IWD 2012 - Best wishes and salute to the brave women of my country and around the world!

IRAN WATCH CANADA: Dedicated to all of you my dear brave Iranian women,salute to all of you .This is the least i can do ,after coming from work ,seat at home and do the translation.Hoping your painful stories can be heard around the world and raise the support.

Womens rights is human rights.
Women United ,Never defeated!
On International Women's Day March 8,2012 in Iran 47 women political prisoners are in jail because of their activities and beliefs.
Out of these 47 women 34 of them are heavily sentenced and 14 out of these 47 are awaiting for their sentences. The total of jail sentence for the 34 women is 208 years and 8 months and they have to stay in jail for two century.
The heaviest sentencing was given to Zeynab Jalalian the Iranian Kurdish activist and it is life imprisonment. Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi the two Iranian Bahai faith leaders with 20 years each and Farah Vazehan with 17 years imprisonment.

Zeynab Jalalian is a citizen of the Kurdistan of Iran and she is born on 1982 in the city of Maku.She has been in prison since she was 25 years old. Zenab was charged with "Maharebeh" ( War on God) ,and colaboration with Pejak Party ( A Kurdish Party )and was sentenced to death ,but later it was changed and lowered to life in prison and right now she spents her prison sentence in the Kermanshah city prison.

Fariba Kamal- Abadi is 48 years old and Mahvash Sabet is 57 years old . Both of them are the leaders of the Bahai faith in Iran ( 5 other Bahai leaders are also in prison ). Kamal Abadi was arrested on May 15,2008 and Sabet was arrested on March 6,2007 and since then they are in prison.Judge Moghiseh charged them with "conspiracy against national security" and "Maharebeh" (War on God) and sentenced them to 20 years imprisonment. They have spent time in Rejaei Shahr prison in the city of Karaj and later to "Gharechak' in Varamin and now they are in women public ward in Evin prison. Since their arrest, the prison officials didn't allow them to have leave of absence.

Farah Vazehan was arrested at her home two days after Ashura day of protest in Tehran in 2009 ( protest against the presidential election fraud),she was transfered to ward number 209 in Evin prison and to solitary confinements. At first she was charged with "Maharebeh" and was sentenced to death and later it was changed to 17 years imprisonment by judge Moghiseh . She was also sentenced to internal exile to Rejaei Shahr prison ,she is currently in Evin prison and suffers from illness,in the last few months she was transfered several time to hospital.

Maryam Akbari Monfared is one of protester against the election fraud in 2009. she is one of those imprison Iranian women who has heavy sentence.She is sentenced to 15 years imprisonment and currently is in Evin prison and is deprived of lawyer and was also deprived from leave of absence from prison.

Motahereh Bahrami is the oldest women prisoners of this list of 47 women together with Reyhaneh Haj-Ebrahim Dabagh both have no political belonging and are sentenced to 10 and 15 years imprisonment and currently are in Evin prison.Both of them were arrested in their house on Jan.27,2009 and upto now were deprived of leave of absence from prison( regime calls it vacation from prison but to return). The husband and son of Bahrami Haghighi are also currently in prison.

Bahareh Hedayat is born on 1981 is a student activist and member of central council of "Daftare Tahkim Vahdat" ( a national islamic student organization). She is sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and currently is in Evin prison.She was arrested on Jan.31,2009 and was sentenced to 9 and a half years imprisonment by judge Mohammad Moghiseh. She has been charged " intervie with foreign media, insulting the leader ,insulting the president participation in illegal gathering and.....recently she was sentenced to another six month imprisonment for writing letter on students day.

Fatemeh Rahnama is a 52 years old citizen who was given heavy sentencing and is spenting the sentence in one of the prison internal exile.Fatemeh was arrested after the presidential election fraud on 29 August 2009. She was arrested in relation to the case file of shahpour Kazemi ,brother of Zahra Rahnavard the wife of Mirhossein Musavi oner of green movement leader and the presidential candidate.She was sentenced by judge Pirabbasi ,in relation to Mojahedin organization. She was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and internal exile ,she suffers from cancer.she is deprived of leave of absence from prison ,even when her mom passed away.She is currently in "Sepidar" prison in the city of Ahvaz in the south of Iran.

Ronak Safarzadeh Is a Kurdish activist and a women human rights advocate and also member of "Campaign for One Million Signature".She is in prison Since Oct.8, 2007. She was sentenced by Islamic court of revolution in Sanadaj city ( A Kurdish city in Iran) and given six and a half years imprisonment. She is charged with "Maharebeh" war on God " and right now she is in a prison in the cvity of Zanjan.

Hanieh Farshi Shotorban and Ladan Mostoufi ,were arrested for their activities in an internet discussion group on review and reason on critical religious logic. They were arrested on July 2010 .They were sentenced to seven and two and a half years imprisonment.These two bloggers were charged with insulting to leader and sacred beleifs.

Nasrin Sotoudeh is the prominent Iranian lawyer and a human rights defender who spends her prison sentence together with her former clients. Nasrin was arrested on September 4,2010 after attending to prosecutors office in Evin prisonand was transfered to Evin solitary confinement.Her sentence was issued by Judge Pir abbasi and was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment ,20 years ban from leaving the country and 20 years ban from practicing her law profession.She is charged with " propagating against the Islamic Republic and conspiracy against national security". This sentence later was lowered by appeal court to six years imprisonment.Repeatedly her weekly visitation rights was banned and her childeren and husband are unable to visit her.

Nazanin Khosrovani is born on 1976 and she just joined the women political prisoners to serve her six years prison sentence ordered by judge Pirabbasi. She was arrested on November 3,2010 at her parents home. Read more about her in previous IRAN WATCH CANADA post.

Nasrin Ghadiri,Nahid Ghadiri,Rozita Vaseghi and Sima Eshraghi are four other Iranian Bahai citizens that have received 5 years imprisonment eachand are currently in prison. Nasrin Ghadiri was arrested on July 15,2010 and is now in Vakilabad prison in the city of Mashhad and Nahid Ghadiri was arrested on March 15,2009and is currently in the same prison.

Rozita Vaseghi was also arrested on March 15,2009 together with Nahid Ghadiri and their charges are the same: propagating the Bahai faith and insulting the sacred belief and is in the same prison.

Sima Eshraghi is another Bahai faith citizen who was arrested on Jan.27,2009 is currently in vakilabad prison in Mashhad.She also received 5 years imprisonment for the following charges: "propagating Bahai faith and insulting the sacred belief ,propagating against the system (state) and acting against national security".She received 5 years imprisonment for these charges.

Manijeh Monzavian is also an Iranian Bahai citizen who recieved 3 years imprisonment and is currently in Evin prison.She was arrested first on June15when the security agents arrived at her home and after interrogation ,she was transfered to Semnan city prison.13 days later she was released on bail but was rearrested again on March 27,2009 and currently is in prison.

Tahereh taghizadeh is also a Bahai citizen and currently is in Shahid Kachouei prison in the city of Sari in Mazanderan province. This Bahai faith citizen was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment and since Jan.8,2009 is in prison.

Kobra Bannazadeh Amiri is a 56 years old citizen who was arrested on Jan.17 ,2008 when she was leaving the Imam Khomeini Airport for Iraq .She was arrested together with 18 others and was transfered to ward number 209 in Evin prison.Their reason to go to Iraq was to go to camp Ashraf and visit their childeren.Since then she is in prison.Bannazadeh Amiri was sentenced to 5 years and internal exile to Rejaei Shahr prison by judge Mogheiseh.

to be continued....

Link to this report in Farsi:
http://www.rahesabz.net/story/50339/