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A weekly update on violations of human rights in Iran

 
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haleh
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PostPosted: Mon Sep 15, 2003 6:54 pm    Post subject: A weekly update on violations of human rights in Iran Reply with quote



The Supreme Court for justice revoked the sentence against those that murdered many civilians accused of inappropriate behavior


The Supreme Court for justice revoked the sentence against those that murdered tens of civilians in the city of Kerman because they did not behave in accordance to the Islamic laws. The murderers confessed of murder of seven civilians, most of them young individuals including a couple that had married a short period prior to the murder. Those homicides took place during the last two years. The murderers claimed that they felt that they were on a mission of protecting the values in the Muslim society and did not express any regret even during the trial itself. The news on the abolishment of the sentence caused to furious reaction among the residents of the Kerman province. Law makers and judges also criticized the decision of the Supreme Court very harshly and called the decision an unjust one. There is an impression that those murderers will be released soon, as has happened in the case of other murderers with similar accusations. (Interviews with the opponents of the decision were published by ISNA and different Tehrans newspapers.)



A Majlis member Mrs. Jamileh Kadivar confirms that the journalist Dr. Zahra Ziba Kazemi was tortured severely, including taking out her nails. Kadivar said that Kazemi was tortured in different ways; however, she called the news that Kazemi was raped an unacceptable news. (The news agency of the labor union, September 5, 2003)

A Majlis member confirms: The journalist was tortured severely before being murdered in the jail

The judiciary branch continues to expose more on this case, and the newspapers from the reformist camp continue to publish responses to this affair. Most of the people in Iran claim that they are convinced that the journalist was murdered while were arrested by the revolutionary court of Tehran. However, Ayatollah Shahroudi, the head of the judiciary branch, supports the revolutionary prosecutor. Shahroudi expressed his anger toward the Canadian Foreign Minister that called upon his colleagues in the European Union to take serious actions against Iran due to the death of Kazemi. The Canadian Foreign Minister said that his government reached a conclusion that the judge Saeed Mortazavi, the prosecutor of the revolutionary court of Tehran, had a major and key role in the death of Dr. Kazemi. (www.emrooz.org, Tehran, September 6, 2003)


Political activists wrapped in chain are held in caskets for weeks

The mother of Akbar and Manouchehr Mohammadi that was allowed to visit her sons in Evin Prison after three months, fainted when she saw her sons. Due to major tortures, the faces of Akbar and Manouchehr changed so dramatically that she even did not recognize them. These two young brothers have been detained for 50 months serving their sentences of 13 and 15 years of prison. Manouchehr has been tortured more severely especially after his interview with one of the radio stations outside Iran (that broadcasts in Persian inside the country). In that interview during his vacation, Manouchehr expressed his opinion regarding the protests that broke out at that time in Tehran. He was held during the last three months in a solitary confinement while being tortured. For instance, he was wrapped in chain and was held in a casket for several weeks. Manochehrs body and fact changed so dramatically that his parents could identify him only through his eyes and voice. Manouchehrs parents begged their daughter, who lives in Germany, to avoid any interview since the investigators that torture these two brothers stated clearly that they were very angry about the interviews of Miss Nasrin Mohammadi with foreign media. (Nasrins interviews with Radio Farda and Voice of Israel on September 4, 2003)


The agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and courts continue to pressure writers and artists

Security forces have increased the pressure on the writers and artists, especially in the movie industry, and even threatened them that if they did not cooperate, they would have the same destiny as Pirouz Dawani. Dawani, writer and journalist, disappeared about five years ago and all the signs indicate that he was murdered by the Intelligence agents.

· Senior investigators of the security forces call writers and artists from the movie industry to meetings in Tehran and pressure them to expose the identity of their friends that behave in an appropriate manner and those that talk against the regime. They have been threatened that if they spoke in public, their destiny would be similar to Dawani that insisted not to cooperate, and, therefore, received the appropriate response!

Nosrat Karimi, the 75-year-old famous screenwriter and movie director, has been investigated several times during the last few weeks.

· Forough Bahman-pour, a young writer, was investigated and detained for eight days. She was accused of criticizing the Supreme Leader in a private party.



· Freydoun Jeirani, a movie director, and Omid Rowhani, a screenwriter, were investigated and were told that they had one month to expose those individuals in the movie industry that are corrupt and do not behave appropriately.

Movie-reviewers Sina Motalebi, Kambiz Kaheh, and Amir Ezati, that had already been detained several times during the last few months, have been investigated again. (www.peiknet.com, September 7, 2003)

· The relatives and friends of the journalist Maziyar Aslani are very concerned about him that had disappeared recently. He and his friend Mehrdad Asgari were arrested on August 8, 2003 at the end of the ceremony for The Journalist Day in Tehran. The prosecutor announced few days after the arrest that Asgari is in prison but did not provide any information on Aslani. No other agency has taken any responsibility for his arrest. The authorities of prisons in Tehran denied of detaining Aslani, while the judge of branch 13 of the revolutionary court informed Aslanis father secretly that he might be detained in one of the official jails. Based on this information, the family approached the Intelligence Ministry, the Revolutionary Guards and the security forces, but no new information was provided. The judge that provided the confidential information disappeared and the judiciary branch informed Aslanis family that the judge was on vacation. (www.emrooz.org, September 7, 2003)

· Tens of writers, poets, and intellectuals in the provinces of Western Azarbaijan, Eastern Azarbaijan, and Ardebil, that were arrested in the last few months accused of mobilizing civilians for participating in the memorial ceremony for Babak Khoramdin, the Iranian national hero, are still detained. Moreover, additional writers and intellectuals such as Ali Soleimani have been arrested during the last two weeks. It was announced that the trial of Soleimani ended while he did not have his own lawyer. The judge indicated at the end of the trial that additional new accusations were added to his file such as disseminating flyers against the regime. Likewise, the health and mental conditions of three Azeri prisoners, Abbas Lesani and his brother, and Parviz Siabi Gorjan have deteriorated. (The Committee for Protecting the Rights of the Political Prisoners in the Azeri Speaking Areas in Iran, September 8, 2003)

Saeed Afsar, the journalist of the newspaper Iran (the publication of the official news agency of the regime), was tried in the court for governments employees. He was tried due to his article that warned of disintegration of the Islamic Republic resulting from the suppressing policy of the regime that creates a distance between the people and the government. (ISNA, September 8, 2003)

· Lotfollah Meisami, the chief editor of the weekly Cheshm andaz-e Iran, was called by the general court of Tehran and found out that he was accused of publishing offensive material against the leaders of the regime, disseminating false information against the Islamic Republic, etc. (ISNA, September 6, 2003)

· The revolutionary court in the city of Kermanshah ruled to dissolve the Association of Young Writers and Intellectuals of the city, and several of the members were arrested and sentenced to fines. Mrs. Maryam Abdolmaleki was sentenced to nine months of jail. (Newspaper Eetemad, September 6, 2003)

Mostafa Sabti, the chief editor of a local newspaper in the Gorgan province, Gorgan-e emrooz, was sentenced to three months of prison and four months conditional. He expressed wonder since the jury in the court for journalism announced that he was not guilty. (ISNA, September 1, 2003)

Dr. Sazgara is still in jail despite the promise to release him due to his health conditions

Dr. Mohammad Mohsen Sazgara, one of the criticizers of the regime, that was supposed to be released from the jail due to the deterioration in health condition following hungry strikes is still in the jail. The prosecutor of the revolutionary court of Tehran the judge Saeed Mortazavi prevents his release. A senior source in the reformist camp claims, As long as the judiciary branch sees itself above the constitution, it is not surprising that it continues to suppress the civilians without any interference. (www.emrooz.org, Tehran, September 1, 2003)

The families of those political prisoners that have been arrested during the last three months emphasize that their relatives are still held in solitary confinements and there has been no change in the conditions despite the promises. The families met with the Majlis members and asked their interference in this issue. (ISNA, September 1, 2003)

A young woman is still threatened to be executed by stoning

A young woman Shahnaz that has been sentenced last month of execution by stoning, is still waiting for this cruel execution. The efforts to convince the judiciary branch to abolish this sentence have failed. The sentence was announced in contradiction to all the promises that the Iranian judiciary branch promised to the European Union regarding execution by stoning. Likewise, Khatamis government made the commitment last year to the European Union that there would be no more stoning. The League for Human Rights in Germany, that follows the violations of human rights in Iran very closely, in a letter to the foreign ministers of the European Union called all of them to intervene immediately on behalf of the young woman. (Radio Farda, September 6, 2003)

Contradicting information regarding the case of the famous professor that has been sentenced to death


Dr. Hashem Aghajari, the famous professor that has been sentenced to death due to his criticism of the Shiite institution throughout the history, is still held in jail. Despite the announcement of the general secretary of the judiciary office in the Hamedan province that denied the ruling of an additional sentence of execution, Aghajaris friends in the organization Mojahedin-e enghelab-e eslami express their fear for his destiny. They are confident that the court in Hamedan has ruled a new sentence after the previous sentence of execution was abolished by the Supreme Court. His friends demanded that Aghajari will move to a jail in Tehran so his family can visit him easily. (www.emrooz.org, Tehran, September 8, 2003)


Hundreds of young civilians that were arrested during the last disturbances are still in jails

Despite the recommendation letter issued by the Supreme Leader, that called the judiciary branch to consider with mercy the cases of the students that have been arrested in disturbances about three months ago, some of these students are still in jails and there is no new announcement regarding hundreds of young individuals that had been arrested. The general prosecutor announced then that about four thousands civilians, mostly young, had been arrested. Most of the detainees have not been released yet and they are held in jails with no trial and no case has been filed against them. The relatives of these detainees are still gathering in front of the Evin prison in Tehran. The journalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested while attempted to photograph these families.


A young woman Fatemeh Ghazaghi, that was arrested during the recent disturbances, is sentenced to two years of prison. (Newspaper Eetemad, September 1, 2003)

The former spokesperson of The Association for Consolidating Unity of the students announced that several of its members that have been arrested during the recent disturbances have not been released yet. The rest have been released temporary and did not receive back their bails. (The news agency of the workers union of Iran, September 7, 2003)

Students active in the university in the city of Mashhad, that had been released, were sentenced to suspension of one year from classes. They were also fined due to damaging the assets of the university. (ISNA, September 8, 2003)

The student association of the university for education in Tehran harshly protested the arrest of Dr. Razavi Faghih about three months ago. The association calls upon the regimes leaders to try to behave with sanity before it will be too late. Dr. Razavi Faghih is the most senior figure among the activists of the association that have been arrested in the recent protests. (ISNA, September 7, 2003)

Payam Dadkhah, a student of Tehran University, committed suicide few days after his release from a two-month arrest. His friends explained that he was a remarkable student but he lost his mental balance due to the torture during the arrest. (www.emrooz.org, Tehran, September 5, 2003)

Naser Zar-afshans request for furlough from prison was rejected

The military court in Tehran rejected the request of the famous lawyer Zar-afshan. Zar-afshan was the lawyer of Forouhar family. The couple Forouhar was murdered about five years ago by the Intelligence agents. Zar-afshan was sentenced to five years of prison and he has already served two years. (ISNA, September 1, 2003)


Minister of Communication confirms: The websites identified by anti-revolutionaries will be shut down, as 170 websites have already been shut down

Minister of Communication announced that following a confirmation from the President Khatami, the Ministry of Communication continues to block those websites that will identify with anti-revolutionary elements in any way. He added that 170 websites that were constructed in Iran have been already blocked during the last few days. He mentioned that about 160 of those websites posted material that was compatible with the propaganda of the anti-revolutionary organizations, and tens of other websites were blocked since they intended to post political material against the regime. He emphasized that in addition to those websites, any other website that will post material against Islamic values or will offense the memory of holy figures in Islam will be also shut down. The minister denied that the blocking came in order to hurt those websites that are identified with the reformist camp. (Aftab-e Yazd, August 30, 2003)

It must be mentioned that towards the election for the Majlis, the reformists complain that tens of websites that had been identified with the reformist camp are shut down recently following an instruction of The Supreme Council for the Cultural Revolution headed by President Khatami.

Public flagellation is back

Public flagellation is back again after a short period. Seven young civilians were flogged this week in the city of Bandar-Abbas accused of disturbances. Each of them was sentenced to 74 flagellants and six months of prison. (Newspaper Jomhouri-ye Eslami, September 8, 2003)

The judiciary branch in Iran is the role model for mercy and justice for the rest of the world!


The clergy Hojatol-eslam Niazi, the president of the military courts of Iran, referred to the Iranian judiciary branch as the symbol of justice and mercy that has to play a role model for the rest of the world. He especially praised the warm attitude of the judiciary branch toward the accused political activities, and stated: There is not a more appropriate and pleasant attitude in the entire world as we hold toward our political cases. He praised the organization that operates under his auspices, and said: The military courts in the Islamic regime are liked by the Iranian people and military personnel, and all the civilians are pleased with the decisions of these courts. (ISNA, September 8, 2003)
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Spenta



Joined: 04 Sep 2003
Posts: 1829

PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 11:54 am    Post subject: More Reply with quote

Stefania just posted this on daneshjoo's DB:

From iraniangirl.blogspot.com

Our unreliable keepers of safety...
I don’t know what is really going on in the city but there are many Police cars in the streets & they are increasing pressure on people.
I heard from someone that they have special plans for this week & are keeping arresting young girls & boys with no special reason.
For example today that I met my friend & she said that her cousin was arrested because he was walking with a girl & now he is in prison & must be whipped & also pay a lot of money as forfeit, she was really depressed & sorry, not for her cousin but for herself that is living in a place that crimes have that strange meanings, yeah, we all must be sorry for ourselves.
But I’m wondering what has happened to people that can’t do anything except being sorry! What is going on with them that let them see young boys & girls lashed, hit, depressed & in so much pain …Just God know what this regime has done to Iranians that has took all they have, their senses, humanity, beliefs & their know Persian prejudice…
Anyways; these days, streets aren’t very safe because of police cars & arrests. Naturally you must be scared & try to be far from police cars, & what an awful city it would be as Tehran is…It’s a shame to be scared of the ones who are supposed to make you feel safe, It’s also a shame to write about realities that really bother people in a part of world but others might be even unable to thing of them.
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Spenta



Joined: 04 Sep 2003
Posts: 1829

PostPosted: Wed Sep 17, 2003 12:02 pm    Post subject: The time will come Reply with quote

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