Violation of Human Rights in Iran during a Week 27 January 2013

At a Glance

Violation of Human Rights in Iran during a Week

27 January 2013

International Condemnation of Violation of Human Rights in Iran

 

Iran: UN welcomes temporary release of imprisoned human rights defender

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43955&Cr=iran&Cr1=human+rights#.UP6oLvI7vTp
18 January 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today welcomed the temporary release of lawyer and human rights activist Nasrin Sotoudeh, who is serving a six-year sentence in Iran, and voiced the hope that her leave will be extended and she will soon be released indefinitely.
Ms. Sotoudeh, who was arrested in September 2010, was banned from practising law for 10 years on charges linked to her work as a human rights defender. Last October, she began a hunger strike to protest against her prison conditions as well as a travel ban imposed on her husband and 12-year-old daughter.
Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), told reporters in Geneva that Ms. Sotoudeh was granted a three-day temporary leave from Tehran’s Evin Prison and joined her family yesterday.
“The travel restrictions imposed on her family – the issue that caused her to go on hunger strike in the autumn – were lifted in December, so her temporary release marks a second improvement in her case,” he stated.
“We hope that the temporary leave will be extended, and that Ms. Sotoudeh will soon be indefinitely released.”
Last month High Commissioner Navi Pillay urged Iran to promptly release Ms. Sotoudeh and all those activists who have been arrested and detained for peacefully promoting the observance of human rights in the country, noting that the rights to freedom of expression and opinion, and peaceful assembly are fundamental human rights which must be protected and respected.

 

UN human rights office condemns execution of Iranian juvenile

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=43980&Cr=iran&Cr1=#.UP_B5PI7vTp
22 January 2013 – The United Nations human rights office today strongly condemned the execution of Ali Naderi, a 21-year-old who was sentenced to death for a crime he allegedly committed when he was 17 even though Iran is party to agreements that ban the death sentence against persons less than 18 years of age.
“We are deeply dismayed to hear about the reported execution in Iran of a juvenile offender on Wednesday 16 January 2013,” a spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Cécile Pouilly, told reporters in Geneva.
Mr. Naderi was executed for his alleged role in the murder of a woman when he was 17 years old, according to OHCHR. It was the first juvenile execution since September 2011.
“International human rights instruments – particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – to both of which the Islamic Republic of Iran is a party, impose an absolute ban on the death sentence against persons below the age of 18 at the time when the offence was committed,” Ms. Pouilly said. “We urge the Government of Iran to end the execution of juvenile offenders once and for all.”
OHCHR is also concerned about five other individuals – Mohammad Ali Amouri, Sayed Jaber Alboshoka, Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka, Hashem Shabain Amouri and Hadi Rashidi – whose death sentences were recently upheld by the Supreme Court and appear to be at risk of imminent execution.
“There are serious concerns about the fairness of their trials and allegations that they were subjected to torture,” Ms. Pouilly said. “We urge the Government to restrict the use of the death penalty, to reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed and to respect international standards guaranteeing due process and the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty.”
According to OHCHR, more than 400 people were executed in Iran last year, the majority of whom were charged with drug-related offences that do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes” to which the death penalty may be applied under international human rights law.
The UN agency also condemned the rise in public executions in Iran, stating they add to the already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty and have a dehumanizing effect on the victim and those who witness the execution. In 2012, 55 public executions were carried out. Last Sunday, two individuals were hung in a park in Tehran, the capital.

Press release

Human Rights Commissioner calls for death sentences in Iran to be revoked

Date of issue: 24.01.2013

http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/sid_F4622DF20470E9A292D6758228F0168B/EN/Infoservice/Presse/Meldungen/2013/130124-MRHH_Iran.html

Reports of the impending execution of five members of the Arab Ahwazi minority in Iran prompted Federal Government Human Rights Commissioner Markus Löning to issue the following statement today (24 January):

“I am extremely troubled by the impending execution of five members of the Arab Ahwazi minority in Iran.
The trial that led to these death sentences lacked transparency. Now the Supreme Court has nonetheless confirmed these dubious sentences. This runs contrary to the principles of the rule of law. It is completely unacceptable and displays a disregard for human dignity.
It is utterly unacceptable to put people on trial for peacefully advocating for cultural rights and political participation in the first place. In doing so, Iran’s judicial system is in breach of international law and Iran’s own constitution.
Iran must protect the rights of its citizens, not oppress them.
I call on Iran to overturn the death penalties and release the sentenced individuals immediately. Iran must respect the human rights of its citizens regardless of their ethnic or religious affiliation.”

Background:
The Arab Ahwazi minority in Iran are subject to marginalization and discrimination with respect to education, jobs, suitable accommodation, political participation and cultural rights. Ahwazi Arabs are regularly given death sentences or long prison terms by Iran’s judicial authorities for standing up for cultural rights and political participation. Most of the Ahwazi Arabs live in south western Iran. They are on the whole Shiite Muslims, although some have become Sunnis.
Mohammad Ali Amouri, Sayed Jaber Alboshoka, Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka, Hashem Sha’bani Amouri and Hadi Rashidi, all members of an Arab cultural institute in Ramshir, were arrested in 2011 by Iranian security forces in advance of the anniversary of the 2005 Ahwazi Arab protests. In July 2012, the Revolutionary Court in Ahwaz found them guilty of the crimes of “enmity against God and corruption on earth”, “conspiring to commit a crime against national security” and “spreading propaganda against the system”. They were sentenced to death. After the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentences, they were handed over to the authority responsible for enforcement, so that the death sentences may now be carried out at any time. On 18 January, relatives of the five men were informed by prison authorities that the men had been transferred from Karoun Prison to an unknown location.

Executions in Iran (January 22, 2013)

http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/country-files/iran-301/events-2790/article/executions-in-iran-22-01-13
France condemns the two executions by hanging carried out in public on January 20 in Iran. Iran is thereby violating its international obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it freely subscribed. More than 350 executions are known to have been carried out in Iran in 2012, making it a country with one of the highest death penalty rates.
France is campaigning for the universal abolition of the death penalty. It lends its support to the abolitionists in Iran and urges the Iranian authorities to immediately establish a moratorium on the death penalty with a view toward its abolition. As Mr. Laurent Fabius, Minister of Foreign Affairs, reaffirmed, France expresses its firm and constant opposition to the death penalty everywhere and under all circumstances.

Victoria Nuland

Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing

Washington, DC

January 25, 2013

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2013/01/203286.htm
Index for Today's Briefing:

IRAN

• Saeed Abedini Case

QUESTION: Firstly, we had a story a few days ago on Saeed Abedini, this U.S. citizen jailed in Iran, reporting that he might get bail. Do you have any information on that and on his status?

MS. NULAND: We remain very concerned about U.S. citizen Saeed Abedini, who is detained in Iran on charges related to his religious beliefs. Mr. Abedini’s attorney had only one day to present his defense. And we remain deeply concerned about the fairness and the transparency of his trial. We condemn Iran’s continued violation of the universal rights of freedom of religion, and we call on the Iranian authorities to respect Mr. Abedini’s human rights and to release him. We are in close contact with his family as well and we’re actively engaged in the case.

QUESTION: So no indication that he was let out on bail as, I think it was, this Iranian news agency seemed to suggest that might be --

MS. NULAND: I don’t have any positive news to report on this, unfortunately.

Execution

URGENT ACTION

Five Ahwazi Arab men face imminent execution
Further information on UA: 137/12 Index MDE 13/004/2013 Iran Date: 22 January 2013

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/004/2013/en/7da3c5e0-c20c-47ec-887e-76f14928f589/mde130042013en.html

Five members of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority may be at imminent risk of execution after their death sentences were upheld by the Supreme Court of Iran. All five were transferred out of Karoun Prison to an unknown location on 18 January.

On 9 January, the families of the five men, Mohammad Ali Amouri, Sayed Jaber Alboshoka and his brother Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka, and teachers Hashem Sha’bani Amouri and Hadi Rashidi (or Rashedi) were informed that their death sentences had been upheld by Branch 32 of the Supreme Court. The verdict has been sent to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences, which means that the sentence could be carried out at any time. The prison authorities told the men's families on 18 January that they had been moved out of Karoun Prison, but did not say where they had been moved to.

The men had been arrested in connection with their peaceful activities on behalf of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority. They were originally sentenced to death on 7 July 2012 by Branch 2 of the Ahwaz Revolutionary Court, which had convicted them of charges including “enmity against God and corruption on earth”, "gathering and colluding against state security” and “spreading propaganda against the system”. Two of the men were shown “confessing” on a government television channel before the trial. All five men were denied access to a lawyer and their families for the first nine months of their detention. All five are believed to have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated.

Please write immediately in Persian, Arabic, English or your own language:

Calling on the authorities to stop the executions of the five men (naming them), overturn their death sentences and grant them retrials in proceedings which comply with fair trial standards, without recourse to the death penalty;
Calling on them to disclose the whereabouts of the five men, ensure they are protected from torture and other ill-treatment, urging them to investigate allegations that they were tortured, bring those responsible to justice and disregard as evidence in court “confessions” that may have been coerced;
Calling on them to ensure that the men are granted any medical attention they may require, and are allowed immediate and regular contact with their lawyers and families.
……

Additional Information

The five men are members or co-founders of the cultural institute Al-Hiwar, registered during the administration of former President Khatami, which organizes events in the Arabic language including conferences, educational and art classes, and poetry recital gatherings in the south-western city of Ramshir. The organization was banned in May 2005, and many members of Al-Hiwar have since been arrested.

All five men were arrested at their homes in spring 2011 in advance of the sixth anniversary of widespread protests by Ahwazi Arabs in April 2005. Mohammad Ali Amouri was arrested 20 days after he had been forcibly returned from Iraq, where he had fled in December 2007. He was not allowed family visits for the first nine months after detention and was reportedly tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Hadi Rashidi was hospitalized after his arrest, apparently as a result of torture or other ill-treatment, and is said to be in poor health. Family members have said that Sayed Jaber Alboshoka’s jaw and teeth were broken during his detention and that Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka has experienced depression and memory loss as a result of torture or other ill-treatment. Hashem Sha’bani Amouri is said to have had boiling water poured on him.

Hashem Sha’bani Amouri and Hadi Rashidi were featured in a programme aired by Iran’s state-controlled English-language television station, Press TV, on 13 December 2011. Hashem Sha’bani said he was a "member of the “Popular Resistance” (al-Moghavema al- Sha'bia)” which he said had ties to Saddam Hussein and Mu’ammar al-Gaddafi, the former leaders of Iraq and Libya. Hadi Rashedi was described as “the leader of the military wing of al-Moghavema al-Sha’bia” and said he had participated in an attack against a house containing four government officials. Iranian courts frequently accept “confessions” extracted under duress as evidence.

A sixth man arrested around the same time and tried alongside the five, teacher Rahman Asakereh, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment to be served in internal exile. His sentence was upheld in January 2013.

Another Ahwazi Arab man, Taha Heidarian, was shown in the same programme making a “confession” in connection with the killing of a law enforcement official in April 2011 amid widespread protests in Khuzestan. On or around 19 June 2012, he and three other Ahwazi Arab men were executed in Karoun Prison, according to activists close to the family, after apparently being convicted by a Revolutionary Court of “enmity against God and corruption on earth" in connection with the killing.

Under Article 38 of the Iranian Constitution and Article 9 of the Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizens’ Rights, all forms of torture for the purpose of obtaining “confessions” are prohibited. Iran’s Penal Code also provides for the punishment of officials who torture citizens in order to obtain “confessions”. However, despite these legal and constitutional guarantees regarding the inadmissibility of testimony, oath, or confession taken under duress, forced “confessions” are sometimes broadcast on television even before the trial has concluded and are generally accepted as evidence in Iranian courts. Such broadcasts violate Iran’s fair trial obligations under Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a state party. They also violate Iranian law, including Article 37 of the Constitution, Article 2 of the 2004 Law on Respect for Legitimate Freedoms and Safeguarding Citizens’ Rights and Note One to Article 188 of Iran’s Criminal Code of Procedure which criminalizes the publishing of the name and identity of a convict in the media before a final sentence has been passed.

Name: Mohammad Ali Amouri, Sayed Jaber Alboshoka, Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka, Hashem Sha’bani Amouri, Hadi Rashidi.
Gender m/f: M

JOINT PUBLIC STATEMENT

Iran: Stop Execution of Ahwazi Arab Political Prisoners

Whereabouts of Five Condemned Men Unknown

January 24, 2013                                                       AI Index: MDE 13/007/2013

http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/007/2013/en/f104bdf8-3768-42ed-9a5a-0b5bb7de0aa5/mde130072013en.html

 (London) – Iran’s judiciary should quash death sentences against five members of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority and immediately cancel their execution, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. The sentences were handed down by a revolutionary court and upheld by the country’s Supreme Court on January 9, 2013.
The five men – Mohammad Ali Amouri, Sayed Jaber Alboshoka and his brother Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka, Hashem Sha’bani Amouri, and Hadi Rashidi (or Rashedi) – are all activists in Iran’s Arab-majority Khuzestan province, in southwest Iran. A branch of the Revolutionary Court sentenced them to death on terrorism-related charges following an unfair trial in July 2012. On January 18, authorities informed families gathered outside Karoun Prison in the south-western city of Ahvaz that the five men had been transferred out of the prison. Their whereabouts are unknown.
“The reported transfer of these men to an unknown place is an extremely worrying development,” said Ann Harrison, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International. “In Iran, death row prisoners are generally moved to solitary confinement before their death sentences are carried out, and we fear that the authorities may be planning to execute them imminently.”
Security forces arrested all five men at their homes in early 2011 in advance of the sixth anniversary of widespread protests by Ahwazi Arabs in April 2005. Authorities arrested Mohammad Ali Amouri 20 days after Iraqi authorities had forcibly returned him to Iran, from which he had fled in December 2007. They did not allow him family visits for the first nine months. The human rights groups have received information that Amouri was subjected to physical and psychological torture during this time.
Rashidi was hospitalized after his arrest, possibly as a result of torture or other ill-treatment. Sources have told the groups that he is in poor health.
Family members outside the country have said that Sayed Jaber Alboshoka’s jaw and teeth were broken during his detention and that Sayed Mokhtar Alboshoka has experienced depression and memory loss as a result of torture or other ill-treatment.
In May 2012, Al Arabiya reported that Intelligence Ministry agents forced Sha’bani to confess to crimes he had not committed by pouring boiling water on him.
A branch of the Revolutionary Court convicted the men in July 2012 on vaguely worded charges related to national security that did not amount to internationally recognizable criminal offenses. These included “gathering and colluding against state security,” “spreading propaganda against the system,” “enmity against God,” or moharebeh; and “corruption on earth,” or ifsad fil-arz. The death penalty is a possible punishment for the latter two. Under articles 186 and 190-91 of Iran’s Penal Code, anyone found responsible for taking up arms against the state, or belonging to an organization taking up arms against the government, may be considered guilty of “enmity against God” and risks being sentenced to death. The specific acts of which the men were accused are not known.
The five men are founding members of Al-Hiwar (“Dialogue” in Arabic), a scientific and cultural institute registered during the administration of Iran’s former President Mohammad Khatami, who served from1997 to 2005. Al-Hiwar organizes seminars, educational and art classes, and poetry recitals that have taken place in the town of Ramshir (known in Arabic as Khalafiye). Authorities banned al-Hiwar in May 2005, and many of its members have since been arrested.
Iranian Ahwazi Arab rights groups maintain that authorities extracted “confessions” from the five men while subjecting them to torture or mistreatment and denying them access to a lawyer and their families for the first nine months of their detentionat a local Intelligence Ministry facility. The men later denied the charges against them in court, sources reported.
Article 38 of the Iranian Constitution prohibits all forms of torture “for the purpose of obtaining confessions.” The Penal Code also provides for the punishment of officials who torture citizens to obtain confessions. Despite these legal and constitutional guarantees regarding confessions under duress, “confessions” are sometimes broadcast on television even before a trial has concluded and are generally accepted as evidence in Iranian courts. Such broadcasts violate Iran’s fair trial obligations under article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a state party.
Iranian authorities have executed dozens of people since the disputed 2009 presidential election, many of them from ethnic minorities, for moharebeh because of their alleged ties to armed or terrorist groups. Since May 2011, authorities have executed at least 11 Iranian Ahwazi Arab men and a 16-year-old boy for alleged links to groups involved in attacking security forces.
Rights activists maintain that at least another six Iranian Ahwazi Arabs have been tortured to death in the custody of security and intelligence forces in connection with anti-government demonstrations that swept across Khuzestan province on the 2011 and 2012 anniversaries of the 2005 unrest. According to Kurdish rights activists, more than 20 members of Iran’s Kurdish minority are on death row after conviction for political offenses. They include Zaniar and Loghman Moradi, who are at imminent risk of execution.
In 2012 Iran remained one of the world’s foremost executioners, with more than 500 prisoners hanged either in prisons or in public. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch oppose capital punishment in all circumstances because of its irreversible, cruel, and inhumane nature.
“Iranian authorities should end the suffering of the five men’s families by immediately informing them of their whereabouts and allowing them family visits and access to their lawyers,” said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “On no account should they be executed.”
Background
Jaber Alboshoka, 28, is a computer scientist who had been performing his national service as a private in the army; Mokhtar Alboshoka, 28, worked at a stone mining company; Rashidi, 26, holds a masters degree in applied chemistry and was a chemistry teacher; Sha’bani, 39, was an Arabic literature teacher and a student working toward a master’s degree in political science at Ahwaz University; and Amouri, 34, was a fisheries engineer and school teacher.
The Iranian government alleges that the five men are part of an armed Arab terrorist group responsible for shooting at several government employees. In December 2011 a government-run TV station broadcast televised “confessions” of several of the men, including Rashidi and Sha’bani, in which they claimed responsibility for armed attacks against government officials.
Human rights groups have previously expressed concern regarding the condition of Rashidi, Sha’bani, and other Iranian Ahwazi Arab activists detained by security and intelligence forces, and worry about their fate in light of reports of the execution of Heidarian and three other Ahwazi Arab men in June for their alleged role in the killing of a police officer. On June 9, officials in Ahvaz’s Karoun prison transferred Taha, Abbas, and Abdul-Rahman Heidarian, all brothers, as well as another man, to an unknown location. About a week later authorities informed the men’s families that they had been executed.
The December 2011 program that aired the confessions of Rashidi and Sha’bani also showed Taha Heidarian “confessing” to involvement in the killing of a law enforcement official in April 2011 amid widespread protests in Khuzestan.
Several days after reports surfaced regarding the executions, Iranian Ahwazi Arab rights groups circulated a video purporting to show the men, following their arrest by security forces, reading a plea to save their lives addressed to Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. It has not been possible to verify the authenticity of the video.
UN human rights mechanisms have condemned the executions of the four men.

 

IRAN: Two young men hanged in public for stealing less than 35 Euros

Monday, 21 January 2013

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/human-rights/12717-iran-two-young-men-hanged-in-public-for-stealing-less-than-35-euros

NCRI - The Iranian regime publically hanged Alireza Mafiha, 20, and Mohammad-Ali Sarvari, 23, accused of Moharebeh (waging war against God) and "corruption on earth", on Sunday morning, January 20^, 2013. The two young men had been accused of stealing 150 thousand Tomans (less than 35 Euros) while carrying cold weapons. Even though the plaintiffs in the case had opposed the sentence, the regime hanged the two young prisoners to follow its own objectives in creating an atmosphere of horror, fear, and absolute repression in order to prevent any public expression discontent especially as the regime's sham presidential election is approaching.

According to state-run media, the theft had occurred less than 7 weeks ago on December 2^nd, and the two youths were arrested on December 15. That means the entire process leading to executions took only 6 weeks. The so-called court session was presided by regime’s henchman judge Salavati who has a dreadful record of arbitrary executions and must be brought to justice for crimes against humanity.
The first defendant’s father was killed during the war with Iraq and his mother is an underserved working woman; he committed this crime to pay for his mother’s 4 million toumans (1,000 euros) in medical expenses.
Two other defendants in the case who are 21 and 23, were sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years of exile; they were both unemployed and belonged to underserved populations. 
The criminal executions of the two young men accused of "forceful possession", "waging war against God", and "corruption on earth" are taking place while the mullahs’ regime and its leaders are indeed the ones who have, for three decades, waged a war against the people of Iran and are engaged in the destruction of the country’s economic infrastructure and its young generations.  The mullahs are corrupting the Iranian homeland. They have forced themselves upon each and every Iranian citizen and have turned Iran into a large prison. They have destroyed the country’s human resources and through plundering the enormous wealth of the country. They have forced the people into poverty. All abnormalities in the country, including poverty, corruption, theft, and drug addictions has no other roots than the mullah’s regime in Iran and the only way for solving social problems in Iran passes through overthrowing this regime and establishing democracy in Iran.

Persian Source: http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13911030001122

Seven Prisoners Hanged Across Iran/ Three of Them Publicly

Sunday, 20 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=806:1&catid=15:execution&Itemid=10

HRANA News Agency– Seven prisoners with different charges were hanged by Iranian regime in different cities.

According to the reports by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA),Two prisoners convicted of Enmity against God: Alireza Mafiha and Mohammad Ali Sorouri were hanged publicly in Tehran.

A prisoner, Hamed Peyvaste, was hanged publicly on charge of murdering in Urmia.
And also, a prisoner convicted of drug trafficking, Mohsen K. was hanged in Isfahan's Central Prison and three prisoners: Mahmoud Shahraki, Ali Kamali and Davoud Ghanbar Zehi were hanged in Zahedan prison with the same charges.

Persian Sources: 1- http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=13911030001122

2- http://www.dadesfahan.ir/tabid/38/ctl/Edit/mid/562/Code/5468/Default.aspx

3- http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8709160317

 

Eight prisoners sentenced to death in Kerman

Sunday, 20 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=805:1&catid=15:execution&Itemid=10

HRANA News Agency– Judicial department in Kerman sentenced eight people to death in accusation of smuggling industrial drugs.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), quoted from Khorasan, head of 2nd branch of Kerman revolutionary court said "This group which their main work was distribution of psychotropic drugs such as Shisheh, they brought the drugs from Tehran and were doing chain distribution in Kerman."
Karegar added "Main members of this group were 10 people who 8 of them sentenced to death and 2 have been sentenced to life imprisonment and whipping.

He also said" All of their belongings have confiscated by government."

Persian Source: http://www.kermandadgostari.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=2626&articleType=ArticleView&articleId=44589

Three prisoners in Iran were hanged today

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2693
Iran Human Rights, January 23, 2013: Three prisoners were hanged in Qazvin Prison (west of Tehran) today.
Fars, a state-run Iranian news agency reported that three prisoners, identified as "K Kh." (28), "A. N." (34) and "A. H." (41), were convicted of possession and trafficking of narcotic drugs. They were sentenced to fines, lashes and death by branch 2 of the Qazvin Revolutionary Court.

Persian Source: http://www.farsnews.net/newstext.php?nn=13911104000299

Four prisoners hanged across Iran, one of them publicly

Thursday, 24 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=812:1&catid=15:execution&Itemid=10

HRANA News Agency– Three prisoners convicted of drug trafficking, have been hanged on Tuesday Morning in Choubin prison.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Qazvin court reported tht F. KH. on charge of smuggling 500 grams Shishe and 995 grams Marijuana got arrested by police and after the judicial process sentenced to death.

Also The other two names released in the report as A. N. and A. H.

Another prisoner, Reza Shahmoradi, hanged in Khorram Darreh on charge of killing a police on Wednesday morning in public.

He is sentenced to death in accusation of sergeant Behzad Jafaris' murder during his work hour.

According to the statics department of human rights activists in Iran during 2012 the enforcement of executions 9% increased.

Persian Sources: http://www.farsnews.net/newstext.php?nn=13911104000299

http://mizanzanjan.ir/tabid/38/ctl/Edit/mid/571/Code/587/Default.aspx

 

Two prisoners Executed In Iran- 16 Executions in 8 Days

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2697
Iran Human Rights, January 24, 2013: Two prisoners were hanged in two different Iranian prisons, reported the Iranian state media today.
One of the prisoners was convicted of murdering a security officer in Khoramdareh (Province of Zanjan, western Iran), reported the daily Kayhan newspaper. The prisoner was identified as V. Sh and hanged publicly in Khoramdareh on the morning of January 23.
The other prisoner was convicted of drug trafficking and was hanged in the Shahroos Prison (northern Iran) early this morning. According to the official website of the Iranian Judiciary in the province of Semnan, the prisoner was identified as Ch. P. and convicted of trafficking 1.94 kilograms of morphine.
Official Iranian sources have reported that, since January 16, 2013, at least 16 people were executed in different Iranian cities. Seven of the executions were carried out in public.

Persian Sources: http://mizanzanjan.ir/tabid/38/ctl/Edit/mid/571/Code/587/Default.aspx

http://www.dadsemnan.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=1826&mid=3217&ctl=ArticleView&articleId=44709&PageID=48246

 

One prisoner was hanged in Western Iran

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2699

Iran Human Rights, January 25, 2013: One prisoner was hanged in the prison of Ilam yesterday morning reported the state run Iranian news agency Fars.
The prisoner who was not identified by name was convicted of murder and sentenced to Qesas (retribution).
According to the official Iranian sources at least 17 people have been executed in different Iranian cities in the last 9 days.

Persian Source: http://www.farsnews.net/newstext.php?nn=13911105000727

 

The Supreme court confirmed a death verdict

Saturday, 26 January 2013
http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=818:1&catid=15:execution&Itemid=10
HRANA News Agency – Death verdict of a peddler who accused to murder another peddler during a quarrel for the place of business, has been confirmed by supreme court.

According to a report of Mehr news, on March 8th of 2010, police station No. 101 informed about the quarrel of two peddlers in Tajrish square. When the polices arrived to the reported place, they found out that the peddlers fought each other for the place of their business and in the quarrel Morteza hit Safar's chest by a screwdriver.

Safar transferred to hospital, but after 69 days because of the wound he died. Then police arrested Morteza after Safar death in accusation of murder.

Morteza in the investigation sessions confessed to his crime and said "The night of the incident slain did set up his goods in my place, I have been pissed off and objected to him but he insulted me; I hit his chest by a screwdriver."

This peddler trialed in the branch 71 of Tehran criminal court and sentenced to death, but Morteza objected the verdict and the case sent back to supreme court which his death verdict been confirmed by branch 13 of supreme court.

Discussing the breach of legal cases in this report:

Article 3 of the universal declaration of human rights: Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.

Paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty: Each State Party shall take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction.
Persian Source: http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1799571

 

A Prisoner Hanged in Shahroud, Iran

Friday, 25 January 2013

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=816:1&catid=15:execution&Itemid=10 

HRANA News Agency – Local judiciary authorities announced that a prisoner convicted of drug trafficking was hanged in Shahroud.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), quoted from Mehr News, Amir Reza Haji said: prisoner “Ch. B. Gh.” From Sabzevar, born in 1961, convicted of drug trafficking (1.94 Kg of industrial drug, Crack) was hanged on Thursday, January 24, 2013.”
 “His verdict was confirmed by the Supreme Court and his pardon request was rejected.” He added.

Persian Source: http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1799078

 

One Prisoner Was Hanged Publicly In South-Eastern Iran Today

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2700
Iran Human Rights, January 26, 2013: According to the official Iranian media a man was hanged in the public early this morning in Kerman (southeastern Iran).
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars the man was identified as "Yaser K." (age not mentioned) and convicted of rape. The execution was carried out at the Khajou Square of Kerman this morning Saturday January 26.
There have been 8 public hangings, one public amputation and four public lashings during the last 10 days in Iran.

http://www.mehrnews.com/fa/newsdetail.aspx?NewsID=1800519

Torture

 

Iranian Authorities Continue to Terrorize: Young Man’s Fingers Amputated in Public

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2695

Iran Human Rights, January 24, 2013: Iranian authorities’ campaign of conducting public, medieval punishments continues. A state-run Iranian news agency reported that the amputation sentence of a prisoner was carried out in public today in the city of Shiraz (southern Iran).
According to the report, the prisoner was a 29-year-old man, identified as "A. S. H." He was sentenced to amputation of four fingers on the right hand and three years in prison and 99 lashes for engaging in an "immoral relationship".
The Chief Prosecutor of Shiraz warned that similar sentences for several other prisoners will be carried out in the near future.
Iranian authorities have increased the implementation of public sentences, like lashings, executions and amputations, in recent months. Two young men were hanged publicly on 20 January for allegedly taking part in a mugging in Tehran. ….

Arbitrary Arrests

 

Iran: Two Camp Liberty resident’s family members detained

Thursday, 24 January 2013

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statements/human-rights/12730-iran-two-camp-liberty-residents-family-members-detained

NCRI - The agents of Iranian regime's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) arrested two relatives of a resident of Camp Liberty. Mr. Reza Akbari Monfared and his son Ali, two relatives of a Camp Liberty resident, were arrested on January 15, 2013 and the regime’s officials are refusing to provide any information regarding their conditions and whereabouts to their family members.

Mr. Reza Akbari Monfared is a former political prisoner of the 1980s. Four of his brothers and sisters,  Alireza, 20, and Gholamreza, 26, were executed in 1981 and 1985, respectively, while two others; Roghie, 30, and Abdolreza, 23, were among the victims of 1988 massacre of political prisoners.

Mr. Akbari's sister, Maryam, 38 and mother of three young children, was arrested on December 31, 2010 and charged with ‘moharebeh’ (enmity against God).  She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The mullahs' so-called court described her ‘crime’ as having a number of family members in Ashraf and some others who have been executed for supporting the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

The Iranian regime's measures in intensifying the crackdown on families of Ashraf and Liberty residents is taking place as the Iraqi forces have intensified  the cruel blockade at Camp Liberty and violate the minimum rights of Ashraf and Liberty residents.

Prisoners of Conscience

Iranian Resistance calls for action to stop suppression of political prisoners

Sunday, 20 January 2013

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

NCRI - Iranian regime's anti-riot forces and State Security Forces attacked political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin prison in a preplanned raid on Thursday, January 17, 2013. The suppressive agents body searched the political prisoners in insulting manner and thoroughly inspected the ward taking away all of their writings and note books.
The prisoners shouted slogans including “Death to Dictator” and “Death to oppressor, be it Shah or Supreme Leader.” The political prisoners sang patriotic song in an expression of protest against the savage raid. Their protest led to confrontation between the prisoners and regime’s suppressive agents. A number of prisoners were transferred to solitary confinement with no further information.
The raid follows a recent wave of intensification of pressures on political prisoners including fabricating bogus cases against them, denial of visits by relatives, depriving them of medical care, forcing them to wear prison uniforms when going to hospitals and medical centers, etc.
Iranian Resistance calls on all international authorities and human rights organizations to condemn brutal attack against political prisoners at ward 350 of Evin Prison, dispatch a delegation to investigate their appalling conditions, and take urgent action to end their growing suppression.

 

Iran: Release human rights lawyer for good

23 January 2013

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/iran-stop-cruel-charade-and-release-human-rights-lawyer-good-2013-01-23

“Nasrin Sotoudeh’s three-day release was merely a cruel charade and illustrates how little respect the Iranian authorities have for their international human rights obligations”

Ann Harrison, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme

Wed, 23/01/2013

A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer was returned to prison on Monday, unexpectedly curtailing a three-day temporary leave to visit her family, which was expected to be extended. 

Nasrin Sotoudeh, who has been serving a six-year prison sentence since September 2010, was granted her first furlough from Tehran’s Evin Prison on 17 January on production of a hefty bail.

Amnesty International has long campaigned for her unconditional release as a prisoner of conscience, as she was jailed solely for her peaceful work as a human rights lawyer.

Sotoudeh has denied all the charges against her, which include “spreading propaganda against the system” and belonging to an “illegal” organization, the Centre for Human Rights Defenders. 

“Nasrin Sotoudeh, whose human rights work has been recognized internationally, including when she was awarded the EU’s Sakharov Prize last year, is a prisoner of conscience who must be released immediately, unconditionally and for good,” said Ann Harrison, Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.

“Nasrin Sotoudeh’s three-day release was merely a cruel charade and illustrates how little respect the Iranian authorities have for their international human rights obligations.

Impact on Sotoudeh’s family

Vaguely worded charges like those against Sotoudeh do not amount to recognizably criminal offences, but they commonly lead to the imprisonment of prisoners of conscience.

“It is becoming increasingly common for the Iranian authorities to use the denial of access to family visits as a form of punishment for imprisoned human rights defenders. Children of prisoners are often deeply affected by the absence of a parent and denial of family visits only compounds their distress,” said Harrison.

Before her recent three-day release – which is provided for under Iranian law – Sotoudeh had been regularly prevented from having face-to-face meetings with her husband Reza Khandan and their two young children since her imprisonment in 2010. She was also frequently prevented from speaking with her family. 

In the meantime, the Iranian authorities have otherwise harassed or taken punitive measures against her family members.

On one occasion her husband was detained overnight for his peaceful advocacy to secure his wife’s release.

The authorities also placed an illegal travel ban on their 13-year-old daughter, which prompted Sotoudeh to stage a 49-day hunger strike in prison late last year.

Khandan, along with several Iranian women’s rights activists, met with parliamentarians to raise concern about her case, which assisted in getting the travel restriction lifted, prompting Sotoudeh to end her hunger strike on 4 December 2012.

A spokeswoman for the Security Committee of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said that a number of its members took part in an inspection of Evin Prison on 21 January. Shortly after they left, Sotoudeh was summoned back to prison.

Khandan told Amnesty International that her prompt return had come as a surprise, and he plans on writing to parliamentarians to raise concerns that her release may simply have been a pretext for ensuring she was absent when the inspection took place.

“The authorities had indicated to us that her release would be more than three days. It was totally unexpected [that she would return so soon]...and when we took her back to Evin Prison, outside the gate, the children wept – it was so hard on both of them,” said Khandan.

Others temporarily released

In the past week, several other imprisoned activists and journalists – all prisoners of conscience – have been granted temporary conditional leave from Evin and other Iranian prisons.

Among them was Bahareh Hedayat, whose furlough also began on 17 January, the same day as Sotoudeh’s release.

A student and women’s rights activist serving a 10-year prison sentence following her arrest on 31 December 2009, Hedayat has been convicted of “insulting the president”, “insulting the Leader”, “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security”, and “spreading propaganda against the system”.

On Tuesday 22 January, four imprisoned journalists were granted temporary releases from Evin Prison and Raja’i Shahr Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran.

Among them were Mahsa Amrabadi and her husband, Masoud Bastani. Held at different prisons, both have been convicted of security-related charges including “propaganda against the state” for articles they wrote regarding the disputed 2009 presidential election.

Bahman Ahmadi-Amoui (Ahmadi Amou'i), a journalist who received the Hellman-Hammett Award in 2011, was also released temporarily. He is serving a five-year sentence in Raja’i Shahr Prison on charges that include “spreading propaganda against the system” and “insulting the president”, while his wife, Zhila Bani-Yaghoub, who is also an award-winning  journalist, remains in Evin Prison where she is serving a one-year sentence.

The fourth journalist released on furlough on Tuesday was Ahmad Zeidabadi, who is also the spokesperson of the Graduates’ Association. He was sentenced in November 2009 to six years’ imprisonment, five years in internal exile, and a lifetime ban on all social and political activities after appearing in sessions of a mass “show trial” in August 2009.

On 10 January, Iranian human rights defender and lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, was also released on furlough. He began serving a nine-year prison sentence in September 2012 after being convicted a year earlier on charges including “membership of an association [the Centre for Human Rights Defenders] seeking the soft overthrow of the government” and “spreading propaganda against the system through interviews with foreign media”.

“Any release, albeit temporary, of these prisoners of conscience is welcome news for them and their families, but they must not be returned to prison and their sentences must be overturned.  The Iranian authorities must also immediately and unconditionally release all other prisoners of conscience currently in Iran’s jails,” said Harrison.

Freedom of Expression

 

New armed forces base to counter “soft war”

Fri, 01/25/2013

http://www.radiozamaneh.com/english/content/new-armed-forces-base-counter-%E2%80%9Csoft-war%E2%80%9D

Masoud Jazayeri, the deputy head of the Iranian armed forces, says the forces have established a “Soft War” base and “Film and Cinema Thinking Room.”
Khabar online reports that Jazayeri announced the establishment of the new body on January 25 as a new form of defense advertising.
“This is a base related to the whole country and it is not just linked to the armed forces but set to assist us in both soft and rough war situations, helping us to set out media and promotional activities,” Jazayeri said.
The Islamic Republic establishment uses the term “soft war” to refer to media and cultural activities carried out by the system’s enemies with the goal of undermining the Islamic Republic regime.
The concept has become more prevalent in the authorities’ discourse since the 2009 election protests.
Jazayeri stressed that “soft war and psychological operations” are becoming more and more complex by the day, and he claimed Iran’s enemies are using everything in their power against the Islamic Republic regime. Jazayeri had called earlier for an independent ministry to combat what he referred to as the “media and soft war” against Iran.

Following the 2009 election protests, the concept of “soft war” was often used against those who challenged the legitimacy of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory with allegations of vote fraud.