WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES! Prison and HR abuses.

Paulius · Mar 15, 2012

thanks for giving information

iraniam · Mar 15, 2012

Paulius said: ↑

thanks for giving information

I wish I could post not so sad information about the prisoners in Iran, but this is their story. Almost everyday, they lose their life all over the country by hanging.

Paulius · Mar 15, 2012

i fink that's why WE are her.

Paulius · Mar 15, 2012

to share

Jacky Blue Note · Mar 15, 2012

"iraniam said: ↑

I wish I could post not so sad information about the prisoners in Iran, but this is their story. Almost everyday, they lose their life all over the country by hanging.

I believe that you are showing great courage, seeking out these reports on the human rights abuses in Iran, and posting them here, where they collect into a searchable body of knowledge.

And I think there are many WWP Members here who share the horror and sadness that you experience, with what you find and post for the forum. Your bravery is appreciated. I know that I couldn't do what you are doing.

It is quite okay to take breaks from this activity. Please, don't burn yourself out on it. Iran is not the whole world.

lulzgasm · Mar 15, 2012

Too bad we can't just save the whole planet by building Liberty Prime.

iraniam · Mar 16, 2012

I truly appreciate your concern but I promised myself to continue this jurney till all my countryman are free and I hope one day soon Iran becomes it magnificent self again and we all be there to witness it.

Anonymous · Mar 16, 2012

iraniam said: ↑

I truly appreciate your concern but I promised myself to continue this jurney till all my countryman are free and I hope one day soon Iran becomes it magnificent self again and we all be there to witness it.

This will be a wonderful day for the people of Iran! As the clams would say, I share your postulate.

iraniam · Mar 17, 2012

Iranian Teacher Abdolreza Ghanbari on the Verge of Execution

Imprisoned teacher Abdolreza Ghanbari’s pardon request has been denied by the Pardon Commission of Tehran Province Judiciary, a source close to his family told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. With the rejection of his pardon request, once the head of the Judiciary issues his approval, Ghanbari may be executed at any moment.
“On Monday, just before his visit with his family, prison authorities informed him that his pardon request has been refused. Mr. Ghanbari gave this news to his family during their visit. Now they are concerned day and night that Abdolreza’s death sentence may be carried out at any moment,” the source said.

Abdolreza Ghanbari, 44, is a Persian literature teacher and a resident of the poverty-stricken Pakdasht, near the town of Varamin. He was arrested immediately following the street protests on 27 December 2009 (Ashura Day) at his place of work, and was tried on 30 January 2010 without the knowledge of his family or access to a defense lawyer.

Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court under Judge Salavati sentenced Ghanbari to death on charges of “moharebeh (enmity with God), through participation in the street gatherings on Ashura Day,” and “contact with enemy groups.” Under Iran’s penal code, moharebeh is meant to criminalize acts of armed action against the government. At his trial, the evidence of his “contact with enemy groups” was presented as “suspicious emails” and “contact with a media outlet outside the country.”

On 10 May 2011, Branch 36 of Tehran Appeals Court under Judge Zargar upheld Abdolreza Ghanbari’s death sentence. Ghanbari subsequently submitted a request to the Pardon Commission of Tehran Province Judiciary, which has just been denied.

“His family has written a letter to the head of the Judiciary again, asking for a review, but so far they have not heard back and don’t know what will happen,” the source told the Campaign.

Abdolreza Ghanbari is currently being held in Ward 350 of Evin Prison. He was reportedly beaten during his interrogations and was denied basic rights such as contact with his family and access to a defense lawyer.

“During his trial in the lower court he did not have a lawyer. They took him to court unexpectedly. We hired him a lawyer later, but his lawyer has not been allowed to meet him even once. Abdolreza’s family can only communicate with the authorities through writing letters,” the source said.

Asked about Ghanbari’s physical and psychological conditions, the source said, “Thank God he is well psychologically. He is waiting to see what happens. But his physical conditions are not good. He has developed kidney disease in prison, something he didn’t have before. His family’s letters requesting his transfer to a hospital outside and his treatment have all remained unanswered.”
Political prisoner may face execution soon

There is growing fear over the fate of Habibollah Golparipour, an Iranian-Kurdish political prisoner who may be in imminent danger of execution.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that Golparipour was moved from the prison ward and taken to the solitary confinement area of the intelligence office.

The report indicates that Golparipour was called by an Oroumiyeh Prison guard to take a phone call but instead was immediately moved to an unknown location.

HRANA's source reveals that in the past two months, Golparpour has been moved twice to the intelligence office detention centre and threatened with the imminent execution of his death sentence.
The 37-year-old prisoner was arrested two and a half years ago in possession of a number of books.

He was reportedly subjected to severe physical and psychological torture at the security and military jails at Mahabad, Oroumiyeh and Sanandaj.

In March of 2010, he was sentenced to death for the charge of membership in the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).

The sentence was approved in the appellate court last September.
Golparipour has denied taking part in any kind of armed activities, and his father confirms that his son's activities were solely cultural
.

http://www.payvand.com/news/12/mar/1166.html

iraniam · Mar 21, 2012

Prison walls continue to divide Iranian families during New Year festivities

GVF — On Tuesday, Iranian around the globe celebrated Nowruz (meaning “New Day”) marking the start of spring.
While it is custom to celebrate the Iranian New Year alongside family, some chose to spend the early moments of spring next to Iran’s notorious Evin prison.

The image below shows former chancellor of Tehran University Mohammad Maleki (right), filmmaker and blogger Mohammad Nourizad and the family of political prisoner Ehsan Houshmand sitting close to the towering walls of Evin prison. Both Nourizad and Maleki have been imprisoned for their dissident views in recent years.

The little girl in the picture is Houshmand’s eight-year old daughter, who had written, “I love you dad. Come home” on a piece of paper she carried with her. The elderly man in the photo is the imprisoned journalist's father.

Ehsan Houshmand, a writer for the political magazine Cheshm-Andaaze Iran, was arrested on 7 January by six plain-clothed security forces who, according to opposition website Kaleme, posed as drug enforcement police.
Under the watchful eyes of the guard in the watchtower, the group initially set up a Nowruz Haft Seen in front of the prison’s main gate. They were then told by Evin officials to pack up and leave, after which they relocated to a nearby bridge.

Shortly afterwards, they were forced to leave the area.
Like many of their comrades, the leaders of the Green Movement also spent Nowruz within the confines of prison. Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard and Mahdi Karroubi have been under house arrest since mid-February 2011 after they called for opposition demonstrations in support of the Arab Spring. Human rights groups believe their continued detention is not only in violation of international conventions, but are also in breach of Iran’s own constitution.

On Wednesday, Karroubi’s son Mohammad Hosein Karroubi announced that on the first day of spring his father was allowed a twelve-hour visitation with the family, the first meeting in almost four months.

“Along with my mother, brothers and [the rest of] the family, we went to the house where my father is under house arrest. This reunion lasted for about twelve hours … it was the first visit that took place without the physical presence of intelligence agents,” he said in a Facebook post.

According to Karroubi’s son, his father congratulated the Iranian people on the New Year and added, “I am in good spirits. Having said that, solitude has its own difficulties. However, as I believe in what I do and the path I’ve chosen … I do not feel fatigue or despair, and have never been this grateful to God. I have full hope that this path will bring [the desired] results.”

On 16 March, the Coordination Council of the Green Path of Hope said that the Green Movement’s slogan for the New Iranian Year would be “the expansion of civil struggles and standing up to warmongering.”

“For more than a hundred years, the Iranian nation has been struggling to achieve freedom and justice. If we have not been successful, we must find the reason in ourselves. Justice and freedom must turn into a culture in [each and every one of] us. Only then will we realise these ideals.”

The Council, an important body within the opposition Green Movement, said that Haft Seen symbolised the “diversity of outlooks on life and beliefs” that existed in the country. “Our travels during the Nowruz period are a reminder of the vastness of our country, the diversity of its people, and the long path we have ahead of us before we come to respect these differences.”

“Nowruz is a symbol of the national and religious identity shared by Iranians across the country and the world,” the members continued.

“We want a free, prosperous and independent Iran with a just government. We want an Iran where the forceful elimination of those who think differently comes to an end; We want an Iran where its best and brightest are not forced to emigrate to other parts of the world against their own will; An Iran where all benefit from freedom and rights, [an Iran where] their creativity flourishes and they see peace and security in their everyday lives; An Iran where ethnic, religious, sectarian and sexual discrimination are not obstacles in the way of success. An Iran that, instead of enmity with the rest of the world, establishes relations with other [countries] based on mutual respect, dialogue, and constructive collaboration while safeguarding her national interests, territorial integrity and security.”

The Coordination Council warned that the country’s moral, social, economic and cultural foundations were on the verge of “collapse” due to the policies of the hardliners currently in power. “We must not wait for the government [to act]. This government thinks of no one but itself and [it thinks of] nothing other than sacrificing national interests in order to prolong its own life.”

The Islamic Republic’s behaviour, the statement went on to add, had become “predictable” for the population. It argued that despite the relentless crackdown on press freedoms, the Green Movement’s media had experienced a “quantitative and qualitative” growth.

“At the same time, those who until yesterday would not criticise the regime out of good will, are increasingly jumping ship. Rifts and differences in dealing with the country’s issues are evident within the most important military and security bodies. In the year that went by, it became clear that not all Revolutionary Guards members and Basijis are to be viewed through the same lens.”

In January, former IRGC Navy Chief & Brigadier General Hossein Alaei compared Iran’s Supreme Leader with the late Shah who was ousted from power following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“The wrongful behaviour of the Shah’s security forces had amplified the people’s dissatisfaction with the monarchy and helped maintain it,” the retired admiral wrote in an article that appeared in the Ettelaat daily. “As the number of people killed on the streets, imprisonments and political prisoners rose, the Shah’s regime essentially lost its grandeur too.”

The article infuriated Iran’s hardliners. One pro-government website called Alaei a “hyena” who had attempted to discredit the Islamic Revolution by comparing it to the Pahlavi Dynasty. A letter signed by twelve current commanders of the IRGC accused the admiral of having ungraciously “insulted” Khamenei.

Many saw Alaei’s comments as a sign of growing divisions within Iran’s security and military establishment.

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/mar/21/3573

iraniam · Mar 29, 2012

Demand Release of Seven Baha’i Leaders Unjustly Imprisoned

CLICK HERE TO SEND A LETTER >>

The seven Baha’i prisoners – photographed several months before their arrest – are (front) Behrouz Tavakkoli and Saeid Rezaie; and (standing) Fariba Kamalabadi, Vahid Tizfahm, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, and Mahvash Sabet.

Seven leaders of the Baha’i community have to date spent 10,000 total days behind bars in Iran solely on the basis of their faith. United4Iran joins the Baha’i International Community in raising awareness about their unjust imprisonment and urging their immediate release.
The Seven Baha’i leaders are:

Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi

Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani

Mr. Afif Naeimi

Mr. Saeid Rezaie

Mrs. Mahvash Sabet

Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli

Mr. Vahid Tizfahm

Prior to their arrests in 2008, the seven were members of an informal national-level group that attended to the spiritual and social needs of Iran’s Baha’i community. They were each sentenced to 20-years imprisonment after six brief court sessions characterized by a lack of due process.

Some 20 months after being held without charge in Tehran’s Evin prison, the seven leaders were charged with, among other things, “espionage”, “propaganda against the Islamic republic”, “establishment of an illegal administration” – charges that were all rejected completely and categorically by the defendants.

The five men are currently serving out their sentence at Gohardasht prison, some 50 kilometers west of Tehran. The two women are in Evin prison after previously being held in Gohardasht and a brief stay in appalling conditions at Qarchak prison.

Bani Dugal, the Baha’i International Community’s principal representative to the United Nations, said, “The seven were, and remain, totally innocent of any wrongdoing. Ten thousand days of their lives have literally been stolen from them forever – days that they would have dedicated to the service of their fellow countrymen. The day is long overdue when these prisoners are freed to be able to make their contribution to the country they love.”

Last year, United4Iran appealed for urgent action because there were indications that the lives of Mrs. Kamalabadi and Mrs. Sabet may be in danger due to threats from other prisoners they were being held with.
We are urging you now to continue to ask for their unconditional release. An online letter can be found and customized here.

http://united4iran.org/2012/03/demand-release-of-seven-bahai-leaders-unjustly-imprisoned

Mutante · Mar 29, 2012

These sick cunts are almost as bad as Brits and Americans.

Anonymous · Mar 29, 2012

Mutante said: ↑

These sick cunts are almost as bad as Brits and Americans.

Or at least, as bad as scientologists.

Mutante · Mar 29, 2012

Anonymous said: ↑

Or at least, as bad as scientologists.

oh u !!!!!

iraniam · Apr 5, 2012

One prisoner was hanged in central Iran

Iran Human Rights, April 5: One prisoner was hanged in the town of Aran-Bigdel, reported the Iranian state broadcasting today. The report that was quoting the security chief of Aran- Bigdel Ali Babaei said: The prisoner was charged with keeping 760 grams of crack, 4 grams of synthetic heroin and 11 grams of opium.

The prisoner was not identified by name.

According to IHR’s annual report on the death penalty in 2011in Iran, more than 80 per cent of those executed in Iran were charged with drug-related crimes, but only 9 per cent of them are identified by name.

http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/120535.html

iraniam · Apr 11, 2012

10 PRISONERS WERE HANGED IN IRAN

Iran Human Rights, April 10: Ten prisoners were executed in Iran yesterday and today, reported the state run Iranian media.

Three prisoners were executed in Shehr-e-Kord (western Iran) this morning:

According to the Young Joyrnalist’s Club (associated with the Iranian state broadcasting) three prisoners were executed in the central prison of Shahr-e-Kord early this morning April 10. According to the report the prisoners who were not identified by name, were convicted of drug-related crimes.

One of the prisoners was convicted of carrying 400 grams of crack, 22 grams of "shisheh" (synthetic heroin) and 14 grams of hashish, and had in addition confessed to selling one kilogram of heroin, said the report. The two other prisoners were convicted of participation in keeping 3 kilos and 102 grams of heroin, crack and shisheh, and participation in keeping 2 kilos and 783 grams of the same substances, respectively.

Two prisoners were hanged in Tabas (eastern Iran) today:

According to the state run Iranian news agency ISNA, two prisoners were hanged in the prison of Tabas (eastern Iran) this morning April 10. According to the report the prisoners were identified as "A. H." (45 year-old) charged with participation in carrying 1380 kilos of opium, 498 kilos of morphine, and keeping and carrying 190 kilos of opium, and "M. M." (30 year-old) charged with carrying 30 kilos of heroin, said the report.

Five prisoners were hanged in Kerman province (southeastern Iran):

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary in Kerman, five prieoners were hanged in the cities of Bam and Kerman yesterday April 9. None of the prisoners were identified by name and no further details were given in the report.

According to IHR’s annual report on the death penalty in 2011 in Iran, more than 676 people were executed in 2011 in this country. According to this report more than 80% of those executed were charged with drug-related offences and tried behind closed doors by the revolutionary courts. IHR has received several reports of forced confessions in such cases.

http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/120843.html

iraniam · Apr 16, 2012

Toronto shoe salesman faces imminent execution in Tehran prison

GVF — Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, a dual national of Iran and Canada, faces imminent execution on espionage-related charges, sources told the Green Voice of Freedom on Sunday.

A judiciary official reportedly told Ghassemi-Shall’s family that his execution order had already been sent to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences, a worrying sign that the death penalty could be carried out at any moment.

The Toronto shoe salesman was arrested in May 2008 while visiting his family in Iran. He spent eighteen months in solitary confinement and had no legal representation during the first eight months of his imprisonment.

His arrest came days after his brother, Alborz Ghassemi-Shall, was also arrested on espionage charges. The former navel officer died in prison on 19 May 2010. Officials claimed cancer was the cause of death.
In the summer of 2009, Hamid Ghassemi-Shall was convicted of espionage and having links with the Mojahedin-e Khalgh terrorist Organisation, and was sentenced to death by Branch 29 of Revolutionary Courts. The Supreme Court later upheld the sentence and Ghassemi-Shall’s amnesty appeal was rejected.

Speaking to Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad, Hamid Ghassemi-Shall’s sister Parvin dismissed the charges against her brother, saying there was no real evidence against him. Even officials within the judiciary who had studied the case confessed to Ghassem-Shall’s innocence, she argued.

Hamid Ghassemi-Shall’s other sister passed away just days ago.
Parvin Ghassemi-Shall, who visited her brother in prison on Saturday, said the looming threat of execution and the latest loss of a family member had taken a psychological toll on him.

“I’d like to ask all Iranians to help [us] … Don’t let them take Hamid from us too … [Do] whatever you can for Hamid. I swear to God he has done nothing wrong. He’s said in all his letters that he’s not affiliated with any [political] group; he’s not even a political activist. There’s no evidence [against him] either.”

In his second report, Ahmad Shaheed, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran urged the country’s officials to “seriously consider a moratorium on the death penalty for all crimes until such time as effective enforcement of due process rights may be meaningfully demonstrated.”

Another Canadian-Iranian, software engineer Saeed Malekpour is also facing imminent execution for allegedly running a pornography website, a charge firmly denied by the family

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/apr/15/3600

iraniam · Apr 16, 2012

Canada calls for clemency in execution case

GVF — In a statement on Sunday, Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Minister of State of Foreign Affairs Diane Ablonczy said Canada was “gravely concerned” that the execution of death row inmate Ghassemi-Shall “may be carried out imminently.”

“Canada urgently appeals to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to grant clemency to Mr. Ghassemi-Shall on compassionate and humanitarian grounds,” the statement went on to add.

Hours earlier, the Green Voice of Freedom reported that Ghassemi-Shall’s execution order had been sent to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences, a worrying sign that the death penalty could be carried out at any moment.

Ghassemi-Shall is a dual national of Iran and Canada.

See bellow for the full text of the statement:
Canada is gravely concerned by indications that the execution of Mr. Ghassemi-Shall may be carried out imminently.
Canada urgently appeals to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to grant clemency to Mr. Ghassemi-Shall on compassionate and humanitarian grounds.
We urge Iran to reverse its current course and to adhere to its international human rights obligations.

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/apr/16/3601

iraniam · Apr 17, 2012

Indiscriminate executions of the alleged drug traffickers

Iran Human Rights: Eight prisoners were hanged in the Adelabad prison of Shiraz (Southern Iran), reported the state run Iranian media today.

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary, the eight prisoners were all convicted of drug-related charges. According to some reports the executions took place yesterday, Sunday April 15.

None of the prisoners were identified by name.

According to another report by the state run Iranian news agency Fars, tens of drug-convicted prisoners are scheduled to be executed in the northwestern province of Ardebil. The report which was quoting the chief prosecutor of Ardebil, Gholamali Rezaei, said: "85 (alleged) drug traffickers were sentenced to death in the province of Ardebil last year (20. March 2011 to 20. March 2012)". He continued:”Some of the 85 prisoners sentenced to death, were executed last year, and the rest of them will be executed during this year".

According to the official Iranian reports 3 unidentified prisoners have been executed in the province of Ardebil in 2011.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of Iran Human Rights strongly condemned the executions and urged the international community to react to Iranian regime’s indiscriminate execution of propel under the pretext of fighting the drug trafficking. He said: "Unfortunately the international community does not react strongly enough to the execution of alleged drug traffickers". Amiry-Moghaddam added: "We know that many of those executed for drug trafficking are among the weakest members of the Iranian society and are just being easy targets for the Iranian authority’s execution machine that is meant to spread terror among the people".

According to IHR’s annual report on the death penalty in 2011 in Iran, more than 80% of those executed in Iran are charged with drug-related crimes, but only 9% of those officially executed for such charges are identified by their full names.

http://www.iranpressnews.com/english/source/121302.html

iraniam · Apr 18, 2012

Two prisoners executed today- 20 executions in the past eight days in Iran

Iran Human Rights, April 17: Two prisoners were executed in the prison of Zanjan (western Iran) today.
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, two prisoners were executed in the prison of Zanjan early this morning April 17. The prisoners who were not identified by name were convicted of keeping and carrying narcotic drugs, said the report.

Since April 9. at least 20 people have been executed in the Iranian cities of Kerman, Tabas, Shahr-e-Kord, Shiraz and Zanjan. All these prisoners have been convicted of drug-related charges and none of them have been identified by their full names.

Yesterday, Iran Human Rights urged the international communityto show strong reactions to the indiscriminate execution of prisoners who are allegedly convicted of drug-related charges.

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2469

iraniam · Apr 19, 2012

Four prisoners executed in Iran: One hanged in public

Iran Human Rights, April 19: Four prisoners were executed in three different cities of Iran, reported the state run Iranian media.

One prisoner hanged in Semnan (northern Iran) yesterday April 18:
The official site of the judiciary in Semnan (northern Iran) reported that one prisoner was hanged in the prison of this city Wednesday April 18. According to the report the prisoner was convicted of keeping and carrying 3 kilos and 984 grams of crack (concentrated heroin). The prisoner was idenified by the initials "M. Gh.".
Two prisoners were hanged in the prison of Isfahan (Centarl Iran) this morning:
According to the Iranian state broadcasting two prisoners were hanged in the central prison of Isfahan. The prisoners who were not identified by name, were convicted of keeping 710 grams and 628 grams of crack respectively, said the report.

One man was hanged publicly in the town of Marvdasht (central Iran):
The official Iranian news agency IRNA reported that one man was hanged publicly in the town of Marvdasht (Fars province, Central Iran) this morning, Thursday April 19. The man who was identified as "S. M." and was convicted of sodomy rape. According to the report the man was also charged with kidnapping and murder.

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2472

iraniam · Apr 22, 2012

Sister of Canadian on Death Row in Iran: News of Imminent Execution Delivered to Hamid During Our Prison Visit

Antonella Mega, Hamid Ghassemi-Shall's wife (centre) stands with members of Amnesty Canada to raise awareness about her spouse's situation. Photo taken in Toronto, Ontario.
Siavosh Jalili, Persian2English – Hamid Ghassemi-Shall’s sister told Rooz Online’s Fereshteh Ghazi the notice that the death sentence was sent to the Execution of Sentences Circuit Office was delivered to Hamid Ghassemi-Shall while his mother and sister were at the prison paying him a visit.

Hamid’s sister Parvin Ghassemi-Shall, who accompanied her mother in the visit, said to Fereshteh Ghazi, “The execution was stayed two years ago on the order of Mr. Larijani. We were hopeful that Hamid would be released. However, since yesterday when the notice was issued, we have been extremely worried about whether Hamid will live to see another day. Yesterday’s visit was irregular. Prison visits are granted on Mondays to political prisoners held in ward 350 (the general ward), but yesterday they suddenly called us and told us to come and visit him. While we were there, they delivered the execution notice.”

Hamid Ghassemi-Shall, who has been in prison since June 14, 2008, was sentenced to death on the charges of espionage and ties to the MEK by branch 29 of the Revolutionary Court. The sentence has been upheld and confirmed by Iran’s Supreme Court. The request for clemency was rejected by the Pardon and Clemency Board.
Mr. Ghassemi-Shall’s sister told Rooz Online that her brother had no political activities, and there is no evidence in his file pointing to or proving his guilt.

She had told Rooz before that the only evidence presented to the court was an e-mail which was never sent by Mr. Ghassemi-Shall.
Parvin Ghassemi-Shall said: “There is no evidence. There is an A4 sheet of paper which is used as evidence they claim is the copy of an e-mail Hamid sent Alborz (his brother) requesting information and intelligence.

However, the e-mail address appearing on the page does not belong to my brother. We requested many times for an expert to analyze the case but they have refused. My brothers asked them repeatedly to inquire from the Yahoo! server to see whether such an e-mail address ever existed at all. [The authorities] claim that they had access to [Hamid's and Alborz's] e-mails all along and were able to see their e-mails. If that is really the case, then why is there only this one A4 sheet of paper. There is no other evidence, no phone, no e-mail, nothing else.”

She added that they presented the copy of this A4 sheet of paper to two judicial experts who investigated the matter and informed them that there is no such address within the Yahoo! server. She called the evidence “so ridiculous that even a child who has just started to work with computers would realize it is fabricated.” However, she said, “The judge offered strange interpretations. Since there was the word “reminder” in the subject of the e-mail, the judge argued that there was a precedent and a pattern to the crime. And, because the e-mail ended with the phrase “in the hopes of victory”, the judge argued that a certain objective was being followed. Such arguments became the evidence of a crime for which they issued a death sentence for. That is why when I try to explain the situation to Hamid’s Canadian wife, she cannot understand it or believe it. She is right– such things only happen in our country.”

Antonella Mega with Hamid Ghassemi-Shall before his visit to Iran and subsequent arrest.
Parvin explains that Hamid, who is a Canadian citizen, visited Iran in May 2008 on an annual trip to see his family. “When my other brother Alborz was arrested, Hamid followed up. He would go to the Military Prosecutions office everyday. However, in June, they arrested him as well and claimed that Alborz was providing information and intelligence to the MEK through Hamid. Subsequently, they sentenced both my brothers to death.”

Alborz Ghassemi-Shall died while he was being held in Evin prison. Parvin told Rooz Online: “Alborz was a Naval Force Captain, an instructor for Special Unit forces. He had been retired three years prior to his arrest and had applied for a passport. He was contacted by the military’s intelligence to go and get his passport, but he never returned.

She added: “In January 2010, they informed us that Alborz died in prison of cancer. However, he was a healthy person…We were never provided with the autopsy results even though it was our right to know why and how our brother died. One time the military’s Intelligence Secretary told us, ‘We thought that they would just give him a slap on the wrist or a simple rebuke. We never thought it would end up like this.’ However, he did not specify why he should have received a rebuke. Unfortunately, any body who is a conscientious worker in our country is dealt a blow.”

Parvin also told Rooz Online that Mr. Jafari, the head of branch 31 of the Supreme Court informed her that there is no evidence or proof in Hamid’s case, however, since the sentence has already been decided he will remain silent. Parvin asked him whether he was ready to sell his soul. His answer was silence.

Parvin Ghassemi-Shall describes their [family's] life as a “living hell”. Her mother just lost one of her daughters, her son Alborz died in prison, and she just witnessed her other son’s execution notice being delivered to him before her eyes.

Parvin said: “My mother has lost all her energy, and I am weak too. Our life is a living hell. We do not know whether they will take my brother to the gallows or he will be able to see the light tomorrow. Whether they call it Islamic mercy or something else, I ask them to not execute my brother. I ask everyone to write a line or say some words so that maybe the Islamic Republic will have mercy on my brother.”

I implore anyone who has a good relationship with the Islamic Republic to help us, and not let an innocent blood to be shed. I ask Mr. Larijani to study the case once again. Both my brothers were innocent. One is gone, please save the other one.

http://persian2english.com/?p=23790

iraniam · Apr 27, 2012

13 prisoners, among them five Afghan citizens, were executed in Iran

Iran Human Rights, April 26: Five prisoners were executed in the prison of Shahrud (northern Iran) Tuesday April 25. reported the offcial Iranian sources. Eight other prisoners were hanged in Karaj (west of Tehran) according to unofficial reports.

According to the official website of the Iranian judiciary in Semnan Province five prisoners, among them four Afghan citizens, were hanged in the prison of Shahrud. The prisoners were identified as "M. M.", "S. P.", "A. S.", "M. B." (all Afghan citizens) and "H. P.", and were convicted of keeping and carrying large quantities of narcotic substances, according to the report.

Eight prisoners, among them one Afghan citizen, were hanged in Karaj:
According to unofficial reports published by the "Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran" (HRDAI) eight prisoners were hanged in the Rajaei Shahr prison of Karaj (west of Tehran) on Tuesday April 25. The report identified these prisoners as "Mohammad Shafi Heydari (33 year old, Afghan citizen), Hossein Bagheri (20), Mohammad Rezaei (60), Mohammad Jafghaei (42), Yadollah Kabiri (50), Abbas Beigi (38), Abolghasem Pourhasan (37) and Alireza Shokohi-Manesh (37). The charges were not mentioned in the report.

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2474

iraniam · Apr 30, 2012

Four prisoners were executed in northern Iran today April 30.

Iran Human Rights, April 30: Four prisoners were hanged in the prison of Shahrud early this morning April 30.
According to the state run Iranian news agency ISNA, the prisoners were identified as "M. J.", "R. R.", "Ch. M." (all from Urmia) and "A. M." from Rasht. All the four prisoners were convicted of drug trafficking said the report.
According to the Kurdish news agency Kurdpa, one of those who was executed today was a Kurdish prisoner by the full name of "Changiz Majidi" son of Mohammad, a kurdish.

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2477

iraniam · May 7, 2012

Ten prisoners were executed in Iran

Iran Human Rights, May 7: Ten prisoners were executed in Iran reported Iranian state media today.

Nine prisoners executed in Tehran today:
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, nine prisoners were hanged in Tehran’s Evin prison today.
Seven of the prisoners were convicted of planning to send a container with 500 kilograms of "Shisheh" to a Southeast Asian country, said the report. The prisoners were identified as Reza Golshani, Abolfazl Norouzi, Majid Heydarkhani, Majid Doosti, Majid Mandehi, Ali Alaeiand Babak Paravarzar, according to the report.

The two other prisoners who were hanged in Tehran today were two brothers by the names Bahman and Behzad Nabavi. They were convicted of synthesizing and keeping 212 kilos and 610 grams of Shisheh, said the report.

One prisoner was hanged in the prison of Tabriz (North-eastern Iran):
According to the state run Iranian news agency Fars, a man convicted of sexually abusing several minor girls was hanged in the prison of Tabriz (North-eastern Iran). The man was not identified by name. The news of his execution was published by the state run Iranian media today. However, according to Iran Human Rights’ sources the execution took place on Wednesday May 3.

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2479

MOD Edit: "Shisheh" = crystal methedrine.

SOJOA · May 7, 2012

Can Iranians achieve equal rights and stop these abuses and still hold onto their religion and its teachings?

.......Seriously. Can you? Because it has happened all throughout your history.

iraniam · May 9, 2012

Journalist Mahsa Amrabadi summoned to serve out jail term

GVF — Iranian journalist Mahsa Amrabadi has been summoned to serve out a one-year prison term.
She was summoned to the notorious Evin Prison on Tuesday, sources told the Green Voice of Freedom.
In October 2010, a Tehran Revolutionary Court presided over by Judge Moghiseh sentenced Amrabadi to a year in prison on "propaganda" charges related to her "interviews and journalistic reports." She later received an additional one-year jail sentence and a four-year suspended term on charges of "assembly and collusion against national security."

She is the wife of imprisoned journalist Masoud Bastani. The couple were arrested in the aftermath of the widely disputed 2009 presidential election. While Amrabadi was released after spending more than two months in prison, her husband has not yet been granted furlough since his arrest in July 2009. He is currently serving a six-year jail term in Rejaee Shahr prison in the city of Karaj.

Amrabadi was detained once again on 1 March 2011 while protesting the house arrest of Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi. She was released a few weeks later.

In an interview with opposition site Kaleme, Amrabadi's mother Maryam Naghi called on the authorities to bring an end to the imprisonment of dissidents. She also urged the judiciary to transfer her daughter and son-in-law to the same detention centre so as to ease the family's suffering. “It’s quite hard for us to have to go to Evin and Rajaee Shahr prisons every week to see our loved ones. The least they could do is to hold them at the same prison. It would make it easier [for us] to visit them.”

Authorities have also summoned Green Movement supporter Omid Kharazmian to serve a four-year prison sentence at Evin. Kharazmian, a hotel employee, was arrested at his home on 8 February 2010 after having attended opposition protests in late December 2009.

According to a post on his Facebook page, he was obligated to present himself to prison authorities on 24 April.

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/may/09/3626

iraniam · May 15, 2012

A prisoner charged with espionage for Israel and killing an Iranian nuclear scientist, was hanged this morning

Iran Human Rights, May 15: A prisoner identified as "Majid Jamali Fashi" was hanged in Tehran this morning.

According to the official site of the Iranian judiciary in Tehran," Majid Jamali Fashi" was convicted of "Moharebeh" and "corruption on earth" for murdering the Iranian nuclear scientist "(Masoud) Ali Mohammadi" and espionage for Mosad (the Israeli intelligence). He was sentenced to death in September 2011.

Iranian state media on Sunday announced that the trials of 10 to 15 "convicts of collaboraion with Mosad (the Israeli intelligence service) took place in Tehran. According to these news "most" of those charged were sentenced to imprisonment. According to the Iranian opposition website Kalemeh the Iranian student Omid Kokabee was among those convicted for espionage on Sunday. Iran Human Rights has now confirmed that Omid Kokabee, the Iranian graduate student at the University of Texas, who was arrested by the Iranian authorities when he was visiting Iran, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail.According to the state run Mehr news agency the verdicts can be appealed within 20 days.

Iran Human Rights spokesperson condemned today’s execution and the heavy jail sentences issued on Sunday. He said: "We have many reports indicating that prisoners are subjected to torture and forced confessions". He added: "Often the prisoners are sentenced based on the confessions they have made under torture".

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2484

iraniam · May 16, 2012

Iranian physicist sentenced to prison

Omid Kokabee, an Iranian graduate student who has been imprisoned in Tehran for the past 15 months, was sentenced to 10 years on Sunday for allegedly conspiring with foreign countries against Iran.

Judge Abolghasem Salavati of Branch 15 of Tehran’s Revolution Court — who is famous for his harsh sentences — tried 10 to 15 people in the same trial, under the collective charge of collaborating with Israel’s intelligence agency, Mossad.

Kokabee, a graduate student who previously worked on the physics of optics at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Barcelona, Spain, and more recently at the University of Texas in Austin, was arrested in Tehran in February 2011 on charges of “communicating with a hostile government” and “illegal earnings” (see ‘A year in jail without trial for Iranian student accused of spying’).

Close contacts of Kokabee in Iran have lamented the fact that no proof was presented at the trial to justify the sentence. Whereas other prisoners in the group declared themselves guilty in a television broadcast on the evening before the trial, the physics student has consistently denied all charges and refused to speak in court. (Faces are obscured in the broadcast, but Kokabee may be the person who appears at 24 seconds in a blue shirt.) He plans to appeal the sentence, according to his contacts.

International concern
Since Nature first highlighted Kokabee’s case (see ‘Missing physicist may have been jailed in Iran’), various organizations have written to the Iranian authorities asserting his innocence and asking for a fair trial — including the Committee of Concerned Scientists, a human-rights group based in New York; the American Physical Society in College Park, Maryland; and a group of four international optics organizations. His case has been included as a cause for concern in the report of Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran.

In an open letter written while in prison, Kokabee claimed that the authorities were trying to obtain his “collaboration” through threats to him and his family; in another, he insisted that he was not a political activist, something that his friends confirm. Kokabee’s friends speculate that his frequent trips to Iran — totalling four or five in 2010 — may have aroused the suspicions of the Iranian authorities.

“This will send chills through the Iranian higher-education system, particularly scholars and students who seek to enhance and expand their horizons abroad,” says Hadi Ghaemi, a physicist previously at City University in New York and director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an association that has recently promoted aninitiative for imprisoned students.

Meanwhile, Majid Jamali Fashi, convicted in August last year of murdering nuclear scientist Massoud Ali-Mohammadi in Tehran in 2010 (see ‘Iranian academics fear more killings’), was executed this morning, according to the Iranian state news agency

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/may/16/3634

iraniam · May 17, 2012

26 PRISONERS EXECUTED IN IRAN: 10 OFFICIAL AND 16 UNOFFICIAL EXECUTIONS IN THREE PRISONS

Iran Human Rights, May 17: According to the official and unofficial reports 26 prisoners were executed in three different Iranian prisons yesterday and today.
Ten of the executions were announced by official Iranian media while 16 other executions were reported by a rights group.

SEVEN PRISONERS, AMONG THEM ONE WOMAN, EXECUTED IN KERMANSHAH (WESTERN IRAN):
According to the official site of the Iranian judiciary in Kermanshah seven prisoners were hanged in the central prison of this city early yesterday morning, May 16.
All the prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges said the report.

According to the report the prisoners executed yesterday in Kermanshah are identified as:
"A. A." (woman) for keeping and carrying 27 kilograms of heroin, "R. A." for participation in keeping and carrying 100 kilograms of morphine and 254 kilograms of opium, "Kh. Sh." for participation in keeping and carrying 57 kilograms of opium, "M. B." for participation in keeping and carrying 69 kilograms of opium, "A. S." for participation in keeping and carrying 4 kilos and 548 grams of morphine, "M. S."For participation in keeping and carrying narcotics (not specified in the report), and "M. Kh." for participation in keeping and carrying 1529 grams of crack.

THREE PRISONERS HANGED IN THE PRISON OF ARDEBIL (NORTHEASTERN IRAN):The official website of the Iranian judiciary in Ardebil (northeastern Iran) reported about execution of three prisoners in the prison of Ardebil this morning, Thursday May 17. According to the report the prisoners were convicted of buying and carrying 105 grams of heroin, 498,15 grams of heroin and 160 kilograms and 493 grams of opium. None of the prisoners were identified by their names.

16 PRISONERS (AMONG THEM FOUR WOMEN) WERE HANGED IN THE PRISON F YAZD (CENTRAL IRAN) ACCORDING TO UNOFFICIAL REPORT:
According to a report by the group "Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran" (HRDAI), 16 prisoners were hanged in the prison of Yazd early this morning Thursday May 17. According to the report there were four women among the prisoners executed today. The report also said that five of the 16 prisoners were Afghan citizens. One of the Afghan prisoners executed today was identified by "Mohammad Damardeh" (25 year old) son of Nour Mohammad originally imprisoned for illegal immigration to Iran but later the case changed to drug trafficking, said the report.

The executions in Yazd have still not been confirmed by the official Iranian sources.
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemns yesterday and today’s mass executions in the Iranian prisons. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR urged the international community to show strong reaction to the executions in Iran. He said: "The world must not get used to the executions in Iran. Most of the people executed in Iran haven’t been through fair trials and each of the executions must be condemned by the international community".

http://iranhr.net/spip.php?article2489

iraniam · May 22, 2012

Iranian political prisoner dies in jail

Mansour Radpour

An Iranian political prisoner at Rejai Shahr Prison in Karaj has died in jail, and a preliminary examination points to a cerebral hemorrhage as the cause of death.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that Mansour Radpour died Monday at 8 AM, and his face, neck and feet appeared darkened.

According to HRANA, Radpour suffered from a myriad of health conditions such as high blood pressure as well as heart and kidney problems, but prison authorities refused him adequate treatment.

HRANA also reports that Radpour had suffered from nausea on several occasions, but the prison infirmary had refrained from hospitalizing him.

Radpour made several requests for visitation rights with his son, which often authorities declined.
Radpour, a 41-year-old resident of Karaj, was arrested five years ago and charged with having sympathy for the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, a dissident political group.

HRANA claims that Radpour was badly tortured in prison and was refused medical care.
He was sentenced to three years in jail for “activities against national security through collaboration with the PMOI”. After that time was served, he was handed another five-year prison sentence.

http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/iranian-political-prisoner-dies-jail

iraniam · May 24, 2012

Five Iranian Kurds sentenced to 46 years in prison, one tortured to death

GVF — A revolutionary court in Iran has sentenced five Kurdish citizens to a total of 46 years in prison, according to reports.

On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Press Agency reports that Branch One of the Revolutionary Court of Khoy has sentenced five Iranian Kurds to 46 years in jail for their alleged ties to Kurdish opposition groups. The names of the five individuals, all residents of Maku city in West Azerbaijan, are: Mostafa Armin, Mousa Hatefi, Saeed Derayat, Ali Marhamati and Vali Balkhanloo.

The five men were arrested a year ago. According to local reports, Vali Balkhanloo was tortured to death just days after his arrest. The news of his death has not yet been made public.

Vali Balkhanloo and Mostafa Armin have been sentenced to 15 ½ years in prison in addition to exile after being found guilty of Moharebeh (enmity against God). Saeed Derayat and Ali Marhamati were sentenced to four years in jail, while Mousa Hatefi received a seven-year prison term.

Iran’s ethnic minority communities, including Arabs, Azerbaijanis, Baluch, Kurds and Turkmen, suffer “ongoing systematic discrimination in law and practice” according to Amnesty International. “Those who campaigned for greater political participation or recognition of minorities’ economic, social and cultural rights faced systematic threats, arrest and imprisonment,” Amnesty's 2011 report added.

Sunni Kurds face additional discrimination for they are both a linguistic and a religious minority.
Authorities continue to prohibit the use of minority languages in schools and government offices, despite the fact that the constitution permits the use of regional and tribal languages in the press and mass media, as well as in schools.

http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2012/may/24/3660

iraniam · May 31, 2012

At least 8 prisoners executed in Iran, one day after EU expressed concern about the alarming number of the executions- At least 78 executions in May 2012

Iran Human Rights, May 31: At least nine prisoners were executed in two different prisons in Iran today and yesterday, reported unofficial reports from Iran.

The 8 executions take place only one day after the EU expressed concern about what they called "the alarming increase in the use of death penalty" and asked Iran to "introduce a moratorium on executions"
Eight prisoners were executed in northwestern Iran:
According to the Kurdish "Mukrian News Agency" seven prisoners were hanged in the prison of Urmia (northwestern Iran). The report which was quoting Mr. Masoud Shamsnejad, the lawyer of one of those executed, all the prisoners were convicted of drug-related charges. The prisoners were identified as: Allahvordi A., Sayyad A., Safar P., Haji P., Khosro D., Nahad N., Omran G., and Abdolmajid M.
At least one prisoner was executed in Tehran today:
According to the website of "Human rights and democracy activists in Iran" (HRDAI) several prisoners were hanged in Tehran’s Evin prison this morning. One of the prisoners is identified as "Kourosh Zarini" who according to the report was involved in the uprising and clashes between the guards and prisoners in the Ghezel Hesar prison two years ago. More than 40 prisoners were killed under these clashes.

According to the official and unofficial reports from Iran at least 78 prisoners have been executed in May 2012 in Iran.
Yesterday EU expressed concern about the alarming increase in the use of death penalty in Iran.
According to Reuters the European Union criticized Iran on Wednesday for an “alarming” increase in the use of the death penalty this year, calling on Tehran to introduce a moratorium on executions.

“According to the latest data, compiled from a number of sources, the rate of executions in Iran during the first 5 months of 2012 confirmed the country as one of the world’s leading users of the death penalty,” a spokesman for the EU’s foreign policy chief said.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton is “deeply concerned by the alarming increase”, the spokesman said.

http://www.iranhr.net/spip.php?article2503

iraniam · Jun 6, 2012

Prisoner dies in Rejai Shahr Prison

An Iranian-Kurdish political prisoner died last night in Rejai Shahr Prison in Karaj, human rights groups report.

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Mohammad Mehdi Zalieh Naghshbandian had been transferred to hospital earlier this month for serious health complications.

The prisoner, who was reportedly a victim of chemical warfare during the Iran-Iraq War, was transferred to Rejai Shahr Prison after 18 years in Oroumiyeh Prison.

He had been charged with cooperation with a Kurdish political group and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Zalieh Naghshbandian had contracted lung disease as a result of his previous exposure to chemical gases and the lack of treatment in prison. He was held without any regard for his condition in Rejai Shahr Prison until two weeks ago, when his critical health problems forced the authorities to hospitalize him.

On May 21, Mansour Radpour, another political prisoner in Rejai Shahr Prison, died following a stroke. He was also suffering from several ailments before the onset of the stroke, and his medical needs had been ignored by the prison authorities.

Currently, several political prisoners, including human rights activists Nargess Mohammadi and Mohammad Seddigh Kaboodvand and blogger Hossein Ronaghi Maleki, are in immediate need of medical attention, and several human rights groups, including Iran’s Nobel Peace laureate, have spoken out about their critical situations, urging the government to release the ailing prisoners without delay.

http://radiozamaneh.com/english/content/prisoner-dies-rejai-shahr-prison

iraniam · Jun 7, 2012

Five prisoners were hanged publicly in Shiraz (southern Iran) today

Iran Human Rights, June 7: Five prisoners were hanged publicly in the city of Shiraz (southern Iran) today June 7., reported the Iranian state media.

According to the official site of the Iranian judiciary, Five prisoners were hanged publicly in three different spots of Shiraz.

The prisoners were identified as: Abbas Z. for keeping and carrying 143 kilograms of concentrated heroin, Aref A. for keeping and carrying 148 kilograms of concentrated heroin and 20 grams of HAshish and keeping 4500 illegal norgesic units, Abolghasem A for keeping and carrying 19 kilograms crack and six kilograms of opium and Ali Akbar M. for buying and keeping 23 kilograms of crack. All the prisoners were arrested about 2 years ago
Iran Human Rights (IHR) strongly condemned today’s barbaric executions in Iran. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the spokesperson of IHR, said: "Iranian authorities executed these prisoners at three different parts of the city to make sure that their terror covers as much as possible". He added: " This is state terrorism and Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and others in the Iranian political leadership must be held accountable for for their crimes".

http://www.iranhr.net/spip.php?article2509

MisterProphet · Jun 7, 2012

Sickens me. Sorry that this is happening.

iraniam · Jun 11, 2012

Fear of Secret Executions After 5 Prisoners Transferred to Unknown Location

Five political prisoners sentenced to execution were transferred from the General Ward of Karoon Prison in Ahvaz to an unknown location on Saturday, 9 June. A local source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that Police Special Forces have been stationed in Karoon Prison and that it has created a worrying atmosphere.

The five political prisoners, Abdolrahman Heydari, Taha Heydari, Jamshid Heydari, Mansour Heydari, and Amir Moavi, are all from the Mallashieh neighborhood of Ahvaz in the southern province of Khuzestan in Iran, and were all arrested in April 2011.

“After several months [into their arrest], security authorities announced that these political prisoners were convicted of murdering a government security force, a charge families and kin of these individuals deny. Families of the five men, three of whom are brothers, have stated that they have been subjected to torture and that they have been denied a fair trial,” the source told the Campaign.

According to the human rights source, in March 2012, security forces had reported plans to carry out public hangings of said prisoners, but the sentences were not carried out.

Prison guards allegedly told the other prisoners that these men were transferred for the enforcement of their execution orders. A local source told the Campaign that the atmosphere in Ahvaz soured after news of the prison transfer was published and that there is a possibility of demonstrations in the city.

“There are a lot of ambiguities in this case; that’s why the executions have not been carried out yet. There is hope that they will not be executed, though there is concern that the executions may be carried out secretly,” said the source, adding that given the circumstances surrounding this transfer, it is feared that they may be executed unannounced.

Demonstrations took place in Ahvaz in April 2011, when the men were first arrested. For several months after their arrest, their families were uninformed about their detention location, said the source. There have been reports that during the April 14 and 15 gatherings in 2011, several people were killed and arrested in the confrontations of security and police forces with the crowd.

The source explained that the Prisons Organization, the institutional body responsible for managing Iranian prisons, is tasked with carrying out prisoner transfers. In this case, however, officials from the Prosecutor’s Office and the Intelligence Ministry, along with the Operations Team of the Police Special Forces, implemented the five prisoners’ transfer. Since then, Karoon Prison’s atmosphere has become uneasy and Police Special Forces have been stationed in the facility, with police vehicles in the prison yard.

It has been reported that several people were killed and arrested during the 14 April 2011 protests in Khuzestan Province, which commemorated province-wide street protests in 2005. The 2005 protests erupted after the publication of a letter allegedly written by Mohammad Abtahi, the sitting Chief of Staff of then-President Khatami, addressing the President about plans to change the demography of Khuzestan’s Iranians of Arab descent. Though the President’s Office denied the existence of such a letter and called it a fabrication, ethnic Iranian Arabs protested.

The source added that according to information he has been able to gather, it appears that despite the case ambiguities, the Ahvaz Intelligence Office insists that four of the five men be executed as soon as possible:

While these men have been charged with murder and according to the law, the case must be reviewed in a criminal court in the presence of reporters, the family of the victim, and defense lawyers representing the suspects, their case has been reviewed in the Revolutionary Court and they have been sentenced to death by orders from the Revolutionary Court. The only evidence in the case is confessions extracted under torture. Security forces wish to create an atmosphere of intimidation and fear in the city of Ahvaz by executing these political prisoners.

Over the past several years, Iranians of Arab descent in Khuzestan have repeatedly gathered to protest what they consider to be widespread discrimination and deprivation of their civil rights. Human rights activists say that security and police forces have reacted very violently to these protesters. Iranian authorities have consistently questioned the spontaneity of such gatherings, alleging that the gatherings have foreign roots.

http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2012/06/karoon-5/

iraniam · Jun 18, 2012

Iran executes three detained brothers from Ahwaz region

Jasem Heidari (L), Ali Heidari and Abdul Rahman Heidari (R) are three out of five members of Iran’s Ahwazi Arab minority who were executed after being convicted of “enmity against God.” (File photo)

Iran executed on Monday three brothers from the Ahwazi Arab community who were detained in April 2011 and were later sentenced to death for allegedly killing a law enforcement official, a charge dismissed by international rights groups as false.

The Brothers –Abdul Rahman Heidari, Taha Heidari and Jamshid Heidari – were reportedly detained together with their cousin Mansour Heidari and Amir Muawi during the unrest in the Khuzestan province.

Ahmad Haidaran, a relative of the three brothers who currently lives in Turkey as a refugee, told Al Arabiya that his family from Ahwaz informed him of the executions.

Haidaran said he also confirmed the report in a phone call with the family of the victims and that he heard crying and sobbing in the background.

Amnesty International had urged the Iranian authorities last Monday to overturn the death sentences against the five detainees.

The right group released the statement after the prisoners were moved to an unknown location over the weekend, indicating that they are facing imminent execution.

“The men were transferred out of the general section of Karoun Prison in the south-western city of Ahvaz on Saturday, prompting concerns their death sentences may be about to be carried out,” Amnesty reported.

Death row prisoners in Iran are generally transferred to solitary confinement shortly before their executions.

Ahwazi Arabs, one of the country’s many minorities – who are mostly Shiite Muslims like the majority in Iran – live mainly in the oil-rich south-western province of Khuzestan and often complain of being “marginalized and discriminated against in access to education, employment, adequate housing, political participation and cultural rights.”

In 2005, Khuzestan was the scene of mass demonstrations to protest Iran’s government policies.

In a similar case in early May 2011, the Iranian authorities reportedly executed at least eight Ahwazi Arabs - including Hashem Hamidi, believed to be 16 years old – “for their alleged role in the deaths of a law enforcement official and two others during clashes”.
http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/18/221406.html

iraniam · Jun 23, 2012

Gravely ill political prisoner denied hospitalization; almost paralyzed

Persian2English – According to Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Iranian authorities have denied imprisoned human rights activist Jafar Eghdami the right to hospitalization even though his medical and judicial reports are complete. Eghdami, who is currently held in hall 12 of Rajai Shahr prison while suffering from a rare neurological syndrome, is almost to the point of complete paralysis of his body. Even though Eghdami has acquired all the necessary documents which would allow him a transfer to the hospital, prison authorities have refused to respond until July 1. Despite Eghdami’s harsh physical illness and severe pain, the excuse given by prison authorities to block the transfer is that the hospital is not equipped with sufficient staff and facilities to accommodate.

On June 17, Jafar Eghdami was in the process of being sent to the Rasoul Akram hospital in Tehran for tests and treatment when authorities prevented the transfer. Eghdami’s current physical condition is so dire that he is most of the time unable to walk or perform personal tasks. Eghdami is currently serving his second prison term for the charge of participating in a ceremony at Khavaran ceremony for victims of the 1980′s mass executions in Iran and reciting a poem at the ceremony. He was initially sentenced to five years in prison but, in an unprecedented move, Eghdami’s sentence was increased to 10 years by an appeals court.

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http://persian2english.com/?p=23938

iraniam · Jun 28, 2012

Two prisoners were hanged publicly in Iran this morning

Iran Human Rights, June 28: Two prisoners were hanged publicly in Robat Karim (near Tehran) early this morning Thursday June 28.

According to the Mehr news agency one of the prisoners was convicted of drug trafficking while the other prisoner was convicted of rape. The prisoners were hanged in Davoudieh square of this city in fron of several hundred people.

At least 12 people have been hanged publicly in June 2012 in Iran.
Three of the United Nation’s Special Rapporteurs published earlier today a statementcondemning the executions in Iran. The statement also underscored the high number of public executions in Iran saying: " “Executions in public add to the already cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty and can only have a dehumanizing effect on the victim and a brutalizing effect on those who witness the execution”.

http://www.iranhr.net/spip.php?article2538

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