samedi 14 septembre 2013

Violation of Human Rights in Iran during a Week 14 July 2013

At a Glance


Execution

 Five Prisoners Were Hanged in Iran Today- More Than 60 Executions in 3 Weeks

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2820

Iran Human Rights, July 7, 2013: Five prisoners were hanged in the prison of Qazvin (west of Tehran) early this morning July 7, reported the official Iranian media.
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, two of the prisoners were identified as "M. S." and "Habib" and were convicted of murder. The other three prisoners were identified as "R. Kh." convicted of possession of 390 grams of crack, "N. H." for possession of 990 grams of crack, and "A. Gh." for possession of 976 grams of crack, said the report.
At least 65 people have been executed in the first three weeks after the presidential elections in Iran.


Three more executions in Ardebil

Posted on: 8th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Three prisoners have been hanged on charge of drug trafficking in Ardebil central prison today morning.
According to a report by Ardebil Judiciary, three prisoners who were charged with drug trafficking have been hanged on July 8, 2013 morning on Ardebil central prison.
According to this report, two of these prisoners were from Ardebil and born in 1978. They were charged with having 1 kilogram, 500 grams and 10 centigrams Methamphetamine.
They have been sentenced to death by the first branch of the revolutionary court of Ardebil.
After confirmation of the Attorney General and rejection of their forgiveness request by the forgiveness commission the head of the judiciary confirmed the sentences and the prisoners were hanged this morning.
At the same time, the death sentence of another prisoner which had passed through the same procedure was enforced, too.
This report claims the later was born in 1978 and from Ardebil and had have 964 grams Methamphetamine.
According to the sentence issued for him, he was sentenced to 20 lashes and surcharge which was enforced before the execution.
Gholam Ali Rezai the head of the judiciary of Ardebil province said: “There have been 15 prisoners hanged in Ardebil on charge of drug trafficking in the last two years.”
There had been 3 prisoners hanged on the same charges in Ardebil two days ago, 6th of July.

12 Afghan nationals hanged in Iran for drug smuggling

TEHRAN, July 9 (UPI) -- Twelve Afghan nationals were hanged in Iran for smuggling drugs, the Afghanistan embassy in Iran said Tuesday.

A statement from the embassy said the Afghan citizens were hanged in Karj and Esfahan prisons, but the date of the executions was not reported.

The embassy said seven of the victims were residents of western Herat province, three of Takhar province, one from Laghman province and one from western Nimroz province.

The Afghan government has requested Iran halt or suspend the execution of Afghans, Khaama Press reported.

Iranian officials said Afghan and Iranian citizens face the death penalty or life in prison for drug smuggling convictions.

The Afghan embassy said at least 5,000 Afghans are imprisoned in Iran, most for drug smuggling charges.


Iran: 75 hangings in 22 days

http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27917:iran-75-hangings-in-22-day&catid=5:human-rights&Itemid=27

Tehran, Iran Focus, 9 July, 2013 - With the execution of 11 inmates in the northwestern city of Arbabil and western city of Qazin from July 6 thru July 8,,  the total number of executions following the election of Hassan Rouhani on June 14 has reached 75. One of victims was 15 at the time of his arrest. Six were women.

There were at least three en masse hangings, in groups of 21, 11 and six persons.

Observers say the dramatic rise in hangings, one every seven hours since Hassan Rowhani was elected, is designed to terrorise and intimidate the public. It remains to be seen whether Rowhani, dubbed as a "moderate" by some in the West, is inclined or even capable of halting these executions, which are politically motivated and carried out in violation international standards.

 

Three Prisoners Hanged in Western Iran

Iran Human Rights, July 10, 2013: Three prisoners were hanged in the prison of Kermanshah (west of Iran), reported the state run Iranian news agency ISNA today.
According to the report the prisoners were identified as "A. R." convicted of murder, "A. F." convicted of possession and trafficking of 2960 grams of heroin and 973 grams of crack, and "F. Kh." convicted of murder.
The executions have taken place on July 8 according to another report by the Iranian state broadcasting.
Persian Source: http://kermanshah.isna.ir/Default.aspx?NSID=5&SSLID=46&NID=36409

 

At least four prisoners were hanged in Urmia

Over 200 prisoners secretly executed since March 2010

Posted on: 10th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Four prisoners sentenced to death for drug related crimes have been executed in Urmia’s Central Prison in West Azerbaijan Province.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), four prisoners identified as Jahandar Mirzahie, Mehrab Mirzahie, Ismail Badoie and Mohammad Saleh-Gharahati were hanged at midnight yesterday.
Human Rights Activists in Iran has reported that 211 inmates of Urmia’s Central Prison have been secretly executed since March 21, 2010, but the news of these executions has never been officially confirmed by the judiciary branch.  Among those hanged, 203 inmates belonged to Iran’s Kurdish ethnic group, and eight were members of Iran’s Turkish community.

 

Iran: Wave of mass executions continue

Published on Tuesday, 09 July 2013 09:33
File photo: A prisoner hanged in football field before a game begins
The number of executions in the past 22 days reached 75
NCRI - With the execution of three prisoners in the Kermanshah prison on July 8, six prisoners from July 6 to July 8 in Ardebil and execution of five prisoners in Qazvin, the number of executions that have been announced following sham election in Iran, from June 26 to July 8, has reached 75, four of whom have been executed in public.
Thus, every seven hours one prisoner has been hanged in public or in prisons in various cities. Among those executed six women and a prisoner who was 15-years-old when arrested are seen. A high number of prisoners were executed collectively in groups of 21, 11 and 6 persons. This is while thousands of prisoners in various prisons in the country are on death row.
Meanwhile Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naghdi, commander of the inhuman Bassij force, announced the formation of “Council of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice” in more than 50 percent of Bassij sites. Mission of this institution is suppression of youth particularly young women and girls under the mullahs-made pretext of "mal veiling". The regime’s news sites reported on July 5 the arrest of 50 people in Karaj for water play.
The clerical regime is resorting to wave of executions and suppressive measures in order to heighten the atmosphere of intimidation in the society to contain people’s protest and protesting youth.
The new wave of executions once again exposes the illusion of moderation within the mullahs’ regime after the sham election.
Silence and inaction against appalling and systematic human rights violations in Iran and ignoring the crimes of this regime, regardless of its motives, would only result to emboldening of the criminals ruling Iran and increased repression.


Iran Human Rights Analysis:
Relationship between political events and the death penalty trends in Iran
Iran Human Rights, July 11: After a short break while leading up to the June 14 presidential election, a new wave of executions began on June 20 in Iran. According to official media sources, 38 people have been executed in the last three weeks. Additionally, at least 44 executions have been reported by human rights groups in the same period, however these executions were not announced by Iranian authorities or the media. According to the official and unofficial reports, at least 82 prisoners have been executed in different Iranian cities during the three weeks that followed the June 14 election.
The annual death penalty report published by Iran Human Rights for 2012 shows that between 70 to 80% of those executed in Iran are convicted of drug related charges.
Iranian authorities have repeatedly claimed that the high number of executions in Iran is due to Iran’s struggle against international drug trafficking, since Iran is on the transit line between Afghanistan and Europe.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) and other human rights groups have previously claimed that Iranian authorities use the death penalty as an instrument to spread fear among society, in order to prevent protests and to remain in power.
Below IHR has analysed the relation between the number of executions and political events in Iran from 2007 to 2013. Only executions that have been announced by authorities are included in this analysis. The summary of the analysis is shown in the diagram above.
The analysis shows:
  • the number of executions in Iran dropped significantly in the weeks leading up to the Presidential or Parliamentary elections (black vertical lines).
  • The months before and after the elections executions reached a peak.
  • The highest number of monthly executions took place in July 2009, the month when the post-election protests started.
  • A peak in executions is noticeable prior to when the protests are expected, such as the anniversary of the student uprising in 1999 (July 9, 18 Tir) and the anniversary of February 14, 2009 (25 Bahman).
  • Green vertical lines in the diagram indicate periods when the authorities fear uprisings.
  • The number of announced executions is low during the Persian New Year (Norooz, March) and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. However, numbers are generally high around Christmas time and in January.
IHR is currently conducting a more detailed analysis of the execution trends in the last decade in Iran. The results will be presented in the near future.
…The present analysis indicates that there is a meaningful correlation between execution trends and political events in Iran. It seems that Iranian authorities occasionally choose the timing of executions in a coordinated and non-arbitrary manner. In general, execution numbers are high when authorities fear protests and the numbers are low when the world’s focus is on Iran.
… One possibility might be that during elections the authorities have to give more space to the public in order to encourage people’s participation in the elections. Additionally, during elections international journalists visit Iran one week before and after elections. However, in the weeks prior to and after the elections the number of executions reaches a peak.


Juvenile offender on death row is in danger of more torture

The case has many problems such as lack of motive

Posted on: 11th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Juvenile offender Baha’uddin Ghasemzadeh has been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department in Urmia to be interrogated more.  His family fears for his safety as he might be tortured once again.  Despite his initial confession taken at age 15, Ghasemzadeh denied committing the murder at the trial, and the case against him appears to have many problems such as lack of motive.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Ghasemzadeh was born on December 1, 1993.  On December 3, 2009, he was arrested at age 15 in Urmia, West Azerbaijan Province, for committing murder.
Ghasemzadeh was being held in Urmia’s Central Prison until nine days ago.  Although he was a minor at the time of arrest, the criminal court in Urmia tried and convicted him of murder.
“He was 15 years old when he confessed under duress and torture during interrogations at the Criminal Investigation Department,” one of Ghasemzadeh’s relatives, who spoke on condition of anonymity, says.  “But ever since, he has denied the charge time and again all the way through the course of the trial.  In spite of his denial and the fact that there are lots of holes in the case, the court convicted him.  For example, the crime scene has never been reconstructed, and there is no motive.  Even the prosecutor has spoken out and requested more investigations.”
“He categorically denies killing Azizeh Asadi, the victim,” the relative repeated.  “Nine days ago, they transferred him back to the Criminal Investigation Department.  We are worried that they are going to pressure him or even torture him again to get another confession.”
Arbitrary Arrests

 

A labors’ rights activist has been arrested

Posted on: 8th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – The intelligence agents of Isfahan have arrested Behnam Khodadadi, the labors’ rights activist and engineer of the oil refinery of Isfahan in his work place.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the intelligence agents have arrested Behnam Khodadadi, the labors’ rights activist and engineer of the oil refinery of Isfahan in his work place and transferred him to the detention center of the Isfahan intelligence known and (Alef-Ta) on Sunday 7th of July.
Mr. Khodadadi has been fired from Asalouye because of giving a speech about the workers’ rights in the Iranian New year ceremony there.
The intelligence agents have also went to his father’s home searching the whole house which has caused some damages.

 

Iran: Two arrested for 'insulting regime officials' on their Facebook page

Published on Wednesday, 10 July 2013 12:22
NCRI - Two Internet users have been arrested in Iran for 'insulting government officials' on their Facebook page.
Cyber-police said they 'identified, arrested and interrogated' the pair as part of the regime's ongoing clampdown on free online activity.
Seyed Ali Mirahmadi, the cyber-police chief in Semnan province, said: "The police found a Facebook page that had published pictures insulting the government officials.
"The owners of this page were a 45-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman who were identified, arrested and interrogated.”
"With operations carried out in cities of Semnan and Mehdishahr the two were arrested and interrogated and turned over to judicial authorities."
Speaking on Tuesday this week, he added: "The most important job of the cyber-police is to increase the security atmosphere on the Internet by continuous scrutiny.”
Mirahmadi also warned other Internet users to respect online regulations and said: "The cyber police has full control over what goes on in the cyberspace."
Since the June election, Iran has stepped up measures to control online activity, with arresting anyone criticising the regime or those selling software that helps evade internet filtering.
On Monday, the regime's communications minister also said every citizen would be assigned an official state email address ending 'mail.post.ir' in order to 'foster mutual interaction and communication between the government and the people'.
The Iranian regime currently imposes one of the world's strictest national Internet filters, which is often sidestepped by those with the computing skills. The country has also been working on a 'national Intranet' which would allow Iranians to communicate electronically with one another but not with the outside world.
Prisoners of Conscience

URGENT ACTION
Growing fears for hunger striker in Iran
UA: 174/13 Index: MDE 13/029/2013 Iran                         Date: 5 July 2013
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/029/2013/en/b259b965-666e-4796-b17d-67f2a9d6c948/mde130292013en.html
Student activist, Arash Sadeghi, has been on hunger strike since 1 June to protest against his ill-treatment in Tehran’s Evin Prison. He has been held without charge and in solitary confinement since his arrest in January 2012. He is at risk of torture or other ill- treatment and may be in need of urgent medical care. Arash Sadeghi, 26, a student activist banned from pursuing his university education and member of Mir Hossein Mousavi’s student team during the 2009 presidential campaign, was last arrested on 15 January 2012 and has been held in solitary confinement in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison since. During this period Arash Sadeghi has been permitted only two family visits with his grandfather. He has had no access to a lawyer and, despite repeated requests, his father has been unable to visit him or obtain information about his health from prison officials. His father has been intimidated and harassed by Ministry of Intelligence officials and warned against speaking to the media about his son.
Arash Sadeghi was arrested a number of times for participating in the demonstrations that followed the disputed presidential election in 2009. On 4 April 2010, Judge Pir-Abbas in Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 74 lashes and six years in prison after convicting him of the vaguely-worded national security charges of "gathering and colluding against state security” and “spreading propaganda against the system”. He was acquitted on appeal of the latter charge and his sentence reduced to one year imprisonment and four-years suspended sentence for the former. Arash Sadeghi’s current detention is unrelated to his previous case but it is believed that he is being held under suspicion of "gathering and colluding against state security”, although he has not been formally charged. No further details are known and the case is said to be “under investigation”, meaning that he cannot have access to legal representation.
Please write immediately in English, Arabic, Persian or your own language:  Calling on the Iranian authorities to release Arash Sadeghi immediately and unconditionally if he is beingn detained solely for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly;  Urging them to protect Arash Sadeghi from torture or other ill-treatment and to provide him with all necessaryn medical care, and ensure he is treated humanely, and not punished in any way for his hunger strike;  Urging them to ensure that he is removed from solitary confinement and allowed family visits and access to an lawyer of his choosing. …
Additional information
Arash Sadeghi was first arrested on 9 July 2009 in the aftermath of the disputed presidential election. He had been a postgraduate student of Philosophy at Allameh Tabatabai University until he was banned from continuing his studies. He was held for 53 days in Section 2A of Tehran’s Evin Prison, which is under the control of the Revolutionary Guards, before being released on bail on 31 August 2009. During his detention, he was barred from making any telephone calls and his family were given no information about him. He was arrested again on 27 December 2009 and detained for 15 days until he was released in January 2010 after securing a bail of $96,000 [USD].
In November 2010, security forces looking to arrest Arash Sadeghi again broke a window and gained entry to his home in the middle of the night. Arash Sadeghi, who had been spending the night at his grandmother’s home, later said in an interview that his mother suffered a heart attack when the security forces broke in. She died four days later in hospital.
Between January 2010 and January 2012, it is believed that Arash Sadeghi was arrested on a number of other occasions and released again on bail. He was last arrested on 15 January 2012 and transferred straight to solitary confinement in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin Prison, where he is thought to have been held ever since.
During an interview in November 2010 with Rooz Online News Agency, Arash Sadeghi recounted the torture and other ill- treatment he endured in prison. He said he was hung from the ceiling by one leg and left hanging for up to five hours at a time; he was beaten so severely that his shoulder was dislocated twice and his teeth were broken; he was forced to lick a soiled toilet bowl; his interrogators urinated on his face and in his mouth; he was banned from bathing; and he was slapped for several hours, resulting in the tearing of his ear drum. He said he was kicked and punched in the face while blindfolded, causing damage to his eyes and resulting in temporary loss of vision. He stated his interrogators at Evin Prison talked of charging him with “moharebeh” (enmity against God) and told him to “confess” in front of a film camera' to having connections with the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) and with friends outside of Iran. When he refused, his interrogators threatened to arrest his mother and ensure that his father loses his military job. Arash Sadeghi’s father, Hossein Sadeghi, who works in the Iranian army, has since been frequently summoned by the intelligence officials who have threatened him with redundancy and eviction from his home which is owned by the state.
In his report to the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, Ahmed Shaheed, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran documented cases of long periods of solitary confinement without charge or access to legal counsel and physical and psychological torture during interrogations. The Special Rapporteur concluded that “these violations are products of legal incongruities, insufficient adherence to the rule of law, and the existence of widespread impunity.” 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”. Moreover, in November 2011, the UN Human Rights Committee, which oversees implementation of the ICCPR, expressed concern about the average length of pre-trial detention periods in Iran in its Concluding Observations. The Committee stated that the Iranian authorities should “ensure that pre-trial detention is not excessively long in law and in practice, particularly through independent judicial supervision and prompt access to lawyers”.
Name: Arash Sadeghi Gender m/f: m
UA: 174/13 Index: MDE 13/029/2013 Issue Date: 5 July 2013

 

A political prisoner committed suicide

Posted on: 8th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Basme Aljaburi, the political prisoner of the women ward of Evin prison has committed suicide after being integrated by the intelligence agents.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the intelligence agent, Abbasi has integrated Basme Aljaburi in one of the rooms of the ward on July 1, 2013 which has ended to her suicide because of huge mental pressure.
She has been sentenced to 5 years of prison on charge of spying for Iraq and was rescued by her roommates.
She is in the prison as a sentenced prisoner and regarding to the judiciary independency, the intelligent agent are not allowed to enter the ward in which the sentenced prisoners are kept.
Basme Aljaburi is a former official of Iraqi trade ministry and administrator of Hotel Alrashid in Baghdad. She is now serving the 24th month of her imprisonment sentence in Evin prison.

 

Mehdi Motamedi Mehr is exiled to Rajaie Shahr prison

Posted on: 10th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Mehdi Motamedi Mehr who was imprisoned in security ward of Evin prison since the beginning of 2013, has been transferred to Rajaie Shahr prison of Karaj.
According to Mizan Khabar website, on March 16 his home was inspected, most of his personal belongings were confiscated, was transferred to Evin prison and till now he was imprisoned in security ward -No. 209-.
He was arrested first in April 2009 on charge of releasing statements and demanding international monitoring on tenth presidential election and was under arrest for 45 days, then in January 2010 was arrested for two months on charge of attending in Ashoora gathering and was sentenced to five years imprisonment.
Mehdi Motamedi Mehr the political board member and responsible for education committee of freedom movement wrote a letter to the minister of intelligence and expressed his feelings and experiences of being beaten when he was under arrest, the continuation of suppression on him and the illegal ways of interrogators with him and the other members of freedom movement of Iran members.
Entering to private life of individuals, abusing it, insulting, threatening to death and defamation are the suppression and pressuring ways that Motamedi Mehr spoke out about and mentioned “reproducing the Saied Emami line and Intelligence ministry way of dealing”.

 

A labor activist is sentenced to 1 year of prison

Posted on: 9th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Khaled Hosseini, the labor activist and member of the coordination committee to help form the workers’ organizations has been sentenced to 1 year of prison.
The first branch of the revolutionary court of Sanandaj has issued this sentence on charge of propaganda against the regime.
He was not summoned to the court and the sentence has been issued absentia.
Vafa Ghaderi and Behzad Farajollahi the members of this committee had been sentenced to 1 year of prison last week.
According to the website of the “coordination committee to help form the workers’ organizations” the reason of these sentences is their membership in this committee.

 

Political prisoner Mohammadamin Agoshi on hunger strike – Day 9

Agoshi's condition alarming because of age and heat

Posted on: 11th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Kurdish teacher Mohammadamin Agoshi, 53, began his hunger strike in Zahadan Central Prison on June 30, 2013 after authorities turned down his request for furlough or conditional release.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Agoshi’s condition is alarming because of his old age.  Also, extreme summer heat in Zahadan has been a contributing factor for his deterioration.  “He hasn’t had any contact with anyone outside the prison since the hunger strike began,” Agoshi’s daughter said.  “One of his cell-mates called to tell  us the news.  But Father had  already said that he was planning to go on hunger strike if they don’t grant him conditional release or pardon.”
“We’ve been told that he’s suffering from an ulcer and is feeling extremely bad,” Agoshi’s daughter added.  “He has even attempted to cover his head with plaster.  When they were trying to remove the cast, all his hair was pulled out.  There are injuries to his scalp as well.  We are planning to go to the court house on Tuesday, July 9th to protest.”
Agoshi is suffering from a nervous breakdown but has been denied medical care.  His family had to travel for 72 hours from West Azerbaijan to Zahadan in order to see him in prison only for one hour.
In 2007, Agoshi was arrested on charges of conspiracy, spying for the Kurdistan Regional Government, waging war against God (Moharebeh), and helping opposition groups.  Two other individuals, Iraj Mohammadi and Ahmad Poladkhani, were arrested at the same time.
After spending seven months in solitary confinement, Agoshi was transferred to Urmia’s Central Prison.  He was then court-marshaled and sentenced to execution by firing squad.  Later on, the Supreme Court upheld the ruling of the second branch of the Military Court.  However, Agoshi’s case together with that of two other defendants were revisited, and his death sentence was commuted to ten years behind bars.  Agoshi was then exiled to Zahadan to spend his prison term.

Collective Prison Sentence of Over 56 Years for Gonabadi Dervish Lawyers

Saturday, Jul 13 2013

Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court issued verdicts against 7 Gonabadi Dervish lawyers and managers of Majzooban Noor website (Nematollahi Gonabadi News Website which focuses on disseminating news about Dervishes). They have been collectively sentenced to 56 years in prison.
According to Majzooban Noor, seven Gonabadi Dervish lawyers and managers of Majzooban Noor website who have been arrested since Shahrivar 1390 (September 2011), after spending almost two years in prison without trial, have received a range of sentences between 10.5 and 7.5 years. Judge Abulghasem Salavati has issued these very heavy sentences in the cases of Gonabadi Dervishes.
According to the court's verdicts, Hamid Reza Moradi Sarvestani (Majzooban Noor website manager and human-Dervish rights activist) was sentenced to 10 years and six months imprisonment, Reza Entesari ( photo journalist, webmaster and human-Dervish rights activist) to 8 years and six months imprisonment, Mostafa Daneshjou, Farshid Yadollahi, Amir Eslami, Omid Behroozi ( Lawyer, webmaster and human-Dervish rights activist) and Afshin Karampour (Juristic, webmaster and human-Dervish rights activist) were sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.
In additional penalty, their sentences were accompanied by a five year ban on membership in political parties, and also on engaging in activities in the fields of media and cyberspace.
They were all convicted of "mobilizing an illegal group as Majzooban Noor with the intent to disturb national security" , "propaganda against the regime", "insulting the leadership" and "disturbing the public order".
These sentences has been issued against these prisoners of conscience by Revolutionary Court while they have refused to attend their court trials, in protest of the court's lack of qualification and the illegal process of their cases and even refused to provide any defense bill.

Shamim Ettehadi is sentenced to 5 years of prison

Posted on: 14th July, 2013

HRANA News Agency – Shamim Ettehadi, the Bahai citizen living in Yazd, who is under arrest since last March has been sentenced to 5 years of prison.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Shamim Bahai is under arrest in the intelligence of Yazd since March 14, 2013 and has been sentenced to 5 years of prison by the revolutionary court of this city on charge of propaganda against the regime and acting against the national security. He was tried on June 16, 2013.
Shamim Ettehadi was accused of sending a video of the destruction of the Bahais’ graveyard to manoto TV channel and broadcasting it in internet.
Shamim Ettehadi had been arrested once in 2011 while he was going to mountain climbing with his friends and sentenced to 91 days of prison by the revolutionary court of Yazd on charge of propaganda against the regime in March 2012 which was changed to 3 years of suspended prison in the appeal court.

 

Five political prisoners are on hunger strike in Tabriz prison

Posted on: 14th July, 2013

HRANA News Agency – Mahmoud Fazli, Ayat Mehr Ali Beyglou, Latif Hassani, Behboud Gholizade and Shahram Radmehr started hunger strike in Tabriz prison.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), these political prisoners have started the unlimited hunger strike in protest to the confirmation of the sentence of 9 years of prison each of them got on charge of forming illegal group and propaganda against the regime.
They have announced their hunger strike in an official letter given to the authorities of the Tabriz prison. According to this letter they will continue their hunger strike until the sentences which are told to be issued under the pressure of the intelligence are canceled.

12 July 2013
Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Three labor activists from Kurdistan province and members of Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations were handed a one-year prison sentence each on the charge of “propaganda against the regime.”
According to CHRR, Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations reported that the 3 activists were put on trial in absentia at Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court; Vafa Ghaderi on July 2nd, Behzad Farajalhi on July 3rd, and Khaled Hosseini on July 6th.
Ghaleb Hosseini, another member of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations was put on trial on June 30th, at Branch 1 of the Sanandaj Revolutionary Court presided by Judge Babayi on the same charges and his sentencing has not been announced yet. In a related incident, on Tuesday June 25, the family of a jailed labor activist, Jalil Mohammadi congregated in front of the Sanandaj prosecutor’s office in protest of his arbitrary arrest and lack of follow-up on his case.
Freedom of Expression

 

Impunity keeps claiming victims, ten years after Zahra Kazemi’s still unsolved death in detention

Published on Wednesday 10 July 2013
Reporters Without Borders pays tribute to Canadian-Iranian photographer Zahra Kazemi on the tenth anniversary of her death in detention in Tehran as a result of mistreatment, and reiterates its condemnation of the total impunity enjoyed by her torturers.
They include Saeed Mortazavi, former Tehran prosecutor-general and one of Supreme Leader and “Predator of Press Freedom” Ali Khamenei’s most notorious lieutenants, who has been guilty of many crimes against news providers.
“Zahra Kazemi embodies the violations of fundamental rights that have taken place since the clerics seized power in 1979,” Reporters Without Borders said. “She was a woman and a journalist who wanted to tell the world about the terrible conditions in Tehran’s Evin prison, a symbol of the regime’s relentless repression.
“Kazemi photographed the relatives of political prisoners waiting outside the prison, political prisoners whose very existence the regime denied. She was the victim of a judicial system that is a complete contradiction of human rights values, a system that is corrupt and completely lacking in independence.
“Under article 110 of the Iranian constitution, it is the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic who appoints the head of the judicial system. This aberration is one of the main reasons for the system’s failures and the generalized impunity they cause.”
The institutionalization of this impunity partly accounts for the restrictions imposed on independent lawyers who defend prisoners of conscience. They include the lawyers Abdolfatah Soltani, Mohammad Seifzadeh, Mohamed Ali Dadkhah and 2012 Sakharov laureate Nasrin Sotoudeh, who have represented Kazemi as well as many other currently detained journalists and netizens.
These lawyers were arrested arbitrarily and sentenced to long jail terms on such charges as “meeting and plotting against the Islamic Republic,” anti-government propaganda and “cooperating with the Centre for Human Rights Defenders,” led by Nobel peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.
Born in Shiraz in 1948, Kazemi lived in Canada and had acquired Canadian citizenship. But she had gone back to Iran and was arrested on 23 June 2003 while photographing the families of detainees outside Evin prison. Badly beaten following her arrest, she was still in detention when she died of her injuries on 10 July 2003.
The authorities issued a report on her death 10 days later that did not specify the cause of her death. Kazemi’s mother, an Iranian resident, was pressured into giving permission for the body to be buried quickly on 22 July 2003. Ever since then, Kazemi’s son, Stephan Hashemi, a Canadian resident, has been requesting the body’s repatriation to Canada so that an independent autopsy can be carried out.
The Kazemi family’s lawyers have repeatedly condemned all the judicial proceedings in Iran as a sham. Their requests for senior judicial officials to appear in court have never been satisfied, depriving them of key witnesses. In particular, Mortazavi, the prosecutor who ordered Kazemi’s arrest and was present when she was interrogated in Evin prison, has never been questioned in court.
On 23 June of this year, a Tehran court sentenced Mortazavi to a derisory five-year ban on working in the judicial system and a 60-dollar fine for his role in the death of demonstrators held in Kahrizak detention centre after the disputed June 2009 presidential election.
Reporters Without Borders adds: “We fully support the civil lawsuit that Hashemi brought against the Iranian government before the Quebec high court, claiming damages for his mother’s arrest, detention, torture and death. We urge Canada and the European Union to support this legal action, in order to end the shocking impunity prevailing in this case.
“We think that the now systematic impunity for torturers in the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the reasons for the increase in violence, killings and repeated acts of torture and cruel and inhuman treatment in its prisons, and for the arbitrary arrests that are so common.”
Kazemi is unfortunately not the only victim of the impunity enjoyed by Iran’s torturers. The victims include the blogger Sattar Beheshti, who was killed on 3 November 2012 while held at a centre run by the Iranian cyber-police, the FTA.
The Beheshti family’s lawyer, Ghiti Pourfazel, has written to the new president, Hassan Rohani, accusing the judicial authorities of doing everything possible to block the complaint filed by the family and suppress the truth about the blogger’s death.
“To get the complaint withdrawn, they intimidated the mother by threatening to have her daughter arrested, then they put psychological pressure on the father. These attempts failed and, although we know that Sattar was killed by a police officer, the investigation has been at a standstill for the past eight months.”
Ahmad Shojai, the head of the Iranian organization of forensic doctors, said in an interview for the MeherNews agency on 9 July: “The forensic doctors’ report that was sent to the judicial authorities says the cause of [Beheshti’s] death was a series of blows and psychological pressure.”
The Tehran prosecutor-general nonetheless reiterated at a news conference the same day that that “the investigation is finished and the investigating judge is in the process of taking down the latest version of the facts from the defendants.”
In an open letter to President Rohani on 18 June, Reporters Without Borders wrote:
“Mr. Rohani, you are now the Islamic Republic’s seventh president, elected thanks to massive support from Iranian reformers and progressives (…) Undertake to end arbitrary actions and impunity. The murders of dissident journalists must not go unpunished. They include the deaths of Ebrahim Zalzadeh, Majid Charif, Mohammed Mokhtari, Mohammed Jafar Pouyandeh and Pirouz Davani, all executed by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and National Security in November and December 1988.
“They also include the following deaths, in most cases in detention: Zahra Kazemi (2003), Ayfer Serçe (2006), the young blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi, the journalist Alireza Eftekhari (2009), the journalist and women’s rights activist Haleh Sahabi (2011), the Iran-e-Farda journalist Hoda Saber (2011) and the blogger Sattar Beheshti (2012). Those who ordered and carried out these crimes must be brought to justice.”

Rouhani can take steps to improve Iran press freedom

July 8, 2013
After eight hellish years for Iran's journalists under outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the election of Hassan Rouhani was welcomed with hope for a better future. As soon as he takes office in August, he should act on his view and take steps to protect journalists in Iran.
Admittedly, it is not clear how much influence Rouhani will have as president. In Iran, the judiciary and government work separately (the third power is Parliament), and all these forces work under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who also has an eye on some government divisions such as the intelligence services. While arrests are made by the judiciary, the president has the power to negotiate or raise awareness in some cases.
In his first press conference after the election, Rouhani was asked if he would lift restrictions on certain political figures, a likely reference to opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who are under house arrest. In response, he admitted it was not his decision alone, the Guardian reported. The same likely applies to imprisoned journalists.
The president-elect benefited from the support of reformist journalists inside and out of Iran. Many have fled into exile, fearing arrest, and many of those who remain are imprisoned or unemployed as a result of the shutdown of media outlets. Even conservative and state-affiliated outlets have not escaped the press crackdown in Iran, CPJ research shows.
Ideally, Rouhani could try to open up Iran's tightly controlled system and facilitate freeing imprisoned journalists. Iran is the second worst jailer of journalists in the world, after Turkey, with 40 behind bars. But if the ideal is impossible, there are small steps he could take like negotiating for visitation rights, furlough, and adequate medical care denied many imprisoned journalists.
For example, he could negotiate for regular furloughs and ensure visitation rights for Bahman Ahmadi Amouee, who was arrested during the Green Movement uprising and sentenced to five years in jail. Released for a short furlough in March, Amouee is back in prison, per CPJ research. His journalist wife, Zhila Bani Yaghoub, was released last month after serving a one-year prison term, according to news reports.
The government could also reinstate publications which have been banned, giving ordinary Iranians access to a wider range of news sources and journalists better employment opportunities. Publications need permission to run from the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and under Rouhani's watch, there is potential for conditions to improve. A safer situation in Iran and more employment opportunities could also help some Iranian journalists who fled the country after the 2009 crackdown return. Currently, some of them work--mostly on contract-- for international outlets such as BBC Persian, Voice of America, and Radio Free Europe, but many are unemployed or work on small projects that are dependent on grants.
The family members of some journalists living abroad have been harassed: summoned, questioned, and threatened that they will lose their job or retirement benefits if the journalist continues his or her work, CPJ research shows. Rouhani should insist this harassment stops.
Online censorship and surveillance also needs to be addressed. Iran's current Internet regime creates major barriers not only for journalists to do their work, but for ordinary Iranians to access independent news sources. Some of the tightest constraints against the Internet have eased since the election, but even the pre-election "normal" is very restricted. Rouhani seems to agree. In a speech on July 2, he said the widespread filtering of the Internet has only increased distrust between the people and the government, according to his Twitter account. He even called social media a "welcome phenomenon."
Iran could also take steps to facilitate the work of international journalists. Leading up to the presidential elections, CPJ described how the Iranian government restricted independent international coverage. If they do gain access to the country, journalists run the risk of interrogation or detention if they stray far from the regime's designated path. Iran dar Jahan (Iran in the world), an exile-run publication based in New York, reported that American journalists censor themselves in order not to lose their press visa or jeopardize their chance of getting a visa in the future. The government should stop withholding visas and allow international journalists to report freely.
Finally, Rouhani should ensure that the Iranian Journalist Association be allowed to reopen. When asked about the association during his first press conference, he responded, "All the guilds should be permitted to work freely."
Many Iranian voters say their main motivation for choosing Rouhani is the promises he made during his campaign. Rouhani is known as a moderate politician and this can be his strong point in negotiating between different factions of power in Iran's complicated political landscape.


Iran: Regime forces seize satellite dishes in Shiraz

Published on Thursday, 11 July 2013 17:01
NCRI - The Iranian regime's state security forces have raided homes and seized every satellite dish in Quds district of the southern city of Shiraz, according to reports from Iran.
A commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps in the city has also told people with dishes and receivers that they have one month to collect new digital receivers that will only allow them to view the Iranian regime's TV network channels.
Speaking for Friday Prayer Leaders and members of Basij in the City on Wednesday, IRGC Colonel Mansour Piroozian said the digital receivers were being given to the people to compensate for the cost of their satellite receivers.
He added: "Some areas in the city are very much affected by satellite channels. Friday Prayer Leaders and members of the Basij should act to counter this ominous phenomena."
A regime official last week admitted Iran had failed in its bid to ban people from watching satellite TV channels.
Despite a 1994 law making satellite dishes illegal, up to 70 per cent of families have them and their use is increasing, state-run TV network boss Fardin Ali Khah said.
"Although their use is now forbidden, they can be seen everywhere. Statistics show that the use of satellite dishes has never declined, and currently there is 50 to 70 per cent use of satellite dishes in Iranian families."
Jamming satellite signals and other methods to prevent their use had also failed, and the government now needed to increase its spending on the issue to ensure the law was enforced, Khah insisted.
Minorities’ Rights

 

A converted christian has been tried

Posted on: 10th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – The trial session of Mostafa Bordbar the arrested converted christian citizen who is currently imprisoned in ward 350 of Evin prison was held in Tehran.
According to a report of Mohebbat News, The trial session of Mohammad Hadi -Mostafa- Bordbar the converted christian from Rasht who was arrested on December 27, 2012 during last Christmas was held by judge Pirabbasi in branch 26 of Tehran revolutionary court on June 9, 2013.
The court announced charges of this christian citizen as “colluding and attending in home-church meetings” that according to Shima Ghoushe the member of human rights commission in Iran and Mostafa’s lawyer this accusation will result between 2-10 years imprisonment. But the final verdict is not announced yet.
Mostafa Bordbar was able to meet his parents a few minutes before his trial session in prison uniform and handcuffed but only his lawyer was allowed to enter the trial session. Now he is in ward 350 of Evin prison with other christian prisoners such as Farshid Fathi, Saied Abedini and Alireza Seyyedian.
Mostafa ,27, arrested after the invasion of plainclothes security forces to the worship gathering of the converted Christians for Christmas and new year.
Mostafa Bordbar was arrested once more in 2009 in Rasht on charge of converting to Christianity and presence in home-church. Also he was tried by branch 1 of court on charge of apostasy and after the trial sessions was released by bail and it has been added to his criminal records.

 

A Bahai citizen has been arrested in Shiraz

Posted on: 9th July, 2013

HRANA News Agency – Nura (Samira) Fallah, the Bahai citizen has been arrested after a telephone summons by the intelligence agents in Shiraz.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), during last week she had been summoned to the intelligence of Shiraz unofficially and through telephone calls several times and the agents arrested her when she went to the intelligence on 8th of July.
There is no information about the reason of this arrest and where she is kept.
She was arrested also in the collective arrests of Bahai citizens in January 2011 and was under arrest in the intelligence of Shiraz known as No. 100 for a while.

 

A Christian citizen has been arrested in Tehran

Posted on: 14th July, 2013
HRANA News Agency – Nasim Zanjani, the christian citizen living in Tehran has been arrested.
According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Nasim Zanjani, the christian citizen has been arrested in his father’s house on July 12, 2013 at 6 o’clock in the morning.
The intelligence agents have searched the house and taken his CDs, books, laptop etc.

One of his relatives said to HRANA: “Nasim’s parents are very old. When her mother asked the agents about the reason of the arrest he insulted and pushed her and left the house.”

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