Weekly report on Human Rights Violation in Iran

At a Glance

Weekly report on Human Rights Violation in Iran

08 May 2016

International Condemnation of Violation of Human Rights in Iran

2016 Annual Report

Of The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom

Iran

Key Findings

  Religious freedom conditions continued to deteriorate over the past year, particularly for religious minorities, especially Baha’is, Christian converts, and Sunni Muslims. Sufi Muslims and dissenting Shi’a Muslims also faced harassment, arrests, and imprisonment. Since President Hassan Rouhani was elected president in 2013, the number of individuals from religious minority communities who are in prison because of their beliefs has increased, despite the government releasing some prisoners during the reporting period, including Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini. The government of Iran continues to engage in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, including prolonged detention, torture, and executions based primarily or entirely upon the religion of the accused.

While Iran’s clerical establishment continued to express anti-Semitic sentiments, the level of anti-Semitic rhetoric from government officials has diminished in recent years. Since 1999, the State Department has designated Iran as a “country of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), most recently in July 2014. USCIRF again recommends in 2016 that Iran be designated a CPC.

Background

The Islamic Republic of Iran is a constitutional, theocratic republic that proclaims the Twelver (Shi’a) Jaafari School of Islam to be the official religion of the country. The constitution recognizes Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians as protected religious minorities, and five seats in the parliament are reserved for these groups (two for Armenian Christians and one each for Assyrian Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians). With an overall population of just over 80 million, Iran is approximately 99 percent Muslim – 90 percent Shi’a and nine percent Sunni. According to recent estimates, religious minority communities constitute about one percent of the population and include Baha’is (more than 300,000), various Christian denominations (nearly 300,000), Zoroastrians (30,000 to 35,000), and Jews (20,000).

Nevertheless, the government of Iran discriminates against its citizens on the basis of religion or belief, as all laws and regulations are based on unique Shi’a Islamic criteria. Since the 1979 revolution, many members of minority religious communities have fled in fear of persecution. Killings, arrests, and physical abuse of detainees have increased in recent years, including for religious minorities and Muslims who dissent or express views perceived as threatening the government’s legitimacy. The government continues to use its religious laws to silence reformers, including human rights defenders and journalists, for exercising their internationally-protected rights to freedom of expression and religion or belief.

Since his 2013 election, President Hassan Rouhani has not delivered on his campaign promises to strengthen civil liberties for religious minorities. Government actions continued to result in physical attacks, harassment, detention, arrests, and imprisonment. Even some of the constitutionally-recognized non-Muslim minorities – Jews, Armenian and Assyrian Christians, and Zoroastrians – face harassment, intimidation, discrimination, arrests, and imprisonment. Some majority

Shi’a and minority Sunni Muslims, including clerics who dissent, were intimidated, harassed, and detained. Dissidents and human rights defenders were increasingly subject to abuse and several were sentenced to death and even executed for the capital crime of “enmity against God.”

Religious Freedom Conditions 2015–2016

Muslims

Over the past few years, the Iranian government has imposed harsh prison sentences on prominent reformers from the Shi’a majority community. Authorities charged many of these reformers with “insulting Islam,” criticizing the Islamic Republic, and publishing materials that allegedly deviate from Islamic standards.

Dissident Shi’a cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Kazemeni Boroujerdi continued to serve an 11-year prison sentence, and the government has banned him from practicing his clerical duties and confiscated his home and belongings. He has suffered physical and mental abuse while in prison. According to human rights groups and the United Nations, some 150 Sunni Muslims are in prison on charges related to their beliefs and religious activities. In October 2015, an Iranian court sentenced to death a Sunni cleric, Shahram Ahadi, who was arrested in 2009 on unfounded security related charges.

More than 30 Sunnis are on death row after having been convicted of “enmity against God” in unfair judicial proceedings. Leaders from the Sunni community have been unable to build a mosque in Tehran and have reported widespread abuses and restrictions on their religious practice, including detentions and harassment of clerics and bans on Sunni teachings in public schools.

Additionally, Iranian authorities have destroyed Sunni religious literature and mosques in eastern Iran. Iran’s government also continued to harass and arrest members of the Sufi Muslim community, including prominent leaders from the Nematollahi Gonabadi Order, while increasing restrictions on places of worship and destroying Sufi prayer centers and hussainiyas (meeting halls). Over the past year, authorities have detained dozens of Sufis, sentencing many to imprisonment, fines, and floggings. In June 2015, a criminal court sentenced Abbas Salehian to 74 lashes for “committing a haram act through advocating Gonabadi Dervish beliefs.” In May 2014, approximately 35 Sufis were convicted on trumped-up charges related to their religious activities and given sentences ranging from three months to four years in prison. Another 10 Sufi activists were either serving prison terms or had cases pending against them. Iranian state television regularly airs programs demonizing Sufism.

Baha’is

The Baha’i community, the largest non-Muslim religious minority in Iran, long has been subject to particularly severe religious freedom violations. The government views Baha’is, who number at least 300,000, as “heretics” and consequently they face repression on the grounds of apostasy. Since 1979, authorities have killed or executed more than 200 Baha’i leaders, and more than 10,000 have been dismissed from government and university jobs. Although the Iranian government maintains publicly that Baha’is are free to attend university, the de facto policy of preventing Baha’is from obtaining higher education remains in effect.

Over the past 10 years, approximately 850 Baha’is have been arbitrarily arrested.

As of February 2016, at least 80 Baha’is were being held in prison solely because of their religious beliefs.

These include seven Baha’i leaders – Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naemi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm – as well as Baha’i educators and administrators affiliated with the Baha’i Institute for Higher Education, some of whom were released during the reporting period. During the past year, dozens of Baha’is were arrested throughout the country. In January 2016, in the Golestan province, 24 Baha’is were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 11 years after being convicted for membership in the Baha’i community and engaging in religious activities. In November 2015, at least 20 Baha’is were arrested in three cities – Tehran,

Isfahan, and Mashhad – after their homes were raided and materials confiscated. As part of the crackdown, nearly 30 Baha’i-owned shops were closed following the observance of two Baha’i religious holy days. In April and May, authorities closed 35 Baha’i-owned shops in an effort to force Baha’is not to observe their holy days.

In April, in Hamadan, at least 13 Baha’is were arrested over a two-week period for allegedly “engaging in propaganda against the regime.” They have not been formally charged. During the 2015-2016 school year, many Baha’i youth who scored very high on standardized tests were either denied entry into university or expelled during the academic year once their religious identity became known to education officials.

Christians

Over the past year, there were numerous incidents of Iranian authorities raiding church services, threatening church members, and arresting and imprisoning worshipers and church leaders, particularly Evangelical Christian converts. Since 2010, authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained more than 550 Christians throughout the country. As of February 2016, approximately 90 Christians were either in prison, detained, or awaiting trial because of their religious beliefs and activities.

Some Christians were released from jail during the year, including two long-serving prisoners of conscience, Saeed Abedini (released in January 2016) and Farshid Fathi (released in December 2015). Abedini’s early release was part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Iran. He had been serving an eight-year prison sentence for “threatening the national security of Iran” for his activity in the Christian house church movement. Fathi had been serving an extended prison term on trumped-up security charges related to his religious activities.

During the reporting period, human rights groups inside Iran reported a significant increase in the number of physical assaults and beatings of Christians in prison. Some activists believe the assaults, which have been directed against converts who are leaders of underground house churches, are meant to intimidate others who may wish to convert to Christianity. In December 2015, authorities raided a number of private Christmas services and arrested nearly a dozen church members in Tehran. In April 2015, a revolutionary court upheld a one-year prison sentence and two-year travel bans on 13 Christian converts arrested in 2013.

Jews and Zoroastrians

Although not as pronounced as in previous years, the government continued to propagate anti-Semitism and target members of the Jewish community on the basis of real or perceived “ties to Israel.” In 2015, high-level clerics continued to make anti-Semitic remarks in mosques. Numerous programs broadcast on state-run television advance anti-Semitic messages. Official discrimination against Jews continues to be pervasive, fostering a threatening atmosphere for the Jewish community. In a positive development, the government no longer requires Jewish students to attend classes on the Sabbath. In recent years, members of the Zoroastrian community have come under increasing repression and discrimination. At least four Zoroastrians were convicted in 2011 for propaganda of their faith, blasphemy, and other trumped-up charges remain in prison.

Human Rights Defenders, Journalists, and Others

Iranian authorities regularly detain and harass journalists, bloggers, and human rights defenders who say or write anything critical of the Islamic revolution or the Iranian government. Over the past couple of years, a number of human rights law yers who defended Baha’is and Christians in court were imprisoned or fled the country. In addition, in August 2015, a revolutionary court sentenced to death Mohammad Ali Taheri, a university professor and founder of a spiritual movement (Erfan Halgheh or Spiritual Circle), for the capital crime of “corruption on earth.” In October 2011, Taheri had been convicted and sentenced to five years in prison and 74 lashes for “insulting religious sanctities” for publishing several books on spirituality; reportedly, he has been held in solitary confinement since his conviction. Some of Taheri’s followers also have been convicted on similar charges and sentenced to prison terms ranging from one to five years. In December, the Iranian Supreme Court overturned Taheri’s death sentence. At the end of the reporting period, he and some of his followers remained in prison.

U.S. Policy

The U.S. government has not had formal diplomatic relations with the government of Iran since 1980, although the United States participated in negotiations with Iran over the country’s nuclear program as part of the group of countries known as the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States, and Germany). In July 2015, the P5+1, the European Union, and Iran announced they had reached the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program would be exclusively peaceful.

On January 16, “Implementation Day” of the JCPOA, the United States and European Union began lifting nuclear-related sanctions on Iran. Notwithstanding the JCPOA, the United States continues to keep in place and enforce sanctions for Iran’s human rights violations, its support for terrorism, and its ballistic missile program. According to the State Department, these sanctions are intended to target the Iranian government, not the people of Iran.

On July 1, 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law CISADA, the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (P.L. 111-195), which highlights Iran’s serious human rights violations, including suppression of religious freedom. CISADA requires the President to submit to Congress a list of Iranian government officials or persons acting on their behalf responsible for human rights and religious freedom abuses, bars their entry into the United States, and freezes their assets. In August 2012, the President signed into law the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, or ITRSHRA (H.R. 1905 / P.L. 112-239), which enhances the scope of human rights-related sanctions contained in CISADA. Over the past five years, as a consequence of Iran’s human rights violations, the United States has imposed visa restrictions and asset freezes on 19 Iranian officials and 18 Iranian entities pursuant to CISADA, ITRSHRA, and various Executive Orders.

During the past year, U.S. policy on human rights and religious freedom in Iran included a combination of public statements, multilateral activity, and the imposition of unilateral sanctions on Iranian government officials and entities for human rights violations. During the reporting period, high-level U.S. officials in multilateral fora and through public statements urged the Iranian government to respect its citizens’ human rights, including the right to religious freedom. In December 2015, for the 13th year in a row, the U.S. government co-sponsored and supported a successful UN General Assembly resolution on human rights in Iran, which passed 76 to 35, with 68 abstentions. The resolution condemned the Iranian government’s poor human rights record, including its religious freedom violations and continued abuses targeting religious minorities.

During the year, President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry used public occasions to call for the release of Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini. On January 16, 2016, the Obama Administration announced it had secured the release from jail of pastor Abedini, and three other Americans, in exchange for the release of seven Iranians in prison in the United States. Abedini returned to the United States later that month.

On July 28, 2014, the Secretary of State re-designated Iran as a country of particular concern. The Secretary designated the following Presidential Action for Iran: “the existing ongoing travel restrictions based on serious human rights abuses under section 221(a)(1)(C) of the Iran Threat Reduction and Syria Human Rights Act of 2012, pursuant to section 402(c)(5) of the Act.” The previous designation made in 2011 cited a provision under CISADA as the Presidential Action. Unlike CISADA, ITRSHRA does not contain a specific provision citing religious freedom violations.

Recommendations

In addition to recommending that the U.S. government should continue to designate Iran as a CPC, USCIRF recommends that the U.S. government should:

• Notwithstanding the P5+1 nuclear agreement, ensure that violations of freedom of religion or belief and related human rights are part of multilateral or bilateral discussions with the Iranian government whenever possible, and continue to work closely with European and other allies to apply pressure through a combination of advocacy, diplomacy, and targeted sanctions;

• Continue to speak out publicly and frequently at the highest levels about the severe religious freedom abuses in Iran, press for and work to secure the release of all prisoners of conscience, and highlight the need for the international community to hold authorities accountable in specific cases;

• Continue to identify Iranian government agencies and officials responsible for severe violations of religious freedom, freeze those individuals’ assets, and bar their entry into the United States, as delineated under the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (CISADA) citing specific religious freedom violations;

• Call on Iran to cooperate fully with the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights Situation in Iran, including allowing the Special Rapporteur – as well as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief – to visit, and continue to support an annual UN General Assembly resolution condemning severe violations of human rights, including freedom of religion or belief, in Iran and calling for officials responsible for such violations to be held accountable; and

• Use appropriated funds to advance Internet freedom and protect Iranian activists by supporting the development and accessibility of new technologies and programs to counter censorship and to facilitate the free flow of information in and out of Iran.

The U.S. Congress should:

• Reauthorize the Lautenberg Amendment, which aids persecuted Iranian religious minorities and other specified groups seeking refugee status in the United States, and work to provide the President with permanent authority to designate as refugees specifically-defined groups based on shared characteristics identifying them as targets for persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.

The Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights

 

Human rights abuses in Iran still rampant: UN expert

Ottawa, May 6, 2016 – Iran is controlled by a corrupt regime, hampering the international community’s ability to address human rights concerns with economic sanctions, members of the Senate Committee on Human Rights heard Wednesday.

“The problem right now on the issue of sanctions and economic engagement is that you are engaging with an incredibly corrupt regime — a regime that that controls the wealth of Iran,” Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the committee.

“So essentially you’re engaging with crooks and thieves.”

Dubowitz appeared before the committee as part of Iran Accountability Week, a cross-partisan event co-ordinated by Canadian parliamentarians.

Just reporting the facts on the ground can be dangerous, Dubowitz said. Iran recently sentenced four journalists to a combined 27 years in prison and Iran is in the top three of the world’s worst jailers of journalists. As of January, there were at least 47 journalists and social media activists in custody.

Ahmed Shaheed, United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, also spoke to the committee.

He described child brides and unlawful executions in a bleak narrative of widespread human rights violations.

In the scope and age of child marriages, for instance, Shaheed said that Iran “doesn’t compare to anybody else.” The age of majority for girls is 13, but for marriage it can be as low as nine if a judge consents. In the marriages Shaheed documented, 90 per cent of brides had had their first baby by the time they had reached the age of 15.

The committee learned that the use of the death penalty as punishment has been on the rise in recent years. Many of the executed prisoners are convicted of non-violent drug offences. The death penalty has also been used on children under the age of 18, even though Iran is a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Shaheed noted that drug-crime executions have left entire villages bereft of men; Shahindokht Molaverdi, a member of the Iranian government’s cabinet in Women and Family Affairs, has courageously spoken out against the republic’s drug policy.

“She’s under pressure from the hard-liners for her statements like this,” Shaheed said.

People like Molaverdi show that there’s an appetite for change within the country.

“Iranian people are, by and large, highly educated, sophisticated and actually demanding rights wherever and whenever they can,” Shaheed told the committee.

“If they have a real voice, then we have a very different Iran.”

Houchang Hassan-Yari, a political science professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, also spoke to members of the committee.

He said families of Iran’s political prisoners often face punishment; children of political prisoners are sometimes prevented from graduating unless their parent begs forgiveness or repents.

Committee members asked what Canada could do to help with the human rights situation in Iran. All three witnesses warned the federal government to move with caution when developing new relationships with Iran.

Quick Facts

• Iran ranks among the 7th most censored countries in the world. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 169 out of 180 countries in its 2016 World Press Freedom Index.
• The use of the death penalty is on the rise in Iran. It is often used for non-violent drug related offences, which does not match the most seriousness of the crimes under international law.
• The death penalty is also used on children under the age of 18. In 2015, Iran saw between 200 and 300 more executions than in 2014.
• Women and children face additional discriminatory practices, particularly with respect to matters involving criminal law, family law, and employment. For example, the age of criminal responsibility is nine years old (based on the Islamic calendar) for girls and 15 years for boys.

Quotes

“The human rights abuses in Iran can’t be ignored. We feel it is critical to give a voice to all Iranian citizens.”

- Senator Jim Munson, Chair of the committee

“Iran has been widely condemned for its record on human rights. Iran Accountability Week is a perfect time for the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights to hear testimony from witnesses and to shine a light on the human rights situation in Iran.”

-Senator Salma Ataullahjan, Deputy Chair of the committee

Associated Links

Committee homepage: www.senate-senat.ca/ridr.asp

Twitter: @SenateCA- follow the committee using the hashtag #RIDR

For more information, please contact:

Marcy Galipeau
Committees Liaison Officer (Communications)
Senate of Canada
613-944-4082
marcy.galipeau@sen.parl.gc.ca

Execution

Four Prisoners in Danger of Execution on Drug Charges in Ghezel Hesar Prison

Four death row prisoners are in imminent danger of execution after they were transferred to solitary confinement.

Iran Human Rights (May 3 2016): Four prisoners on death row on drug related charges have been reportedly transferred to solitary confinement cells in Ghezel Hesar Prison in preparation for their executions. The prison is located in the city of Karaj (northern Iranian province Alborz).

According to close sources, three of the prisoners were transferred from Unit 2 of Ghezel Hesar Prison and one of the prisoners was transferred from Tehran Central Prison (also known as Fashafouye). These prisoners have been identified as: Majid Imani, Abdolhamid Bameri, Ahmad Altafi, and Reza Hosseini (from Tehran Central Prison).

According to IHR's annual death penalty report, Iranian authorities executed at least 638 people in 2015 on drug related charges. After China, Iran is home to the most executions in the world. IHR reported at least 969 executions carried out in 2015 alone.

Iran: Five more prisoners hanged

 

May 3, 2016: Five prisoners at least have been executed in Iran in the last three days.
On May 1, two unnamed prisoners, aged 25 and 28, were hanged at dawn in Mashhad Central Prison. The 28-year-old prisoner was only identified by his initial A.
On the same day, the regime's judiciary in Hamedan Province, western Iran, said that the authorities have hanged a prisoner, identified only by the initials M. R., in Nahavand's central prison.
Iran’s judiciary in Ardebil Province said two unnamed prisoners were hanged on May 3 in Ardebil Central Prison earlier in the day. (Sources: NCRI, 03/05/2016)

Two Prisoners Hanged on Drug Charges

Iran Human Rights (May 3 2016): Two unrelated prisoners with drug related charges were reportedly hanged at Ardebil Central Prison on the morning of Tuesday May 3. According to the press department of the Judiciary in Ardebil, one of the prisoners was charged with possession of 70 grams of heroin and crystal meth while the other was charged with trafficking one kilogram and 700 grams of heroin.

Iran regime hangs another 5 prisoners

Wednesday, 04 May 2016 12:47

NCRI – The mullahs’ regime in Iran on Tuesday hanged five prisoners, including a man in public.

Four death-row prisoners were hanged in Qezelhesar Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran.

They were identified as Ahmad al-Tafi, Abdolhamid Baqeri, Majid Imani, and Reza Hosseini.

Another prisoner, identified only by his first name Avaz, was hanged in a public square in the port city of Nour, northern Iran, on Tuesday.

The hangings bring to at least 62 the number of people executed in Iran since April 10. Three of those executed were women and one is believed to have been a juvenile offender.

Commenting last week on the recent spike in the rate of executions in Iran, Mohammad Mohaddessin, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said: “In the month of April, during and after visits to Iran by the Prime Minister of Italy and the EU foreign policy chief dozens of people have been executed in Iran.”

“The increasing trend of executions indicates that the visits of senior European officials to Iran not only have failed to improve the human rights situation; rather, they have given a message of silence and inaction to the mullahs. This has emboldened the clerical regime in stepping up executions and suppressing the Iranian people. This is the regime that has been the record holder of executions per capita globally in 2015. This bitter reality is not an issue of pride for any of the guests of the religious fascism,” he added.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said in a statement on April 13 that the increasing trend of executions “aimed at intensifying the climate of terror to rein in expanding protests by various strata of the society, especially at a time of visits by high-ranking European officials, demonstrates that the claim of moderation is nothing but an illusion for this medieval regime.”

Ms. Federica Mogherini, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, was in Tehran on April 16 along with seven EU commissioners for discussions with the regime’s officials on trade and other areas of cooperation.

Amnesty International in its April 6 annual Death Penalty report covering the 2015 period wrote: "Iran put at least 977 people to death in 2015, compared to at least 743 the year before."

"Iran alone accounted for 82% of all executions recorded" in the Middle East and North Africa, the human rights group said.

There have been more than 2,300 executions during Hassan Rouhani’s tenure as President. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran in March announced that the number of executions in Iran in 2015 was greater than any year in the last 25 years. Rouhani has explicitly endorsed the executions as examples of “God’s commandments” and “laws of the parliament that belong to the people.

The Case of 100 Death Row Prisoners to be “Clarified” within 3 Months; Authorities

Posted on: 5th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – It was announced to at least a hundred death row prisoners, in prison of Urmia that in the next three months their “case” will become clear. This rare action has created a wave of concern among prisoners and their families.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), recently, the authorities of Urmia Prison called at least a hundred prisoners who have been sentenced to death on charges of “murder” and have served more than 5 years, to the prison’s Pray Hall (Hosseinieh) and took the address and details of the plaintiffs.

An informed source in a conversation with HRANA, by announcing this news, also said: “The authorities of Urmia prison called these prisoners in Husseinieh and asked the address and details of their accusers. At least about one hundred prisoners were called.”

The source said: “They were told that during the next three months their case would become clear. The authorities said: ‘We will say to plaintiffs to ask for execution or we will release you on the bail. Because, the prison does not have enough space.’”

It should be mentioned that, the unusual procedure of calling a large number of death row prisoners caused a wave of concern among prisoners in Urmia prison and their families.

The Names of 38 Death Row Prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

Posted on: 6th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Hundreds of prisoners on death row are being kept in Rajai Shahr prison. HRANA tries to attract the public support to save them from the gallows by publication of these prisoners’ identities. In this regard, the name of 38 prisoners on death row in Rajai Shahr prison is being published as follows.

These prisoners have been sentenced to death on charge of murder and are mostly being kept in ward 3 of Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

The list of 38 prisoners on death row in Rajai Shahr prison:

Nima Ismaelian son of Karim

Afshin Hashemi son of Hossein

Ahmad Ghasemi son of Gholamali

Amir Khalilpour son of Mirza

Reza Pourabasian son of Hossein

Akbar Pirami son of Ali

Hossein Hasani son of Hasan

Akbar Dehghan son of Ayaz

Mohammad Azizi son of Mosayeb

Fariborz jalali son of Mae’e din

Mohammad Khedmati son of Iesa

Isa Ibrahimi Ibrahim

Bagher Basiri son of Kochak

Fatollah Bakhtiari son of Aliakbar

Alireza Gharbali son of Hossein

Saeed Iskandari son of Jamshid

Israfil Mohammadi son of Ghaiyiom

Faramarz Fakhraie son of Aliasghar

Barat Ali Rahimi son of Mohammadali

Azad Ardokhani son of Sekhavat

Ali Kavandipour son of Mousa

Alireza Afshar son of Safarali

Javad Sayfi

Khaled Mohammadyan son of Saleh

Mahmud Khan Mohammadi

Hamid Shirkhani son of Mansour

Ghorban Ali Haidari son ofFAtollah

Jabar Molah Hashemi son ofAsadollah

Saedi Babakhanian son of Javanmir

Morteza Shafaghti son of Ali

Mehrdad Saebi Lafshar son of Abdollah

Hasan Kandi son of Fatollah

Sohrab Sanami son of Rahim

Kazem Khadem rezaeeyan son of Rahim

Mohsen Kazemi son of Abdi

Farma Salehi son of Abdillah

Kourosh Chakeri son of Zabiollah

Hossein Sadegh Kasmaee

It should be noted that the number of prisoners on death row in this ward is more than this list. HRANA’s efforts to complete the report continues.

3 Prisoners Executed in Central Prison of Karaj

Posted on: 6th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – 3 prisoners were hanged during 2 days in Central Prison of Karaj.

On April 28, 2016 two prisoners in the Central Prison of Karaj on the charges related to drugs were executed, by considering this, the number of executions in this prison increased to three during two days.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on April 28, 2016 two prisoners of the four prisoners who were transferred to solitary confinement in the prison were hanged in Karaj prison.

Mehdi Bagher Zadeh, is one of those who were executed and the identity of the second person is not known yet.

It is worth mentioning that on April 26, six prisoners were transferred to the solitary confinement be executed. Two of the prisoners charged with murder returned to the general ward hours later.

A prisoner on charge of murder was executed on April 27 and two other prisoners were hanged on charges related to drugs on April 28.

Mohammad Tanabi, Mehdi Bagher Zadeh and Hassan Bagher Zadeh were three inmates who visited their families for the last time.

Prisoners Moved to Solitary Confinement in Preparation for Execution

At least three prisoners with murder charges have been transferred to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions.

Iran Human Rights (May 8 2016): On Saturday May 7, at least three prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison (located in the city of Karaj, northern Iran) were reportedly moved to solitary confinement in preparation for their executions. According to close sources, the prisoners are each sentenced to death on murder charges and their names are: Mohammad Abdi, Seyed Jafar Jafaripanah, and Fariborz Jalali. Close sources say these three prisoners are scheduled to be executed on the morning of Wednesday.

Six Prisoners Executed Secretly in Yazd Prison in 2014

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Six prisoners were executed secretly in Yazd prison without a permission for a last meeting with their families on June 23, 2014. Iranian judiciary officials never informed in detail about the executions.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), on June 23, 2014 six prisoners were executed in Yazd prison. The prisoners were all from the province of Sistan and Baluchestan.

Hamidreza Mir, born in 1970 and “Kh.r” both from Zahedan, along with four other prisoners from the province on charges of drug crimes were hanged secretly.

A relative of Hamidreza Mir, executed prisoner said to HRANA’s reporter: “Hamidreza was kept in prison for four years. He had three children. His little girl was born when we has already imprisoned and he had seen her only from behind of the glass in the visiting room.”

He added: “Hamidreza along with five other prisoners were executed on June 23, 2014 and the news of these executions were published nowhere. He and one of those executed were from Zahedan, and the others were from Sistan and Baluchestan province. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to meet their families before the execution. The streets leading to the prison were closed by the police on the morning of the execution and they told his family to refer to the coroner [for receiving the body] at 8 am.”

The source close to the Mir family said at the end about the charges of Hamidreza Mir: “Hamid was in a car where some crack was found, this drug was not for him and even the car was not his car. He had converted his religion and had become Sunni. His family did not know until two months after the arrest when the authorities of Yazd prison called them.”

Saman Naseem and 3 other Prisoners at Imminent Risk of Execution

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Following unusual changes in recent days, the authorities of Urmia prison, summoned four prisoners, including Saman Naseem, Mohammad Abdollahi and two other criminal prisoners and warned them that considering the new judiciary procedures, there is not a long time left until their execution.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Saman Naseem and Mohammad Abdullahi, death row political prisoners, were summoned to the prison’s Praying Hall, Hosseinieh, on 26th April, and the prison warden, in the presence of social workers, told them: “your status as a matter of execution, is red and the only thing that you can do is asking for forgiveness.”

Also Hajir Iran-Nejad and Soleiman Mohammadi from ward 12, accordingly, death row prisoners with charges of murder and drug related crimes, along with two mentioned political prisoners, were summoned and were told that their execution was close and they would better request for amnesty or legal action to try to save themselves.

HRANA had reported that at least one hundred death row prisoners in the prison of Urmia were called and were said that up to the next three months their status would become clear.

Saman Naseem, juvenile offender, was born on December 17, 1993, and was arrested in the age of 17, in April 2013 and convicted of death. His death sentence was upheld by the Court of Appeals of West Azerbaijan Province on charges of waging war through the membership in a Kurdish opposition parties and participating in an armed operation.

Mohammad Abdollahi, 35, married and resident of the city of Bukan, on charge of combat through the membership in a Kurdish opposition party, was sentenced to death by Branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court in Mahabad.

His death sentence was officially communicated to him by the Law-enforcement Office in Mahabad prison, after being approved by the Supreme Court, in April 2014.

It is noteworthy that the unusual procedure of calling a big group of death row prisoners in Urmia prison, has caused a wave of concern among prisoners, their families and human rights activists.

6 Prisoners Executed in Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – HRANA had already reported at least 4 executions in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, but with one day delay, the Iranian official media have announced that 6 people were executed in this prison.

According to HRANA News Agency, Jam-e Jam newspaper reported that ten accused of murder were transferred to solitary confinements in Rajai Shahr for execution, on 27th April.

The sentences of these inmates were confirmed by the Supreme Court and were submitted to the executive office of Tehran Criminal Court.

These ten prisoners were taken to the gallows in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj, on Wednesday, April 27^th and 6 of them were hanged and 3 executions were postponed.

It should be noted that HRANA had identified earlier the names of some of those who were executed.

Brutal Punishment

Iran regime plans to blind man with acid next week

Wednesday, 04 May 2016 22:31

NCRI - Iran’s fundamentalist regime plans to completely blind a man with acid next week as a form of punishment under the mullahs’ brutal retribution law, according to news received from inside Iran.

Mojtaba Saheli (Sabeqi), 31, who was previously blinded in his left eye by the regime, has been informed by prison officials that he is to be blinded in the right eye with acid next week in Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran.

On August 3, 2009 he allegedly blinded a driver in Qom, south of Tehran, with acid. The regime’s court in Qom sentenced Mr. Saheli to be blinded in both eyes with acid, pay blood money and serve a 10-year prison term as part of the regime’s inhumane law of retribution (qisas).

On March 3, 2015 he was blinded in one eye with acid in Gohardasht Prison in the presence of the regime’s deputy prosecutor in Tehran Mohammad Shahriari and prison officials after the draconian sentence was upheld by the regime’s Supreme Court.

Mr. Saheli is currently imprisoned in Ward 2 of Hall 4 of Gohardasht Prison. He had been told to pay blood money to avoid the new blinding sentence from being implemented on his right eye. ...

Torture

Iran lashes woman in public

Monday 02 May 2016

Iran Focus - A woman has received 100 lashings in the town of Golpayegan, central Iran. State-run Serat News Agency reported the punishment on 27 April. Najafali Alyan, the government’s prosecutor in the town, said the lashings were punishment for adultery.

The woman, only identified as S.T., is currently serving a 15-year prison term for an alleged role in the murder of her husband in 2012. This is the first time in years that state media has reported the public flogging of a woman. It comes as the Iranian government has increased its policing of women. Around 7,000 undercover ‘morality police’ have been deployed to Tehran in recent weeks. They are tasked with reporting ‘mal-veiling’ as well as noise pollution or wearing make-up.

Prisoners of Conscience

FIDH, DHRC & LDDHI welcome the "City of Paris" medal for Iranian political prisoner

03/05/2016

FIDH and its member organisations from Iran, LDDHI and DHRC, laud the decision to award “City of Paris” medals to persecuted journalists from around the world, among them Ms. Narges Mohammadi, spokesperson and vice president of DHRC.

During a ceremony in Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris on 2 May 2016, Paris mayor Ms. Anne Hidalgo awarded the medals to four RSF-supported journalists designated “information heroes”: Mr. Can Dündar (Turkey), Mr. Antoine Kaburahe (Burundi), Mr. Lotfullah Najafizadeh (Afghanistan), and Ms. Narges Mohammadi (Iran).

Ms. Mohammadi has been arbitrarily detained since May 2015, and is currently serving a 6-year prison sentence for charges related to her human rights work in Iran. She suffers from muscular paralysis and lung complications and had to be transferred from prison to a hospital in October 2015, where she was handcuffed to her bed and guarded around the clock.

In a message read to the ceremony in Paris, where her exiled husband Mr. Rahmani received the medal on her behalf, Ms. Mohammadi pointed out the difficulties of journalism in Iran and said: “I have been tried three times in 12 years, for my writings on political prisoners and prisoners of conscience, my activities in DHRC and again for protesting human rights violations. It is impossible [for journalists] to protest discrimination against women, against the death penalty and the execution of juveniles in the Iranian press. That would lead to the closure of the newspapers. Critics state their views through the foreign media and then are tried for spreading propaganda against the system."

Our organisations again call on the Iranian authorities to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Mohammadi, and to release her immediately and unconditionally. We also call for an end to all harassment - including at the judicial level - against all journalists and human rights defenders in Iran and around the world.

“I will never stop” – a mother’s campaign to free her son in Iran

By Ezat Taheri, Canada, 4 May 2016, 11:16 UTC

 

Iranian spiritual teacher and prisoner of conscience Mohammad Ali Taheri has been in pre-trial solitary confinement for five years, and has launched over a dozen hunger strikes in protest at his detention. His mother Ezat tells us of her long fight for his release.

The day my son was arrested, every single cell inside my body was trembling with fear.

Suddenly, the security forces burst into my house and took whatever belonged to him. I did not know where he was or what might have happened to him. The uncertainty and fear, and the shock of the authorities searching my home, made everything a hundred times worse.

I realised Mohammad must have been alive because if the worst had happened they would not have come after his stuff. But I could not believe that the house of a mother, whose son was an example of kindness and loyalty, was being invaded.

Eight long months

I am elderly and Mohammad was my carer. For eight long months, I had no idea where he was, or even whether he was alive or dead. We had no way of finding out. My life was bitter when I slept and even more bitter when I was awake. Eventually, we received a phone call from a prison and were able to arrange for a lawyer to meet with him for five minutes, even though I was still not allowed to see him.

The agony I went through during that time caused me so many illnesses that, in the end, with a tired body and a broken spirit, I had to leave my country and go to my daughter in Canada. I needed to be safe, away from the periodic searches of my home that the security forces conducted, and to be able to pursue my son’s case because, in Iran, my hands were completely tied.

I am sad because I left everything behind in my homeland, where my roots and my identity belong. I left behind years of hard work, just when I was supposed to be enjoying my life with my children. The authorities broke my heart. Eventually, I let go of all that and focused my efforts on freeing my son with the help of human rights groups.

My heart is with my son

To a mother, the thought of her child in solitary confinement and going through such an ordeal is intolerable. My heart is with my son every single second. My heart is also with his children who are deprived of their father’s love. I think that only those with a family member in jail whose life is in danger can understand what we’re going through.

Although we know Mohammad is strong, we worry about the consequences of his long-term hunger strikes. As a mother, how can I tolerate that my son is jailed under such unfair conditions that he needs to go on hunger strike to make his voice heard and get his rights respected?

You cannot imagine how painful it is to eat when your own son is on hunger strike. I could not even swallow food.  During his 70-day hunger strike, my sadness stopped me from eating and I lost a lot of weight.

We’ll do whatever we can

While I was in Iran, I could not do anything for my son. A lawyer was the only way his case could be pursued. But as soon as I came to Canada in 2012, I said to my daughter we should do whatever we can for Mohammad.

My daughter and I have travelled to different cities and talked to many human rights activists. Many people have signed Amnesty’s letter calling on the Iranian authorities to quash his death sentence. Together they have helped to save my son’s life.

I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to Amnesty supporters for helping my son and protecting his rights. I wish you success in all your work serving humanity.

I will protect my child

We have always said that my son’s detention is baseless. What gives me strength to keep going is my faith in my son’s innocence. I am a mother, and until I have breathed my last breath and until the final moments of my life, my responsibilities to protect my child will never stop.

The fact that Mohammad was full of hope before going to prison also gives me a lot of hope, strength and determination to continue. I will never stop until the day I will die, and I will do anything to release my son.

Ezat Taheri. Credit: Private

 

DEMAND ACTION

Five years ago, Mohammad Ali Taheri was arrested and charged with several offences, including "insulting Islamic sanctities", for which he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. In July 2015, he was sentenced to death on the charge of “spreading corruption on earth” through establishing a spiritual group and promoting beliefs and practices which the authorities said were “perverse” and advanced a “soft overthrow” of the government.

Though his death sentence has since been quashed, his case has been sent back to a lower court for further investigation, meaning that he may face a new death sentence. Join us and tell the Iranian authorities to release him immediately.

Iran: Overdue release of artist must be followed by freedom for other prisoners of conscience

4 May 2016, 18:24 UTC

The release of Iranian artist and activist Atena Farghadani yesterday is a long-overdue step towards righting the injustice against her and must be followed by the immediate and unconditional release of other peaceful artists and activists who remain behind bars, Amnesty International said today.

 “Atena Farghadani’s release represents a legal and moral victory for her and encourages the efforts of activists worldwide to campaign for the release of other prisoners of conscience in Iran, as well as for reforms to the unjust laws used to put them behind bars in the first place,” said Magdalena Mughrabi, interim Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International. 

“While this is a time for celebration, it is vital that the world doesn’t forget that Atena Farghadani should never have been imprisoned in the first place and that many others like her continue to languish in cells or have the threat of prison hanging over their head for peacefully exercising their rights.”

Atena Farghadani’s release came after an appeal court in Tehran dramatically reduced her original 12-years and nine months sentence to 18 months, most of which she had already served. The court, however, suspended a three-year prison sentence imposed for “insulting the Iranian Supreme Leader” for four years meaning that the threat of imprisonment will hang over Atena Farghadani during that period. The Iranian authorities often resort to suspended sentences to create a climate of fear, coercing activists, journalists and others into silence or self-censorship.  

Atena Farghadani was sentenced on 1 June 2015 after a Revolutionary Court convicted her, following a grossly unfair trial, of charges including “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against national security”, “spreading propaganda against the system”, “insulting the Iranian Supreme Leader”, and “insulting members of parliament through paintings”.

All the charges stemmed from her peaceful activities including meeting with families of political prisoners, criticising the authorities on social media and through her artwork, which included a cartoon that satirized members of Iran’s parliament for considering bills that restrict access to voluntary contraception and family planning services.

In August 2015, Atena Farghadani said in a note, smuggled out of prison, that the authorities had subjected her to a forced ‘virginity test’. Earlier in 2016, the authorities confirmed her subjection to these tests. “Virginity testing” is highly discriminatory, compromises women’s dignity and rights to physical and mental integrity, and has been recognised as a violation of the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment.

Earlier in December 2014, when she was out on bail, Atena Farghadani released a video message describing how female prison guards at Evin prison had beaten her, verbally abused her and forced her to strip naked for a body search.

“The Iranian authorities have 18 months of appalling injustice to make up for and they should start by investigating Atena Farghadani’s torture and other ill-treatment including forced ‘virginity testing’. They should also ensure that her conviction and suspended sentence are quashed,” said Magdalena Mughrabi.

Other activists persecuted and imprisoned

Atena Farghadani’s release comes at a time when scores of others face harsh prison sentences imposed for their peaceful human rights activism. They include Atena Daemi, Omid Alishenas, Saeed Hosseinzadeh, and Asou Rostami, all of whom were arrested at around the same time and have been sentenced to harsh prison terms following grossly unfair trials on similar charges to Atena Farghadani.

“The conviction and sentences of all these young activists must be immediately quashed and the Iranian authorities must stop using the threat of incarceration to stifle Iran’s young generation of activists,” said Magdalena Mughrabi.

“Of course, a prisoner release is only a first step – the Iranian authorities must also reform the country’s repressive laws, which for too long have been used to clamp down on dissent. As long as these laws remain on the books, human rights defenders and activists will remain at risk of being jailed simply for expressing their opinions.”

Background

In its April 2016 ruling, the Appeal Court in Tehran upheld Atena Farghadani’s 18 months prison term imposed for the charge of “spreading propaganda against the system” but acquitted her from the charge of “gathering and colluding against national security”. It commuted the nine-month imprisonment sentence for “insulting members of parliament through paintings”, “insulting the President” and “insulting prison officials” to a cash fine.

Iran’s Islamic Penal Code, adopted in May 2013, maintains vaguely worded “crimes” such as “spreading propaganda against the system”, “creating unease in the public mind”, “insulting Islamic sanctities” and “membership of an illegal group”. These “offences” are frequently used to curb the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. Such laws and practices violate Iran’s international obligations, including those under Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantee the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.

Scholars at Risk calls for letters on behalf of imprisoned Iranian doctoral student Omid Kokabee

April 19, 2016 -- Scholars at Risk (SAR) is gravely concerned about recent reports of imprisoned doctoral student of physics Omid Kokabee's deteriorating health, specifically his distressing diagnosis of kidney cancer, and his reported lack of access to needed, regular medical care.

SAR understands that Mr. Kokabee is serving a 10-year sentence in Evin Prison, on charges of communicating with a hostile government. SAR understands that he has experienced medical issues since 2011, including internal bleeding and kidney stones, for which the prison infirmary reportedly prescribed painkillers but which otherwise went untreated. SAR further understands—distressingly—that Mr. Kokabee was recently diagnosed with kidney cancer, a life-threatening condition that reportedly could have been identified, had he been given proper medical care for his past kidney illnesses.

SAR calls for letters, emails, and faxes respectfully urging the authorities to reconsider the sentence against Mr. Kokabee and, pending his earliest release, to ensure Mr. Kokabee’s well-being and regular access to medical care following his upcoming surgery, in accordance with international human rights standards.

A Report about Samko Khelghati’s Situation in Tabas Prison

Posted on: 1st May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Samko Khelghati, graduated from Sharif University of Technology in metallurgy field, has been exiled in Tabas prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Samko Khelghati, who is a M.Sc. graduate in metallurgy, from Sharif University of Technology, and former employee of Arak heavy water plant, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, including 5 years in exile, and for this reason has been kept in different prisons around the country.

Samko Khelghati was arrested in 2009 in Arak, and has been interrogated and tortured in intelligence service’s solitary confinement. He claimed that under these pressures he gave an interview and confessed that the heavy water plant was just to serve for peaceful purposes like cancer cure. This interview went on air as a documentary with the name of “Zamani Baraye Khiyanat” (A time for betrayal) on Press TV and Dariched TV.

Then he was transferred to Evin prison and was interrogated in wards 209 and 240, and was even threatened to be executed.

In 2010, this political prisoner was tried in branch number 15 of the revolutionary court by judge Salavati, and charged with cooperation with Kurdistan Democratic Party and whistleblowing critical information of peaceful nuclear program to foreigners. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 5 years prison in exile, in Tabas prison. The verdict was submitted verbally and he was told by judge Salavati, that his sentence would be changed to death if he would appeal.

Mr. Khelghati had been transferred between Rajaei Shahr and different wards in Evin prison, during the period of 2010 to 2015. In 2012 he was kept in wards 350, 122 and 209 of Evin, and was twice transferred to Rajaei Shahr prison.

In summer of 2015, Mr. Khelghati was transferred to Arak prison on his own request, in order to have more efficient appeal, and he applied for appeal with the hope that article 134 of accumulation of charges could be applied to him. This request was rejected, and he was recently exiled to Tabas prison.

Jaber Sakhravi; In Urgent Need of Medical Treatment in Shayban Prison

Posted on: 1st May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – After two strokes, the condition of Jaber Sakhravi, 30-year-old security prisoner of Shayban prison in Ahvaz, is reported to be critical. He is serving his 14 years and 6 months in prison, since 2014.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Jaber Sakhravi, son of Gahami, 30 years old and graduated of computer science, is a resident of Kouy Alavi in Ahvaz, who was arrested by the security forces in Khashayar Street of Ahvaz, on March 24, 2014.

This Arab activist who had been tortured in solitary confinement of intelligence service for three months, was transferred to Karoon prison due to his bad condition.

An informed source told HRANA’s reporter, “Jaber Sakhravi was tortured severely in the intelligence service detention centre, in a way that half of his body is numbed and his right leg is shorter. He was tortured by electric baton by the security forces, so that the signs of torture and burns can be seen on his back and legs. As the consequence of these medieval tortures Jaber is suffering from kidney pain, swelling of the testicles and urinary tract pain and his eyesight has deteriorated. Tortures of the security forces were so severe that he had stomach bleeding for two months after being transferred to Karoon prison and his condition is getting worse day by day”.

This informed source emphasized that, “using tranquilizer medicines had very considerable impacts on his mental condition and currently a short discussion could result in his anxiety and anger”.

Previously HRANA had reported, based on a close source to Mr. Sakhravi, “He was arrested on charge of carrying raw explosive material. He informed officers that he was diagnosed with MS, but they ignored and tortured him which caused in a stroke. Few days after being transferred to the hospital, he was sent back to the detention centre and tortures stared again, which ended to the second stroke and half of his body became numb. However, his family denied the stroke and they believe that it was a direct effect of the tortures”.

His family has tried much to receive a permission for him for furlough and proper medical treatment outside of the prison, but their requests were rejected by the revolutionary court.

Jaber Sakhravi has been charged with threatening the national security and sentenced to 14 years and 6 months in prison on charge of belligerence by judge Shabouni in the revolutionary court of Ahvaz.

His case in being processed by judge Kooshain of branch number 16 of the appeal court.

This prison was transferred to Shayban prison, after Karoon prison was closed.

Hadi Haidari Released from Evin Prison

Posted on: 1st May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Hadi Haidari, press cartoonist was released from ward number 8 of Evin prison on parole.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Hadi Haidari who had been arrested on November 16, 2015, was released on parole.

Hadi Haidari had previously been arrested and imprisoned, too. Among them, one time he was arrested during a religious ritual of Komail on October 22, 2009 and transferred to ward 209 in Evin prison. He was released on the bail on November 9, 2009. He also was arrested after being summoned to the court on December 18, 2010 and released on the bail on December 26, 2010. Last time, he was arrested after the publication of a cartoon with the name of “Chashm Bandan” (Eye closers), in Shargh newspaper and was released on the bail after the interrogations.

Even though there was no explanation about his detention by the security forces during his arrest, and his lawyer had no information about this arrest, but Hadi Haidari informed his family that he was arrested to serve the sentence of 1 year of imprisonment from his previous case.

Hadi Haidari, worked in the newspapers like Jamee, Neshat, Asr Azadegan, Aftab Emruz, Yas-e-No and Asr-e-Ma weekly as journalist and later became art director and design and cartoon manager of newspapers like Mosharekat, Norouz, Vaghaey Ettefaghiyeh, Eghbal, Etemad Melli, Bahar and Pool.

In 2010 he was the design manager of Shargh newspaper and recently he was working with Shahrvand newspaper.

A Prisoner Died in Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj

Posted on: 2nd May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Medical negligence resulted in the death of Hosain Afrasiabi, a prisoner in Rajaei Shahr prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Hossain Afrasiabi, 40, was transferred to prison clinic after taking overdosed medicine, but died due to medical negligence and delays in being transferred to the hospital.

Mr. Afrasiabi was kept in ward number 10 in hall number 30, known as “pill ward” in Rajaei Shahr prison on charge of homicide.

Iran political prisoner Saleh Kohandel writes open letter of protest

Thursday, 05 May 2016 14:11

NCRI – Renowned Iranian political prisoner Saleh Kohandel, a supporter of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), has written an open letter from prison to his relatives announcing that he will no longer accept family visits due to the subjugation that he is forced to endure at the hands of the mullahs' regime before, during and after such visits.

Mr. Kohandel, who was arrested on March 4, 2007 over his ties to the PMOI (MEK), is currently behind bars in the notorious Gohardasht (Rajai-Shahr) Prison in Karaj, north-west of Tehran.

The following is the text of his letter which has been smuggled out of prison:

Family visits at what price?

At a time when the rotten and decaying regime of velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule) is in its final chapter and each day there are new reports in state media of vast theft and embezzlement by various high-ranking and ordinary members of the regime, and as officials are overtaking each other in such theft and plundering of the nation, on Wednesday May 4 they summoned me for a visit from my family. Although it has been six years since I was allowed to have direct interaction with my relatives during their visits, and this latest visit was from behind the glass partition, I was searched four times between our Ward and the Visitors’ Hall. In order to degrade me, the wardens attempted to strip me in front of the other prisoners. This dirty action was despite the fact that the wardens know full well that in the 10 years that I am in prison I have not violated any of the prison regulations including those which stem from their reactionary nature. My only crime, in their view, are my political activities, and for this reason I have on many occasions been transferred to the Ward run by the Intelligence Ministry and spent months under torture in solitary confinement. Therefore in order to partly allay the insults that my relatives and I are being subjected to, I have decided not to attend any further visits. I urge all my relatives not to come to visit me from this day onward. I apologize to my family in advance because I can no longer tolerate the insults and humiliation that I am subjected to.
Saleh Kohandel
Gohardasht Prison

Political Prisoners Kept along with Death Row Prisoners in Rajai Shahr Prison

Posted on: 5th May, 2016

Rajai-Shahr Prison in Karaj, Tehran, Iran

HRANA News Agency – Despite repeated claims of the prisons and security officials of addressing the principle of separation of prisoners on the base of their crimes in prisons, a large number of political or security prisoners have been exiled to Rajai Shahr prison where is the whereabouts of prisoners of violent crimes, a batch of prisoners who are kept separate from other political prisoners in the prison suffer more than the others. At least 20 prisoners in the prison are kept out of the dedicated place to political prisoners and with lots of problems.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), the Department of Prisons claimed to address the principle of separation of prisoners on the base of their crimes in Iran’s prisons. According to the head of the Department, the country’s prisons have general classification, for example Rajai Shahr prison belongs to prisoners of violent crimes and Tehran prison belongs to prisoners on charge of theft crimes, also the Department claimed to address this principle inside the wards, too.

Despite passing many years of these claims, a large number of political and security prisoners have been exiled to Rajai Shahr. In addition to the exile of political prisoners to a prison where is the whereabouts of prisoners of violent crime is a negation of the principle of separation of crimes, a lot of conscience and security prisoners are kept in different halls, deliberately with the aim of limiting them and increasing pressure on them. This has caused additional suffering of exiled political prisoners in this prison.

The following report contains details of 20 detected political-security prisoners in Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj who are kept in ordinary wards by the decision of the prison authorities.

A number of political prisoners serve their sentences along with death row prisoners on charges of violent crimes, including kidnapping, rape or murder

Exiled prisoners in other wards of Rajai Shahr, in addition to the double suffering because of overcrowding and health conditions, has been beaten repeatedly by the prisoners. They have repeatedly protested to be transferred to the political prisoners’ ward but each time it was unsuccessful.

Many believe that this is done by the decision of the head of the prison.

The following list includes the exiled prisoners with the names of their wards:

Ward number one

More than 400 prisoners on death row are in the ward where two political prisoners named “Yasser Hamidi Shahrabi” and “Mehdi Azimi” both imprisoned on charge of “blasphemy” ” and sentenced to two and a half years in prison are kept in the ward.

Ward number two

In ward two (Darolquran) along with nearly one hundred death row prisoners, political-security prisoners “Ali Mashhadi,” on charge of “gathering and colluding” with the sentence of four years in prison, “Reza Kahe” and “Nasser Mohammad” on security charges, are being kept, too.

Ward number three

In this ward, at least 200 death row prisoners on violent crimes charges such as murder and kidnapping are kept. “Iraj Hatami” on security charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison, “Ali Akbar Ardeshir” on charge of “gathering and colluding” with the sentence of 5 years imprisonment, “Ardeshir Shahnawaz” on charge of “gathering and colluding” with the sentence of 5 years imprisonment are being kept in this ward.

Ward number ten

Previously, this ward had been used for offenders sentenced to less than one year but recently in addition to political prisoners, the number of death row prisoners on violent offenses were transferred there. The List of political prisoners in this ward is as follows:

“Arjang Davoudi” on charge of “supporting the MEK” in the last case sentenced of 5 years imprisonment and exile to Zabol Prison.

“Behnam Ebrahimzadeh,” on charges of “gathering and colluding to commit crimes against internal and external security” and “propaganda against the system” with sentence of 7 years, 10 months and 15 days imprisonment.

“Sohail Babadi” on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security and insulting the Leader” with the sentence of 12 years.

“Ebrahim Firuzi” on charge of “evangelism” with the sentence of 5 years in prison.

“Ahmad Karimi” on charge of “association with the Kingdom Assembly of Iran” with the sentence of 15 years in prison.

“Farid Azmodeh” on security charges with the sentence of 5 years in prison.

“Behzad Tarahomi” on security charges with the sentence of 5 years in prison.

“Alireza Farahani” on security charges with the sentence of 5 years in prison.

“Hadi Iqbal”, on charges of “insulting the Supreme Leader and insulting the president and propaganda against the system” with the sentence of eight and half years in prison.

It is also said that in this ward a number of the supporters of Mohammad Ali Taheri, founder of Erfan Halgheh are being kept, too.

Iran political prisoners in Evin Prison on hunger strike

Thursday, 05 May 2016 14:34

NCRI - According to reports from inside Iran, a number of political prisoners in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison are on hunger strike.

Political prisoners Jafar Azimzadeh, a worker’s rights activist, and Ismail Abdi, Secretary General of Iran’s Teachers’ Trade Association (ITTA), are on Day 7 of an indefinite hunger strike. In a statement they outlined the reasons for their hunger strike.

“In protest to the crackdown on civil activities and gatherings and strikes by workers and teachers, wages below the poverty line, a ban on independent and free gatherings to mark International Workers’ Day and Teachers Day in Iran and violations of basic rights of Iran’s workers and teachers, we are refusing prison food and embarking on an indefinite hunger strike commencing April 29, 2016,” their statement said.

Another political prisoner Ali Moezzi, whose relatives are members of the main Iranian opposition group People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI or MEK), has announced that he plans to join Mr. Abdi and Mr. Azimzadeh on hunger strike as a sign of solidarity beginning on Friday, May 6.

In a statement, Mr. Moezzi, a supporter of the PMOI (MEK), said: “A regime which suppresses civil associations and activists would never provide for the trampled rights of teachers and laborers.”

Mr. Moezzi, who is a political prisoner of the 1980s due to his support for the PMOI (MEK), suffers from various diseases, including cancer and acute kidney disease, and his health has deteriorated from years of torture in the Iranian regime’s dungeons and the systematic denial of proper medical treatment. Two of his daughters are members of the PMOI (MEK).

Iran’s fundamentalist regime has executed more than 120,000 political prisoners in the past 35 years, the vast majority PMOI (MEK) members and supporters. This includes the massacre of some 30,000 prisoners affiliated to the PMOI (MEK) in the summer of 1988. The PMOI (MEK) is the largest member organization in the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

Separately, imprisoned teacher Mahmoud Beheshti Langaroudi, former secretary general and current speaker of Iran’s teachers’ union, started a hunger strike on April 20 in Evin Prison in protest to his 14-year prison sentence.

He has embarked on a dry hunger strike since Monday, May 2.

Mr. Langaroudi has been arrested several times during the past few years and has been physically and psychologically tortured. He was most recently detained on September 6, 2015 when Ministry of Intelligence agents raided his home. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison by the regime’s so-called revolutionary courts.

Amir Amirgholi Ended his Hunger Strike

Posted on: 5th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Amir Amirgholi, political prisoner, ended his hunger strike after 18 days in ward eight of Evin Prison, in response to requests from civil rights and political activists.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Amir Amirgholi, left-wing political activists, who was on hunger strike since Saturday 9th April, to protest against his condition in prison, ended his hunger strike.

This former student activist and prisoner of conscience at ward eight of Evin prison, announced that his requests has not been addressed yet, but in response to the requests of civil and political activists, he has ended his hunger strike.

It should be explained that, in the past few days, in separate actions, civil and political activists had asked Amirgholi to end his hunger strike because of his health condition, by writing open letters. This political and conscience prisoner responded by writing an open letter to friends and activists who were concerned about his health, and ended his hunger strike.

Formerly, this prisoner’s father, in a conversation with HRANA’s reporter had said: “Amir is held in ward eight of Evin prison where most prisoners are foreigners. He has requested to be transferred from this ward due to inappropriate health and hygiene condition and his health is in danger by living in the ward of prisoners who suffer from diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis, and also based on the principle of separation of offenses. But despite the hunger strike and repeated requests, still no action has been taken.”

Amir Amirgholi, former student activist and political prisoner in ward eight of Evin prison, was sentenced to 21 years imprisonment by branch 15 of the revolutionary court presided over by judge Salvati on charges of “blasphemy”, “insulting the Supreme Leader”, “gathering and colluding to act against national security”, “disturbing public order by participating in gatherings” and “propaganda against the regime”. In accordance with the Article 134 of the Penal Code and the aggregation of the crimes, the maximum sentence can be up to seven years and a half. His Appeal Court Branch has not been determined yet.

The Appeal Court of 4 Civil Rights Activists Will Be Held on July 5th.

Posted on: 5th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – July 5, 2016 has been determined as the date of appeal hearing of four civil activist, Atena Daemi, Aso Rostami, Omid Alishenas, Ali Nouri, and also Mohammad Hossein Daemi, Atena Daemi’s father.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), on May 5, 2016, the date of appeal hearing of four civil activists was determined and notified at branch 36 of the Tehran appeals court with the presence of Atena Daemi and Omid Alishenas, two of the case’s defendants.

Atena Daemi, one of the defendants confirmed the news to the reporters of HRANA and said: “On May 5, I went to the court along with Omid Alishenas and the date of the trial for me and three other defendants and also my father was determined.”

The activist and defender of children’s rights explained the reason of presence of his father at the appeal hearing: “Because of having satellite receiving equipment he was already sentence and the verdict of fine was issued and notified, but because his name is also in our case, they asked him to come, too.”

Atena Daemi, 27, was arrested on October 21, 2014 and was held in solitary confinement in Ward 2-A for 86 days. She was transferred to women’s ward in Evin prison, after her interrogations, on January 18, 2015.

After being postponed for several times, eventually in a court, presided by judge Moghiseh of the Revolutionary Court, Branch 28th in Tehran and in the presence of her solicitor and the other defenders of this case, (Omid Alishenas, Asuo Rostami and Ali Nouri), she was charged with propaganda against the regime, gathering and collusion against the national security, insulting the Supreme Leader, insulting the Islamic Republic’s founder and concealing evidence of the crime because of her peaceful civil activities, and was sentenced to 14 years in prison on March 14, 2015.

Previously, the appeals court judge accepted to release her on the bail and after sixteen months of detention she was released from the women’s ward of Evin prison on February 15, 2016.

Omid Alishenas was arrested on September 4, 2014, and transferred to ward 2-A of Evin prison, which is controlled by the IRGC. Although a bail of 1000 million IRR had been issued for him, the court and the prosecutor’s office eventually did not accept the bail for unknown reasons and he was transferred to ward number 8 for continuation of the interrogations.

Omid Alishenas, imprisoned civil rights activist was released on the bail from Evin prison after 16 months of detention.

Aso Rostami, other defendant of this case, had been arrested along with several others after a gathering to support Kobani in front of the UN office in Tehran, on Wednesday, October 8, 2014, and after a long time in solitary confinement and interrogation, he was transferred to ward 8 of Evin prison.

He was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment on charges of propaganda against the regime, gathering and collusion against the national security and insulting the supreme leader due to his peaceful civil activities.

Aso Rostami, social and civil rights activist, was released from Evin prison after sixteen months of detention.

Ali Nouri, civil rights activist have been arrested during a protest in solidarity with Kobani in front of United Nations’ office on October 8, 2014 and was transferred to ward 2-A of Evin prison, which is controlled by the IRGC and after a long interrogation and solitary confinement he was transferred to the general ward 8 of Evin Prison, where is financial prisoners’ whereabouts.

After being released on the bail of 500 million IRR, he was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Imprisoned Human Rights Lawyer’s Daughter: Help My Father Before It’s Too Late

May 6, 2016

Abdolfattah Soltani’s Condition Deteriorates; Needs Urgent Hospitalization

Abdolfattah Soltani, an imprisoned human rights lawyer, requires immediate hospitalization following his most recent transfer to Evin Prison’s infirmary for heart problems, his daughter, Maedeh Soltani, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“In recent months this is the fourth time my father has been taken to the prison infirmary for chest pains and severe heart palpitations. But unfortunately my mother’s requests for my father’s medical furlough for hospitalization have not been accepted so far,” said Maedeh Soltani.

“On Tuesday [May 3, 2016] my father suffered chest pains and his cellmates took him to the infirmary and then he was brought back to the ward. My father has become very thin. His body has melted away. His frequent visits to the prison clinic are not a good sign,” said Maedeh Soltani. “These incidents show he’s very sick and he needs immediate treatment. I hope he will be transferred to the hospital before it’s too late.”

“My mother puts in a request for my father’s medical furlough almost every week. But Mr. Hajiloo, the prison’s judicial official, doesn’t pay any attention,” added Maedeh Soltani. “He only takes the requests and says they will be reviewed. Shouldn’t they care about a prisoner’s health? There’s a person’s life at stake.”

Abdolfattah Soltani, a prominent attorney and human rights defender, was previously hospitalized for 41 days in 2013 for heart and digestive problems and returned to Evin before he had fully recovered. He was granted medical furlough on January 17, 2016 for 21 days, and again returned to prison prior to full recovery.

Political prisoners in Iran are subjected to harsh conditions over and above their prison sentences, which typically include the denial of medical furlough and critically needed medical care.

Abdolfattah Soltani, who represented a number prominent dissidents and political prisoners prior to his arrest on September 10, 2011, is serving a 13-year prison sentence for “being awarded the [2009] Nuremberg International Human Rights Award,” “interviewing with the media about his clients’ cases,” and “co-founding the Defenders of Human Rights Center” with Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi.

In April 2015 his daughter told the Campaign that Abdolfattah Soltani was being refused medical leave because “he hasn’t agreed to repent.”

A Brief Report about the Diesel Abad Prison of Kermanshah

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Diesel Abad Prison in the West of Kermanshah, has been formed of 10 wards and 6 halls. In the report, prisoners said about the maltreatment and being beaten by prison officials, poor quality and lack of food, poor sanitation and lack of medical attention. According to the official reports the prison population is much greater than the capacity of the prison.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), although there is no official statistics for the number of prisoners in Diesel Abad Prison in the West of Kermanshah, but according to the prisoners, the prison population is estimated to be about 6,000 people. According to reports of local media, the prison population is much more than its capacity.

One of the prisoners of Diesel Abad Prison said to HRANA about the number of sectors and the population of the prison: “Diesel Abad Prison has 10 ward and 6 halls. Hall 1 is for juveniles and others are for the adults. Ward 10 also is public and there methadone and cigarettes are free. The prison has at least 6,000 inmates and at least 500 prisoners are kept in the solitary confinements.”

This witness also emphasized on nutritional status: “The food situation of prison is awful. Food is less with low nutritional value, and if you do not have a family meeting, you will be malnourished. Breakfast is a jam and butter, and the next day an egg and a bread, the next day fifty grams of cheese. Sometimes the cheese is for the breakfast and dinner as well.”

Another prisoner who suffers from skin disease said about the health situation and medical care: “Mostly prisoners are sick, lice and communicable skin diseases are full in jail. If you are lucky only once per month you can turn to visit doctor and then just a number of medications will be prescribed and, if untreated, further action will not be taken.”

The third prisoner said about the beating in an interview with the reporters of HRANA: “Here they treat us like animals. We are beaten by prison officials and guards by any excuse. If we are back from leave, and suspected of carrying drugs, they baste our anal and we must sit down on hold with handcuffs for 48 hours. If one has no drugs, nothing happens even a simple apology. But God forbid that officials find drugs from prisoners, then they will send him to ward 9 and torture him.”

This prisoners said about the cases of the prisoners and officials illegitimate requests of their families: “Here are a large number of prisoners without definitive sentences. Some of the prison officials ask for bribe and sometimes even have illegitimate [sexual] requests of the detainees’ families. For example, if the prisoner’s family wants to send clothing for the prisoner they must either pay bribe or be ready to fulfil their illegal demands.”

Hussein Ronaghi Maleki Released from Evin Prison

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Hussein Ronaghi Maleki, human rights activist and blogger was released from Evin prison on May 4, 2016.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Hussein Ronaghi Maleki, who suffers from different diseases was released from Evin prison.

Hussein Ronaghi wrote in his Facebook profile: “Today, I was released on the 30-day furlough by the orders and agreement of the prosecutor which postponed the sentence for a month due to the intolerance of punishment. This was achieved after forty-one days of hunger strike and hardship which my parents suffered and mental stress of my family and friends. I hope that this problem will be solve forever by the help of authorities.”

It should be noted that Ahmed Ronaghi Maleki was also on hunger strike for getting his son’s rights and had announced that he would be on strike till Hussein’s freedom.

Hussein Ronaghi Maleki, human rights activist and blogger, was arrested on December 13, 2009.

Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court sentenced him to 15 years in prison on October 5, 2010 after 10 months of detention in ward 2-A of Evin prison. The charges against him in the court were, “membership in the Iran proxy network, insulting the leader and insulting the president.”

The verdict was upheld by Branch 54 of the Appeals Court and Hossein Ronaghi was then transferred to Ward 350 of Evin prison.

The prisoner was held in ward 7 of Evin prison before being released.

Iraj Mohammadi; Sleeping on the Mosaic in the 7th Year of Imprisonment

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Iraj Mohammadi, political prisoner who has been exiled to Tabriz prison and is serving his seventh, has been denied of medical treatment despite having psychiatric.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), Iraj Mohammadi 37, political prisoner who is serving his seventh year in exile in Tabriz Central Prison is held in inhumane conditions and without respect for the principle of separation of offenses.

The prisoner who has been transferred from Zahedan prison to Tabriz prison, is held in ward 11 which is dedicated thieves. He is forced to sleep without blankets on the cold mosaic.

Although he suffers from psychiatric disorders, he is deprived of needed medical services. The difficulty of inhuman conditions is so much that he announced that to prison officials that if their ignorance would continue he would have no choice except suicide.

An informed source, said to HRANA’s reporter: “Mr. Mohammadi was transferred from Zahedan prison to Tabriz prison on March 24, 2016. Since more than a month ago, he has been sleeping on the floor without blankets on the cold tiles. He also has stroke and suffered from mental illness, they do not give him his medicine, he is deprived of needed medical services. On the other hand he is held among thieves. His condition has reached to a point that he said: ‘I have no choice but to commit suicide.’”

The source also stressed: “The prison officials did not respond to protests and even accused him of disrupting in prison due to protests and a new case was opened for him. He called Tabriz Court and asked for investigations but he was told him not to call again.”

HRANA had reported earlier Iraj Mohammadi and Mohammad Amin Agooshi, two political prisoners in Tabriz Prison were charged with disturbing the prison order, in the court of this city, on Monday, April 18^th.

It is worth mentioning, Iraj Mohammadi was arrested along with Mohammad Amin Agooshi and Ahmad Pooladkhani, on the charge of espionage, in May 2009, and finally were sentenced to ten years imprisonment in exile in April 2012.

 Iraj Mohammadi along with Mohammad Amin Agooshi was transferred to Tabriz Prison on March 24, 2016 in the 7th year of imprisonment.

According to the informed sources his situation is inappropriate. Due to the harsh conditions of the prison and being kept for eight months in solitary confinement in the prison of the Revolutionary Guards in Urmia along with being beaten, and in particular because of blows to his head, he is suffering from mental illness requiring treatment and medications.

Previously, Mr. Mohammadi in Zahedan had been examined by a medical commission. The commission approved the poor health status and necessity of treatment of the prisoner.

The List of 55 Political-Security Prisoners in Ward 7 of Evin Prison

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – The following list contains the names of 55 political-security prisoners of Evin prison who were arrested and sentenced and imprisoned on charges of “communication with enemy states” or “espionage”. At least 9 of these prisoners are sick and need urgent medical attention.

 According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), separation of political-conscience and security prisoners is based on the nature of the charges raised against them, the majority of the security prisoners were tried under article 501 (espionage) and article 508 (in collaboration with a hostile government) of the Penal Code and are prosecuted in Iran. Due to the lack of transparency of the judiciary in dealing with such cases, in some cases the judiciary uses the security charges as a toll to deal with political opponents and due to the uncertainty of a fair trial for the convicted, preparing and filing the list is based solely on the formal charges against prisons by the judiciary and Human Rights Activists in Iran in the absence of transparency in the court cases, cannot independently confirm the allegations to these prisoners.

The prisoners charged with spying and contact with hostile governments in Evin prison, are held mostly in ward seven of the prison, the complete list of the names and details of the detainees that was prepared and updated by HRANA, is as follows:

Ahmad Gharache, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, former employee of IRGC.

Ismael Roque, cooperation with enemy states, undecided, former employee of Mahan Airlines.

Asghar Padashi, espionage, 13 years imprisonment.

Omid Shahmardani, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment.

Omid Kokabee, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment and 20 years banned from leaving the country, physics student at the University of Texas in America.

Amir Dosti, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, student and pilot.

Amir Rezazadeh Bandarabbasi, espionage, 13 years imprisonment.

Amirhossein (nicknamed as Iman) Seirafi, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment.

Iraj (Ismael) Kharibi, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment.

Iraj Derafshi, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment.

Behzad Abbasi, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, retired pilot of Air Force resident of Sweden.

Behzad Miraee, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment.

Behnam Maenavi, espionage, 10 years imprisonment.

Jaefar Shakeri, espionage, 3 years imprisonment.

Jalil Mohammadi, cooperation with enemy states, undecided, Sharif University graduate student.

Hossein Faraji, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment, Iraqi, with arthritis of the neck.

Hamid Zandifar, espionage, 8 years imprisonment, adviser of the National Oil Company.

Hamid Reza Derakhshandeh, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment, Iraqi, former employee of Electricity Company.

Hamidreza Mohajerani, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment, professor of Arabic literature in Qatar.

Davood Asadi, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment, Iraqi, former employee of Homa Airlines.

Rasoul Heidarzadeh, espionage and collusion, 7 years imprisonment, used to live in Azerbaijan.

Reza Jokari, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, former employee of Bushehr nuclear power facilities.

Reza Samei Monfared, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment, former employee of Central Bank.

Salar Sotodeh, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment, former employee of nuclear site of Natanz.

Saeed Nozari, cooperation with enemy countries, undecided.

Shahram Vahdatyan, cooperation with enemy countries, undecided, Professor at Ali Amiralmo’menin University of Ahvaz

Sadegh Zahed, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment, former employee of National Oil Company.

Abdolsatar Sheikh, cooperation with enemy countries, 15 years imprisonment, Pakistani, art student at the doctoral level in Iran.

Ali Aelaee, cooperation with enemy countries, 8 years imprisonment, aging prisoner and suffering from Alzheimer.

Ali Azarifar, cooperation with enemy countries, undecided, Former Australian student.

Ali Bagheri, cooperation with enemy countries, 19 years and 6 months imprisonment, used to live in Germany.

Ali Asgari, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment.

Alireza Ahmadi, cooperation with enemy countries, 4 years imprisonment.

Alireza Golipour, cooperation with enemy countries, undecided.

Golamreza Hosseini, cooperation with enemy countries, 9 years imprisonment.

Farhad Atlasi, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment.

Kamyar Sabeti San’at, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment.

Kamal Froughi Abri, cooperation with enemy countries, 8 years imprisonment.

Kiavosh Sabouri, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment.

Mani Kharazmi, cooperation with enemy countries, 2 years imprisonment.

Majid Rigafraz, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment.

Mohammad Aghaee, cooperation with enemy countries, 7 years imprisonment.

Mohammad Hossein Ilanloo, cooperation with enemy countries, 4 years imprisonment.

Mohammadreza Yazdanparast, cooperation with enemy countries, 4 years imprisonment, employee of IRNA.

Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment.

Mohammad Millad Shahabi, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment, graduated student of Sharif University.

Mahram Hadi Sarabi, cooperation with enemy countries, undecided, former employee of IRGC.

Mohammad Yousef Jokar, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment.

Mohammadreza Nazhd Javadi Pour, cooperation with enemy countries, 4 years imprisonment.

Mokhtar Salehi, cooperation with enemy countries and leaving the country illegally, 7 years imprisonment.

Morteza Khosravi Rad, cooperation with enemy countries, 5 years imprisonment, employee of Ministry of Communications.

Morteza Rahim Taefeh, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, old prisoner, retired colonel of Army.

Morteza Rahim Basiri, cooperation with enemy countries, 10  years imprisonment , Former pilot of  Iranian Air Force and former refugee in England.

Manochehr Mohammad Ali, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, French Translator.

Nader Ahmadi, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, employee of Oil Company.

Nour Mohammad Ghavidel, espionage and collusion, 5 years imprisonment.

Yaeghoub Maleki, cooperation with enemy countries, 10 years imprisonment, retired pilot of the Air Force.

Kaveh sharokhi, cooperation with enemy countries, 2 years and 6 months imprisonment.

Among these prisoners, the sick prisoners and persons in need of medical attention are as follows:

1. Kamal Farooqi with prostate cancer.

2. Jaefar Shakeri with heart disease and advanced diabetes.

3. Ali A’layi with Alzheimer disease

4. Morteza Rahimi Taefeh who suffers from various diseases due to his age.

5. Kiawash Sabouri with advanced diabetes, leg swelling and wound from which the infections somehow find a way to the blood.

6. Alireza Ahmadi with schizophrenia and physical illness (his left leg is shorter) and also his diaphragm has ruptured.

7. Omid Kokabee was taken to hospital due to kidney cancer.

8. Mustafa Rahim Basiri, severe heart disease and shortness of breath in a way that some nights he has to be transferred to the infirmary and placed under oxygen.

 9. Hassan Faraji with arthritis of the neck.

 

Mohammad Mozaffari Tried in the Revolutionary Court in Tehran

Posted on: 8th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – The hearing of Mohammad Mozaffari, a political activist was held in branch 15 of the revolutionary court presided over by Judge Salvati on May 3, 2016.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), the hearing of Mohammad Mozaffari, a political activist was held in branch 15 of the revolutionary court presided over by Judge Salvati at 10 am on May 3, 2016.

Dr Nemat Ahmadi and Zeinab Mozaffari, his lawyers were present in the court and offered their defense to the court.

Mohammad Mozaffari had been charged with “propaganda against the regime”, “gathering and collusion with intention to act against the national security”,” insulting the clergymen”, “membership in the National Front, Iran’s students and graduates”, “supporting political prisoners and their families”, “helping Laleh Park Mothers ” and “use and maintenance of satellite equipment” in this case.

Mohammad Mozaffari was arrested on February 15, 2015 and transferred to Ward 2-A of IRGC in Evin prison. He was transferred to ward 8 after three months by the end of the interrogations and was released on the bail after five months of detention on July 11, 2015.

Freedom of Expression

Reformists surge despite obstacles to media freedom

March 2, 2016

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns the renewed restraints that the authorities placed on media coverage during last week’s elections in Iran and urges President Hassan Rouhani to take advantage of the relative good results achieved by the reformists and finally begin improving respect for media freedom.

A total of 54 million Iranians had the right to vote on 26 February for a new parliament and Assembly of Experts (the 88 “experts in Islamic law” who will one day choose the next Supreme Leader). The election was fixed inasmuch as candidates not complying with “Islamic values” or “not loyal to Islam, the Islamic Republic and its leader” were vetoed in advance by the Guardian Council.

Nontheless, many Iranians yet again took advantage of the elections to vote against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s policies. Even if they did not win a parliamentary majority, Rouhani’s supporters did well, indicating that there is a desire for change, especially as regards respect for fundamental rights.

So Rouhani and his reformist and moderate allies no longer have any excuse for not releasing the 37 journalists currently in prison in Iran.

Not content with vetoing candidates, hardline authorities had complete control over the media and suppressed opposition voices. RSF points out that a free election depends on unobstructed access to independently reported news and information, and that any election that lacks this cannot be regarded as transparent and democratic.

Two months before the elections, the Revolutionary Guards conducted a preventive crackdown on the media that included arrests, closures of newspapers and intimidation of media outlets and individual journalists.

On 2 November, they arrested Afarine Chitsaz of the daily Iran, Ehssan Mandarinier, the editor of the daily Farhikhteghan, Saman Safarzai of the monthly Andisher Poya and Issa Saharkhiz, a well-known independent journalist. All are still being held.

Farzad Pourmoradi, a journalist working for media outlets in the western province of Kermanshah including Kermanshah Post and Navai Vaghat, was also arrested on 2 November. Bahman Darolshafai, a former reporter for the BBC and several reformist Iranian newspapers, was arrested by plainclothesmen on 3 February Released on bail on 23 February, he is now awaiting trial.

According to the information obtained by RSF, several other journalists were summoned for questioning and some of them were detained by the intelligence section of the Revolutionary Guards.

The reporting provided by media based abroad is often the only way for Iranians to get access to alternative news coverage but this reporting is also subjected to control attempts by the authorities and to demonization and intimidation by the intelligence services.

Two weeks ago, media outlets and prominent figures that support the Supreme Leader stepped up their attacks on foreign media and, in particular, the BBC’s Persian-language section. On 17 February, Khamenei cited the BBC as an example of British meddling in the election and of the attempts by Iran’s enemies to infiltrate the election process.

Khamenei accused these media of supporting the “block the hardliners” campaign on social networks that was designed to prevent the election of his supporters. Ever since President Rouhani’s election in June 2013, many Persian-language media outlets based abroad have provided fairly favourable coverage of the Iranian government’s actions. But Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards do not tolerate uncontrolled media reporting.

In the past three months, RSF has registered ten cases of threats against Iranian exile journalists working for international media or for independent Persian-language media based abroad, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Farda, Voice of America, Radio Zamaneh and the BBC.

Several of these journalists have been the targets of direct warnings by the intelligence services or by pro-government media outlets such as Farsnews, a news agency that supports the Revolutionary Guards.

Close relatives of some of these journalists have also been summoned and questioned by intelligence officials. After being interrogated for several hours, they were told to get the journalist to “stop collaborating with enemy media,” failing which “other members of the family will be summoned and possibly arrested.”

According to the Iranian authorities, more than 100 foreign journalists were given permission to cover the elections. Some foreign reporters confirmed that it was relatively easy to get a press visa but complained of being watched by the intelligence services and about the restrictions imposed on them. In particular, they said their visa was conditioned on their hiring interpreters and fixers through a government-controlled agency.

With a total of 37 journalists and citizen-journalists currently detained, Iran is still one of the world’s five biggest prisons for media personnel and is ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Iran: Flawed Convictions for Journalists

Intensified Crackdown on Media Freedom

May 3, 2016

 

(Beirut) – An Iranian court convicted three journalists and a family member of another journalist on April 25, 2016 on vague national security charges. The four, along with a fifth journalist, have been detained since November, 2015. The authorities should quash their convictions and release them.

The revolutionary court sentenced the journalists, Afarin Chitsaz, Ehsan Mazandarani, and Saman Safarzaei, to terms of ten, seven, and five years respectively, and Davoud Assadi, the brother of Houshang Assadi, a journalist who lives in France, to five years. The trial of the fourth journalist, Isa Saharkhiz, who is hospitalized, was postponed. The five appear to have been prosecuted on overly broad charges that are inconsistent with human rights law, including charges of insulting the Supreme Leader, Human Rights Watch said.

“It seems these journalists have done nothing other than exercise their right to free speech,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director. “Iran should vacate these apparently unfair convictions and stop targeting journalists and others with these overly broad and vague national security charges.”

The arrest and harsh sentencing occurred in the context of the hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ renewed crackdown on media freedom since the election of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate, in 2013. Iranian state television and media reports claimed that the journalists were part of an “infiltration network” colluding with foreign media, but have yet to offer any evidence supporting these allegations. On September 21, Fars news, an agency considered supportive of the Revolutionary Guards, reported that 12 parliamentarians have warned about the infiltration of individuals close to western intelligence agencies in Iranian domestic “chain newspapers,” a term used by hardliners to describe newspapers close to the reformists. They asked the authorities to take action.

Mazandarani is the managing editor of the daily Farhikhtegan, while Safarzaei writes for the monthly publication Andisheh Pouya. Both publications are considered sympathetic to reformist politicians. Chitsaz, a former actress, is a regular contributor to Iran, the Rouhani administration’s official newspaper on foreign policy issues. Saharkhiz is a veteran journalist and a founding member of the Society for the Defense of Freedom of the Press (SDFP). He received a Hellman-Hammett award in 2012 under a program administered by Human Rights Watch for journalists who have been victims of political persecution.

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei, a lawyer who represents Saharkhiz, Mazandarani, and Assadi, told Human Rights Watch on April 25 that Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Mazandarani on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” and “propaganda against the state.” Safarzaei and Assadi were sentenced for “assembly and collusion against national security,” and for alleged collaboration with Persian-language media outlets abroad.

In the past, Iranian authorities have targeted relatives and friends of foreign-based Persian-language journalists, such as journalists working for BBC Persian to obtain information or silence them.

Tasnim news agency, a website considered supportive of the Revolutionary Guards, reported that Branch 28 of Tehran’s Revolutionary Court sentenced Chitsaz on charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” and “contact with foreign governments,” though the latter charge does not exist in Iran’s penal code.

Alizadeh Tabatabaei said that the case investigator had dismissed espionage charges against all five before the trial.

Alizadeh Tabatabaei had earlier had told Human Rights Watch that Saharkhiz and Mazandarani were held for three months before finally being formally charged with “acting against national security,” and “propaganda against the state.”

Assadi, Safarzaei, and Mazandarani appeared at Branch 28 of Tehran’s revolutionary court in early March. Chitsaz’s trial was on April 12, domestic media reported. Saharkhiz’s trial, which was scheduled for March 5, was postponed by the court to allow the lawyers to review the case.

Saharkhiz, who spent four years in prison in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 Iranian presidential election, has embarked on several hunger strikes to protest the conditions of his detention inside Ward 2A of Evin prison under Revolutionary Guard supervision.

Mehdi Saharkhiz, Isa Saharkhiz’s son, told Human Rights Watch that his father’s health has gravely deteriorated under detention, and that he had to be transferred to a hospital outside prison on March 9. Mehdi said that his father is facing charges of “assembly and collusion against national security,” “propaganda against the state,” and “insulting the supreme leader,” among others.

As a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Iran has legal obligations to protect the rights to free expression and access to information. The rights to freedom of expression provided under international human rights law may be limited only within narrowly defined boundaries. The penalization of a media outlet, publishers, or journalist solely for being critical of the government or the existing political system can never be considered a necessary justification to restricting the freedom of expression.

However, the overly broad exceptions to free expression contained in the Iranian constitution, security laws, and the Iranian penal code more generally, allow the authorities to suppress these rights beyond the limits set by international law. International human rights law prohibits laws, such as Iran’s, that criminalize criticizing or “insulting” state institutions, including the supreme leader. Furthermore, domestic laws that define crimes in broad and vague terms, and therefore do not permit a person to know what acts constitute a criminal violation also violate international human rights law. Since the disputed 2009 presidential election, revolutionary court judges have increasingly interpreted vaguely drafted provisions of national security charges inconsistently with international law by citing legitimate peaceful dissent as evidence of acting against national security.

As of April, Iran had one of the highest numbers of journalists and social media activists in prison in the world, with at least 32 people behind bars, according to Reporters Without Borders.

Female Journalist, Sentenced to Ten Years, Beaten in Iran Prison

May 2, 2016

Mother of Afarin Chitsaz’s Describes Brutality Aimed at Forcing a “Confession”

The mother of imprisoned newspaper columnist Afarin Chitsaz will make a judicial complaint to protest the beating of her daughter in prison. Maryam Azadpour, who recently broken her silence on Chitsaz’s case, described her daughter’s ordeal in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“They blindfolded my daughter and beat her with a water bottle to get a confession out of her,” Azadpour told the Campaign. “The abuse was not carried out by the main interrogator, who was very respectful towards her. But in any case, we will pursue this matter with the case judge.”

Political prisoners in Iran are often subjected to isolation, threats, and intense psychological and physical pressure, in order to be forced into making false confessions, which are the frequently broadcast by Iranian state TV to defame individuals and used in court as evidence to convict them.

Arrested on November 2, 2015 by the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization, Afarin Chitsaz, a columnist who wrote for the official daily newspaper of the Rouhani administration, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for “collaboration with foreign governments” and “assembly and collusion against national security” in April 2016.

She was sentenced to prison along with two other journalists, Ehsan Mazandarani and Ehsan (Saman) Safarzaei, as well as marketing manager Davoud Assadi, the brother of the Paris-based dissident journalist, Houshang Assadi.

“We’re shocked by the sentence. Afarin told me she wished she were dead. My daughter is very sick and depressed. We still don’t know why she was arrested,” Azadpour told the Campaign. “What’s their evidence to accuse her of acting against national security or collaborating with foreigners? Afarin has rejected the sentence.”

Azadpour added that her daughter was transferred from solitary confinement in the Revolutionary Guards-controlled Ward 2-A in Evin Prison to the Women’s Ward.

“For six months Afarin was held in a solitary 2-meter by 1.75-meter cell. She was allowed fresh air only twice a day for half an hour in the ward’s courtyard surrounded by walls. In the entire six months she wore the same clothes in which she was arrested. They wouldn’t allow us to give her fresh clothes. Now she’s in a general ward, which is much better than her situation before, but she’s suffering from psychological shock, kidney pain and severe heart palpitations. She has gone to the prison infirmary a few times but they only gave her painkillers,” said Azadpour.

Azadpour, who did not publicly speak about her daughter’s case until the sentence was issued, told the Campaign what happened on the day Afarin was arrested.

“I had a dental appointment with my daughter in the afternoon but she didn’t show up. I contacted her several times but she didn’t answer the phone. Then I went to her house with Mohammad Nouri, the editor-in-chief of Iran newspaper [where Afarin Chitsaz was a columnist]. We broke the door and went inside. Thank God, I didn’t see what I had feared, but the house had been turned upside down. That is when we thought she had probably been arrested. Mr. Nouri called every official he knew but got no information. By morning I had no choice but to return home to my sick husband,” said Azadpour.

“At 10 in the morning I got a call from Evin Prison’s intelligence and security office informing me that my daughter was desperate to talk to me. They told me we could only talk for two minutes. All I could [get from that phone call was to] hear her voice and after that I heard nothing until a month later when we were able to visit her,” continued Azadpour.

“We visited her a few times before she was transferred to the public ward. The visits were always in the presence of an interrogator. During these visits I learned that eight agents had raided the house to arrest my young daughter,” she added.

Azadpour insisted that her daughter was not a political activist.

“Afarin loves Iran. She likes the Islamic Republic and Mr. Rouhani. They have accused her of assembly and collusion against national security, but my question is: Who did Afarin collude with?” she said.

“They have made the ridiculous charge of collaboration with foreign governments against her and yet she had no need for such activities. Yes, Afarin traveled abroad several times and her family had the means to easily leave Iran if she wanted to. But she loves Iran and wanted to stay. Afarin was a journalist. She painted and sometimes made documentaries. That’s all,” explained Azadpour.

The trial of Issa Saharkhiz, a prominent reformist journalist who was arrested at the same time as Chitsaz on November 2, 2015, has been postponed for medical reasons while he receives hospital treatment for high blood pressure as well as kidney and heart diseases.

Less than a month after the four journalists and Davoud Assadi were arrested, Ahmad Khatami, the Friday Prayer leader of Tehran and a hardline member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, claimed on November 30, 2015 that their confessions would soon be aired on state TV. So far that has not happened.

“Recently some journalists were arrested for collaborating with the U.S. They confessed that some individuals gave them money in return for articles. The articles were revised and then offered to American newspapers,” claimed Khatami.  

Iranian Journalists Face Growing Threats and Intimidation by Authorities

May 5, 2016

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry officials are increasingly harassing and threatening independent journalists in an apparent move to dissuade them from feeling emboldened by reformist and centrist candidates’ gains in the county’s recent Parliamentary elections.

“I received calls on my mobile phone two or three times a day from an unknown number. After three days I finally answered and a man who introduced himself as an agent of the Intelligence Ministry asked me to go to the Laleh Hotel’s restaurant for a ‘friendly’ meeting,” one journalist, who asked to remain anonymous, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran. 

The agent then reminded the journalist about the “red lines” journalists should not cross, the source told the Campaign.

“He told me not to be deceived by promises. My place is not in prison, he said, and he told me not to assume something significant has happened with the change in Parliament’s make-up [which has tilted] in favor of the reformists,” said the journalist.

“He said I’m under surveillance and warned me that [while I] may not be arrested, my articles would be saved as evidence,” added the journalist.

The intimidation of journalists has been a long-standing practice of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Yet these recent incidents involved the Ministry of Intelligence, which is under the direct authority of President Rouhani.

As recently as May 3, 2016, at the opening ceremony of Tehran Book Fair, Rouhani said, “The critic should not be arrested and taken to prison. Criticism is a gift. Of course, those who lie, accuse, and weaken the national strength, are a different story. But the books, writings, and poetry of an individual who compassionately criticizes should not be caught in a maze.” That officials of his Interior Ministry engaged in such threats suggests fractures within the Rouhani administration.

Iran held runoff elections on April 29, 2016 after representatives from a number of cities failed to gain the required 25 percent of votes following the elections for Parliament and the Assembly of Experts on February 26, 2016.

Reformists did not receive enough votes to secure a majority of seats in Parliament, but they did gain enough seats to pose an effective challenge to conservatives who have dominated the legislature since Iran’s widely contested 2009 presidential election. The new Parliament, which will open on May 28, 2016, could now tilt in favor of a coalition of representatives who support the Rouhani government’s policies, including the nuclear deal that was signed in 2015.

Another journalist informed the Campaign that they were told by an Intelligence Ministry agent to “refrain from getting excited” about the apparent alignment between the Rouhani government and the new Parliament.

“I find it strange that we are being summoned by the Rouhani administration’s Intelligence Ministry,” the journalist told the agent.

“It doesn’t matter who the minister of intelligence is,” responded the agent. “The Intelligence Ministry’s structure remains the same. The red lines don’t change.”

A number of journalists were asked to meet Intelligence Ministry agents at either Hotel Laleh or Hotel Tehran, said the journalist. Some journalists were also summoned to the Intelligence Ministry’s office on Vali-e-Asr Junction.

“I was asked if I knew the four reporters who were arrested last November, and was told to learn from their plight,” said the journalist. “No one can help them, the agent told me.”

Four journalists and the brother of a dissident journalist living abroad were arrested by the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization in Tehran on November 2, 2015. All except one of the detainees were issued long prison sentences on April 27, 2016.

Afarin Chitsaz, a columnist who wrote for Iran, the daily newspaper of the Rouhani administration, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. In a recent interview with the Campaign, Chitsaz’s mother revealed that Chitsaz was beaten in prison after her arrest. Ehsan Mazandarani, a reformist journalist and editor-in-chief of Farhikhtegan newspaper, was sentenced to seven years in prison. Ehsan (Saman) Safarzaei, another reformist journalist who is the international desk editor of Andisheh Pooya magazine, and Davoud Assadi, the brother of a journalist, were each sentenced to five years in prison.

Davoud Assadi’s arrest reflected a continuation of the Guards’ long-time practice of going after the family members of Iranian journalists who live aboard, in order to intimidate them into silence. Assadi’s Paris-based brother, Houshang Assadi, who edited a dissident magazine, told the Campaign that his brother’s arrest “is a warning to me and other political activists based abroad that [the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization] could intimidate our relatives instead of us.”

The trial of the prominent reformist journalist Issa Saharkhiz, also arrested in November 2015, has been postponed while he is treated in hospital for serious health issues.

On World Press Freedom Day (May 3, 2016), 230 Iranian reporters signed a letter addressed to President Rouhani calling on him to pay attention to the cases of the imprisoned journalists.

“After more than six months, four of our colleagues have been sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison by a preliminary court presided by Judge [Mohammad] Moghisseh, while another has been wrestling with life and death for the past two months in Tehran’s Cardiology hospital,” said the letter.

Iran regime arrests two bloggers

Wednesday, 04 May 2016 19:04

NCRI – The Iranian regime’s repressive Cyber Police (FATA) has arrested two young webloggers in Rasht and Roudbar, northern Iran, charging them with “computer crimes.”

The head of the FATA police in Gilan Province, Colonel Iraj Mohammadkhani, announced the arrests on Tuesday, adding that "[illegal] production, distribution and access to any data, software or any type of electronic devices are regarded as computer crimes and anyone committing such acts will be sentenced from 91 days to one year of imprisonment, or will have to pay a fine of five million to 20 million Rials (U.S. $166 to $662), or both."

Tuesday, May 3, marked World Press Freedom Day 2016.

As recently as March 2016, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Iran is still one of the world’s five biggest prisons for media personnel and is ranked 173rd out of 180 countries in the 2015 Reporters Without Borders press freedom index.

Shahin Gobadi of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) on Tuesday said: "Freedom of the press and freedom of expression are non-existent in Iran under the mullahs' regime. Not only does the regime severely clamp down on journalists for reporting on subjects considered sensitive by the mullahs, it even goes so far as arresting and torturing to death dissident bloggers such as Sattar Beheshti.”

“The regime's draconian measures against news organizations have become more aggressive since Hassan Rouhani took office as President in 2013. Several international human rights organizations have attested to this reality," Mr. Gobadi added.

Women’s Rights

Iran- women: The suffering of female peddlers

 “Peddling may have an annoying face but the problem could not be solved by erasing the issue by force. Today, the issue of 'female peddlers' is an undeniable reality in the Iranian job market.”

The sentences are parts of the introduction to an article published by the state-run ILNA news agency on April 27, 2016. The article reflects parts of the suffering of unemployed women under the mullahs’ rule. Excerpts are as follows:

Late last winter, the municipality decided to erase this ugly problem. Municipality agents confronted more and more female peddlers in the subway train stations for days. Male and female agents were deployed to violently confront the women, confiscate their belongings and detain them for a few hours…

Khadijeh, 32, comes from Kermanshah. It is 12 years that she has to earn her family's living. “My husband used to be a worker but now, he suffers from bone phthisic and has been disabled. I have two 10 and 4 year-old children. The expenses for my husband’s treatment are also high,” said Khadijeh.

Khadijeh and her family do not have any insurance and receive no social welfare aid.

Parigol, 63, sells with a broken shoulder. Her husband used to sell cigarettes but now he is a dialysis patient with heavy medical costs. He has to pay monthly dues for his insurance. Now, that he is unemployed and stuck at home, Khadijeh has to pay his 250,000-touman monthly payment to the social security.

“My shoulder was broken a long time ago, but I had neither the time nor the money for physiotherapy. I also suffer from arthritis and osteoporosis. My son used to be a wrestler but he was hurt in an accident,” Parigol added.

She has to earn the living for three people in addition to a 400,000-touman monthly rent for a residential unit in southern Tehran…

Mina is almost 30. She says, “I was forced to get a divorce. To obtain my children’s custody, I had registered a house I had inherited under my ex-husband name. In January they arrested me and confiscated everything I had.” Mina has been arrested several times, for a few hours each time.

These problems are rooted before everything else in the double-rate of women's unemployment and lack of opportunity in finding jobs. According to the latest figures published by the National Statistics Center, the rate of unemployment among 15-24 year-old youths is 26.1% percent. Men’s share is 22.3% while women’s is 42.3%.

In conclusion, it is striking how the principles of law have been forgotten. Section 2 of Article 43 of the Constitution says: “It is the government's duty to provide and facilitate job opportunities for everyone so that they can have full employment.”

Police bust private Tehran party, arrest actors

May 5, 2016 at 2:53 pm

Seven Iranian actors were arrested at a party in Tehran, according to an Iranian media report.

Mizan Khabar, the Iranian judiciary website, announced on Wednesday that seven “famous actors” were arrested at a party in Tehran’s Saadat Abad neighbourhood.

The report adds that 80 bottles of alcohol were confiscated at the party. No further details were released about the identity of the detainees.

Last November, Tehran police also arrested three football players at a party.

The police often raid private parties in Iran and detain the participants, who may be fined for alcohol consumption or socializing with the opposite sex, both considered offences under Iranian law.

Iran - Women: “Not wearing the veil” is gender apartheid!

Created: 08 May 2016

“Not wearing the veil, is gender apartheid. An un-veiled woman who wants to show herself off in front of a bunch of lustful people, is gender apartheid”.

This is the new discovery made by the Assembly of Experts’ mullah Alamol-hoda, in the Friday prayers on May 6, 2016.

He also said: “Universities are filled with ills. When a young man sits next to a young woman who has worn make-up, done her hair and her perfume fills his nose, how can the instructor make two human being out of those people? We stopped this at the universities (referring to gender segregation), but they held up placards and condemned 'gender apartheid'."

(State-run ISNA news agency – May 6, 2016­)

Ethnic Minorities’ Rights

Baluchi prisoner denied cancer treatment in Iran

Thursday, 05 May 2016 18:31

NCRI – The Iranian regime is denying hospital treatment to an ethnic Iranian Baluchi prisoner in the south-eastern city of Zahedan.

Mansour Mahmoudzehi, 47, imprisoned in the Central Prison of Zahedan, has developed stomach cancer, however the regime’s henchmen continue to prevent his transfer to hospital.

Mahmoudzehi has been imprisoned in Zahedan for over 10 years, during which time he has systematically been denied proper hospital treatment for his cancer.

Mahmoudzehi is not the only Iranian prisoner denied treatment for cancer.

Dr Omid Kokabee, 34, an Iranian physicist and a postdoctoral student in atomic physics was arrested in Iran after returning from the United States to visit his family in January 2011. He was sentenced to ten years in prison. Amnesty International has said that Kokabee is a prisoner of conscience and held solely for his refusal to work on military projects in Iran. He had been diagnosed with kidney cancer and his right kidney was removed last month.

According to human rights groups, Iranian authorities have unduly and repeatedly delayed Mr. Kokabee’s access to medical treatment. In 2012, after an initial examination found that he had a tumor, Mr. Kokabee experienced a long delay in getting permission to be transferred from a prison health clinic to a hospital for critical medical examinations.

Religious Minorities’ Rights

New Bahai Businesses Closures in Mazandaran Province

Posted on: 5th May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Five Bahai-run businesses in the city of Babolsar, on the Caspian coast in Iran’s Mazandaran Province, were shut down by the local authorities on May 1.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), seven other Bahai-run businesses in neighbouring areas were also closed. In Babolsar the Office of Public Places closed five Bahai businesses: an optician’s workshop belonging to Farshid Hekmat Sho`ar, a computer workshop run by Karen Momtazeyan, a tailor’s shop run by Erfan Ma`sumeyan, a tailor’s shop run by Afshin Azadi, and a photography studio run by Shahin Sana`i.

In the district of Bahnamir, a little inland of Babolsar, they closed another two businesses: a bicycle assembly shop belonging to Faizullah Nikunejad and a household appliance workshop run by Ahmad Nikunejad.

In Fereydunkenar, a coastal place near Babolsar, they closed an optician’s workshop belonging to Babak Wada`i. None of these closures have been previously reported on Sen’s Daily.

In Tonekabon, another coastal city 3 hours West of Babolsar, authorities closed five Bahai-run businesses: a security alarm system run by Omid Qaderi, a home appliances shop run by Armin Esma`ilpour, an airconditioning service shop run by Ruhollah Eqani and a refrigerator shop run by Michelle Esma`ilpour.

The recent closure of two other Bahai-run businesses in Tonekabon, both home appliance shops, run by Mr. Mehryar Lotfi and Mr. Soroush Garshasbi, has already been reported here.

In Babol, which lies half an hour inland of Babolsar, authorities closed two Bahai-run businesses: a staionary shop run by Baha’addin Samimi and a security alarm business run by Arash Keyan.

They were given a few days to close their businesses.

Baha’i Victim of Land Confiscation by Iranian Government Speaks Out

May 6, 2016

Photo caption: Ziaollah Motearefi’s farm was featured in the documentary film, “The Green Desert,” which was posted on YouTube on February 29, 2016. Towards the end of the film, Motearefi mentions that his land was taken from him because he is a follower of the Baha’i faith.

Complaints Ignored by Rouhani Administration

Last year, 50 hectares (123.5 acres) of farm land were confiscated by the Iranian government from Ziaollah Motearefi, who had legally purchased the land, simply because he is a follower of the Baha’i faith. Now the government is trying to take what’s left of his land, which includes office and residential buildings, after having ignored his complaints for years.

Motearefi described his ordeal for the first time in an interview with the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“If they had told me from day one that I cannot work in my country because of my religion, I would have left and spared myself all the hard work,” he said. “I could have worked and had a comfortable life anywhere in the world. But I stayed here because I love my country. I am one of the most law-abiding citizens of this country. Throughout my life I planted flowers and gave life to trees. This was not the treatment I deserved. Why should I be facing all this trouble only because I’m a Baha’i?”

Motearefi told the Campaign that 50 hectares (123.5 acres) of his farm and dairy land were transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, which oversees agriculture in Iran, by order of Branch 5 of the Appeals Court in the city of Semnan (133 miles south of Tehran) on September 23, 2015.

According to Motearefi, who is the general manager of Miyoun Loubar (an agricultural and dairy farming company), his confiscated land, which includes 18,000 trees, is worth more than 200 billion rials ($6.6 million USD). The Ministry of Agriculture Jihad is currently trying to confiscate his remaining 3,552 sq. meters (more than 38,000 sq. feet) of land, which includes office and residential buildings.

Motearefi said that he had purchased the land through payment installments made to the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, but after the last payment was made, the government claimed he had failed to make rent payments and proceeded to confiscate his land.

“When we paid the last installment, we were supposed to go to the notary office to get the deed to the land in our name. But they took our money and never gave us the deed. Instead, they told us to shut down operations and hand over the land to the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad,” he said.

“We received a notice from the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad in 2011 that they had foreclosed our land because we had failed to pay rent. But we told them we had not seen the verdict,” added Motearefi. “In any case, we owned the land and paid for it. Why should we be paying rent?”

The Baha’i community is one of the most severely persecuted religious minorities in Iran. The faith is not recognized in the Islamic Republic’s Constitution and its members face harsh discrimination in all walks of life as well as prosecution for the public display of their faith.

Complaints Ignored by Rouhani Government

“I worked so hard for 30 years of my life and now I have to let go of everything. Why? Because they say one thing and do another,” said Motearefi. “They say they don’t care about your beliefs, but in reality they do. All the officials in Semnan and Tehran told me to give up. They said they could not help me because of orders from higher-ups.”

He continued: “I believed the officials when they said they aren’t bothered by anyone’s beliefs. I thought I could talk to them and resolve the issues. But over the years I have written several letters to the Larijani brothers [powerful Iranian politicians], [former President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad, [President Hassan] Rouhani and the prosecutor general and I haven’t received any reply.”

“I told the Judge that under Islam’s Sharia Law, if a person purchases a piece of land he becomes the owner. But the judge said that law does not apply to the government,” said Motearefi. “I don’t understand it. Why can the government renege on its commitments but citizens can’t? If I did such a thing, I would be considered a criminal. So what are they?”

“I cannot take all this land to my grave,” said Motearefi. “But why does a tree that can live 300 years have to dry up? Why do so many workers have to lose their jobs? Why were the farm animals sold for nothing and farm equipment left to rot?”

“I know they will [eventually] take the remaining 3,552 meters of my land and I can’t do anything about it,” he added. “A month after confiscating the 50 hectares, they cut water and electricity to the rest of my land where we still have workers and their families living, as well as some farm animals. We trucked-in water from the city for the animals every day and we have a motor to produce electricity to carry out our work for a few hours each day.”

Motearefi told the Campaign that he received a health permit in 1996 to produce cow milk and eventually became the country’s top milk producer, “but then [the government] started coming after my land and one of the officials told me that I should not own any dairy animals because I’m a Baha’i.”

“I started working on this land as a farmer in 1982. In 1994 I became general manager of the Miyoun Loubar agricultural and dairy farming company in Semnan,” explained Motearefi. “My wife and I were the largest shareholders of this land. We planted olive, pomegranate and pistachio trees as well as saffron. I was the first to plant olive trees in Semnan even though all the officials said it was impossible under such a climate. But I did it. We started with about 110 milk cows. Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad frequently commended our work, and state radio and television aired a documentary about us.”

Motearefi told the Campaign that he had no choice but to sell his remaining cattle and sheep because it would not be possible to keep them after the government eventually confiscates his remaining land. 

Labor and Guilds’ Rights

Imprisoned Teacher Begins Hunger Strike to Protest Years Behind Bars for Peaceful Union Activities

May 2, 2016

Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, a teacher and activist who was sentenced to five years in prison and an additional four-year suspended prison sentence during a trial that lasted less than eight minutes, has been on hunger strike since April 20, 2016 in Tehran’s Evin Prison to protest “the tyrannical sentence issued by the Revolutionary Court,” a source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“I will go on a hunger strike and refuse everything except water, tea, sugar and salt until my sentence is terminated and a public trial is held based on Article 168 of the Constitution,” wrote Beheshti, a teacher for 25 years, in a statement published on the Teachers and Workers Rights website (Hoghooghe Moalem va Karegar) on April 20, 2016.

“If anything bad happens to me during or after the hunger strike, the responsibility will be with those who are silent or indifferent towards my demand for justice,” he said.

The source told the Campaign that Langroudi’s family is worried because he has already become extremely weak from undergoing several hunger strikes in the past year.

“Mr. Beheshti Langroudi has committed no crime other than trying to improve conditions for students and teachers,” said the source. “That’s why he has been sentenced to so many years in prison.”

Langroudi was sentenced to five years in prison in June 2013 for “colluding against national security” and “propaganda against the state” by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. He was also issued the four-year suspended prison sentence.

“According to current laws, especially Article 27 of the Constitution, I do not consider any of my activities to be crimes. But even if we assume I committed a crime, Article 168 of the Constitution states that good-intentioned violations of the law should be prosecuted in the open and in the presence of a jury,” said Langroudi in his statement.

“But due to official procrastination, this progressive principle has been held up for the past 37 years, and instead they have been illegally dealing with such cases in the Revolutionary Court behind closed doors, sending many innocent people to prison with tyrannical sentences.”

Labor leaders are vigorously prosecuted in Iran under catchall national security charges, and independent labor unions are not allowed to operate. Langroudi was the former spokesperson for the Iranian Teachers’ Trade Association.

Langroudi has publicly protested his trial, especially the fact that it ended within eight minutes.

Judiciary Spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei denied that a trial could be that short in a comment to the hardline Fars News Agency in December 2015: “It’s absolutely not true or possible for court proceedings to end after five minutes and issue a verdict.”

But on December 14, 2016, the day after Ejei’s comment was published, Langroudi’s son, Abouzar Beheshti, described his father’s trial as lasting “five to eight minutes” and “three minutes of it was the judge making threatening statements.”

Esmail Abdi, the secretary general of the Teachers Association of Iran, and Jafar Azimzadeh, the president of the Free Workers Union of Iran—both of whom are serving time in Evin Prison—meanwhile issued a statement announcing that they would also go on hunger strike on International Labor Day (May 1, 2016).

A source close to Abdi confirmed the hunger strikes to the Campaign and said the goal was to protest against Iran’s criminalization of organized labor gatherings, the conviction of labor activists on trumped-up charges, wages below the poverty line, and the ban on International Labor Day and Teachers Day celebrations.

In the days leading up to International Labor Day (May 1, 2016), activist-teachers from several unions were warned by the Ministry of Intelligence not to participate in any Labor Day-related activities, the Campaign learned from a source close to the teachers’ union.

Peyman Haj-Mahmoud Attar, the lawyer for the Teachers Association of Iran, criticized the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence Organization for its approach to lawful labor activities, in an interview with the Campaign on October 27, 2015.

“All the detained members of the Teachers Association were carrying out their lawful duties under permits issued to professional unions by the Interior Ministry. One of their duties was to work towards improving teachers’ welfare,” said Attar. “But the Revolutionary Guards’ Intelligence unit has branded all these completely legal activities as threats to national security.”

Teacher’s Union Leader Conditionally Released on Parole

May 4, 2016

Teacher’s rights activist Rassoul Bodaghi, who was imprisoned in Iran for six years for his peaceful labor activism, was conditionally released on April 29, 2016.

His lawyer, Peyman Haj-Mahmoud Attar, recently spoke to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran about Bodaghi’s unjust imprisonment and recent release.

“These [imprisoned teachers and labor] activists haven’t committed any crimes. None of the accusations leveled against them are true,” said Attar. “All they have tried to do is improve the welfare of their colleagues.”

Bodaghi, a former teacher and board member of the Iranian Teachers Association, was arrested on September 2, 2009. About a year later he was sentenced to six years in prison on August 4, 2010 and banned from social activities for five years by Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court for “assembly with the intent to disrupt national security” and “propaganda against the state.”

In August 2015, when he was expecting to be freed, Bodaghi was sentenced to three additional years in prison by Judge Mohammad Moghisseh for “propaganda against the state” and “insulting Imam Khomeini and the supreme leader.”

Attar told the Campaign that the parole conditions stated in Article 134 of Iran’s New Islamic Penal Code applied to Bodaghi: “He has been given parole. His continued imprisonment has been terminated.”

Attar, who represents a number of other imprisoned members of the Iranian Teachers Association, also told the Campaign that Ali Akbar Baghani has been summoned this week to begin serving two years in exile in Zabol, a city in Iran’s impoverished Sistan and Baluchestan Province.

Baghani, the former deputy chairman of the Iranian Teachers Association, and its former spokesman, Mahmoud Beheshti Langroudi, were arrested after security agents raided their homes on April 29, 2010. They were held in solitary confinement for about two months in Evin Prison’s Ward 209, which is controlled by the Intelligence Ministry, and released after the posting of substantial bail amounts, according to Attar.

Baghani was sentenced to a year in prison and two years in exile in January 2013 for “propaganda against the state” by Judge Yahya Pirabbasi of Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court. Baghani was summoned to serve his prison sentence on May 25, 2015 and released from Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj on March 16, 2016.

Langroudi received a five-year prison sentence in June 2013 from Judge Abolqasem Salavati of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court for “colluding against national security” and “propaganda against the state.”

He began a wet hunger strike on April 20, 2016 in Tehran’s Evin Prison to protest against the “the tyrannical sentence issued by the Revolutionary Court,” a source told the Campaign.

“I will go on a hunger strike and refuse everything except water, tea, sugar and salt until my sentence is terminated and a public trial is held based on Article 168 of the Constitution,” wrote Langroudi, a teacher for 25 years, in a statement published on the Teachers and Workers Rights website (Hoghooghe Moalem va Karegar) on April 20, 2016.

The imprisoned former chairman of the Iranian Teachers Association, Esmail Abdi, who is serving a six-year prison sentence, also began a hunger strike on April 29, 2016 to protest Iran’s criminalization of organized labor gatherings, the conviction of labor activists on trumped-up charges, wages below the poverty line, and the ban on International Labor Day and Teacher’s Day celebrations.

Abdi’s sentence has been appealed but the Appeals Court has not yet issued a ruling on the lower court’s decision, according to Attar. 

Mohammad Jarahi in need of Medical Treatment in Tabriz Prison

Posted on: 3rd May, 2016

HRANA News Agency – Mohammad Jarahi, labour activist and trade union member who is kept in Tabriz prison, is not in a fine health condition, and has been deprived of proper medical treatment.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), physicians of Tabriz prison’s clinic are evading from treatment of Mohammad Jarahi who is suffering from high blood pressure, high blood sugar, blood lipids, and neck problem. Despite the progress of his diseases, he has not been transferred to the hospital for examinations and tests.

A close source to this prisoner told HRANA’s report, “Mr. Jarahi is suffering from high blood pressure, high blood sugar level, high lipids and neck problem, but every time when he visited the prison clinic, he just received few tablets which did not have any effect on his condition”.

He needs to go under examinations that the reason of the progress of his disease could be found out, according to his professional doctor. In contrast to their importance, prison authorities did not approve advanced examinations, except CT scan.

This labour activist and former worker in Asalouyeh zone, was arrested in 2011 for his union activities, on charge of assembling an illegal group and cooperation in propaganda against the regime. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison by judge Hamlbar, in branch number one of the revolutionary court of Tabriz.

Mohammad Jarahi was arrested in 2011, along with other labour activist Shahrokh Zamani. He is currently serving the last months of his sentence in Kar Darmani ward in Tabriz prison.