News in brief-

Journalist and manager of a newspaper in "Baku" - Republic of Azarbayjan are condemned to death !
Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani issued a "Fatwa" ( religious statement) against journalist and manager of a newspaper in "Baku " .

Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani in response to a group of his followers in Azarbayjan Republic , issued death sentence for the writer and manager of the newspaper in Azarbayjan for insulting Islams' prophet .
According to the report; a group of follower to Mr. Lankarani from Azarbayjan Republic wrote a letter to him and said:
Recently one of the newspaper of Azarbayjan Republic by the name of " San-at " wrote an article from "Rafegh Taghi " an Azari apostate journalist in its pages, which brought anger of the moslems in the region. In his article, the writer tried to show Euroup and its religion which is christianity from all viewpoint is higher than Middle East and its religion which is Islam. He also in a section of his article insulted to the holy presence of prophet with indecent and incompetent words and rediculed all the holyness of Islam and at the end of the article stated that ; He has written all these with conscience and intentionally and will write it again . Meanwhile , the same newspaper has lampooned and despised the holyness of Islam for many times and even in its several issue has published the hated book of Salman Rushdie " The Satanic Verses" .
At the end of the letter they wrote:
Question: What is the duty of the moslems towards this intolerable matter?
Ayatollah Lankarani's response was:
If this person is born as moslem , by such confessions is an apostate and if he was an infidel by these confession anyone who is close to him must kill him and the manager of the newspaper who publishes these thoughts and ideas with full attention and knowledge must have the same fate. God will protect Islam from its enemies.

Background:
Lankaran is a place in Azarbayjan but Ayatollah Fazel Lankarani is born in Iran and has studied in the city of Najaf in Iraq and his followers are from this place.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2006/11/000539.php

News in brief -

According to " Roozna" the web site of " Etemade Melli " newspaper ; in an unprecedented action 53 professors of Tehrans' " Elm-o-Sanat" University are confronted with early retirement!

Mr. Amir-Hossain Behrouz member of the Central Councile of the Islamic Association of " Elm-o-Sanat " University announced this news and in speaking with "Advar news " have said: Today through one of the professor, we have been informed that ; unfortunately university officials in an unprecedented action decided to issue an early retirement for 53 professors who are highly regarded for their scientific stand point.
Mr. Behrouz condemned this action and regret that the government of president Ahmadinejad and Ministry of Science interfers into the university affairs.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.roozna.com/Negaresh_site/FullStory/?Id=25739

It is so sad that journalists , cartoonists, writers , artists , civil rights advocates must leave a country they love so dearly !

Now that Mana is out , i hope he will be helped by the host country to settle smoothly .
IRAN WATCH CANADA

IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
-------------------------
UPDATE - IRAN
29 November 2006
Previously imprisoned cartoonist, in exile after facing death threats, seeks asylum
SOURCE: Cartoonists Rights Network (CRN), Burke
**Updates IFEX alerts of 22 June and 22 May 2006**
(CRN/IFEX) - Cartoonist Mana Neyestani has left Dubai where he had lived in exile since one of his cartoons elicited death threats. He is now in Europe, where he has notified the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the refugee agency of the United Nations, that he is seeking asylum.
Neyestani left Iran in early September, just days before he was to be imprisoned for a second time because of his cartooning. Iranian authorities arrested Neyestani and his editor, Mehrdad Qasemfar, on May 23, on charges that they incited ethnic violence and undermined national security when the newspaper "Iran" published a cartoon with a cockroach speaking the Azeri language to a boy who was speaking Persian, the language used by about 75 percent of Iranians. Students rioted in the northwestern city of Tabriz to protest the cartoon. "Iran", a state-owned newspaper, was closed for months. It resumed publishing on 11 September with a new staff.
Neyestani's colleagues have been following his months-long search for an appropriate visa and they are alarmed that UNHCR seems to be his last resort. "Western countries who claim to have enlightened policies in support of freedom of expression like to have their cake and eat it, too," said Nik Kowsar, a cartoonist who was confronted by Iranian protesters in 2000 due to one of his cartoons. He, too, fled Iran and now lives in Canada. "They position themselves as supporting freedom of expression, but now make achieving asylum almost impossible for the individual who is at risk for exercising it." Kowsar serves on the board of directors of Cartoonists Rights Network, International (CRNI). CRNI monitors and supports the well-being of political cartoonists who find themselves in trouble because of the power and influence of their professional work.
For further information contact Dr. Robert Russell, Executive Director, Cartoonists Rights Network, Box 7272, Fairfax Station, VA 22039, USA, tel/fax: +1 703 543 8727, e-mail: mayte6@aol.com, Internet: http://www.cartoonistrights.com/
The information contained in this update is the sole responsibility of CRN. In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CRN.
-----------------------
DISTRIBUTED BY THE INTERNATIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
EXCHANGE (IFEX) CLEARING HOUSE
555 Richmond St. West, # 1101, PO Box 407
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 3B1
tel: +1 416 515 9622 fax: +1 416 515 7879
alerts e-mail: alerts@ifex.org general e-mail: ifex@ifex.org
Internet site: http://www.ifex.org/

About human rights , watch this film:
In Search Of Cyrus The Great - by www.spentaproductions.com

Akbar Ganji speaking to Iranians in New York for the release of political prisoners, for human rights and democracy in Iran .

Watch this here:
Akbar Ganji in New York

" Lebase Ghasemabadi " dress from " Ghasemabad " a place in northern part of Iran

Photo: IRAN WATCH CANADA

Roozonline -
Nov. 29,2006

Iranian member of the parliament: "Canadian Embassy in Tehran is the 2nd espionage nest and must be closed" !

Arian manesh, member of the parliament from the city of Mashhad , speaking in the parliament have said, the officials of the embassy were using it as for espionage, he then said : "Minister of Information will be summoned to the parliament and the parliament will investigate about the espionage activity of the embassy in Tehran and if the espionage activity is confirmed then the representatives of the parliament will strongly decide to close the Canadian Embassy as the 2nd espionage nest. The Foreign Minister is responsible and must seriousely act on this. If this is the case, that Canada will take the place of Americans in Iran we will act seriousely " .

This is apparently what is going on in Iran on Canada- Iran relation just a week after that Canada presented its' third resolution on violation of human right against Iran to the third committee of UN general assembly.
Iran also presented a resolution against Canada for violation of human rights inside Canada, violation such as : Aboriginal rights , racism on immigrants and .... ,107 countries voted negative to this resolution presented by Islamic Republic , only Cuba , North Korea and Burma voted for the resolution.

As a result , the Islamic Republic also banned on buying wheat from Canada and their concern is that it is mixed with weeds and ...

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2006/11/000478.php

Peace in Middle East !

Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1-jSyyCRzo&mode=related&search=

Watch, Human rights in Middle East :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1-jSyyCRzo&mode=related&search=

Association of Iranian Journalists Under Pressure !
Omid Memarian o.memarian@roozonline.com - 2006.11.28

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and other government institutions are continuing their efforts to weaken Iran’s most prominent journalists association. Last week, security forces detained and interrogated a number of reporters who were returning from an educational seminar in Holland.
The Ministry of Culture also announced that it would recognize only the press identification cards that are issued by the ministry, though international organizations recognize the identification cards that are issued by the Association of Iranian Journalists (AOIJ). The ministry’s announcement is thus seen as another effort to infiltrate the AOIJ.
An AOIJ deputy, Badossadat Mofidi, tells ILNA, “The government’s effort to rule over the profession of journalism by issuing press cards is against all international norms, and the AOIJ hopes that the motivation behind the recent measure is just to better organize journalists. Nevertheless, the AOIJ warns about the consequences of the ministry’s action and believes that such actions should not be carried out by the government, because an inadequate and poor measure such as the one taken by the ministry will not have the desired consequences.”
The AOIJ, as the lone organization representing Iranian journalists, is the only organization recognized by the International Federation of Journalists to issue official press identification cards.
In the months since Ahmadinejad’s election to presidency, the Ministry of Culture and various security organizations have attempted to undermine the AOIJ as the only institution officially recognized by international organizations. The conservatives, who have been trying in the past few years to weaken civil society by creating parallel organizations, have been spending much time and effort in the past two years strengthening the Association of Muslim Journalists, an institution created to parallel to the AOIJ.
The ministry’s announcement comes despite of the fact that the AOIJ follows internationally recognized guidelines to issue press identification cards to those journalists who have been actively reporting for a minimum of three years. Alaeddin Zohourian, the Ministry of Culture’s press deputy, said earlier that the ministry is issuing press cards because other cards are not recognized by other organizations.
In the past few days, the AOIJ voiced its opposition to the treatment of Iranian journalists at the Mehrabad Airport. Mofidi has called for “the presence of a representative from the AOIJ” whenever journalists who attended the workshop in Holland are interrogated. Mofidi adds, “In addition, the journalists’ summons must all be based on legal charges and issued by a just court.” In Mofidi’s view, summons that are announced over the phone have no legal worth. Furthermore, “The AOIJ announces that it takes full responsibility for organizing the workshop and all of the related issues.”

" Patoogh " , An Iranian restaurant - North York @ Steels & yonge

Photo- IRAN WATCH CANADA

Slide show on " chain murdering" :

http://www.acidplanet.com/Components/PlayFile.asp?asset=9034181

These are the people who have been murdered by the regime which is known as " Chain murdering " or " Ghtlhaye Zanjirehei" ! (IWC)
- Translated by IRAN WATCH CANADA

"Ghatlhaye Zanjirehei" ( Chain Murderings )
Dedicated to the victims of chain Murderings, to their familys and to Dr. Naser Zarafshan - Automn of 2006 -by : Mr. Hamid Hamidi


1- Karoon Hajizadeh - 9 years of age together with his father while in bed, In the City of Kerman, 1998
2- Dr. Kazem Sami - In his clinic in Tehran, November 1989
3- Mr. Said Sirjani - While in prison - December 1994
4- Mr. Seyed Ahmad Khomeini ( Khomeini's son)- By infected medication - Tehran 1994
5- Mr. Ahmad Miralaei - October 24 , 1995 in the city of Isfahan by Potassium injection
6- Ms. Zahra Eftekhari, released political prisoner , was abducted in the city of Mashhad and murdered on December 1996
7- Engineer Javad Emami and his wife Sonia Alyasin were murdered in their home in Tehran by inflicted knife wounds, January 15 ,1998
8- Dr. Shamsodin Amiralaei , by made up driving accident in Tehran - August 1994
9- Ms. Zohreh Izadi medical student of National University,resident of Abadeh, political activist, was murdered in Tehran in 1994
10- Dr. Abdolaziz Bajd , University professor , Because of his critical view on " Emam Ali " TV sereal show, was murdered in the city of Zahedan in 1996
11- Mr. Hossein Barazandeh,commentator , Qoran teacher and religious reformer was abducted in the city of Mashhad and was murdered on Dec. 3, 1994
12- Ms. Fakhrosadat Borgheei , Teacher of high school in the city of Qom , was 31 years old and was choked to death and her body was burned - March 7, 1995
13- Mr. Khosro Besharati , was murdered by bullet wounds in "Kan" road, 1990
14- Dr. Foroud Burbur , this crime was discovered at 6:30pm on Sunday Oct. 20 , 2002 in building # 105 , Alley # 10 , " Naft Shomali " Street.
15- Dr. Seyed Ebrahim Beizaei , was murdered in the summer of 1987 in the city of Isfahan
16- Dr. Jamshid Partovi , cardiologist and the Dr. of Ahmad Khomeini ( Khomeini's son) was murdered in his family home on December 31 , 1998
17 - Mr. Mohammad Jafar Poyandeh was abducted on December 9, 1998 and was murdered in the same day
18- Mr. Gholam Ali Pishehkolah , One of the labor activist in "Ghaem Shahr" weaving factory , was murdered in the city of "Ghaem Shahr"
19- Dr. Tafti together with his wife and two childeren , was assassinated in the city of Tehran in 1993
20-Dr. Ahmad Tafazzoli , Writer , translator and " Pahlavi ' language specialist , they have broken his skall and murdered him in Tehran on January 14, 1996
21- Dr. Masoud Tafazzoli was murdered in Tehran
22-Mr. Hadi Taghizadeh , Poet and co-worker of " Shahr Gheseh " publishing house , was murdered in Tehran on January 24, 1999
23-Mr. Totonchi , one of the business man from " Bazar " , was murdered in Tehran
24-Engineer Karim Jeli and his wife Fatemeh Emami were murdered in Tehran on January 16, 1998
25- Mr. Hamid Hajizadeh , was murdered in his home together with his 9 years old son ( See # 1)
26- Mass murdering of 26 Iranian , by a bomb in " Emam Reza " shrine ,which at first was said that they were killed by opposition groups.
27-Dr. Parviz Khaksar , cardiologist , was murdered in Tehran on January 13, 1998
28-Mr. Mehdi Khanipoor , health care student , was murdered in the city of " Sabzevar" by knife inflicted wounds on January 20, 1999
29-Mr. Rahmatolah Dadashi , was a clergy and a candidate for the city council and the 6th parliament , was murdered in the city of "Dandi" in the region of "Zanjan" on October 18, 2000
30- Mr. Pirouz Davani , was abducted in Tehran and murdered on Agust 25,1994
31- Father Mehdi Dibaj , a priest , was murdered in Tehran by inflicted knife wounds on August 1994
32- Mr. Mola Mohammad Rabiei , Friday prayer Emam of the the "Sonni" religion people in the city of Kermanshah , was murdered by Potassium injection on December 3, 1996
33- Mr. Ebrahim Zalzadeh , publisher and editor in chief of " Memar " publication , was abducted on February 24 , 1996 and murdered by knife inflicted wounds , his lifeless body was discovered on April 1997
34- Mr. Shahpoor Zandnia , lawyer and legal councilor , was murdered in Tehran
35- Dr. Mohammad Taghi Zehtabi , historian and philologist , was murdered on December 30, 1998
36-Dr. Javad Sarkhosh , political prisoners family supporter , was murdered in the city of "Isfahan".
37- Mr. Hossain Sarshar , singer and player , accused of having relation with Mr. Sirjani and after torture was murdered in a made up traffic accident on Feburary 14, 1997
38-Mr. Siamak Sanjari , because of having information from what Mr. Falahian ( the former minister of information) was doing , was murdered by knife inflicted wounds on November 1996
39- Mr. Hossain Shahjamali , a moslem man converted to christianity , was murdered on August 1994
40- Ms. Shabnam Hossaini ( Niece of Ms. Farzin Maghsoudlu) ,was murdered in the city of "Gorgan" October 23 , 1996
41- Dr. Majid Sharif , writer and translator , one of " Meli -Mazhabi " activist , was murdered by Potassium injection in Tehran on November 19, 1998
42- Mr. Hossain Sharifi , a controller for the 5th parliamentary election in the city of Karaj , who by his report caused the cancellation of election , was murdered in the city of Karaj on April 15, 1996
43- Mr. Afshin Shabanian , Iran's marathon champion, was murdered in the city of Ramsar on January 23, 2001
44-Mr. Haj Ghasem Shafiei , was assassinated in the city of "Rey" on January 1999
45- Mr. Afkham Sadeghi , student of Theater ( stage player) of Arak University , born on 1975, was arrested by the security agents of the Islamic Republic on June 13, 2000, and on June 2002 after two years anticipation the security agents called Mr. Afkhams' family and informed them to come to the security agency and receive his lifeless body.
46- Mr. Manuchehr Saneei ( in charge of "Bonyad" document review ) and Ms. Firuzeh Kalantari were abducted on February 17, 1996 and their lifeless body was discovered on February 22.
47- Mr. Mohammad Reza Safaei , lawyer and legal councilor , was murdered in Tehran on July 18 , 2002
48- Mr. Javad Safar , political prisoner , after his release was abducted in the city of Mashhad and murdered on January 1, 1996
49- Anvar Samadian , publisher and book seller , was murdered in Tehran
50-Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Ziaei, the Friday prayer Emam of " Sonni " religion people of " Bandar Abbas city, was murdered on December 1998
51- Mr. Reza Ziaeinia , poet and writer of " Karnameh " publication , was murdered on January 24, 1999
52-Mr. Seyed Mahmoud Taleghani , was murdered by poisoned water on September 10, 1979
53- Mr. Morteza Alian Najafabadi , political prisoner ( 1985-1993), was murdered in the city of Mashhad on January 14, 1996
54-Dr. Ghafar Hosaini , was murdered by potassium injection on November 11, 1996
55- Mr. Amir Ghafuri , a released political prisoner , was abducted in the city of Mashhad and murdered on January 22, 1996
56- Mr. Haj Hossain Fatahpoor , was assassinated in Tehran by firing bullet on November 1999
57- Professor Farough Farsad , was murdered in the city of " Saghez " by potassium injection on February 16,1995
58-Mr. Dariush Frouhar and Ms. Parvaneh Eskandari( Frouhar ) , were murdered in their family home in Tehran by multiple inflicted kitchen knife on November 21,1998
59-Dr. Freidoon Frouhari , was murdered in Tehran on February 1991
60-Ms. Fatemeh Ghaem-maghami , stewardess , was murdered on Automn of 1997
61- Mr. Said Gheidi , Airforce personnel , was murdered in Tehran by inflicted knif wounds in 1999
62-Dr. Abdolaziz Kazemi , was abducted on November 5, 1996 and his lifeless body was discovered five kilometer from the city of Zahedan on November 7.
63-Mr. Shamsodin Kiani , 18 years old , a " Sonni " student of religious study from the city of "Birjand", was burnt alive by gasolin fire in the city of Zahedan on April 2000.
64- Mr. Jalal Mobinizadeh , a released political prisoner , was abducted in the city of Mashhad and murdered on January 1, 1996
65-Ms. Maryam Motaghi , was gunned down beside her family home door in the city of "Rey" on April 14, 1998
66-Mr. Mohammad Mokhtari , writer and poet , was abducted in Tehran on December 3, 1998 and his lifless body was discovered a day later
67-Mr. Hamed Masiha , Engineering student , was murdered in the city of Mashhad on September 16, 1999
68-Dr. Masumeh Mosadegh, grand daughter of late prime minister Dr. Mosadegh was choked to death on April 24, 1998
69- Ms. Farzin Maghsudlou , was murdered in the city of Gorgan on Oct. 23, 1996
70- Mr. Mojtaba Mehrasbi , because of not cooperating with agents from the Ministry of Information, was murdered by firing ten bullets in the city of " Rey " in 1996
71- Mr. Seyed Mahmoud Maydani , political prisoner of the year 1981-1991, was abducted on April 12, 1997 in the city of Mashhad and was murdered .
72-Dr . Ahmad Mirin Sayad , a " Baluchi " thinker , January 1995 - city of " Bandar Abbas"
73-Father Michailian , was murdered by knife inflicted wounds in Tehran on August 1994
74-Professor Nouri , university professor , was murdered beside the pool of the by suffocation university on winter of 1999
75-Dr. Firouz Nima , was murdered in his clinic by inflicted knife wounds on April 1999
76-Mr. Rostami Hamedanian , a colleague of Pirouz Davani , was abducted in the city of Hamedan on September 1998 and was murdered.
77- Bishop Husepian Mehr , was murdered by the inflicted knife wounds in the city of Karaj on August 1994
78- Dr. Falah Yazdi , doctor of Ayatollah Montazeri , was murdered in front of his family winter of 1998
79-Father Mohammad Bagher Yusefi, was hanged in the jungle of the city of " Sari " on October 1995


Release Naser Zarafshan ( The lawyer of chain murdering cases ) from the prison !

This morning , thick fog in Oakville , infact later on at 10 : 00am in Toronto @ Jane- Finch the visibility was the same.

Photo -IRAN WATCH CANADA

St. Catharines, Ontario

Photo- IRAN WATCH CANADA

The Islamic Republics' Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Manuchehr Motaki on the resolution that Canada presented against Iran to the UN general assembly have said:
During the past years Canada has left a bad record for herself in a way that the embassy of Canada in Iran acted as spy for US and also had positions with regards to the problems of the region.
According to the reporter of ILNA , Mr. Manuchehr Motaki the Foreign Minister of IR in response to the questions of reporters on the Canadian governments' resolution against Iran have said :During the last two years Canada has done things, apparently as representative to London and Washington in a way that the Governor General of Canada must yet coordinate herself with London and Washington therefore we hope Canada will gain its independence .
Motaki said: The unquestionable support of Canada to the savagely killings of Palestinians by Zionist regime and other crisis in the region is filed against this country.
He said : The Canadian action is known to everyone , that is the west in recent years using the human rights as a political tool for its double standard policy.
He also said that : The Iranian government has also presented a resolution against Canada for its' violation of the rights of some of the captive Canadian people to the UN , but since this is a new resolution and the members are not familiar with the situation in Canada , this might not pass , but this will become the policy of Iran against Canada from now on .
He said : Canada is not an important country in the world and it's record in Iran is very clear.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=369707&code1=16

Photo by : IRAN WATCH CANADA

News in brief from Iran-
ISNA - Tehran
Nov. 23/2006

Mr. Hosseini the spokesperson for Irans' Mininistry of Foreign Affairs has rejected and denounced the resolution on human rights situation in Islamic Republic of Iran put forward by Canada for the 3rd committee of UN general assembly.
According to ISNA , Mr. Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini the spokesperson for Irans' Ministry of Foreign Affairs have said : The western policy on human rights is based on double standarad by confronting a specific country, abuses of international society and the resolution put forward by Canada is not exception from this rule. he then added that : We believe that political pressure by presenting state resolution in human rights won't help at all to developement of human rights.
He said: The context of present resolution does not have any relation whatsoever with the situatation and real codition of human rights in Iran and it is based on distortions .
At the end he emphacized on violation of human rights by Canada towards native people and immigrants and the existance of racism , discrimination and anti foreigners policy and therefore canada should not be in a position to present a resolution on human rights about other countries .

He said : The Islamic Republic won't be influenced at all to these kinds of pressures.

IRAN WATCH CANADA:The pressure against Islamic Republic must be continued and infact it must be doubled. It is the persistance on this policy and the more pressure on Islamic Republic of Iran eventually will end with a positive result , otherwise , the regime in Iran learned how to play words and infact shows how desperate they are to get themselves out of isolation. Relation with Canada is very important for the regime in Iran . So thanks to Canada for presenting this resolution.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-830181&Lang=P

Photo: IRAN WATCH CANADA

Old cows are butchered
Old dogs are put down
Old trees are .........

In June 2003, Canadian photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi was arrested for taking pictures of a demonstration in front of Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison. She endured three days of interrogations and torture, resulting in injuries that would prove fatal. A physician that examined Kazemi immediately before her death said that she showed clear signs of torture including a brutal rape, missing fingernails, and a skull fracture.

Saeed Mortazavi
Because of Canadian pressure, an Iranian parliamentary commission investigated her death and implicated Tehran’s Chief Prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi, in her death and a subsequent cover-up, including refusal to allow an independent autopsy, intimidation of witnesses, and falsification of documents. Mortazavi was never formally charged for his involvement in Zahra Kazemi’s death. Instead, in a move of open defiance, he was sent to Geneva in June 2006 as part of Iran’s delegation to the newly established United Nations Human Rights Council.
The move was condemned by the Canadian Government, and Prime Minister Harper reassured the world that “Canada has not dropped this matter”. Similarly, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay promised that “If there is any way that Canada can bring this person to justice, we’ll do it”. Despite these statements, the Government of Canada has not yet indicated its intention to initiate a criminal investigation against Mortazavi with a view to pressing charges against him.
This petition calls on the Government of Canada to follow through on its promises and to bring to justice Saeed Mortazavi for the brutal torture and murder of a Canadian citizen. Even if Mortazavi cannot be immediately extradited, Canada should press charges against him as a matter of principle, ensure that he can never again leave Iran without facing arrest, and send the message that even if he is in power today, he will one day face justice for his crimes against international human rights law and the Canadian Criminal Code.
For more information, consult these online reports .
Dear Prime Minister Harper,
We, the undersigned urge the Canadian Government to formally investigate and press charges against the Prosecutor-General of Tehran, Saeed Mortazavi, for his part in the torture and subsequent death of Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi.
Under Sections 269.1 (1) and 7 (3.7) (d) of the Criminal Code of Canada and article 5(1) (3) of the UN Convention Against Torture, Canadian courts have jurisdiction to prosecute Saeed Mortazavi because of the Canadian citizenship of the victim, Zahra Kazemi.
By pressing criminal charges against Mortazavi, Canada will demonstrate that it upholds elementary human rights principles and send the message that Canadian citizens cannot be tortured and murdered with impunity. Furthermore, Canada will express its solidarity with the pro-democratic and human rights movements in Iran many of whose members have also suffered at the hands of Mortazavi.
We therefore call on the Canadian Government to follow through with the promises made by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in June 2006 and to do all within its power to bring Saeed Mortazavi to justice.
Sign the petition

For Iran, the Man Is the Message
By Hadi Ghaemi, Human Rights Watch Researcher
Published in The New York Times
June 29, 2006 LAST week Iranians woke up to a startling piece of news: their government had dispatched Tehran's notorious prosecutor general, Saeed Mortazavi, to Geneva as a member of Iran's delegation to the opening session of the new United Nations Human Rights Council.
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Contribute to Human Rights WatchIranians weren't sure whether to laugh or cry. Mr. Mortazavi is one of the country's highest profile rights violators. Human Rights Watch urged Iran to remove him at once and asked other governments not to meet the Iranian delegation while Mr. Mortazavi remained a part of it. Well-known and widely despised in Iran, Mr. Mortazavi personifies most of the ills affecting Iran's judicial system: lack of accountability, rampant impunity, disregard for fundamental constitutional rights, manipulation of the law to promote a political agenda, systematic use of torture, and above all, abuse of judicial powers to repress peaceful expressions of dissent and criticism. Iranians refer to Mr. Mortazavi as "the butcher of the press." In 2000, Mr. Mortazavi, then a judge, closed more than a dozen newspapers in one month alone, invoking an obscure law from the 1950's on "ensuring public safety." The law was originally enacted to keep criminal gangs from intimidating members of the public. Since then he has shut more than 100 newspapers and journals. Mr. Mortazavi was promoted to prosecutor general of Tehran in 2003. As such, he has prosecuted scores of Iranian human rights defenders, journalists, dissidents, students and activists, and he is alleged to be implicated directly in acts of murder, torture, arbitrary detention and coercing false confessions. In June 2003, Iranian authorities arrested Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist, as she photographed Evin prison in Tehran. According to an investigation by the Iranian Parliament, Mr. Mortazavi personally took custody of her, accusing her of being a spy. Lawyers for Ms. Kazemi's family say that her body showed signs of torture, and that Mr. Mortazavi took part in an interrogation session where she received a severe blow to the head. A few days later, Ms. Kazemi fell into a coma and died. The Iranian authorities have not held anyone responsible for her murder. In another case documented by Human Rights Watch, Mr. Mortazavi ordered the arbitrary detention of more than 20 bloggers and Internet journalists in 2004. The detainees were taken to a secret prison, held in solitary confinement and interrogated by Mr. Mortazavi's underlings. The interrogators tortured the detainees so that they would falsely implicate their colleagues in immoral acts and confess that they were foreign agents. As a condition for their release, the interrogators coerced four of them to write false confession letters. The bloggers report that by threatening to harm their families, Mr. Mortazavi personally coerced them to appear on Iran's state-controlled television saying that their jailors treated them as "gently as flowers." One former detainee told me that Mr. Mortazavi's voice still rings in his ears, and that he fears for his young children. So what was the Iranian government thinking? Perhaps it was still stung by its failure to be elected to the council, which aimed to exclude the most blatant abusers. Or maybe this was the regime's shock and awe strategy: shock the Iranian people with how little their government cares about human rights, and awe them with its utter impunity. If Mr. Mortazavi were removed from office and prosecuted, as he should be, there would be no shortage of witnesses to testify. But because this is unlikely, many Iranians hope the new council will develop international mechanisms to bring men like him to justice, rather than facing him as a delegate at its sessions. As a first step, the council should support the appointment of a United Nations special rapporteur on Iran to monitor and report publicly on human rights abuses and to see that the government's present lack of accountability does not translate into an even more extensive crackdown on political dissent and social freedoms. Further, the members of the Security Council and Germany, which are engaged in nuclear negotiations with Iran, should include human rights concerns on their agenda. As a confidence-building measure, they should demand that Iran improve its human rights record — and that it cease protecting violators like Mr. Morta- zavi. Hadi Ghaemi is the Iran researcher for Human Rights Watch.

News in brief from Iran-
Source of the news : Etemad Melli newspaper - Roozna online
Monday Nov.20/06

Association of Iranian journalists : stop interrogating journalists in the airport !
The Association of Iranian journalists in a statement protested to the interrogation of journalists in the airport .
A group of Iranian journalists for training have travelled to Netherland and after the end of training when returning to the country in the early hours of Monday morning have been interrogated for several hours in Mehrabad airport . The statement added that : The training was a joint project by both the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and the Association of Iranian Journalists. According to the statement ; these journalists were chosen by ballots and upon their arrival in the airport were interrogated by the organizations stationed in the airport.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.roozna.com/Negaresh_site/FullStory/?Id=25058

News in Brief from Iran-
Tomorrow the workers will show their strength !
Special day of action for the anniversary of labor law's ratification will take place in all over the country !
Tomorrow , November 20/ 2006, workers all over Iran are going to rally in defence of the labor law !
Mr. Rajabali Shahsavari the president of contract workers in the country : No worker must stay in their home or workplace , we must all come to the rally and defend the labor law's and the workers. workers won't silence about the government aggression on labor law. Ministry of labor also wants to change the labor law.
The government together with parliament are trying to change the labor law and the workers are against this plan.

Background:
November 19 is the anniversay of Labor Laws' ratification.The laws were ratified after the revolution.Government of Ahmadinejad finds the labor law dangerous for the regime.

Link to this news :
http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=368400&code1=9

Does the arrest of Mr. Osanlou and Mr. Ebrahim Madadi who have been arrested today in Tehran has anything to do with tomorrows' rally ?

News in brief from Iran-

A student was murdered in the city of Sabzewar by a "Basiji" student ( Students that are acting as ears and eyes of regime in universities).

According to "Adwar" news , Mr. Tohid Ghafarzadeh student from "Azad" university - Sabzewar branch was murdered by the knife of a "Basiji" student from "Tarbiat moalem" university .
Mr. Mostafa Sedaghatju the former president of the Islamic Association of Sabzewar University while offering his condolence to the students have told to Adwar news that : " On the evening of Saturday at around 8:00pm the victim together with his fiancee were standing beside the exit door of the university, when argument started between him and a Basiji student and then the murderer (Basiji student ) brought out a knife from his pocket and striked to the victims' chest and as a result of this blow Mr. Tohid Ghafarzadeh was killed in Sabzewar Emdadi hospital.
Mr. Sedaghatju added : According to the head of Herasat office in Sabzewars' Tarbiat Moalem University , the striker claims that he has done this act as of his religious duty and belief .
Mr. Sedaghat said that the authorities must respond to this murder and say where is the red line for militia group in the universities? And can anyone who has a membership card of these organizations in his pocket do anything he wants ? ...............
Mr. Sedaghatju continued by saying : Three weeks ago another things happened to students, at that time two motorcycle riders have attacked several boys and girls student of the same university and assaulted them and when the students staged a protest against these actions and for their security, the university officials summoned 10 of these students to the diciplinary committee.

Link to this news in Farsi :
http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/news2/11028/
This news have also been published in ISNA :
http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-827920&Lang=P
http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-827883&Lang=P

* Herasat office ( Are stationed in every universities , government offices...... and they are the ear and eyes of regime ).

Urgent news !
Mansour Osanlou have been arrested again.(IWC)

This morning, Sunday November 19 /2006 Mr. Mansour Osanlou president of the board of "Syndicate Workers of Tehrans' Bus Drivers Corporation" together with Mr. Ebrahim Madadi vice president of the syndicate were arrested by plain cloth agents . It has been reported by "Kosoof" that ; they were arrested at around Farjam Street & Rasid intersection near Resalat Circle in Tehran. According to the report they were beaten and insulted and at the same time shot was also fired.
Background :
Osanlou after months in prison in solitary confinement was recently released .

Link to this news :
http://kosoof.com/

Iranian women & their voice for freedom !
Click at the end of the text , on the word written in red and see the video:
بينيد
http://www.meydaan.com/showav.aspx?avid=9

Minister , we exist , dont say that we dont !
Students with three *** beside their names, who have been prevented to continue their education and are expelled from university , staged a protest action in front of the Ministry of Science to show to the minister that they are infact being prevented to continue their education .This protest is in response to the minister who have denied our existance .

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/news1/10955/

More news will continue......

News in brief from Iran -
Naser Zarafshan in speaking with his wife reported about the attack on political prisoners !
Roozonline report - By Hassan Zarezadeh Ardeshir

Yesterday, several dangerous convicted criminals in Evin prison have attacked the political prisoners and caused severe injuries to some of them including Dr. Naser Zarafshan ( Lawyer & human rights defender ). The wife of Dr. Zarafshan in speaking with Roozonline have confirmed this news .
Dr. Naser Zarafshan in a telephone contact with his wife at 4:00pm ( Iranian time) have announced that the clashes in Evin prison is still going on , he said this clashes are a calculated one .
Ms. Homa Zarafshan the wife of Naser Zarafshan in speaking with Rooz have said : " After two days of having no news , finally my husband in a short telephone contact was able to say that a group of wicked prisoners were brought from "Rejaie Shahr" prison to Evin prison so that with the help of some of the elements in Evin prison such as Esmail Eftekhari known as " Esmail the razor man " to put the political prisoners under pressure and to confront with them ".

As well, the other day , "Committee Defending Political Prisoners" in a statement in Tehran have announced that : " Based on the news received , today, Wednein an attack by some of the dangerous criminals to political prisoners , several of these prisoners have been severely beaten and some of them like Dr. Zarafshan , Mr. Said Shahghaleh, Mr. Gholam Kaabi and Mr. Shahin Nia were wounded ".
Although the prison official knew about all these, but stayed away and did nothing.At present Mr. Said Shahghaleh was transfered to cell # 240 ( solitary confinement ) and the political prisoners demanded that Mr. Shahghaleh must be returned to Cell # 350 , if not they will stage hunger strike.
According to this report, the life of political prisoners is in great danger.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2006/11/000118.php

Tehrans' street childeren- picture in Roozonline!

News in brief from Iran -

Stop execution of Sina !

Ms. Nasrin Sotudeh (an attorney) in speaking with Ms. Nanaz Oveisi the reporter of Rooz announced that; the Islamic Republic judiciary system is trying to put a young teenager to death.
She requested from judiciary power and government to stop this execution.
She said : " At the time of the crime Sina was only 16 year old , but he turned 18 on 5th of last September , and for this reason on September 20 he went to gallows tree for execution ,but because of the two months delay time given by the victims' family, the execution was postponed for two months .
The attorney added that : The two months delay in execution of Sina will end on November 21 /2006 and he once more will be facing the gallow tree , therefore i demand this execution to be stopped .
Nasrin Sotudeh: I would like to ask from the government and public to do whatever necessary to stop the execution of Sina.

Background :
Based on the latest document received , Sinas' psychologist have announced that he ( Sina ) has seen the doctor in the year 2002-2003 and based on Dr. finding Sina was diagnosed with bipolar depression or periodical madness .

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.roozonline.com/archives/2006/11/000122.php

Watch Independent World Television News:

http://www.iwtnews.com/home

News in brief from Iran-

Frouhars' daughter can't hold event honoring her murdered parents !

According to ISNA ( Iranian Students News Agency) , Ms. Parasto Frouhar the daughter of Ms. Parvaneh (Eskandari )Frouhar & Mr. Dariush Frouhar who were both brutally murdered in their home by the agents of the Ministry of Information in 1998, told to the ISNA's reporter that; some government agencies opposed we hold an event in Fakhr Mosque honoring my parents. If this is true then we will be holding the event like the last three years in our home.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/news2/10956/

News in brief from Iran:
The confession film of ten Ahwaz bombing accused will be aired tonight !
This is the title of a report in ILNA onlie . According to the report, the confession film of the Ahwaz bombing accused which was approved by the justice department will be aired at 10:20 pm tonight ( Monday November 13/06) from Khuzestan provincial broadcasting.
Based on the report , these confessions were taken from the acused while they were in the office of the Ministry of Information -Khuzestan province and will be aired tonight.In this film the ten accused confessed and explained to the bombing in several places .
Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=366097&code1=15

News in brief from Iran:

***Three Kurdish students are not allowed to register their name and are also banned to continue their education.These three Kurdish students are known as students with stars beside their names , they are : Mr. Gharib Sajadi, Mr. Salar Saket and Shuresh Moradi .
Mr. Gharib Sajadi member of the committee following the situation of students with three stars have said : The testing organization is preventing students with three stars to enrole in university .

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.mukrian.blogsky.com/

*** The death sentence for last years' ten bombing elements of Khuzestan province has been approved !
The chief director of the justice department in Khuzestan province has reported on the death sentence for these elements.
Mr. Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi on Thursday by announcing this news have said : According to the verdict that are issued, the public execution for the 10 bombing elements out of 19 elements in Khuzestan province will soon be carried out .

Link to this news in farsi:
http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2006/11/054630.php

*** Kianush Sanjari( Political activist and member of the United Students front) :
" They want to kill me " !
According to the news coming from Cell # 209 in Evin prison , the situation of Mr. Kianush Sanjari is very worrying.Mr. Sanjari was arrested by the Ministry of Information agents during the unrest infront of the house of Ayatollah Broojerdi in Tehran and is under severe interrogation and torture. According to a sources the shouting of Mr.Sanjari during torture and interrogation reaches to other prisoners and he is being interrogated several times a day.
It has been said that Mr. Sanjari's mother who was able to visit her son after a month has described her son's situation very bad.At present Mr. Nemat Ahmadi is the lawyer of Mr. Kianush Sanjari.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://news.gooya.eu/politics/archives/2006/11/054643.php

"Hundred Years of Solitude" author due in Iran
Saturday, November 11, 2006 - ©2005 IranMania.com
LONDON, November 11 (IranMania) - Colombian novelist Gabriel Jose Garcia Marquez is to visit Iran in spring, MNA reported.
The Tehran-based Colombian Embassy is consulting Iran’s Foreign Ministry to make arrangements for Garcia Marquez travel between April 10 and 30.
The 87-year-old journalist, publisher, and political activist is the recipient of the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature for his “Hundred Years of Solitude”.
Garcia Marquez was born on March 6, 1928 in Aracataca, a town in northern Colombia, where he was raised by his maternal grandparents in a house filled with countless aunts and the rumors of ghosts.
He has lived mostly in Mexico and Europe and currently spends much of his time in Mexico City.
Widely credited with introducing the global public to magical realism, he has secured both significant critical acclaim and widespread commercial success.
A growing consensus of literary scholars holds that Garcia Marquez ranks alongside Jorge Luis Borges and Julio Cortazar as one of South America's greatest 20th-century authors.
Garcia Marquez is also noted for his friendship with and enthusiasm for the Cuban President Fidel Castro and has previously expressed sympathy for some Latin American revolutionary groups, especially during the 1960s and 1970s.
He has also been critical of the political situation in Colombia. Despite accusations made by members of the Colombian government decades ago, there is no evidence that he has openly supported guerrilla groups such the FARC and ELN that operate in Colombia.
Since the early 1980s, Garcia Marquez has occasionally acted as a low-profile facilitator, usually in a role that he has shared with Fidel Castro, in several of the attempts at negotiations between the government and the guerrillas.
“Santa Mara”, “Arcataca”, “In Evil Hour”, “Chronicle of a Dead Foretold”, “The General in His Labyrinth”, and “Hundred Years of Solitude” are some his novels translated into Farsi.

News in brief from Iran:
Workers protest in Iran on the rise !(IWC)

Workers gathered for their rights !

These days Iran is witnessing with many protest by workers , they ask from the officials in the government to listen to their demands but no one is listening to them . " No one is understanding our problems , we tell them that we haven't recieved our salary for several months and they tell us to wait......".

They are trying to change the labor law ,so that; they can easily layoff the workers, we are against changing the labor law . In almost every workers protest there are clashes between the police and labor activists and there are always arrests .

This picture shows protest by the workers of "silk & velvet makers "of Kashan .
Link to this protest :
http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=365134&code1=9

Workers of " Nakhe Naz " In Gilan province demand for their rights and salaries.
http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=365199&code1=9

Officials of "Islamic labor council" meet with Rafasanjani the second man in Islamic Republic and Rafsanjani told them that they must not be passive towards the rights of workers in Iran.
http://www.ilna.ir/shownews.asp?code=365522&code1=15

News in brief from Iran :

According to " Fars " news agency ; the number of internet users in Iran during the year 2000-2006 shows an increase of 30 times from 250,000 to 7,500,000 and therefore in the Middle East, Iran is on the first place for the increase in internet users.

According to the economic reporter of " Fars " news agency , in the year 2006 the population of Iran has reached to 69,442,000 and from this number 10.8 % have hands on internet and the number of internet users in the year 2000 this number was only 250,000.
Again, according to this news : The internet users in Israel is 3,700,000 and Saudi Arabia with 2,540,000 and UAE with 1,397,000 . And this news added that , the internet users in all of Middle East is 19, 028,400 and the population of the region has reached to 190,000,000.
Internet users in Asia- 394,872,000
China - 123,000,000
Japan- 86,000,000
India- 60,000,000

Link to this news in Farsi :
http://www.iran-emrooz.net/index.php?/news2/10902/

News in Brief from Iran:

The site of "Entekhab" is filtered again !
The latest site of "Entekhab" news agency ( tik.ir ) is also been filtered.

During the last 12 days, many viewers of the site of "Entekhab" called and have said that ;
" Today , we are unable to visit the site ", They have also said that: " They will try to follow Entekhabs' news by breaking the filter " .
Entekhab reporter in a telephone contact, while confirming the news of filtering by the Telecommunication Filtering Centre have said that:" But until now, no reason was given for filtering this site ".
It is needed to say that : The site of (entekhab.ir ) was also filtered a year ago by the " Supreme council for cultural revolution ".
Mr. Mostafa Faghihi the editor in chief of "Entekhab " news agency said that apparently from this afternoon it is impossible to visit the site of "Entekhab".
He said: he hopes unlike last year ,this time by protesting against this action , the filtering will be removed from the site of "Entekhab".

At present this is the address of the site : https://www.Entekhab.ir
And this is another link to the site : http://www.tik.ir/display/?ID=31424&page=1

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.tik.ir/display/?ID=31286&page=1

Ms. Mahtab Keramati, Iranian actress has been chosen as UNICEF's peace & good will ambassador in Iran !
UNICEF has more than 200 good will ambassador around the world . Among them are Angelina Jolie , David beckham, Jackie Chan and .......
UNICEF's former good will ambassador in Iran was the star soccer player Ali Daie.
Ms. Keramati has started her volunteer work since last year with UNICEF in Tehran .She was born on 1970 in Tehran and has finished her study in Microbiology and after finishing her education she started acting in two TV series.
She is interested to work for childeren.

Link to this news in Farsi:

http://www.tik.ir/display/?ID=31492&page=1

Stop stonning human to death !

Aside from the two individual ( Ms. Mahbubeh M. & Mr. Abbas H. ) who have been stonned to death on May of this year in the city of " Mashhad: there are as far as we know still eleven other peoples who are listed to die by stonning . These eleven individuals' names are as follows :
1- Ms. Parisa A. - Adelabad prison- City of Shiraz
2- Ms. Kobra N. - Tabriz prison - City of Tabriz
3- Ms. Kheirieh V. - Sepidar prison- City of Ahwaz
4- Ms. Iran A. - Sepidar prison - City of Ahwaz
5- Ms. Malak (Shamameh) Ghorbani -Orumieh prison- City of Orumieh
6- Ms. Hajieh Esmailvand - Jolfa prison- City of Jolfa
7- Ms. Soghra Molaie - Varamin prison- City of Varamin
8- Ms. Ashraf Kalhori - Evin prison- City of Tehran
9- Ms. Fatemeh ? - In one of the prison in Tehran province
10- Ms. Zahra Rezaie - Rejaieshahr prison - City of Karaj
11- Mr. Abdolah Farivar - Sari prison - City of Sari
12- Mr. Najaf A. - Adelabad prison - City of Shiraz

Please write your protest letter to Iranian judiciary power and ask them to stop this barbaric act of stonning human to death.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.meydaan.com/petition.aspx?cid=46&pid=9

News in Brief-
Nov. 9,2006

Arrest in Kurdistan !
Four Human Rights activists have been arrested in Kurdistan!

Reporters of "Organization for the Defense of Human Rights in Kurdistan" (RMMK) : Mr. Ghafur Mohammadi member of " RMMK " together with Ms. Kazhal Mohammadi , Leila Kharazi and Aziz Abdolahi are arrested.
On Tuesday November 7,2006 in the city of "Piranshahr" Mr. Ghafur Mohammadi member of (RMMK) together with his wife Ms. Kazhal Mohammadi were arrested by the security forces. It has been told that two other people who were with Mr. Mohammadi at the time of his arrest were also arrested , they are : Mr. Aziz Abdolahi and Ms. Leila Kharazi .
It is needed to note that : The reason for the arrest of the members of (RMMK ) is not yet been identified .

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/news.jsp?essayId=6616

Photo by : IRAN WATCH CANADA

Free Mr. Korosh Zaim !

It is now more than two weeks that Mr. Zaim have been arrested. On October 21 Mr. Zaim called his family and told them that he is in public cell # 209 in Evin prison . Mr. Korosh Zaim is one of the active member of "Jebhe Meli " (National Front). On Friday October 20 agents from Ministry of Information invaded the house of Mr. Zaim and took with them some of his writing , books and his personal computer.

Link to this news and the site of : Free Mr. Korosh Zaim !

http://freezaeem.blogfa.com/

War is the worst kind violation of human rights !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEv-HSz2Zj4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG1VVctgX1Y

The high price for internet is the greatest problem for internet users !
The manager of an internet service provider: The government must lower the price of internet .

The manager of an internet service provider have said: The internet expenses in Iran unlike other countries is very high and the expenses for ISP companies is the reason for the high prices and because of this high prices the quality of services have also been effected.
Mr. Mehran Salehian in speaking with ISNA have said : Some of these internet users have difficulty connecting to internet and some because of low internet speed can not use the internet information.
He added that : The policy of government must be in a way to lower the expenses of internet , why ? because the biggest problem of internet users is the high price of internet.
He also criticized the wrongfully filtering of internet sites , he said : Instead of filtering there must be the culture of using the internet.

Link to this news in Farsi:
http://www.isna.ir/Main/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-819837&Lang=P

" Omran Salahi " the satyrist and poet have died. Writers , poets , journalists all have participated this morning in his funeral in Tehran.

Mojabi : " Omran Salahi never spoke abouth death , he always chanted and wrote about life" .

Latest students' rally in Amirkabir University !

Picture from the past womens' rally in Tehran !

ONLINE ON THE 7th OF NOVEMBER

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You’ll be joining a community of like-minded bloggers Your address will be myblog.rsfblog.org You can contact others in the rsfblog community, people who know about and are interested in what’s happening on the other side of the world and care about human rights. What you post may be picked up on the front page of “Looking at the world through Blogs,” a website that reviews what bloggers everywhere are doing.
Your personal details will be confidential Unlike some hosts, such as Yahoo !, which work with the police in some repressive countries, we won’t give anyone any details about you as long as your messages are protected by the right to freedom of expression.
I already have a blog. Is it to hard to switch to rsfblog ? No. It just takes a few minutes and our technical team will help you.What is it ?
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"The Blog View of the World" reflects the blogosphere’s cultural diversity. Reporters Without Borders is not responsible for the view expressed on this website.

Human rights in Iran and the Middle East region......

Have gone under the shadow of the international question on Iran's nuclear energy and military exercise by US and Her allied Persian Gulf states . At the same time Iran is also showing her teeth by conducting a similar exercise. What is forgotten is the international exercise on human rights . As a result of all these tension around the world which is really threatening not only the human rights situation in each country of the world but also the very existance of human .

It is at this situation that madame Shirin Ebadi the Iranian Noble Peace Prize winner on Thursday October 26 have said : " Iran's nuclear case have overshadowed human rights situation in this country" . She has salso added that : " During the last two years the only discourse that have taken place between the world society and Iran was that of Iran's nuclear energy".
http://r0ozonline.com/01newsstory/018398.shtml

Last week on Saturday October 28 in Toronto University we had a meeting with Mr. Maurice Capithorne the former UN reporter on human rights situation in Iran , in that meeting he has mentioned that the Canadian government prepared "its 4th resolution condemning human rights violation in Iran".

Why only Canada? It is obvious that since the death of Canadian -Iranian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi in Iran the diplomatic relation between Canada and Iran has worsened.

The most important discourse needed in the Middle East region is the discourse of human right and the help to implement it in the society and not war , nuclear energy , terrorism or fear and any other destructive uncivilized discourse . Now it is the right time to speak about the human rights .

Petition to save Ashraf Kalhori from death by stoning
To: The Judiciary Chief of Iran
Cc: The Iranian Parliament Representatives

We are deeply concerned that Ashraf Kalhori, a 37-year-old mother of four, has been sentenced to death for having had an extramarital relationship. We are further concerned that she has been sentenced to death by stoning. Death by stoning is one of the most inhumane acts of torturous execution, where the convict is buried alive in a pit with her sheet-covered head exposed outside to be smashed by marble-sized rocks that are thrown by the members of the community. We would like to remind you that as the chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Judiciary, you have ordered a ban on the execution of all cases of stoning as of April, 2001. Hereby, we request that you use your authority as the Judiciary Chief, to enforce such ban and stop the execution of Ashraf Kalhori. At the same time, we are asking the Iranian Parliament representatives to change the criminal law so that an extramarital relationship is not considered a "crime" and that it certainly does not warrant the death penalty.

Sincerely,
The Undersigned

Link for petition:
http://www.petitiononline.com/AshrafK/petition.html