theocracy, which is in the grip of corruption and tyranny. Such outrageous accusations are used as a weapon against the sanctions imposed by Western governments and amount to hostage-taking.

Reporters Without Borders has received several first-hand accounts from victims of the shabby and insidious methods used by the Tehran government, which it has passed on to U.N. human rights bodies.

 

Press freedom violations recounted in real time (from 1st January 2013)

Published on Friday 11 January 2013. Updated on Monday 14 January 2013

http://en.rsf.org/iran-press-freedom-violations-recounted-04-01-2013,43862.html

11.01.2013-Six-month jail sentence for talking to foreign media

Reporters Without Borders has learned that, Hossein Karoubi, executive director of the banned daily Etemad Meli and son of its owner, Mehdi Karoubi, was sentenced to six months in prison in July 2012 for talking to foreign media about the mistreatment of prisoners in Kahrizak prison.

He was convicted on a charge of “disseminating false information designed to upset public opinion.”

Normally reserved for non-political prisoners, Kahrizak was used to hold government opponents after the disputed June 2009 presidential elections and several young detainees reportedly died of their injuries after being mistreated.

Etemad Meli was banned on 17 August 2009 for publishing articles about torture and rape in Iranian prisons. Three weeks earlier, on 29 July 2009, Mehdi Karoubi had released an open letter in which he said young detainees were being subjected to grave forms of mistreatment including rape.

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04.01.2013- Netizen begins serving two-year jail term, journalist freed

Reporters Without Borders has learned that Sayeed Haeri, a netizen and member of the Human Rights Reporters Committee, was arrested on 12 December after responding to a summons to Tehran’s Evin prison and has begun serving a two-year jail sentence on a charge of anti-government propaganda.

Originally arrested on 20 December 2009, he was released conditionally on 11 March 2010 on bail of 500 million toman (500,000 euros). In September 2010, a Tehran revolutionary court sentenced him to two and a half years in prison and 74 lashes. An appeal court reduced the sentence to two years in prison six months later.

Two other members of the Human Rights Reporters Committee are already in prison. They are Shiva Nazar Ahari, who was arrested on 8 September 2012, and Sayeed Jalali Far, who was arrested on 30 July 2011. Ahari is serving a four-year sentence while Far is serving a three-year sentence.

Reporters Without Borders has also learned that Reza Ansari Rad, a journalist who worked for several reformist news outlets, was released on 15 December after being deemed to have completed a one-year sentence on a charge of anti-government propaganda.

Imposed in 2010, the sentence was upheld by a Tehran appeal court in March 2012 and Rad began serving it on 4 May.

Minorities’ Rights

 

Imprisoned American pastor tells family of death threats, torture in Iran

By Perry Chiaramonte

Published January 10, 2013

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/10/american-pastor-facing-threats-death-from-iranian-court/

Pastor Saeed Abedini (Courtesy of ACLJ)

An American pastor who has been imprisoned in his native Iran because of his Christian faith has been threatened with death, according to his family.
Saeed Abedini has been imprisoned since September, when he returned to Iran to visit family. In a letter written to his wife just days ago, Abedini said his captors have given him mixed signals about his fate.
“This is the process in my life today: one day I am told I will be freed and allowed to see my kids on Christmas (which was a lie) and the next day I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus,” Abedini said in the letter. “One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy.”
Abedini, 32, became a U.S. citizen in 2010 when he married his American wife, Naghmeh Abedini. Two years earlier he had become an ordained minister.
The Iranian government does not recognize his American citizenship, though it had enabled him to travel freely between both countries until this past summer. That's when he was pulled off a bus and placed under house arrest, according to his supporters. Abedini was then imprisoned and charged with several crimes that have not been made public, but it is widely believed that it is because of his Christian faith.
“The life of Pastor Saeed is in grave danger,” said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice. “When you read Pastor Saeed’s own words, you understand that Iran has absolutely no regard for human rights and religious freedom.”
Sekulow added that the pastor is facing one of Iran’s notorious “hanging judges,” Pir-Abassi, who is known for issuing death sentences.
“And now facing one of Iran’s most notorious judges, Pastor Saeed is in a real sense an American abandoned in Iran. The U.S. State Department has done very little to help this U.S. citizen.”
The case is similar to that of Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian Christian pastor who was recently freed after serving three years in prison and then being re-arrested on Christmas Day, all for converting to Christianity.
Nadarkhani, 35, initially faced possible execution, but was freed after Fox News and other media outlets drew attention to his plight. His attorney, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, has been imprisoned and remains in Iran's notoriously brutal Evin Prison, where his health is rapidly deteriorating and he is being denied proper dental care, according to his family. He has been jailed for advocating Nadarkhani's case and other human rights cases.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/10/american-pastor-facing-threats-death-from-iranian-court/#ixzz2I8nxeJb5

 

Iran: Three Baha’i Citizens Arrested / One Summoned to Serve Imprisonment

Sunday, 13 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=781:1&catid=13:religious-minorities&Itemid=13

HRANA News Agency – Three Baha’i citizens were arrested in different cities of Iran, one was summoned to serve her imprisonment.

According to the reports by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Anisa Fana’ian, Baha’i citizen from was summoned to serve her 22 month in prison verdict from January 19.
Farshid Dadvar, Baha’i citizen from Zahedan was arrested on Sunday, December 23, 2012.

Shakiba Vahdat another Baha’i citizen was arrested again on Friday, January 11, 2013 in Tabriz. She had been also arrested in Babolsar on Wednesday, January 2, 2013. She had been held two days in the intelligence office of Babolsar.

And also, Ramin Shahyar, Baha’i citizen from Eslam Shahrhar has been arrested on Sunday, October 14, 2012. Security forces seized his books, computer, satellite receiver and other things related to his work. He is being held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison.

 

No news from a detained Baha'i citizen after 3 months

Tuesday 15 January 2013

http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/140453.html
HRANA News Agency – Ramin Shahriary, Baha'i citizen from Islamshahr has been detained 3 month ago and totally he was able to call his family only once.
According to the reports by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Ramin Shahriary, Baha'i citizen from Islamshahr who was summoned to intelligence office and detained 3 months ago, has contacted his family only once.
In the call which he was able to give to his family, he informed his family that he is imprisoned in 209 ward in Evin prison.

Also after they detained Ramin Shahriary, the security agents came to his home and confiscated his personal belongings such as books, computer and satellite reciever.