Court hearing held for Bahareh Hedayat

HRANA

The court session to investigate accusations against Bahareh Hedayat, a member of the Central Council of Daftar-e Tahkim Vahdat was held today.

According to Advar News, on the morning of May 5, 2010, the court hearing for Hedayat was held in branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court, in the presence of Hedayat’s lawyers (Mrs. Pourbabaei and Mr. Najafi). The hearing was headed by Judge Moghiseh and it lasted two hours.

During the hearing, the indictment against Hedayat was read out. It included six accusations and fifteen other related complaints. Her lawyers rejected all of the accusations and defended Hedayat’s case.

Bahareh Hedayat was arrested shortly after December 27, 2009, the time of the Ashura demonstrations in Iran.

دادگاه بهاره هدایت برگزار شد

خبرگزاری هرانا - جلسه رسیدگی به اتهامات بهاره هدایت عضو شورای مرکزی دفتر تحکیم وحدت، امروز چهارشنبه 15 اردی بهشت ماه برگزار شد.

به گزارش ادوارنیوز، صبح امروز و با حضور وکلای خانم بهاره هدایت، آقایان پوربابایی و نجفی، دادگاه این فعال سرشناس دانشجویی در شعبه 28 دادگاه انقلاب اسلامی به ریاست قاضی مقیسه برگزار شد و بیش از دو ساعت به طول انجامید.

در این جلسه کیفرخواست بهاره هدایت که حاوی 6 عنوان اتهامی و 15 مورد اتهام بود قرائت و وکلای مدافع نیز با رد کلیه این اتهامات به دفاع از موکل خود پرداختند.

بهاره هدایت دی ماه سال گذشته و اندکی پس از حوادث روز عاشورا در تهران بازداشت شد.

Names of 32 Students Currently Imprisoned

Following comments by Ahmadinejad’s minister of Science, Research, and Technology last week, when he claimed that only a “few students” had been imprisoned following the 2009 presidential election, the Iranian website Bamdad News has published the names of 32 students who are currently imprisoned.

Some of the names mentioned below have never been published until now:

1. Jahangir Abdollahi, postgraduate political science student at the University of Tehran (TU), date of arrest: Tuesday, January 26, 2010.

2. Ali Ajami, law student at TU, DOA: Thursday, January 21, 2010.

3. Milad Asadi, computer student at Khaje Nasir Toosi University of Technology (KNTU), DOA: Monday, November 30, 2009.

4. Soheil Mohammadi, computer student at KNTU, DOA: Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison.

5. Ali Parviz, computer student at KNTU, DOA: Tuesday, November 3, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison.

6. Abbas Kakaei, social science at TU, Monday, December 7, 2009. Sentenced to one year in prison.

7. Mohammad Yousefi, engineering student at Amir Kabir University of Technology (AUT), DOA: Monday, December 7, 2009. Sentenced to four years in prison.

8. Nima Latifotojjar, biomedical engineering student at AUT, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison.

9. Majid Tavakoli, Marine engineering at AUT, DOA: Monday, December 7, 2009. Sentenced to eight and a half years in prison.

10. Mahdi Kalari, chemical engineering student at Sharif University of Technology, DOA: Monday, December 7, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison

11. Meysam Beigmohammadi, student of English translation at Allameh Tabatabai University (ATU), DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison.

12. Arsalan Abadi, civil engineering student at the International University of Qazvin, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison.

13. Mohsen Abdi, student at Bu Ali Sina University, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

14. Ardeshir Farzi, student at Soore University in Tehran, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

15. Kianoush Kamrani, economics student at Payame Noor University in Tehran, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to six years in prison.

16. Mohammad Ali Valian, computer science student at Damghan University of Basic Sciences, DOA: Tuesday, January 12, 2010. Sentenced to death.

17. Milad Fadaei Asl, Mining engineering student at Islamic Azad Univesity South Tehran Branch, DOA: Tuesday, December 1, 2009. Sentenced to one year in prison.

18. Sina Golchin, civil engineering student at Islamic Azad University Central Branch, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to eight years in prison.

19. Mohammad Ali Elahi, computer engineering student at Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch, DOA: Monday, March 8, 2010.

20. Alireza Iranshahi, architecture student in Qazvin, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to three years in prison.

21. Shahab Akbarzadeh, architecture student at Islamic Azad University Shahre Rey Branch, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

22. Hamid Pirouzfam, architecture student at Islamic Azad University of Qazvin. DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to one year in prison.

23. Amir Hossein Tavakkoli, computer engineering student in Qazvin, DOA: Wednesday, November 11, 2009. Sentenced to a year and a half years in prison.

24. Masoud Babapour, industrial engineering student at Eyvanakey Institute of Higher Education, DOA: Thursday, December 3, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

25. Saeed Maleki, chemistry student at Islamic Azad University of Varamin, DOA: Friday, February 5, 2010.

26. Amin Keshavarz, Azad University, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

27. Pouya Ghorbani, student of trade at Islamic Azad University Tehran North Branch, Wednesday, January 20, 2010. Sentenced to three years in prison.

28. Faramarz Abdollah Nejad, law student at Azad University, DOA: Saturday, June 20, 2009. Sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

29. Mehran Safari, English translation student in Varamin, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

30. Arash Ghasemi, accounting student at Roudehen Azad University, DOA: Sunday, December 27, 2009. Sentenced to two years in prison.

31. Ali Malihi, electrical student at Islamic Azad University South Tehran Branch, DOA: Monday, February 8, 2010.

32. Koohyar Goudarzi, aerospace engineering student at Sharif University of Technology, DOA: Monday, December 21, 2009.

Source: Iran Green Voice

Azad University of Shahrekord Students Enter Third Day of Hunger Strike

Students at Azad University of Shahrekord (city in western Iran, capital of the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province) participated in a hunger strike that has lasted now for three days. The strike which began to protest the limitations imposed on students by authorities was held in front of the university’s office of the representative of the Supreme Leader. Students have announced that they will continue their protest until authorities hear their demands and the restrictions on student organizations are lifted. According to Jaras, The persistent demands by the students has forced authorities to agree to cooperate with the demands.

Translation: Cristina A. | Persian2English.com

CLIP; Jafar Kazemi's son appealing to save his father !!

Behrooz Kazemi

"My father has spent 10 years of his life in prison - against the tyranny in Iran- and now he is charged with "Moharebe" , a charged fabricated by the Iranian regime against his opponents"

"I am so concerned reading the news of his possible hanging for having visited Ashraf, but I feel so proud of his resistance against forced confessions" " I appeal to the world and human right activists to help save my father.."

"This is whilst , Iranian Intelligence has prompted its agents to block the entrance to Camp Ashraf and force psychological pressure on us through loud speakers while chanting death threats, under the guise of being our relatives." (referring to the Iranian embassy statement that Ashraf residents don not allow families to enter the camp)

IRAN: Iran urged to release lawyer imprisoned for criticizing juvenile's execution

6 May 2010

Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to release a human rights lawyer who was arrested after speaking out against the execution of one of his clients during interviews with international media.

Mohammad Olyaeifard was detained on 1 May on charges of "propaganda against the system" to begin serving a one-year jail term. His lawyers have not been informed of his sentence, in violation of Iranian law.

Before his arrest, Mohammad Olyaeifard said that he had been convicted because of an interview he gave to Voice of America’s Persian Service shortly after his client, juvenile offender Behnoud Shojaee, was hanged for a murder he committed when he was 17 years old.

"The arrest of Mohammad Olyaeifard sends a chilling message to lawyers in Iran that if they dare to denounce abuses or miscarriages of justice they will face reprisals," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Deputy Director.

"All he did was point out to the world that – for the 45th time since 1990 - Iran violated international law by executing someone for a crime committed when under 18.

"Mohammad Olyaeifard has been imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression and he must be immediately and unconditionally released."

Shortly after his interviews, Mohammad Olyaeifard was summoned for questioning on the basis of a complaint brought against him by the Tehran Prosecutor and in November 2009 he was briefly arrested and charged before being released on bail equivalent to about US$50,000.

He was then sentenced to one year in prison on 7 February 2010 by the Revolutionary Court in Tehran.

He was arrested a second time on 8 March 2010 but was released six days later as his lawyers had not been informed of his sentence.

His lawyer, Abdolfattah Soltani, told Deutsche Welle’s Persian service that Mohammad Olyaeifard was rearrested on 1 May when he went to the Revolutionary Court in Tehran to meet a court official. He is now held in Section 350 of Evin Prison.

Mohammad Olyaeifard, who has defended many prisoners of conscience and juvenile offenders – those sentenced to death for crimes committed when under the age of 18, has previously been targeted for his work. He was once interrogated and accused of “propagating lies” for condemning the torture of one of his clients, while he has been a vocal critic of Iran’s executions of juvenile offenders.

Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to ensure that while imprisoned, he is granted access to his family and lawyers and to adequate medical care. Mohammad Olyaeifard requires regular medication for severe migraines and fainted on 4 March.

The Iranian authorities have intensified the already severe restrictions on freedom of expression in Iran since the disputed presidential election last June, arresting politicians and activists, students, human rights defenders and journalists, as well as lawyers such as Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, Abdolfattah Soltani and Mohammad Mostafaei, although all were later freed on bail.

The arrest of Mohammad Olyaeifard follows attempts by the Iranian authorities to undermine the independence of the Iranian Bar Association, including by barring candidates from standing for election to senior positions.

"This latest move of the Iranian authorities is an indication of the expanding realm of repression in Iran. It shows that no group is immune. The authorities are seeking to silence anyone who is criticizing them. Human rights organizations and their members, journalists, opposition figures, students and women’s rights defenders have been targeted. It is now the turn of lawyers", said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui.

The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers not only state that lawyers must be allowed to carry out their work “without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference” but also expressly recognizes that they are entitled to freedom of expression, which includes “the right to take part in public discussion of matters concerning the law, the administration of justice and the promotion and protection of human rights”.

No news on teacher activist since his arrest

Committee of Human Rights Reporters
According to reports, Mohammad Hashemi, a member of the Teacher's Organization was arrested last Wednesday in his home.
His family has said that they have no information on him since his arrest and are very concerned for his mental and physical state.
Their attempts at finding out where he is being kept have not led to any conclusion. Hashemi was arrested once before in 2006 for participating in a sit in by teachers outside the parliament.

بي خبري مطلق از وضعيت محمد هاشمي، از اعضاي سازمان معلمان
به گزارش سايت زندانيان سبز‬ ‫آقاي هاشمي از اعضاي سازمان معلمان، چهارشنبه هفته گذشته در منزل خود بازداشت شده است‬.
خانواده آقاي هاشمي به سايت «زندانيان سبز» گفته اند که‬ از روز بازداشت تاکنون هيچ خبري از او ندارند و‬ به شدت نگران وضعيت روحي و جسمي‬ اين عضو سازمان معلمان هستند‬.
پي گيريهاي خانواده محمد هاشمي در خصوص محل نگهداري او تاکنون بي نتيجه بوده و در بي خبري مطلق به سر مي برند‬. ‫ محمد هاشمي پيش از اين نيز در سال ۸۵ در جريان تحصن معلمان در برابر مجلس شورا بازداشت شده بود. (كميته گزارشگران حقوق بشر – 15/2/89)

Prisoner dies in Gohardasht Prison for not receiving treatment

Human Rights Activists in Iran
Mehdi Futohi, a prisoner who had injuries from a chemical gas attack in the Iran-Iraq war died yesterday in Gohardasht Prison after not receiving treatment on time.
He died of lung failure in cellblock 3 because prison officials did not take him the prison infirmary on time.
This prisoner had served more than 8 years in prison. He took his last breath while other prisoners were desperately trying to get help from prison officials to save his life

مرگ يکي از زندانيان محبوس در زندان رجايي شهر به علت عدم رسيدگي پزشکي

”مهدي فتوحي“ ، جانباز 65 درصد جنگ ايران و عراق، شب گذشته بهدليل عدم رسيدگي پزشکي در زندان رجايي شهر کرج، جان باخت.
بنابه اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، مهدي فتوحي بر اثر نارسايي ريوي در بند 3 زندان رجايي شهر کرج بهدليل اينکه مسئولان زندان به موقع وي را به بهداري منتقل ننمودند، مورخ 15 اردي بهشت 88، جان خود را از دست داد.
وي که از زندانيان عادي محسوب ميشد و بيش از 8سال از دوران محکوميت خود را پشت سر گذاشته بود؛ در حالي که ديگر زندانيان از مسئولان زندان براى نجات جان وي مدد ميطلبيدند، در بند 3 دست و پا زنان جان باخت. (سايت هرانا - 16/2/89)

Death row political prisoner under torture in Evin Prison

Committee of Human Rights Reporters

According to reports, death row political prisoner Jafar Kazemi is under torture and pressure by intelligence agents in ward 209 in Evin Prison to give an interview ('confess') on television.
This 47-year-old prison is a father of two. He has a lithographing company and lithographed all the educational books for Amir Kabir University.
Jafar Kazemi was arrested on September 18, 2009 while in a Taxi to pick up his wife who had gone on a trip. Four cars which belonged to the Intelligence Agency stopped him in 7 Hoze Square and forced him out of the car while beating him. These agents also beat the taxi driver on the street amid protests from Kazemi saying that he was only a taxi driver.
Kazemi was then transferred to cellblock 209 in Evin Prison and was under the most severe psychological and physical torture for the first 3 days of this incarceration. These tortures which went on for 72 hours left scars on his face and body and he also suffered an injury in his nose and jaw. Kazemi also lost a large amount of weight. Interrogators did not give him any treatment even while he was bleeding and continued their tortures. The interrogators then threatened him that if he did not participate in the TV confessions, they would arrest his son and wife and bring them to cellblock 209 to torture them in front of him. But Kazemi still did not give in to their demands. After 74 hours in a solitary cell, he was transferred to cellblock 350.
After widespread protests on Ashura (December 27, 2009) intelligence agents once again put him under pressure to participate in TV interviews and announce that he was arrested on Ashura and repeat the words dictated to him by his interrogators. Otherwise they would arrest and torture his wife and son in front of him.
He was once again tortured for a few hours in which two of his teeth broke and he also suffered severe injuries in his nose and shoulder. Kazemi told his interrogators that they could do whatever they wanted but he will not repeat what they told him to in front of cameras and that he would only speak the truth. He was severely tortured because one of his sons is in camp Ashraf in Iraq and Alavi, the head interrogator, has constantly reminded Kazemi of this.
Kazemi is tortured by an interrogator nicknamed Alavi. Alavi kicked and punched Kazemi in the face and broke his teeth and nose.
Kazemi's case was referred to the 28th branch of the Revolutionary Court which is headed by Moqiseh aka Naserian who was a member of the 'death commission' in charge of killing thousands of political prisoners in 1988. Because there is no evidence of any action carried out by Kazemi, Moqiseh has sentenced him to death on charges like moharebeh (enmity with God), spreading propaganda against the government, acting against national security, organizing Amir Kabir University students and being in contact with former political prisoners and their families. Mohammad Moqiseh despises former political prisoners and has stated this issue a number of times. He has even told them that 'we should have executed you while you were jailed and made a mistake in not doing so'.
Kazemi's death sentence was upheld by Ahmad Zargar, the head of the 36th branch of the Revolutionary Court of Review. Zargar was an interrogator in the 80's and tortured political prisoners. During the recent protests, he gave heavier sentences to prisoners whose cases were referred to him compared to the prisoner's initial sentences.
Death row political prisoner Jafar Kazemi was a political prisoner in the 80's. He was jailed and tortured from 1981 to 1990. (Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran – May 6, 2010)

No news on teacher activist since his arrest
According to reports, Mohammad Hashemi, a member of the Teacher's Organization was arrested last Wednesday in his home.
His family has said that they have no information on him since his arrest and are very concerned for his mental and physical state.
Their attempts at finding out where he is being kept have not led to any conclusion. Hashemi was arrested once before in 2006 for participating in a sit in by teachers outside the parliament.

شکنجه هاي طاقت فرسا و قرون وسطائي عليه جعفر کاظمي زنداني سياسي محکوم به اعدام
بنابه گزارشات رسيده به "فعالين حقوق بشر و دمکراسي در ايران"،شکنجه هاي طاقت فرسا و غير انساني که عليه زنداني سياسي محکوم به اعدام جعفر کاظمي براي وادار کردن او به مصاحبه تلويزيوني توسط بازجويان وزارت اطلاعات در بند 209 زندان اوين بکار برده شد.
زنداني سياسي محکوم به اعدام جعفر کاظمي 47 ساله متاهل و داراي 2 فرزند مي باشد. شغل او ليتوگراف است و ليتوگرافي تمامي کتب درسي و جزوارت دانشگاه امير کبير درشرکت خصوصي خود به عهده داشت. زنداني سياسي جعفر کاظمي روز 27 شهريور در حالي که در ماشين آژانس براي بازگرداند همسرش که در مسافرت بسر مي برد عازم سفر بود. در ميدان 7 حوض توسط 4 ماشين مامورين وزارت اطلاعات متوقف شد و او را از ماشين با ضرب وشتم خارج کردند .مامورين وزارت اطلاعات همچنين راننده آژانس را زير مشت و لگد و باتون خود در خيابان قرار دادند. در حالي که آقاي کاظمي به آنها مي گفت اين راننده آژانس است چرا او را مي زنيد.
زنداني سياسي محکوم به مرگ به سلولهاي انفرادي بند 209 منتقل مي شود 3 روز اول تحت شديد ترين شکنجه هاي جسمي و روحي قرار داشت و اين شکنجه هاي وحشيانه به مدت 74 روز ادامه يافت که در اثر آن آقاي کاظمي دچار کاهش وزن شديد شد و آثار شکنجه بر سر و صورت و اندام او عيان بود و همچنين دچار خونريزي از ناحيه فک و بيني بود. اما بازجويان وزارت اطلاعات در شرايطي که بدنش زخمي و دچار خونريزي بود از مداوي وي خوداري مي کردند و با بازجوئيها و شکنجه ادامه مي دادند. بازجويان وزارت اطلاعات وقتي که به خواسته خود دست نيافتند او را تهديد کردند که در صورت عدم شرکت در مصاحبه تلويزيوني فرزند و همسر او را دستگير و به بند 209 خواهند آورد و در مقابل چشمانت آنها را شکنجه خواهيم کرد. ولي آقاي کاظمي از پذيرفتن خواسته هاي جنايتکارانه آنها خوداري کرد. پس از 74 روز در سلولهاي انفرادي زندان اوين او را به بند 350 زندان اوين منتقل کردند.
پس از اعتراضات گسترده مردم ايران در روز عاشورا مجددا سراغ او آمدند و او را تحت فشار قرار دادند که بايد در مصاحبه تلويزيوني شرکت کند و اعلام کند که در روز عاشورا دستگير شده است و گفته هاي بازجويان وزارت اطلاعات را در مقابل دوربين تکرار کند. در غير اين صورت اين بار همسر و فرزندش را دستگير و به زندان اوين منتقل خواهند کردو آنها را در مقابل چشمانش شکنجه خواهند داد.
او به مدت چندين ساعت تحت شديدترين شکنجه هاي جسمي قرار گرفت و در اثر اين شکنجه ها حداقل 2 دندان وي شکسته شد و بيني و کتف او آسيب جدي ديد.زنداني سياسي جعفر کاظمي به آنها مي گويد هر آنچه را مي خواهيد مي توانيد انجام دهيد ولي حاضر به تکرار گفته هاي شما در مقابل دوربين نيستم الا اينکه واقعيتها را بيان خواهم کرد.شکنجه هاي وحشيانه و غير انساني بدليل حضور فرزند او که در قرارگاه اشرف در عراق مي باشد و اين را بارها علوي به وي يادآوري کرده است
زنداني سياسي جعفر کاظمي توسط سربازجوي وزارت اطلاعات با نام مستعار علوي مورد بازجوئي و تحت شکنجه هاي وحشيانه جسمي و روحي قرار گرفت. بازجوعلوي با مشت و لگد به سر و صورت آقاي کاظمي مي کوبيد که باعث شگسته شدن تعدادي از دندانها و بيني وي گرديد.
پرونده زنداني سياسي جعفر کاظمي به شعبه 28 دادگاه انقلاب ارسال شد و توسط فردي بنام محمد مقيسه اي معروف به ناصريان از اعضاي کمسيون مرگ قتل عام زندانيان سياسي در سال 1367 محاکمه شد.درپرونده آقاي کاضمي هيچ دليل ومدرکي دال بر انجام عملي وجود ندارد. مقيسه اي بر مبني اتهاماتي مانند ؛محاربه،تبليغ عليه نظام،اقدام عليه امنيت نظام،سازماندهي دانشجويان امير کبير،رفت و آمد خانوادگي با زندانيان سياسي سابق و موارد ديگر به اعدام محکوم کرد. محمد مقيسه اي نسبت به زندانيان سياسي سابق کينه اي عميق دارد و بارها اين را بيان کرده است . او به آنها مي گويد: شما ها را بايد همان موقع اعدام مي کرديم و اشتباه کرديم که چنين کاري را انجام نداديم . اين حکم توسط احمد زرگر رئيس شعبه 36 تجديد نظردادگاه انقلاب مورد تاييد قرار گرفت.احمد زرگر از بازجويان ده 60 مي باشد و خود او در شکنجه زندانيان سياسي شرکت داشته است. او در جريان اعتراضات اخير اکثر پرونده هايي که به وي ارجاع داده مي شد حکم هاي سنگين تري نسبت به دادگاه بدوي صادر مي کرد.
لازم به يادآوري است که زنداني سياسي جعفر کاظمي از زندانيان سياسي دهۀ 1360 مي باشد او از سال 1360 تا اواخر سال 1369 در زندان بسر برد و تحت شکنجه هاي وحشيانه جسمي و روحي قرار داشت. (فعالين حقوق بشر ودمكراسي درايران – 16/2/89)

Women resist in Iranian regime dungeons

INA
According to reports from eyewitnesses women in Evin prison are under enournous pressure.
Women arrested in recent protests in Iran have been transferred to Evin and kept in the public ward. As the result, the ward is extremely crowded and many use corridors to stay or sleep in, using only a blanket. In 209 ,hygiene is drastic: much lice and infection has been hampering life for these women, and food is insufficient as much as most rely on daily biscuits for nutrition!
The situation for women political prisoners is worst: They are not given any logistics and are asked to provide cloths and blankets and needs through families. Each is asked to pay for her Cell in prison. Warm water has been cut off from the ward and this has created much problem for inmates. Specially for women who have small children with them: making milk and caring for the children and preventing illness has been very hard. Children are facing various diseases as the result with no sufficient medical treatment.
According to one woman prisoners, dangerous and infective insects have been seen in the wards, which have caused dis-functionality of their bodies. Most prisoners are not allowed to have new cloths and have been in prison since capture with the same cloths.
Despite all such pressures , women have put up a fierce resistance and perseverance not to submit to the regime.

Kobra Zaghedoust faced with heavier charges

Student Committee in defense of Human Rights

Kobra Zaghedoust,who was arrested ten months ago with her husband for taking part in the Funeral ceremonies held in the city cemetery "Beheshtzahra" after the killings of protesters during election riots, has been charged with more heavier accusations by the 3rd Branch of the courts in Tehran, despite the fact that she has no previous history of activism.
According to her relatives , she has been charged with helping her husband in creating insecurity for the State. Charges which are denied by her relatives, who claim that she has had no knowledge of her husbands activities, due to special family affairs, and was very much restricted even in using the telephone.
According to her relatives the prosecutor dealing with her files is starting new examinations and review in order to increase her charges.
Her husband is now in Rajaii Shahr prison.
Kobra has been in prison for the last 10 months, while her attorney has had no possibility to study a "founded" legal case, since there were no officially related charges and legally formed file to be read! She is one of hundreds who wait in limbo and agony.

زندانی گمنام-کبری زاغه دوست در معرض اتهامات جدید

کبری زاغه دوست، شهروند تهرانی که در مراسم روزچهلم کشته شدگان وقایع پس از انتخابات در بهشت زهرا به همراه همسرش بازداشت شده بود کماکان در وضعیت بلاتکلیفی به سر می برد.


طبق گزارش کمیته دانشجویی دفاع از زندانیان سیاسی، در حالی که بیش از ده ماه از بازداشت این شهروند که سابقه ی هیچ گونه فعالیت سیاسی و یا مدنی هم نداشته میگذرد، نه تنها پرونده وی به دادگاه انقلاب تهران ارسال نشده بلکه در هفته جاری پس از احضار مجدد به شعبه 3بازپرسی دادسرای اوین با اتهامات جدید و سنگینتری روبرو شده است .


بازپرس پرونده قصد دارد دور دیگری از تحقبقات و بازحویی ها را در خصوص اتهامات جدید وی آغاز نماید. پیش از این اتهام کبری زاغهدوست شرکت در تجمع غیر قانونی بود همچنین به دلیل عدم تنظیم کیفرخواست و ابقای پرونده در دادسرای اوین، وکیل ایشان موفق به مطالعه پرونده و حتی ملاقات با وی نشده است.


به گفته نزدیکان خانم زاغه دوست، در زمان بازجویی های اولیه وی متهم به همدستی با همسرش بود که هم اکنون به زندان رجایی شهر منتقل شده است. این در حالی است نامبرده از فعالیت های همسرش مطلع نبوده و حتی پیش از بازداشت هم به دلیل مسائل خاص خانوادگی حق استفاده از تلفن همراه رانداشت و همسرش کوچک ترین اطلاعی در خصوص هرگونه فعالیت احتمالی اش را به او منتقل نمی کرده است.
کبری زاغه دوست جزو معدود زندانیان گمنامی ست که از تابستان گذشته تا به امروز بلاتکلیف و در بازداشت موقت به سر می برد

Freedom of some political prisoners from EVIN ; CLIP from Iran

Freedom messenger

Iranian civil rights protester is spared deportation

Karen McVeigh

Guardian

Bita Ghaedi, who feared her life was at risk if returned to Iran, wins interim reprieve

An Iranian civil rights activist who feared for her life after being told she would be deported won a last-minute reprieve today and was released from detention.

Bita Ghaedi, 34, who fled from Iran to the UK in 2005 to escape a forced marriage, and lived in fear of her family discovering she had a secret lover, was due to be deported tonight.

The high court granted Ghaedi interim relief pending a renewed application to apply for judicial review.

Her partner, Mohsen Zadshir, from Barnet in Hertforshire, had warned she could face the death penalty, and said he feared she could be murdered in an "honour killing" if she were sent back to Iran. After the reprieve, he said the couple were "very happy" with the decision, and he was now going out to buy Ghaedi some flowers.

In a separate ruling , the European court of human rights also put a ban on her deportation, and informed the UK government of its decision.

Ghaedi has spoken out against sharia law, forced marriage and human rights abuses in Iran. She has also criticised the regime on TV channels widely available across the Middle East. These actions, along with her public support of the PMOI (People's Mujahedin of Iran), which is opposed to the Iranian regime, are enough to put her life in danger if she is deported, according to Zadshir and her lawyer.

In his ruling, Mr Justice Nicol said that given the "very considerable amount of further information which has been supplied, concerning (in particular) the claimant's association with Iranian opposition groups and the subsequent publicity given thereto", the court should hear her renewed application for judicial review.

A hearing has been set for 21 July.

یک زن ایرانی فعال حقوق مدنی از خطر اخراج نجات یافت

وزنامه گاردین خبر داد بیتا قاعدی، که در صورت برگردانده شدن به ایران با خطر مرگ روبرو بود، یک مهلت موقت به دست آورد و از زندان آزاد شد.

به دنبال یک کمپین گسترده توسط ایرانیان ساکن انگلستان, روز چهارشنبه خانم بیتا قاعدی, یک ایرانی فعال حقوق مدنی که با خطر اخراج مواجه بود و بیم آن می رفت که در صورت اخراج به ایران جانش به خطر بیفتد, در آخرین لحظه یک مهلت موقت به دست آورد و آزاد شد. بیتا قاعدی ۳۴ ساله، که در سال ۲۰۰۵ برای فرار از یک ازدواج اجباری به انگلستان گریخت. در خطر اخراج به ایران بود. او قرار بود روز چهارشنبه اخراج شود.

به نوشته روزنامه گاردین,. دادگاه عالی انگلستان به بیتا قاعدی یک مهلت موقت داد تا درخواست او مجدداً مورد بازبینی قضایی قرار گیرد.

دادگاه حقوق بشر اروپا نیز در یک حکم جداگانه، اخراج او را منع کرد و دولت بریتانیا را از این تصمیم مطلع کرد.

طبق گفته محسن زادشیر و وکیل بیتا، قاعدی علیه قانون شریعه، ازدواج اجباری و نقض حقوق بشر در ایران صحبت کرده است.

به نوشته گاردین, بیتا قاعدی همچنین در کانالهای تلویزیونی که در سراسر خاورمیانه وسیعا پخش شده علیه رژیم انتقاد کرده است. این اعمال، به علاوه حمایت آشکار او از مجاهدین خلق ایران، کافی است که جان او را در صورت اخراج به خطر اندازد.

گاردین افزود: قاضی آقای نیکول، در حکمش، گفت نظر به اینکه “بسیاری اطلاعات قابل توجه دیگری ارائه شده، به ویژه در رابطه با همکاری موکل با گروههای اپوزیسیون ایران و انعکاساتی که دریافت کرده است”، دادگاه باید درخواست جدید او را برای بازبینی قضایی گوش کند.
یک دادگاه برای استماع در ۲۱ ژوئیه تعیین شده است.

A Personal Account of a Female Detainee, Stripped by Her Interrogators

Originally posted by Saeed Veladbaygi on A Street Journalist, the following is a graphic account from an Iranian woman detained on 22 Bahman (February 11).

Saeed Veladbaygi’s introduction: I had no news from my good friend “Courageous Purity” and in order not to take any risks, I had not even attempted to call her cell, lest it create even more problems for her, particularly as we communicated often via email. When visiting Iran during the New Year holiday, I finally had the opportunity to see my family and to inquire about my dear friend Courageous Purity.

No one was at her house, so I assumed that they must be traveling. I left Iran without any news of her, until yesterday when I received an email from her.

t read:

On the 22nd of Bahman [February 11], like all other times, we decided to go to the demonstrations with our friends. We planned to meet at 10:00am on the south side of the 2nd square at Ariashahr. When we arrived at our destination, we realized that although Ariashahr was looking more like a military post, people were still congregating on the sides of the streets, waiting for Mr. Karroubi to arrive. With time, more and more people arrived. As the crowd increased, the slogans began. People chanted “Death to the dictator” and “We support you Karroubi”, amongst many other slogans that I no longer recall (it was 80 days ago).

I suddenly heard repeated gun shots. We were attacked by tear gas and some clothings were smeared with colored paint. We were perplexed by the paint on the people’s clothing when suddenly the coup government thugs attacked us. As we began to run away, my clothing got got colored when it brushed against someone else’s.

While we were fleeing, I noticed that the coup government thugs had zoomed in on me. It became clear to me that they were going to arrest me. Though I began to run with all my might, it didn’t take very long before they surrounded me. As I stood facing them, one of the thugs lashed out at me from behind with something that felt like a hose. The impact was so strong that I fell face down on the ground. I tried to scramble to my feet, but one of the thugs pressed his boot on my neck and forced me back down. He said, “Don’t move an inch!”, while another thug tied my hands to my back.

My body was still aching from the pain of the last lashing when they pushed me face down onto the floor of a van with blue curtains. I expected to see female police officers in the van, but was greeted instead by two male officers. They blind folded us while insulting us with every name in the book.

I am not sure how many of us were detained in the van. I did not know where they were taking us, but it felt as though we were in the van for a good 15 minutes. As soon as we arrived at the headquarters of the regime thugs, they began insulting us as they tossed us out of the car. I felt as though I was in a dark and enclosed area, because the voices were echoing.

They picked us up from the floor and spoke to us as though we were prostitutes. One of them said, “We have to sleep with one of them every night.” I was petrified. I had been afraid from the moment they arrested me, but hearing these words was something else entirely. Another man who seemed older said, “Let’s undress all of them.” The others laughed at us. Another thug said, “They have to increase our quota. They are not enough girls for us.” The thugs continually humiliated us until one of them said, “We’ll come back for you tonight.” We were worn out, thirsty, and hungry.

I could hear the other girls weeping quietly. We didn’t know where we were, but it was cold and we didn’t even dare to move. The end of the night was approaching when we suddenly heard the frightful voices of the thugs. They picked us up from the floor one by one to take us to another room. They started with one girl. She began screaming and resisting as they lifted her. I could hear sounds of slaps, punches, kicks, while the girl was crying. We were filled with fear because we knew we would be next.

As it turned out, I next in line. I began to scream, “I won’t come!” But they dragged me out while insulting, slapping, and kicking me into another room. They untied my hands and asked me to remove my clothes. I was crying and I was terrified. I said, “I won’t take them off.” I pleaded with them and asked, “Don’t you have sisters?” One of them slapped me hard in the ear and said, “Don’t compare yourself to my sister, you whore!”

I was paralyzed with fear. He said, “Take off your clothes.” I was really scared. I removed my clothes. He said, “Why are you just standing there? Take the rest off too” (my undergarments). I pleaded, “These undergarments are all that are left of the honor of a girl. If I take these two items off too, I will be insulting your honor as well.” They started insulting me again and someone hit my bottom and screamed, “Hurry up, continue.” I said, “I won’t take anything else off. I know that you have enough honor and dignity that you too don’t want me to take off these last two items of clothing.” One of the thugs attacked me like an animal, he beat me and tore off my undergarments. Now I was completely naked.

I think there were four of them. They were eying me now that I was stark naked. One of them lifted me and put me on a desk, so that with utmost brazenness, they could all take a better look at me. He said, “Haji, this one’s mine tonight, okay?” I heard the one I believe was referred to as Haji reply, “We haven’t stripped the rest of them yet. Wait, you might end up with a better one!” The first man replied, “I already checked them all out. This one’s the good one of the bunch.” The Haji said, “Okay then take her.” As he began to lift me and take me out of the room, the Haji asked “Wait, would you prefer to stay?”

I felt a sliver of hope and said, “Please Haji. Yes. I beg you. For the love of God, save me. I’ll do whatever you say.” He said, “Get her a chair so she can sit.” I sat on the chair. He said, “I want you to answer every question I’m about to ask you. I already know your name and I know where you work. I want you to tell me the names of your accomplices. I want you to tell me who you take your orders from. Are you one of Mousavi’s gangs or are you a Karroubi follower? Which one of your colleagues are anti-regime?” He asked me these questions and many more that I no longer recollect.

I said, “How am I to supposed to write the answers to so many questions when I’m blind folded?” He asked that they remove my blindfolds. I saw the Haji. He was approximately 50 years old and had a lightly colored thin beard. There were three teenage boys with him. I’m guessing that they were around 17 or 18 years old. It dawned on me then, that it was these young men who had wanted to spend the night with me.

My head was aching. I kept thinking, what is the Islamic Republic promoting amongst the young Basijis? Sex? Casual intercourse? I was reminded of Imam Khomeini’s saying: “Basij is the school of love.” Is Basij the school of love, or is it the school for love making? Or maybe it’s the school for learning how to have sex!

In the end, I wrote down everything the Haji asked me to and confessed to everything he wanted. Even if he had asked me to write that the the Hafte Tir Bombing bombing was my doing I would have done it, though the truth is that I was only nine years old when it happened. When I finally wrote down everything, he told me I could get dressed.

I was [taken] to another room (from the look of the walls, I felt as though I was in a mosque). When they opened the door to the room, I saw another girl there. They threw me in and I began talking to her when suddenly we heard the screams and pleas of the other girls outside who were being taken to see the Haji.

We slept in that same room. In the early hours of the following day, they handcuffed and blindfolded us and drove us to a destination about ten minutes away. When we arrived, we realized that we were at Evin prison.

I’m exhausted. I was just released from Evin. In my next email, I will tell you about my 80 day imprisonment at Evin prison.

Translation by: Negar Irani | Source: Street Journalist

چگونه در 22 بهمن دستگير شدم ؟ (صفانه دلدار) قسمت اول

تا قبل از سال نو از دوست خوبم صفانه دلدار هيچ خبري نداشتم ، براي امنيت بيشتر به گوشي اش زنگ هم نميزدم كه برايش مشكلي ايجاد نشود (چون همواره از طريق ايميل با هم تبادل طلاعات ميكنيم) ، اما در طول تعطيلات سال نو فرصتي داد تا به ايران بروم و علاوه بر ديدار اقوام ، از صفانه عزيز نيز اطلاعاتي كسب كنم ، اما كسي درمنزل نبود نتوانستم اطلاعاي بدست آورم و اين احتمال را دادم كه به مسافرت رفته باشد ، به هرجهت پس از تعطيلات از ايران خارج شدم و همچنان بيخبر از دوست خوب ، صفانه.

باري تا اينكه ديروز يك ايميل از دوست خوبم صفانه دريافت كردم كه عيننا در ادامه آمده است:

صفانه دلدار : روز 22 بهمن مثل دفعه هاي ققبل تصميم كرفتيم با دوستان بريم به راهپيمايي ، قرارمون ساعت 10 صبح ، ضلع جنوبي فلكه دوم آرياشهر بود. ساعت 10 كه رسيدم به قرار، ديدم كه آرياشهر بيشتر از اوني كه شبيه به فلكه شهري باشه شبيه پادگان نظامي هستش ، اما مردم همه واستاده بودن كنار خيابون و منتظر آقاي كروبي بودن ، كم كم دوستان يكي يكي ميومدن ، مردم كه زياد ميشدن ، شعار هم ميدادن ، شعار مرگ بر ديكتاتور و كروبي حمايتت ميكنيم و البته شعارهاي ديگه هم بود كه يادم نيست (هشتاد روز پيش بود) .

يك دفعه صداي تير شنيديم و پشت سرش بازم صداي تيرهاي ديگه و گاز اشك آورهاي پي در پي ، لباسهاي بعضي ها هم حسابي رنگي شده بود و ما از اين رنگها تعجب كرده بوديم ، توي تعجب بوديم كه نيروي هاي سركوبگر به ما حمله كردن ، و ما هم كه در حال فرار بوديم مي خورديم به هم و من تنم خورد به يكي كه لباسش رنگي شده بود و لباسهاي منم رنگي شد.

در حال فرار كه بوديم دقت كردم مزدوراي رژيم روي من زووم كردن و ميخوان منو بگيرن با تمام قدرتم فرار ميكردم اما ديدم كه ديگه راهي براي فرار نيست و منو محاصره كرده بودن ، و وقتي كه وايستادم يكي از مزدوراي رژيم از پشت محكم با يك چيزي كه فك كنم شلنگ بود زد به پشتم ، ضربه اينقدر محكم بود كه با صورت خوردم زمين ، تا اومدم بلند بشم ، يكي از مزدوراي رژيم كه پوتين پاش كرده بود يك پاشو گذاشت روي گردنم و فشار داد و گفت از جات تكون نخور .

يكي ديگه دستامو از پشت بست و من كه هنوز از اون ضربه هايي كه خورده بودم احساس درد ميكردم يك درد ديگه هم احساس كردم و اون پرت شدن با صورت به كف ماشين ون بود، كه پرده هاش آبي بودن ، توي ماشين ون انتظار داشتم كه پليس هاي خانم باشن اما دوتا مرد كه خيلي خيلي بي ادب بودن ما رو تحويل گرفتن و زشت ترين حرفها رو نثار ما كردن و چشمامونم بستن.

نميدونم چند نفر شديم كه ماشين حركت كرد روي زمين بودم و چشمامم بسته بود ، اما احساس كردم كه ماشين حركت كرد ، نميدونم چقدر حركت كردم و كجا رفتيم اما اينقدر ميدونم كه 15 دقيقه اي توي راه بوديم ، به محض رسيدن به مقر مزدوران رژيم ، باز هم زشت ترين حرفها رو به ما گفتن و از ماشين پرتمون كردن بيرون ، احساس ميكردم يه جاي بسته و تاريك بود ، چون صداها مي پيچيد ،

بلندمون كردن از روي زمين و حرفهاي زشتي كه به يك زن تن فروش ميشه گفت رو به ما گفتن ، يكي شون گفت هرشب بايد با يكي شون بخوابيم ، وحشت كردم ،از زمان دست گيري ‌خيلي ترسيده بودم اما با شنيدن اين حرفها وحشت كردم ، يكي ديگ شون كه فكر كنم سن بالايي هم داشت گفت همشونو لخت كنيم و بعد همشون بهمون مي خنديدن.

يكي ديگه گفت بايد بگيم سهميه مارو بيشتر كنن ،‌ اين تعداد دختر واسه ما كمه ، هرجور كه ميخواستن مارو تحقير ميكردن ، خيلي خسته بوديم و يواش يواش تشنگي و گشنگي هم داشت به ما فشار مي آورد. بعد بهمون گفتن ميريم و شب مياييم سراغتون.

نميدونم چند نفر بوديم اما صداي گريه آهسته دختراي ديگه رو ميشنيدم ، آخراي شب بود كه اومدن سراغمون هوا سرد بود و سرمون شده بود ، نميدونستيم ، كجا هستيم و جرات اينكه از جامونم بلند بشيم نداشتيم ، تا مزدوراي رژيم اومدن صداي وحشتناكشون ترس مارو دوچندان كرد. دونه دونه از روي زمين بلندمون ميكردن و ميبردن به يه اتاقي ، اول همه از يه دختري شروع كردن و بهش گفتن پاشو ، از جاش كه بلندش كردن ،‌جيغ و داد ميكرد و نميخواست كه بره صداي چك و مشت و لگد ميومد به همراه داد و فرياد و فحش به دختره كه هيچي نگه و باهاشون بره و ما هم ترسمون بيشتر شده بود چون ميدونستيم كه نفر بعدي يكي از ما ها هستيم .

اتفاقا نفر دوم من بودم ، كه جيغ كشيدم و داد زدم كه نميام و با چك و لگد و فحش منو كشون كشون بردن كه فكر ميكنم يه اتاق توي همون جا بود، دستامو باز كردن و گفتن لباساتو در بيار ، گفتم در نميارم گريه ميكردم ترسيده بودم التماس ميكردم گفتم مگه خودتون خواهر نداريد كه يه چك محكم زدن توي گوشم كه خودتو با خواهر ما يكي نكن ج ن د ه ،

از ترس تكون نخوردم ، گفت لباساتو در بيار خيلي ترسيده بودم لباسامو در آوردم ، گفت پس چرا واستادي بقيه شو هم در بيار(لباسهاي زير) ، گفتم اين ها آبرو و عصمت يك دخترو نشون ميده اگه اين دو تكه لباس رو هم در بيارم آبروي شما هم ميره ، دوباره بهم اون فحش زشت و دادن و از پشت يكي زد به باسنم و گفت يالا ادامه بده ،‌ گفتم از اين بيشتر ديگه در نميارم ميدونم شما هم اونقدر غيرت داريد كه نميخواين من اين دوتا تيكه لباسمو در بيارم ، يكي از مزدورا يك دفعه با وحشي گري تمامي به من حمله ور شد هم كتكم زد و هم لباسهاي زيرمو پاره كرد و حالا ديگه كامل لخت شده بودم .

فكر كنم چهار نفر بودن و داشتن منو كه حالا لخت مادرزاد شده بودم ورانداز ميكردن ، يكي شون منو بلند كرد و روي ميز گذاشت تا در كمال وقاحت بتونن منو بهتر ورانداز كنن ، يكي از مزدورا گفت حاجي امشب اين مال من بشه ؟ صدايي كه فكر كنم حاجي شون بود گفت هنوز كه بقيه رو لخت نكرديم صبر كن شايد بهترم گيرت بياد. اما مرد اولي گفت نه همه رو ورانداز كردم اين توشون خوبه بعد حاجي گفت پس ببرش ، تا اومد منو بغل كنه ببره حاجي گفت صبر كن ميخواي باهاش نري ؟

برق ايد توي دلم جوونه زد ، با خوشحالي گفتم آره حاجي دستم به دامنت تورو خدا منو نجات بده هرچي بگي گوش ميكنم ، گفت يه صندلي براش بزارين بشينه ، نشستم روي صندلي گفت هر سوالي ازت ميپرسم درست جواب بده ، اسم و فاميلتو ميدونم چيه ميدون مكجا كار ميكني ، ميخوام همدستاتو بگي ، بگي از كي دستور مييگري ؟ جزو دارو دسته موسوي هستي يا كروبي ؟ توي محل كارت چه كساني ضد رژيم هستن ؟ و خيلي سوال هاي ديگه كه يادم نمياد.

گفتم چه جوري بايد اين همه رو بنويسم ؟ من كه چشمام بسته هستن ؟ گفت نگران نباش چشم بندشو باز كنيد ، چشم بندمو باز كردن ، حاجي رو ديدم مردي حدودا 50 ساله ريش تسبتا جو گندمي كم پشت داشت ، 3 تا پسر جوون ، خيلي جوون فكر كنم 17 يا شايد 18 ساله بودن كه باهاش بودن تازه فهميدم كه اين پسرهاي جوون بودن كه ميخواستن شب رو با من سر كنن ،

بيشتر از اوني كه بترسم سردرد گرفته بودم ، حكومت اسلامي بين جووناي ما توي بسيج چي ترويج ميكنه ؟ سكس ؟ همخوابگي ؟ ياد گفته اما خميني افتادم كه گفته بود : بسيج مدرسه عشق است ، راستي بسيج مدرسه عشق هستش يا مدرسه عشق بازي ؟ يا شايدم مدرسه سكس بازي ؟

خلاصه هرچي حاجي گفت نوشتم به همه چيز هم اقرار كردم ، حتي اگه ميگفت بمبگذاري 7 تير هم كار تو هستش بنويس مينوشتم هرچند اون موقع 9 ساله بودم ، بعد كه همه چيز رو نوشتم گفت لباساتو بپوش لباسامو پوشيدم و بردنم توي يه اتاق ديگه (از فضاي در و ديوار احساس كردم كه شايد توي يه مسجد باشيم) ، در اتاق رو كه باز كردن ديدم يه دختر ديگه هم اونجا هستش. منو انداختن توي اون اتاق و در رو بستن ، با اون دختر هم صحبت شدم در حال صحبت بودم كه صداي جيغ و داد و فرياد دخترهاي ديگرو ميشنيديم كه داشتن ميبردنشون پيش حاجي ، تا ازشون اقرار بگيرن ،

دونه دونه دخترارو مياوردن توي اتاق ما ، اونجا بود كه فهميدم ما 6 نفر بوديم. و يا شايدم بيشتر كه 6 تامونو توي يه اتاق كرده بودن ، بعدش يه پارچ آب پلاستيكي كه معمولا توي مسجد ها موقع نظري دادن توي محرم سر سفره ها ميزارن رو دادن بهمون و دو تا هم نون سنگگ بهمون دادن.

شب رو همونجا خوابيديم و فردا صبح خيلي زوود اومدن دنبالمون چشمامونو بستن دستامونم از پشت بستن و سوار ماشينمون كردن بردن فكر كنم 10 دقيق اي بود كه توي راه بوديم و بعد رسيديم به جايي كه بعدا فهميدم زندان اوين هستش

خيلي خسته هستم تازه آزاد شدم و در ايميل بعدي از زندان اوين مينويسم تا بگم هشتاد روز زنداني شدن من چطور بود

Massoud Babapour- student activist sentenced to two years of prison

Daneshju News
Massoud Babapour, a student at the Free Garmsar University was sentenced to two years of prison by the 28th branch of the Revolutionary Court run by Moqiseh. He is a student activist who majored in industrial engineering at the Free Garmsar University.

محکوميت مسعود باباپور دانشجوي دانشگاه آزاد گرمسار به دو سال حبس تعزيري
مسعود باباپور دانشجوي دانشگاه آزاد گرمسار، روز گذشته از سوي شعبه 28 دادگاه انقلاب به رياست قاضي مقيسه، به دو سال حبس تعزيري محکوم شد.
به گزارش دانشجونيوز، مسعود باباپور از فعالين دانشجويي و دانشجوي مهندسي صنايع دانشگاه گرمسار است. (دانشجونيوز - 14/2/89)

Prisoners in Gohardasht Prison group tortured by guards

Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran


On the night of May 2, prison guards at Gohardasht Prison in Karaj attacked prisoners who were in a cell called the Hosseinieh. This cell is located at the end of Hall 2 in Cellblock 2 in Gohardasht Prison. The guards beat the prisoner which led to clashes between the prisoners and guards… They then blindfolded and shackled three prisoners by the names of Hassan Sharifi, Bahram Tasviri and Mohammad Mohammadi and forced them to go back and forth through a human tunnel made by the guards. The guards then barraged them with clubs while they were moving through the tunnel. When one of the prisoners fell on the ground, they were attacked and violently beaten.
Other prisoners in the hall woke up from the moaning and sobbing of the prisoners and their cries could even be heard in the next block. These three prisoners who had fractured bones in their hands and black and bloodied bodies were sent to solitary without being treated (for their wounds).

شکنجه گروهي زندانيان در شکنجه گاه مخوف بند 1 معروف به سگدوني
يکشنبه شب 12 ارديبهشت ماه در انتهاي سالن 2 بند 1 که سلولهاي انفرادي معروف به سگدوني در آن قرار دارد سلولي وجود دارد که حسينيه ناميده مي شود و تعداد از زندانيان در آن زنداني هستند.پاسداربندها به زندانيان بي دفاع با باتون يورش مي برند و آنها را وحشيانه مورد ضرب وشتم قرار مي دهند که منجر به اعتراض شديد زندانيان و درگيري بين آنها و پاسداربندها مي شود.
نيروهاي گارد به فرماندهي فردي بنام آقايي به آنها يورش مي برد و سه زنداني بي دفاع به نام هاي حسن شريفي،بهرام تصويري و محمد محمدي را ابتدا به آنها دستبند و پابند و چشم بند مي زند و آنها را وادار مي کند که از تونلي که دو طرف آن گارد زندان قرار گرفته اند حرکت رفت و برگشتي داشته باشند همزمان با آن از دو طرف آماج باتونهاي آنها قرار مي گيرند و هر کدام از آنها بر روي زمين مي افتد بصورت وحشيانه مورد ضرب و جرح قرار مي گرفت.
از صداي زجه ها و ناله هاي آنها زندانيان ساير سالن ها بيدار شدند و حتي بند کناري صداي فريادهاي آنها را مي شنيد.3 زنداني فوق بشدت شکنجه شده اند و دستان آنها در اثر ضربات باتون شکسته شده است و بدن آنها خونين و کبود است. سپس با همان حالت به سلولهاي انفرادي منتقل شدند. (سايت فعالين حقوق بشر و دمكراسي در ايران – 14/2/89)

Baha'i man sentenced to six months of prison

Daneshju News

Moshfeq Samandari, a Baha'i from Babol, was sentenced to six months of prison.
Samadari, who was arrested last May for 'advertizing Baha'ism', was sentenced to six months of prison by the Mazandaran Review Court.
He introduced himself to court on May 1, 2010 and was arrested and taken to Babol Prison.

محکوميت يک شهروند بهايي به شش ماه حبس تعزيري
'مشفق سمندري' از شهروندان بهايي ساکن بابل، به 6 ماه حبس تعزيري محکوم شد.
بنا به اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، مشفق سمندري شهروند بهايي ساکن بابل، که پيش تر و در اردي بهشت ماه سال گذشته به اتهام 'تبليغ بهائيت' توسط نيروهاي امنيتي بازداشت شده بود؛ از سوي دادگاه تجديد نظر استان مازندران به 6 ماه حبس تعزيري محکوم شده است.
نامبرده صبح روز شنبه 11 اردي بهشت ماه براي اجراي حکم، خود را به دايره اجراي احکام شهرستان بابل معرفي و در همان مکان بازداشت و به زندان بابل منتقل گرديد. (خبرگزاري هرانا - 14/2/89)

Student activist-Ali Vagfi- sentenced to 6 years of prison

Kalameh site

Ali Veqfi, the head of the students committee of Moussavi's election staff in Tehran was sentenced to six years of prison.

He was charged with assembling and conspiring with the intention of acting against national security and disrupting public order. Five years of his six year sentence is suspended provided he does not participate in any political activities

محکوميت مسئول کميته دانشجويان استان تهران ستاد مهندس موسوي به ۶ سال حبس
علي وفقي مسئول کميته دانشجويان استان تهران ستاد مهندس موسوي به شش سال حبس محکوم شد.
به گزارش خبرنگار کلمه، جرم وفقي اجتماع و تباني به قصد اقدام عليه امنيت ملي و اخلال در نظم عمومي، عنوان شده است.
يک سال از اين شش سال محکوميت تعزيري بوده و پنج سال آن تعليقي است و در حکم وي اين تعليق مشروط به ممنوعيت هرگونه فعاليت سياسي در هر زمينه اي ذکر شده است. (كلمه – 14/2/89)

No news on death row political prisoner

Campaign in Defense of Political and Civil Rights Prisoners

Following the transfer of Aziz Mohammadzadeh, a death row political prisoner, from the Central Saqez Prison to a solitary cell in the Intelligence Agency, his family, who were pursuing his whereabouts from the intelligence agency and court, were told that Aziz was released from prison some time ago.
According to the latest news from credible sources, Mohammadzadeh is in critical physical and mental condition. He had denied links to opposition Kurd parties and insists on his innocence.
According to a person close to him, he has been subjected to the most severe torture while jailed in the intelligence agency and is currently in an unknown state. His life is in danger and despite the constant pursuits by his family, they have not received any information on his location and condition.

سرنوشت نامعلوم يک زنداني سياسي محکوم به اعدام
پس از انتقال عزيز محمد زاده زنداني سياسي محکوم به اعدام از زندان مرکزي سقز و بردن نامبرده به سلول انفرادي بازداشتگاه اطلاعات و ضمن پيگيري خانواده وي ، اطلاعات و دادگاه شهر سقز ادعا ميکنند که نامبرده چندي پيش آزاد شده است .
گفتني است که بنا به خبر کاملا موثقي که به ستاد مرکزي کمپين رسيده ، آقاي محمدزاده در شرايط وخيم جسمي و روحي قرار داشته و وي در تمام بازجويهاي خود منکر هر گونه ارتباط با احزاب کرد مخالف رژيم بوده و بر بي گناهي خود پافشاري ميکرده.
از سوي ديگر بنا به اعلام يكي از نزديكان اين فعال محکوم به اعدام، وي طي مدت زمان بازداشت در بازداشت گاه اداره اطلاعات بانه زيز شديدترين شكنجه ها بوده و هم اكنون در وضعيت نامشخصي به سر مي برد و خطر مرگ هر لحظه وي را تهديد ميكند. و با مراجعه مکرر خانواده نامبرده تاکنون هيچ گونه خبري از محل نگهداري و اوضاع وي دريافت نکرده اند (کمپين دفاع از زندانيان سياسي و مدني – 14/12/89

Amnesty International urges action for imminent execution of Jafar Kazemi

Amnesty International

Amnesty International has issued an urgent statement about the imminent execution of Jafar Kazemi in the next few days:
"The danger of imminent execution in Iran"
An Iranian, Jafar Kazemi, is in imminent danger of execution for participating in anti-government demonstrations. He has also been accused of collaborating with the MKO (Mujahedeen Khalgh Organization).
Jafar Kazemi was arrested on September 18, 2009 during a demonstration and was transferred to Evin prison. He has been accused of participating in a demonstration where 100,000 others participated and he has not been accused of any violent actions.
He has been sentenced to death for being ‘an enemy of God’ and propaganda against the regime. He was arrested along with at least one other person, Mohammad Ali Aghaii who has been accused of similar charges but Amnesty International has no information whether he has been sentenced to death as well.
According to reports, Jafar Kazemi has been interrogated for months and has been under pressure appear in fake v. confessions but he has refused.
In April 2010 he was informed that his order of execution has been re-confirmed by a court of appeals. His lawyer who has had limited access to his client has asked the Judiciary office to review this case. Unless this request is accepted, then the execution could happen at any moment.
In 1980s and 1990s Jafar Kazemi was arrested for being a member of MKO and for spending time at Ashraf Camp in Iraq. One of his sons is in Iraq.
Others who are in danger of execution for protesting after the election:
Amir Reza Arefi, Mohammad Amin Valian, Motahareh (Simin) Bahrami and her husband Mohsen Daneshpour Moghadam and their son Ahmad Daneshpour, two friends: Hadi Ghaemi and Reyhaneh Ghanbari

هشدار عفو بين الملل در مورد خطر اعدام قريب الوقوع جعفر کاظمي
سازمان عفو بين الملل با انتشار بيانيه اي اضطراري نسبت به اعدام جعفر کاظمي در روزهاي آينده هشدار داده است متن اين اين بيانيه به اين شرح است:
”خطر قريب الوقوع اعدام در ايران”
يك ايراني بنام جعفر كاظمي در معرض خطر قريب الوقوتع اعدام به اتهام شركت در تظاهرات ضد دولتي و براي ارتباط ادعايي با گروه اپوزيسيون ممنوعه سازمان مجاهدين خلق ايران (PMOI ) قرار دارد. وي در هر زماني ممكن است اعدام شود.
جعفر كاظمي در 18سپتامبر 2009 در پي اعتراضات توده اي ضددولتي كه در 18سپتامبر برگزار كرديد دستگير و به زندان اوين منتقل گرديد. وي متهم به شركت در اعتراضات, كه صدها هزارتن در آن شركت كرده اند, شده ولي متهم به ارتكاب هيچ عمل خشونت باري نگرديده است.
وي به جرم “دشمني با خدا” محكوم به مرگ شده است و هم چنين گمان مي رود به “تبليغ عليه نظام” محكوم شده باشد. وي به همراه حداقل يك تن ديگر به نام محمد علي آقايي, كه گمان مي رود با اتهامات مشابهي مواجه است, محاكمه گرديده است, ولي عفو بين الملل اطلاعي در مورد اينكه آيا وي نيز به مرگ محكوم شده باشد, ندارد. جعفر كاظمي بنابر گزارش ها طي ماه ها توسط نيروهاي امنيتي بازجويي شده و براي اقرارهاي تلويزيوني تحت فشار قرار گرفته كه وي امتناع كرده است. در 26آوريل 2010 به وي اطلاع داده شد كه حكم مرگ وي توسط دادگاه فرجام تاييد شده است.
وكيل وي, كه دسترسي محدودي به موكل خود داشته است, درخواست كرده است كه دفتر رييس قوه قضاييه تجديد نظر به عمل بياورد. هم اكنون اعدام در هر زماني قابل اجراست مگر اينكه اين درخواست پذيرفته شود.
جعفر كاظمي قبلا براي عضويت در PMOI در سالهاي 1980 يا 1990 زنداني بوده است. يكي از پسران وي عضو PMOI و در كمپ اشرف زندگي مي كند كه محل اقامت اعضاي PMOI در عراق است.
نفرات ديگر كه در ارتباط با اعتراضات پس از انتخابات در معرض حكم اعدام هستند, عبارتند از: امير رضا عارفي, محمد امين وليان, مطهره (سيمين) بهرامي, همسر وي محسن دانشپور مقدم, پسر آنها احمد دانشپور و دو دوست هادي قائمي و ريحانه حاج ابراهيمي, يك خانم, و عبدالرضا قنبري. (عفو بين الملل - 14/2/89)

Reminder for UN: AN 's treatment of Women : violent capture and kidnap of woman in 4shanbesoori MUST see

See it again even if you already have !!
Kidnap and throwing vicitim in the back of the car !!

Writing slogans in daylight 1 May : Rasht at Namjoo Street

As security forces cover the area and more plaincloth agents infiltrate the workers march to isentify key activists, the reporter actually explains things as he is filming the scene.!!

Signs of "down with dictator" and " V" is seen as he turns his mobile around

Visiting in EVIN after1 May protests

Activists in Budapest : "Free Political prisoners in Iran"

Budapest in Solidarity With Iranian Political Prisoners

On May 3rd 2010, Iranian
and non-Iranian human rights
activists in Budapest gather
in order to express their solidarity
with Iranian Political Prisoners

Interview with Lawyer on Arrest of Mohammad Oliyaifard

Mohammad Oliyaifard, the lawyer representing a group of political, civil and student activists, as well as juvenile offenders on death row, was arrested on the night of May 1, 2010. His lawyer Abdolfatah Soltani considers the arrest illegal and an attempt to intimidate other lawyers.

Mohammad Oliyaifard has been under pressure several times in the past for defending the Islamic Republic’s dissidents. Once he was interrogated and accused of “propagating lies” and “propagating against the regime” for speaking out on the torture of one of his clients and for claiming that the death penalty is an unjust punishment for offenders under the age of 18. Oliyaifard was arrested upon a visit to the Revolutionary Court. He was transferred to prison in handcuffs and shackles.

Keyvandokht Ghahari of Deutsche Welle conducted an interview with Abdolfatah Soltani, one of Oliyaifard’s tree lawyers.

Deutsche Welle: Mr. Soltani, your client Mr. Mohammad
Oliyaifard was arrested May 1st. Do you have any information on the circumstance
of his arrest?

Abolfatah Soltani: Based on the
information I have, he was supposed to meet Mr. Azimi, the judicial assistant of
Tehran’s Revolutionary Court. I was supposed to accompany him to the meeting,
but I fell ill. I was not able to attend so he went alone. Apparently as he was
going up the stairs to the meeting office, the head of branch 26 noticed him and
informed him of his sentence. From what I have heard from Mr. Olyaifard’s wife,
they handcuffed and shackled him and sent him to Evin prison without announcing
his verdict to anyone who is able to defend Oliyaifard. Therefore, the verdict
and the sentence were not legally communicated to his lawyers.

Unfortunately this [has become] an illegal trend where the
[Revolutionary Court] does not provide a defendant with their verdict and
sentence. They call the lawyers, or see the lawyers in the hallways of the
courthouse, and ask them “to sit and copy the verdict”. Since this is an illegal
act, we consider Mr. Oliyayi’s arrest also unlawful. In fact, those who have
arrested him, should be themselves prosecuted for unlawful detention.

DW: Mr. Oliyaifard was arrested once before two months
ago. Are the arrests related?


Soltani: Yes, Mr.
Oliyaifard was was detained for six or seven days in relation to the same case.
Then, based on the order issued by the judicial officials, the detention was
stopped, and he was released. Now, he has been re-arrested.

DW: On what charges have these arrests been made?


Soltani: Mr. Oliyaifard had an interview where he
was accused of committing propaganda against the regime, which is his main
charge.

DW: Mr. Oliyaifard was arrested on
International Labour Day, and we know that he is representing some of the labour
activists as well. Is this a coincidence?

Soltani:
First of all, he has opened a complaint at the Government Official Court against
the office president and the judge responsible for branch 26 of the
Revolutionary Court. We have also written an [appeal] letter. Most likely
sometime this week we will meet with a high judicial official on the provincial
level to hear their orders and see what actions they can take to stop this
unlawful conduct.

DW: Is it possible that this case, at
least for Mr.Oliyaifard, will be close once and for all?

Soltani: I hope so, although the possibility is very
low. The trend has been that when they charge someone, if the first case doesn’t
result in a conviction, they open more cases until [the defendant's lawyer]
either gives in or [the defendant] receives a sentence a few years long. This
way, the court is able to force the lawyer out of the practice of law to defend
[the activists and juvenile offenders]. This has already been the situation for
some lawyers.

Translation: Siavosh J. Persian2English.com

«بازداشت وکیل به قصد ارعاب وکلا»محمد اولیایی‌فرد
محمد اولیایی‌فرد، وکیل مدافع گروهی از فعالان سیاسی، مدنی، دانشجویی و افراد زیر ۱۸ سال محکوم به اعدام، در روز شنبه بازداشت شد. وکیل وی، عبدالفتاح سلطانی‌، بازداشت موکل خود را غیرقانونی و به‌قصد ارعاب وکلا می‌داند.
محمد اولیایی‌فرد تا کنون چندبار بخاطر دفاع از دگراندیشان و منتقدان به جمهوری اسلامی زیر فشار قرار گرفته است. وی از جمله به‌خاطر سخن گفتن در مورد شکنجه شدن یکی از موکلانش در زندان و غیرعادلانه بودن حکم اعدام برای موکل دیگرش که زیر ۱۸ سالش بوده، مؤاخذه و متهم به “نشر اکاذیب” یا “تبلیغ علیه نظام” شده است. روز شنبه (اول ماه مه / ۱۱ اردیبهشت)، که مصادف با روز جهانی کارگر بود، وی در دادگاه انقلاب بازداشت و با دستبند و پابند روانه زندان اوین شد. گفت‌وگویی با عبدالفتاح سلطانی، یکی از سه وکیل محمد اولیایی‌فرد.

دویچه‏وله: آقای سلطانی، مطلع شدیم که موکل شما، آقای محمد اولیایی‏فرد، دیروز (شنبه ۱۱ اردیبهشت) بازداشت شده‏اند. اطلاع دارید بازداشت ایشان به چه صورتی بوده است؟
عبدالفتاح سلطانی: متاسفانه، طبق آن‏چه من اطلاع دارم، ایشان قرار بود ساعت ۱۰ صبح دیروز ملاقاتی با آقای عظیمی، معاون قضایی ریاست کل دادگاه‏های انقلاب اسلامی تهران، داشته باشد. قرار بود من هم همراه ایشان باشم که مریض شدم و نتوانستم بروم و ایشان به تنهایی رفته بودند. ظاهراً در حین ملاقات یا زمانی که از پله‏ها بالا می‏رفتند، مدیر دفتر شعبه‏ی ۲۶ ایشان را می‏بیند و به اجرای احکام اطلاع می‏دهد. آن‏طور که من از همسر آقای اولیایی‏فرد شنیده‏ام، ایشان را دست‏بند و پابند می‏زنند و به زندان اوین می‏فرستند. در حالی که رأی شعبه‏ی ۲۶ دادگاه انقلاب هنوز نه به خود ایشان به عنوان متهم و نه به وکلای ایشان که یکی از آنان من هستم، ابلاغ نشده است. حکم آقای اولیایی‏فرد به هیچ‏کدام از وکلا ابلاغ قانونی نشده است.
عبدالفتاح سلطانی
این متاسفانه رویه‏ی خلاف قانونی است که رأی را تحویل متهم یا محکوم‏الیه نمی‏دهند و به وکلا زنگ می‏زنند یا آن‏ها را در راهرو می‏بینند و می‏گویند «بیایید بنشینید از روی رأی بنویسید». چون این اقدامی خلاف قانون است، دستگیری ایشان هم به نظر ما، خلاف قانون است و در حکم توقیف غیرقانونی است. در واقع کسانی که ایشان را دستگیر کرده‏اند، خودشان به عنوان توقیف غیرقانونی باید تحت پیگرد قرار بگیرند.

آقای اولیایی‏فرد، دو ماه پیش نیز بازداشت شده بودند. آیا موضوع این بازداشت‏ها در پیوند با هم قرار دارد؟
بله؛ آقای اولیایی‏فرد در ۱۷ اسفند در ارتباط با همین پرونده به مدت شش یا هفت روز بازداشت شدند. بعد بنا به دستوری که از مقامات قضایی صادر شده بود، جلوی ادامه‏ی بازداشت گرفته شد و ایشان بعد از یک هفته آزاد شدند. دوباره در همین رابطه‏، عین همان شیوه‏ی قبل را عمل کردند و ایشان را بازداشت کردند.
این بازداشت‏ها در رابطه با چه مساله و اتهامی بوده است؟
آقای اولیایی‏فرد مصاحبه‏ای داشته و گفته‏اند که ایشان در این مصاحبه علیه نظام تبلیغ کرده است. اتهام اصلی پرونده “تبلیغ علیه نظام” است. در حالی که هر انسان بی‏طرفی می‏داند که وقتی دفاع از یک متهم به عهده‏ی یک وکیل قرار می‏گیرد و هنگامی که وکیل در رابطه با این اتهام توضیحاتی به رسانه‏ها می‏دهد، ممکن است در اثر لغزش‏های کلامی یا لفظی، کلمه‏ای پس و پیش بشود. ولی متاسفانه برای این که بین وکلا ارعابی ایجاد کنند و وکلایی − که تعدادشان هم زیاد نیست − از متهمین سیاسی عقیدتی دفاع می‏کنند را بترسانند، این قبیل برخوردها را با وکلا می‏کنند که بقیه حساب کار دستشان بیاید. این نشان می‏دهد که وکیل حتی در دفاع از موکل‏اش آزادی قانونی را ندارد.
بازداشت آقای اولیایی‏فرد در روز جهانی کارگر اتفاق افتاده و می‏دانیم که ایشان وکیل مدافع برخی فعالان کارگری هم هستند. آیا این هم‏زمانی به نظر شما، اتفاقی بوده است؟
فکر نمی‏کنم دستگیری ایشان به این دلیل بوده باشد. چون علت اصلی آن شیوه‏های غیرقانونی‏ای است که برخی از شعبات دادگاه‏های انقلاب درپیش گرفته‏اند. بعید به نظر می‏رسد که ارتباطی به روز کارگر داشته باشد.
بهنود شجاعی که در نوجوانی مرتکب قتل شده و با این حال محکوم به مرگ شد؛ دلیل بازداشت محمد اولیایی‌فرد انتقاد به حکم اعدام برای موکلش بهنود شجاعی است که اعدام شد
وکلای ایشان که تا جایی که ما اطلاع داریم، سه نفر هستند و یکی از آن‏ها نیز شما هستید، چه اقدامی برای دفاع از ایشان و آزادی‏شان انجام خواهند داد؟
اولاً خود ایشان شکایتی علیه مدیر دفتر و قاضی شعبه‏ی ۲۶، به دادسرای کارکنان دولت ارائه داده‏ بودند که همین الان مطرح است. ضمناً ما نامه‏ا‏ی نوشته‏ایم و احتمالا در همین هفته سراغ مقامات عالی‏رتبه قضایی در سطح دادگستری استان خواهیم رفت تا ببینیم آن‏ها چه دستوری می‏دهند و چه اقدامی در رابطه با این قضیه می‏توانند انجام بدهند که بشود جلوی این عمل غیرقانونی را گرفت.

امکان دارد این پرونده، یک بار برای همیشه، حداقل در مورد آقای اولیایی‏فرد، بسته شود؟
امیدوار هستیم؛ البته احتمال آن ضعیف است، چون متاسفانه روال این بوده که برای هرکس پرونده درست کرده‏اند، اگر اولی به نتیجه نرسیده، دومی، سومی و… را به جریان می‏اندازند و هم‏چنان ادامه می‏د‏هند تا زمانی که طرف یا خسته شود و یا بالاخره یک محکومیت چند ساله به او بدهند و از صحنه‏ی وکالت و دفاع خارج‏اش کنند؛ همان‏طوری که در ارتباط با عده‏ای از وکلا این کار را کرده‏اند.
مصاحبه‌گر: کیواندخت قهاری
تحریریه: شهرام احدی

Stone women to death, get appointed to UN women's rights body

National Post

Full Comment’s Araminta Wordsworth brings you a regular dose of international punditry at its finest. At first glance, the headline looks like a joke — “Iran wins a seat on UN Commission on the Status of Women.”

But this is no laughing matter. The country that sees women as second-class citizens and stones adulteresses to death has won a place by default on the world body’s commission charged with improving the lot of women around the world.

Worse still, it acquired — I refuse to use the word “won” — the place by default, thanks to the UN’s bloc voting procedure. It’s the second time the mullahs have used manipulation of the rules to land a place on the commission.

As a U.S. official told Fox News, “there is no opportunity [to object]. That is not how the procedure works.”

Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/05/03/no-it-s-not-a-joke-iran-elected-to-un-women-s-rights-body.aspx#ixzz0n42mpQFA

Read more:


NCRI

Tehran regime's membership in UN women’s commission is a dagger to the heart of freedom-seeking women and counter to the commission's goals

"Membership of Iran's misogynous regime to the UN commission is a bitter irony and a dagger to the hearts of all freedom-seeking women and equality advocates across the world," Ms. Chitsaz said. She added, "In the past three decades, this regime has executed and brutally tortured thousands of women political prisoners. It has stoned many women to death on bogus charges and arrested, persecuted and harassed thousands of women for improper veiling. In the meantime, the regime has been condemned 56 times by various UN bodies for its violations of human rights."

Membership of a regime that has even rejected the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) makes a mockery of all conventions and human rights achievements

Read More

The Vancouver Sun
Canada ‘deplores’ Iran’s appointment to UN women’s rights panel


Canadian officials are outraged that Iran has been elected to a United Nations panel on women’s rights.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said he was “extremely troubled” about the Middle East nation’s human-rights record.

Last week, Iran was elected to the Commission on the Status of Women, part of the UN’s economic and social council.

Cannon said in a news release that he has “serious concerns” about Iran’s participation in the panel, which is “dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women.”

“We deplore this development but will use Iran’s membership on this body to take the Iranian authorities to task for their systemic human-rights violations,” said Cannon.


Read more:




The Corner
Iran vs. Women

The news that Iran has been elected to the U.N. women’s-rights commission should really be ho-hum. After all, such states as Cuba, Zimbabwe, China, Saudi Arabia, and genocidal Sudan have sat on the human-rights commission. That is what the U.N. is for: the Kafkaesque. But the news about Iran is slightly hard for me to take just at the moment. I have been at the Oslo Freedom Forum, listening to, among others, Marina Nemat. She is one of the countless girls and women who have been seized by the regime, thrown into Evin Prison — one of the darkest places on earth — tortured, raped, and otherwise battered. The regime has been doing this right from the beginning. Right from about 1980. And it is going on now. Rape, in particular, has been a constant tool of the regime: a tool of punishment and control. Why do we know Marina Nemat’s name, of all the girls and women who have been through this? Once escaped to the West, she wrote a book, Prisoner of Tehran: One Woman’s Story of Survival Inside an Iranian Prison. It is a harrowing, mind-scrambling story.


Read More

Sky

The New UN Human Rights Joke. The One About Women...

United Nations staff, aware that the joke about electing Libya to chair the Human Rights Council a few years back has become bit stale, have come up with a new one.


This one starts, 'Have you heard the one about Iran’s election to the UN Women Rights Council?’


Iran, having lost the battle for a place on the Human Rights Council, managed instead this week to get onto the 'Commission on the Status of Women'(CSW ) a body dedicated ‘exclusively to promote gender equality and advancement of women'.


Iran was 'elected' by acclaim, meaning no-one voted, but no-one opposed membership in a classic UN stitch up by the Asian bloc. A campaign by women's rights champions inside and outside Iran calling on the UN not to take this step fell on deaf ears.



Read more

WHY IS IRAN ALLOWED SEAT ON U.N. WOMEN'S RIGHTS COMMISSION?

Fox News

Interview

This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," April 30, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET!

JUAN WILLIAMS, GUEST HOST: In the "Personal Story" segment tonight: another outrage, courtesy of our friends at the U.N. Iran has just been selected to sit on the United Nations Commission on human — on women's rights. Iran, which requires that women who don't dress modestly enough get stoned or lashed. Iran, which threatens to arrest women with suntans. I guess we shouldn't be shocked. In 2003, Libya was elected to head up the U.N. Human Rights Commission.

Joining us now from Los Angeles, Brigitte Gabriel, the author of "They Must Be Stopped: Why We Must Defeat Radical Islam and How We Can Do It." Brigitte, thanks for coming in. How could…

BRIGITTE GABRIEL, AUTHOR, "THEY MUST BE STOPPED": Thank you. I'm delighted to be with you.

WILLIAMS: How could the United States — how could the rest of the world allow Iran to take this lead role in terms of women's rights? They are the worst example possible.

Click here to watch the segment!

GABRIEL: They are the worst example. I mean, Iran is the first country in the world to actually make the marriage age for girls as nine years old according to Islamic Sharia Law. And you know, the world set on the sidelines and said, oh, that doesn't affect us, we don't really care. And it's so shameful, what hypocrisy — here we are in the West, we have the women's rights. We have the NOW organization. I think, Juan, this is the time now for all these groups that support women's rights to come together and launch a petition against the U.N., trying to stop Iran.

I know already the Iranian women's liberation movement tried to put a petition up. But this is the time where woman from modern western countries like Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Europe, this is the time where everyone can come together and do a major petition to the U.N. and also women start putting pressure on their government to do the same thing

WILLIAMS: I'm glad you pointed this out. This is so amazing to me. Women in Iran are protesting, the United Nations allowing Iran to be on this women's group. The Iranian women themselves are in outrage over this. But it doesn't seem to have sparked any outrage at the U.N. The vote was by acclimation. It wasn't even an open vote, just acclimation. And the United States didn't even raise a ruckus about it. So, Brigitte, what do you think the U.S. should have done?

GABRIEL: The U.S. now can still flex its muscle and rally a lot of other nations who are on our side of democracy and freedom and human rights. Listen, we provide 26 percent of the U.N.'s budget. That's a lot of money. Not even Saudi Arabia with all their oil wells; not even the OPEC nation with all their oil wells give the U.N. as much as we give the U.N. This is upon the United States.

WILLIAMS: But Brigitte, could it be that the United States and the Obama administration have bigger fish to fry over stopping nuclear arms development in Iran and we just, you know, we are going to let this slide by because we have other business that we want to attend to, we don't want anybody to get distracted?

GABRIEL: Well, I think this is going to be a rallying cry to rally other people. This is about women's rights. So we are not talking about nuclear rights right now. And any nation, whether it's Russia or in any other nations, the women should rally together to support women's rights.

Now, to answer your question, also, it's not going to matter what we do. Iran is not listening to anything about their nuclear development program. Let's face it, Juan. The U.N. has passed four sanctions against Iran. Four resolutions in the last 10 years against Iran's nuclear development. That didn't stop Iran because everyone knows the U.N. is not going to do anything. The world is not going to do anything. What have we done as a collective body of the world under the United Nations to stop Iran so far? The U.N. has become a joke. This is the time when we see things like this, absolutely ridiculous that the U.N. is appointing Iran on the Women's Rights Commission. This is the time for the world to say, you know what? You are a crazy organization. We're not going to let do you it.

WILLIAMS: This is hypocrisy. This is rank hypocrisy.

GABRIEL: Hypocrisy.

WILLIAMS: This is unbelievable. You know what really strikes me? I must tell you. When I saw that video of Neda, you know, the woman who was shot, you know, right there in the midst of the protest against the Iranian regime. And I think that this is the woman standing up and somehow she — the government just does away with her identity, her sense of dignity, they kill her, and now they are going to stand up for women's rights? Is this a joke or what? Now, and also, just last week, we have one of them saying, you know what? If a woman dresses immodestly, it's going to cause earthquakes and natural calamities. I don't get — these two things just baffle my brain. How did they make that? How do they live with themselves?

GABRIEL: It is baffling. But you know, also, what's more battling, that many Americans do not know about how women are treated in Iran. And women at nine years old can get married to any man by her father even if he is 50 years older than her. A girl, if she is beaten by her husband, raped by her husband, she has nowhere to turn to. Women are burned in Iran. Gays or lesbians are lynched in Iran.

WILLIAMS: This reminds me of a Taliban.

GABRIEL: A woman can not get a job without her husband's permission. Exactly.

WILLIAMS: This reminds me of Taliban and their madness. But, you know, what is this about suntans? I got to tell you, when I read this thing about suntan, so, you explain it to the audience. Why is it that you can get in trouble for having a suntan?

GABRIEL: Because that means a woman took her clothes off or her burka and exposed her flesh in the sun, even if it was in the privacy of her own home because maybe somebody from her neighbors was able to take a look at her while she is doing it. That means a woman has removed clothing off her body to let the sun touch her body, and that's what that means. It's absolute craziness.

WILLIAMS: Brigitte?

GABRIEL: By the way, there are people who are brown skin in Iran. Yes?

WILLIAMS: You couldn't make — this is unbelievable. And the U.N. is going to allow this?

GABRIEL: You can't make this stuff up.

WILLIAMS: The U.N. should never…

(CROSSTALK)

GABRIEL: Our tax dollars go to support the U.N.

WILLIAMS: Anyway, Ms. Gabriel, thank you very much.

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FIFA Reverses Hijab Ban After Iranian Protest

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) had earlier banned Iran's female football squad from wearing the hijab at the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, slated for August 14-26 in Singapore

The Audacity!: Ahmadinejad :West gives no dignity to women

Hindu Times

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that rights of women and girls in his country are highly respected unlike the West where, he claimed, women had “no dignity“.

Human rights groups have rallied against Iran’s election to the UN Commission on the Status of Women on the grounds that the Islamic Republic is oppressive when it comes to women’s rights.

“What is left of women’s dignity in the West? Is there any generation left? Is there any love and kindness left,” Mr. Ahmadinejad asked reporters.

“Tell me exactly how women’s dignity is upheld in West, especially in Europe.”

“Woman is a symbol of beauty of God on Earth,” he said, noting that women in Iran were far better off than women in Europe where almost seventy per cent housewives were beaten by their spouses.

Mr. Ahmadinejad also asserted that his country would never join the Committee to Eliminate All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) treaty.

“We will never accept CEDAW,” he said, noting that certain provisions of the treaty were undesirable.

“Our culture is our own. Our belief system is our own.

We will never (follow a) basic criterion that leads to the destruction of women,” the Iranian leader said.

Mr. Ahmadinejad noted that in Iran women were given a great deal of respect in politics and academia research but noted that “menial jobs” were not meant for women.

“In Iran, our women refuse to be drivers of trucks or to clean streets or do hard and burdensome tasks that you and I, in other words, men, do... An Iranian woman would just not agree to those kinds of jobs,” he said.

AJC Denounces UN Election of Iran to Commission on the Status of Women

NEW YORK, May 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AJC condemned the election of Iran to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a body tasked by the world organization to conduct reviews of member states records on women's rights. Iran, along with ten other nations, was elected by acclamation, meaning no open vote was requested or required by member states.

"Iran is a country where women and girls can face stoning based on spurious allegations of impropriety, have no right to education or divorce, are regularly condemned to forced marriages and risk violence and imprisonment for seeking equal rights," said AJC Executive Director David Harris. "The election of the Iranian regime to this commission makes a total mockery of the UN's mission to promote women's rights."

The election of Iran to this council comes a week after one of the country's leading clerics, Kazem Sedighi, claimed that countries where women do not dress modestly are more susceptible to earthquakes.


SOURCE American Jewish Committee
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