IRAN WATCH CANADA

Monday, June 29, 2015

Mostafa Azizi's Dad Had Brain Hemorrhage When For The First Time He Visited His Son At Evin Prison !


According to HRANA a human rights activists group in Iran ,when for the first time on last Wednesday Mostatfa Azizi's Dad visited him at Evin prison he had a brain stroke due to stress he went through and he was transferred to hospital.
Mostafa Azizi 53 years old and a writer and film producer , came in Canada on 2010 and returned to Iran last winter to visit his sick father was summoned to the prosecutors office at Evin prison and was sentenced by judge Salavati to eight years imprisonment for allegedly " insulting the leader of the Islamic Republic"  and " crime against national security " and ......
It was in the news that, when his father attended at Evin prison , he was unable to walk on the stairs and instead the prison officials made another option to bring his son to another location for the visitation when due to stress , he had the stroke and was transferred to hospital without able to see his son.
Mostafa Azizi spent a month in ward number 2 -Alef in Evin prison run by Sepah Pasdaran ( revolutionary guards ) and later he was transferred to ward number eight in Evin prison.


Link:
http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/2015/06/198995.php




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Saturday, June 27, 2015

Esmail Abdi The General Secretary of The Teachers Union Is Arrested .....


According to news Esmail Abdi the general secretary of Iran Teachers Union is arrested ,while he was following why he was banned and is not allowed to leave the country .

According to report Mr. Esmail Abdi together with their teachers union lawyer on Saturday attended to public prosecutors office at Evin prison to find out why he was not allowed to leave the country , when he put against the wall , arrested  and detained. After his arrest , four representative of the union attended at Evin to speak with public prosecutor about their leader ,when they were told to disperse until further notice.

Link:
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/article.jsp?essayId=67803


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A " Khorasani " Blogger Is Sentenced to Three Years Imprisonment !

According to HARANA Aa human rights activists group Zainolabedin Ghaemi a blogger from Khorasan province is sentenced to three years imprisonment . He is allegedly charged with , insulting the leader of the Islamic Republic , propagating against the state and disturbing the public peace .
Mr. Ghaemi was sentenced by presiding judge Milanlouei from the court of revolution in the city of Ghaen.
Mr. Ghaemi in speaking with HARANA reporter said:
" because of my critical writing to the leader and to the head of Assembly of Experts and other officials in my weblog , i have received these charges  , although after writing i removed those posts from the wall , but my weblog was filtered and disappeared from the radar, at present i have protested against this sentencing and i hope the sentencing will be reduced .......

Mr. Ghaemi said , his writing was a kind of duty and it was about the morality issues ( acted as a member of the community moral task force ...like to force people to correct their hijab or ......)

Link:
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/news.jsp?essayId=67695


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Thursday, June 25, 2015

Two Azari ( Iranian From Azarbayejan) Were Earlier Sentenced to 13 Years Imprisonment But Appeal Court Found Mistakes in The Sentencing !


Wrong judgement , heavy sentencing by incapable judges of the Islamic regime .... precious life of many Iranian lost in prisons....... 

According to Avian News , the division number # 7 of the court of appeal sent the case file of two Iranian Azari in lower court for correction.
The two Iranian Azari ; Hossein Ali Mohammadi and Teh Kermani  ( From East of Azarbayejan ) were sentenced earlier to three and then to thirteen years imprisonment by judge Bagherpour from division number 3 of the court of revolution in Tabriz city on charges of " insulting the leader " and " Propagating against the state" .
Both are charged for their writing on publication known as " Sousma " and blog known as " Souzgoul " .
The defense lawyers for both activists  have protested to the sentencing and sent the case for appeal which is approved by presiding appeal court judge on need for correction .

Link:
http://www.roozonline.com/persian/news/newsitem/article/26-8.html


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Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Labor Section Reporters of ILNA ,The Reason We Were Expelled From ILNA News Agency : Continued " Fighting " Between Us and Three Organizations ; " The ILNA Management" , "The Labour House " and "The Ministry of Labor"


The three expelled labor reporters of ILNA ,  Esmail Mohammad Vali , Morteza Madani and Leila Razaghi wrote in  their letter :

There were continued fighting between us and the three organizations : The Ministry of Labor , the ILNA management and the Labor House.

They said in their letter that , the highest point which caused them to be fired was about the censorship of the news on " Farsit - Doroud " workers gathering in front of the Labor Ministry building.

According to them the owner of ILNA told them that, these workers are asking too much and their protest are not legitimate / right.

Link:
http://ir.voanews.com/content/iran-ilna/2835230.html

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Monday, June 22, 2015

Parastoo Azizi , the imprisoned Mostafa Azizi's daughter on Father's Day


Parastoo Azizi , the imprisoned Mostafa Azizi's daughter on Father's Day:
"on this fathers day all I can wish for is us being together again, just like this picture. my father deserves to be with his father and children on fathers day! and I deserve to be able to call him and wish him a happy fathers day " !




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Sunday, June 21, 2015

ILNA News Agency In Iran Expelled All Its Labor News Reporters ......


Esmail Mohammad Vali one of the expelled editor of the labor section in his tweeter on Saturday wrote:

"Labor reporters of ILNA all together were expelled from the Agency , the reasons can be guessed, but soon we will release an explanation. For those who have asked i will say this , the five member team of ILNA labor news reporters were expelled today, although my ranking was as an editor of the group but every one knew that ;our group were functioning as a council , thats why they expelled all of us . For those who follows the labor news it is clear to them , but we will write about this when the angers are cooled down ."

In the last two days since Saturday and today the website of ILNA did not renew its labor news section and that is because of the  expulsion of its labor news reporters .

ILNA is a major news reporter about labor news in IRAN.

We have to wait and see what the reporters are going to write about this expulsion .

Link:
http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/2015/06/198660.php
  

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Saturday, June 20, 2015

Islamic Regime in Iran Sentenced Mohammad Ali Taheri the Imprisoned Leader of the " Erfane Halgheh " to Death !


According to news and based on what Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabaei lawyer of Taheri said his client Moahammad Ali Taheri is sentenced to death by judge Moghiseh the judge of branch 28 of the court of revolution for alleged crime of " Corruption on Earth " .
He added : All that my client Mohammad Ali Taheri did was based on the permission he was given and therefore there  was no reason in the case file for such sentencing but now they have sentenced him to death and i have not received yet the verdict.
In February of this year 16 member of the " Erfane Halgheh " group were sentenced to a total of 37 years imprisonment and 130 million Tuman confiscation of properties.
Mohammad Ali Taheri is the founder of the " Cultural -Artistic Erfane Halgheh "  a kind of medical scientology group .
They believe people's suffering can be meditated by their methods.

Link:
http://news.gooya.com/politics/archives/2015/06/198612.php


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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Ms. Shahindokht Molaverdi Deputy of Women Issues to President Rohani Is Unable to Influence for The Iranian Women To Enter The Stadium !


According to Sharq Newspaper Even shahindokht Molaverdi the deputy of Women Issues to president Hasan Rohani is unable to get permission from Minister of Interior to let the Iranian women to enter the stadium to watch and support the volleyball game between Iran and US team taking place inside Iran.
The minister of interior of the Rohani's government is a hard liner . Rahmani Fazli the minister of interior earlier said ,he would not allow the radical Islamist to hold rally about this issue but on Wednesday about 100 radical moslems hold a rally in front of interior ministry and chanted anti women slogan and warned women if they have entered stadium there would be clashes.

Although earlier the government planned to let about 500 women mostly the family members of the Iranian players to enter the stadium and watch the game but in recent days this plan end up with no result and as a result no women will be entering the stadium.

The World Volleyball Federation in the past threatened Iranian volleyball federation to let the Iranian women to enter the stadium or else the committee will withdraw Iranian volleyball team from the games.

Before the revolution the Iranian women could enter the stadiums , it was after the revolution they were bared from entering the stadiums ,Sharq newspaper said.

Link:
http://www.sharghdaily.ir/News/65939/

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Islamic Regime in Iran Bared Iranian Women From Entering The Iranian Sports Stadium To Support Iranian Teams ...


After speculation that the Government of Hasan Rohani will let the Iranian women to enter Iranian sport stadium to support Iranian national teams , the reports indicate that ,the Iranian women won't be able to enter the stadiums.
After some threats by radical moslem groups from Paydari Front a group close to  Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi , to hurt the women if they entered stadiums , the balance of power weighed more to the radicals and the ministry of interiors issued ban on  the women to enter the stadiums.

How on earth in 21st century a regime can do that to bare the women from entering the stadium to support their national teams. 
Only groups like ISIS , Al Shabab , Al Qaeda , Taliban and groups alike can do this ......

Because of this decision, all Iranian women are unable to enter the stadium to watch the women volleyball between US - Iran . 

US team should stop playing in support of Iranian Women !

Link:
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/article.jsp?essayId=67633





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Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Mohammad Moghimi Lawyer of Atena Farghdani the imprisoned Women Rights Activist is Detained !!??


Mr. Mohammad Moghimi is a human rights lawyer and was appointed by Atena Farghdani as her lawyer to defend her case. Moghimi the lawyer was preparing the appeal transcript for his client when he was arrested and detained in Rejaei Shahr prison.
Lawyer Moghimi was arrested on Saturday while visiting his client Atena Farghdani at Evin prison when he was arrested and detained also but in different prison in Rejaei Shahr prison.
According to HRANA ( A human rights activists group), mr. Dawood Nemati a friend of Moghimi reported about his arrest . He has indicated that,a person by the name of Hamidi has arrested him .

Lawyer Moghimi in a telephone contact indicated that, the judiciary has ordered for a 20,000,000 million Tuman bail.

Atena Farghdani is a painter and a human rights activist . She is currently in Evin prison and recently sentenced to 12 years and 9 months imprisonment by judge Salavati.

Link:
https://khodnevis.org/article/65035#.VYAmk6bm3x4

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Monday, June 15, 2015

Solmaz Ikdar Journalist , Social Activist And Defender of the Rights of Children And Women Is Arrested !


According to news Solmaz Ikdar who had received a summon from the court in the past is arrested today.
Ikdar has worked with newspaper such as  Sharq , Bahar and Farhikhtegan.

In the past she was arrested when she participated in Hoda Saber's funeral .

Link:
http://www.radiozamaneh.com/223405

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In Two Weeks Islamic Regime Executed 153 Prisoners .......


According to a report by International Committee Against Execution in two weeks Islamic regime has executed 153 Iranian people.

Those executed were from:

Ghazal Hesar prison in Karaj :  75 people
Bandar Abbas Prison: 20
Orumieh prison ( Darya) : 16
Rejaei Shahr prison in Karaj : 11
Adel Abad Shiraz: 8
Tabriz prison: 6
Karaj Central prison: 5
Kerman prison : 5
Rasht prison: 2
Ghaem Shahr prison: 1
Zanjan prison: 1
Shiraz  public execution : 1
Shahre Babak public execution: 1

Link:
http://icae-iran.com/1394/03/7516/




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Mansour Arvand An Iranian -Kurdish Political prisoner Is Executed Yesterday.


According to a news by Kurdish Human Rights Group , Mansour Arvand a Kurdish -Iranian political prisoner who was recently transferred from Mahabad prison to Miandoab prison is executed on Sunday morning.
According to this news ,while he was in Mahabad prison ,he was told that his death sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.
A family member told to Kurdish human rights group that , we have received a call from Miandoab prison about his execution .
Mansour was arrested four years ago at his home in Mahabad. After arrest he was under intense investigation and torture and one year later the judiciary sentenced him to death.
Link:
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/article.jsp?essayId=67595

International Committee Against Execution 
Link:
http://en.icae-iran.com/

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Thursday, June 11, 2015

Kidney Selling in Iran by Iranian people , Who would have thought that? Islamic Regime brought everything in Iran , Alarming number on prostitution , divorce , jobless ( among young graduates), Poverty , Street kids, drought ,corruptions among Ayatollahs and officials and the fear for future earthquake in Tehran ....

Picture show an add in Taxi says: One Kidney for sale on Cheap Price , Type : O +

Link:
http://www.akhbar-rooz.com/news.jsp?essayId=67517

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Wednesday, June 10, 2015

How Many Mothers together with their children are inside regime prisons ?


According to news released by regime , 426 babys and their mothers are in regime prisons in various prisons around the country. Really how many of these kids or baby's are in prisons ,and why ?

Link:
http://www.isna.ir/fa/news/94032011503/

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Foreign Minister Zarif is a Lier, even singer and Concerts Under This regime is silenced or Cancelled for Various Nonsense Reason !!


ISNA news agency reported that, the concert of " Parvaze Homay " which was supposed to go on for five nights in Tehran was forced to cancel due to an order by judiciary power.
" Parvaze Homay " had no show for eight years . The organizers  told to those who have bought the tickets earlier ,the money would be deposited in their account.
Although all preparation was made and all the permission was given to the organizers to go ahead for the show but it was cancelled . In response to this ,the singer of the " Parvaze Homay " Mr. Saeed Jafarzadeh Sar Gourabi said; I don't understand why the officials in the judiciary won't allow us to go ahead for the show ,  if i had mistakes in the past ,i already admitted and i am ready to compensate , be patient ,  see me today and my future and then decide, i don't know where these all accusation against me comes from , they have to give me the opportunity to go on the stage and fulfill my response and responsibilities. I am the son of this revolution and i will remain loyal to this country as long as i am alive.
According to this news , the judiciary accused the singer as counter revolutionary.
The " Parvaze Homay " or " Mastan " group is a traditional song and music group.  


Link:
http://www.isna.ir/fa/news/94032011542/




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CPJ calls on Turkish government to reverse anti-press measures


Via Prime Ministry's Press Office: bbm@basbakanlik.gov.tr
Dear Prime Minister Davutoğlu,
The Committee to Protect Journalists is writing to express alarm at a fresh wave of anti-press actions in Turkey and to ask that you use the power of your office to reverse the measures.
In October, when we met in Ankara, we welcomed your pledge that your office would provide protection to journalists threatened in retaliation for their work. In meetings with other government officials, we were assured that Turkey is committed to continuing its judicial reform to improve conditions for a free press and free expression.
However, we also came away from some meetings with a sense of official hostility toward the media, and we have seen that hostility play out in a series of attacks on press freedom in recent months. These include the harassment and prosecution of journalists because of their activities on social media; the blocking of reporters' social media posts; a ban on coverage of a sensitive story; and detentions, police raids, and criminal investigations of journalists. These acts have a chilling effect on news coverage in Turkey.
The details of significant cases include:
--On February 1, a prosecutor in the southeastern city of Diyarbakır indicted Dutch freelance journalist Fréderike Geerdink for "making propaganda" for the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK) via social media. If sentenced, Geerdink faces up to five years in prison.
Geerdink has worked as a journalist in Turkey since 2006, focusing on Kurdish issues, politics, and human rights and writing for a variety of international publications as well as the Turkish news website Diken, where she has a regular column. It was her Diken column as well as social media posts that, as Diyarbakır prosecutor Hakan Özdemir alleged, praised the PKK and KCK while denigrating the Republic of Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The prosecutor also stated in the indictment that Geerdink was trying to portray Turkey as a country that helps the militant group Islamic State. Geerdink denied all the accusations, saying she only acted as a journalist who had been posting her stories and opinion pieces on social media. A court hearing in the case has been scheduled for April 8.
Prior to being indicted, Geerdink was detained and interrogated for three hours, and her home in Diyarbakır was searched by terrorism police on January 6.
--In mid-January, police raided the printing house that produces the dailyCumhuriyet and the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched a criminalinvestigation against the paper and two of its columnists, Hikmet Çetinkaya and Ceyda Karan, according to news reports. The columnists had republished the cover of the first edition of the French newspaper Charlie Hebdo since the deadly attackon the satirical publication on January 7.
Çetinkaya said he and Karan had received death threats on social media.
Instead of speaking out against those threats, top Turkish leaders calledCumhuriyet's decision to republish Charlie Hebdo content a provocation. Most notably, you said on January 15, that the paper was provoking people to launch an attack on it.
--Also in mid-January, a Turkish court imposed a ban on coverage of allegations that gendarmerie in the southern Adana and Hatay provinces in January 2014 had intercepted trucks, allegedly belonging to the Turkish intelligence agency, onsuspicion of smuggling arms to Islamist rebels in Syria. According to the state media regulator, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, the gag order was necessary because of an ongoing investigation into the case.
Turkish authorities have repeatedly gagged coverage of sensitive issues, depriving the public of its right to be informed, CPJ research shows.
--On January 15, an Istanbul court ordered Twitter to block tweets that linked to a July article in the online newspaper Radikal that reported on the allegedly illegal wiretapping by police. Access to the Radikal article itself was also blocked in Turkey.
--At the end of December, Police raided the Istanbul home of Turkish TV journalistSedef Kabaş, detained her briefly, and confiscated her laptop and phone, she told the local press. Now, similar to Dutch freelance journalist Fréderike Geerdink, Kabas faces up to five years in jail in connection with her social media posts. She is being prosecuted for a tweet in which she named a prosecutor who had dropped corruption proceedings against high-level Turkish officials, the Turkish press reported. The charges against her include "targeting persons involved in the fight against terrorism," news reports said.
--Also in December, police raided two media outlets perceived as affiliated with a movement led by U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen. The editor-in-chief ofZaman newspaper, Ekrem Dumanlı, was detained in one of the raids and Hidayet Karaca, the chairman of Samanyolu TV, was arrested in the other. The two arrest warrants were part of a group of 31 issued by Turkish prosecutors that month on charges of "establishing a terrorist group," committing forgery, and slander, press reports said, citing Istanbul Chief Prosecutor Hadi Salihoglu.
While these are serious accusations, authorities are yet to produce evidence that Dumanlı or Karaca have committed any crime. Meanwhile, Dumanlı is banned from traveling abroad and Karaca has been kept in pretrial detention since December 14. No court dates to hear the two men's cases have been set.
These recent violations against press freedom and freedom of expression obscure the positive steps taken by your government, including the stark reduction of the number of journalists imprisoned in relation to their work in Turkey.
Mr. Prime Minister, Turkey's leaders have said that they support a free press, at least in principle, but the same leaders--including yourself--have also publicly criticized journalists and disparaged their work. This official attitude facilitates the actions of police, prosecutors, courts, and regulators against the media, and contributes to an environment in which hostile elements of society may feel free to threaten or even physically attack journalists.
We ask that you use the authority of your high office to speak up in defense of press freedom and against attacks on journalists, creating a more tolerant atmosphere for the media.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Joel Simon
Executive Director
CC List:
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey
Bekir Bozdağ, Turkey's Justice Minister
Osman Sert, Prime Ministry Press Advisor
Lutfullah Göktas, Chief Media Advisor to the President of Turkey
Mustafa Varank, Chief Advisor to the President of Turkey
Serdar Kılıç, Turkey's Ambassador to the United States
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs & Security Policy Federica Mogherini
President of the European Council Donald Franciszek Tusk
EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis
European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society Günther Hermann Oettinger
President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament Elmar Brok
Chair of the European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights Elena Valenciano
U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muižnieks
Link:

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Tuesday, June 09, 2015

News Release ..........

 
Silencing journalist and activists weakens protection of human rights in Iran, UN expert warns

 
GENEVA (5 June 2015) – The detention of journalists and human rights defenders weakens the protection of human rights of all in Iran, United Nations Special Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed has said today, expressing serious concerns at the arbitrary and unlawful arrest, detention and prosecution of journalists and rights activists in the country.

“Silencing these critical voices is unacceptable - it undermines public debate and deprives Iranians and the rest of world of important information on the reality in the country,” said the independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The recurrent use of vague references to threats to national security, propaganda against the system and insult to authorities to prosecute and detain journalists or activists is in contradiction to both international norms relating to freedoms of expression and association and the principle of legality,” Mr. Shaheed stated.

The Special Rapporteur expressed special concern at the arrest, detention and trial of Jason Rezaian, a reporter of the Washington Post, and his wife, Yeganeh Salehi, a correspondent of the United Arab Emirates newspaper The National.

On 25 May 2015, the trial of Mr. Rezaian started behind closed doors on charges of ‘espionage, collaboration with hostile governments, gathering classified information and disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic’. Mr. Rezaian has been arbitrarily detained since 22 July 2014, including for a number of months in solitary confinement, and wasn’t formally charged for nearly 10 months.  
 
“Journalists must be protected, not harassed and prosecuted for doing their jobs. The detention and trial of Mr. Rezaian and Ms. Salehi not only violate their individual rights, but also intimidates those working in the media in Iran,” he stressed.

The independent expert was equally disturbed by the detentions of Atena Farghdani and Nargis Mohammadi, activists known for their human rights work.  Ms. Farghdani, a children’s rights activist and artist was recently sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison for ‘spreading propaganda against the system, gathering and colluding against national security and insulting members of the parliament and the Supreme Leader’.

Ms. Mohammadi, the former vice-president of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre and one of the founders of the group ‘Step by Step to Stop the Death Penalty’, was arrested on 5 May 2015 in order to serve the remainder of the six-year prison sentence she had received in April 2012 on charges of ‘assembly and collusion against national security, membership in Defenders of Human Rights Centre, and propaganda against the system’.

“Human rights defenders play a fundamental role in ensuring a democratic society which respects human rights,” the expert said, reminding the Iranian Government of its responsibility to ensure human rights defenders do not face prosecution for promoting and advancing human rights in the country.

Mr. Shaheed’s call has been endorsed by human rights expert Mads Andenas, who currently heads the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, as well as the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, Michel Forst; on freedom of expression, David Kaye; on independence of the judiciary, Gabriela Knaul; and ; on torture, Juan E. Méndez.

The UN human rights experts jointly urged the Iranian Government to release all journalists and rights defenders who have been arbitrarily and unlawfully arrested, and currently face detention and prosecution.

ENDS

The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.

Learn more:
Human rights in Iran: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx
Arbitrary Detention: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Detention/Pages/WGADIndex.aspx
Human rights defenders: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/SRHRDefenders/Pages/SRHRDefendersIndex.aspx
Freedom of expression: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomOpinion/Pages/OpinionIndex.aspx
Independence of the judiciary: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Judiciary/Pages/IDPIndex.aspx
Torture: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Torture/SRTorture/Pages/SRTortureIndex.aspx

UN Human Rights, Country Page – Iran: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Countries/AsiaRegion/Pages/IRIndex.aspx  

For more information and media requests please contact Naveed Ahmed (+41 22 928 9477 / nahmed@ohchr.org) or write to sr-iran@ohchr.org

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Monday, June 08, 2015


Arash Azizi son of Mostafa Azizi on his Facebook wall : 
My father was sentenced to 8 years of prison today, unfortunately. I just spoke to him on the phone and he is of a good morale.
He's been sentenced to 5 years for 'Gathering and collusion against national security', 2 years for 'Insulting the Supreme Leader' and one year for 'Acting against national security in cyberspace)'.
He has appealed and hopes to be released on bail before the appeal court.
Please spread the news widely.
Link:
https://www.facebook.com/arash.writer?fref=nf&pnref=story





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Thursday, June 04, 2015

PRESS FREEDOM VIOLATIONS RECOUNTED IN REAL TIME JANUARY 2015


03.06.2015 - Long jail term for woman blogger
Reporters Without Borders is appalled to learn that blogger and human rights activist Atena Ferghdani was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison on 2 June.
Ferghdani had been held for the past five months on charges of “activities against national security,” “anti-government propaganda by means for performance art,” and “insulting government officials and parliamentary representatives in a published cartoon.”
She was arrested on 11 January when she responded to a summons from a Tehran court for postinga video on Facebook and YouTube on 26 December in which she described her experiences in Section 2A of Tehran’s Evin Prison – a section controlled by Revolutionary Guards – after a previous arrest last August.
I was interrogated for nine hours a day,” she said in the video. “The questions were mainly about my activities and what I posted on Facebook (...) In the bathroom, they had installed cameras that filmed everything we did. I found it very embarrassing. When I protested, the guards said they were turned off (...) but one day I took a plastic cup back to my cell and guards arrived within two minutes and tore my blouse in order to get it back. I just wanted to use it to do drawings.”
Her family said that during her court appearance in January she hit by guards as she was being taken off to prison. “The guards slapped my daughter right in front of us,” her father told journalists. She was put with non-political detainees in Gharchak prison in Varamin, a municipality south of Tehran.
She was hospitalized on 27 February, 18 days after beginning a hunger strike. Her lawyer, Mohammad Moghimi, said she “had a heart attack and was taken to Firozgar Hospital in Sharrai.” She was transferred to Evin prison a week later.
Two other human rights defenders, Atena Daemi and Omid AliShenas, were sentenced to 14 and 10 years in prison respectively the same day.

19.05.2015 – Association of Iranian Writers targeted again
Reporters Without Borders condemns the latest case of judicial harassment of Iran’s writers and journalists.
Several members of the executive bureau of the Association of Iranian Writers were summoned and interrogated from 3 to 5 May. They included Reza Khandan Mahabadi, who has been charged with “anti-government publicity” and “publishing a newspaper illegally.” The charges refer to the association’s Facebook page.
Plainclothes officers from the intelligence ministry searched his Tehran home on 29 April, confiscating his computer, hard drives and manuscripts.
Iranian civil society’s oldest organization, the Association of Iranian Writers has been banned under both of the Shah’s two regimes and the Islamic revolution. Two of its leaders, the writers and journalists Mohamad Makhtari and Mohamad Jafar Pouyandeh, were murdered in 1998.

18.05.2015 - Journalist freed on completing six-year jail term
Reporters Without Borders has learned that the journalist Kaivan Samimi Behbahani was released on 16 May on completing a six-year jail sentence on charges of “publishing false information with the aim of disturbing public opinion” and “activities against national security.”
The former editor of Nameh (The Letter), an independent monthly closed by the authorities in 2005, Behbahani was arrested on 13 June 2009, the day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection, and was convicted on 2 February 2010.
He was also banned from working as a journalist and, all the time he was held in an individual cell in Section 209 of Tehran’s Evin prison and in various sections of Rajaishahr prison, he was subjected to a great deal of pressure to renounce his journalistic commitments.

27.04.2015 – Prestigious women’s monthly suspended
Reporters Without Borders condemns today’s decision by the Press Authorization and Surveillance Committee to suspend the women’s monthly Zanan ٍEmroz (“Women” in Persian) under paragraph 2 of article 6 of the press code, which bans “content and photos encouraging prostitution and vices contrary to public decency.”
The suspension was prompted by a special issue about “white marriage” – cohabiting without contracting a formal Islamic marriage, a growing trend among young couples. Entitled “White Marriage, social ill or cure,” the issue elicited angry reactions from conservative media that support Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
14.04.2015 - Newspaper journalist freed on bail
Reporters Without Borders has learned that Yaghma Fashkhami, a political reporter for the pro-reform daily Roozan, has been released on bail pending trial after being held for three and a half months. He was freed on 11 April.
Plainclothes intelligence officers arrested him on 24 December, a day after the prosecutor’s office closed the newspaper because of an alleged “irregularity” in the supplement it published with its 20 December issue to mark the fifth anniversary of Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri’s death.
The public prosecutor has given his permission for the newspaper to resume publishing in a letter to the deputy minister of culture and Islamic guidance dated 23 March.

09.03.2015 - Four website activists freed after three and a half years
Reporters Without Borders is relieved to learn that four lawyers and contributors to the Sufi news website Majzooban Noor  Afshin Karampour, Amir Islami, Farshid Yadollahi and Omid Behrouzi – were released on 2 March as a result of a court decision to halve their jail sentences.
Arrested in raids in Tehran and Shiraz from 8 to 10 September 2011, they were sentenced to seven years in prison at the end of an unfair trial before a Tehran revolutionary court on 13 July 2013. Last December, a Tehran appeal court reduced their jail terms to three and a half years (plus a suspended 30-month term).
six other contributors to the site who were given jail terms ranging from six to ten years – Reza Entesari, Hamidreza Moradi, Mostafa Abdi, Kasra Nouri, Salehldin Moradi, and Mostafa Daneshjo – are still detained.

27.02.2015 - Authorities block two websites
Reporters Without Borders condems the blocking of two websites since yesterday at the behest of judicial officials. They are Jamaran, the official site of the Islamic Republic’s late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and Bahar, a site that support Iran’s reformers.
The judicial authorities ordered them blocked for posting a photo of former President Mohammad Khatami attending the mourning of a member of the Khomeini family.
Judicial system spokesman Golamhossien Mohsseni Ejehi told the media on 16 February that any coverage of Khatami was henceforth banned at the behest of the High Council for National Security and Jusice. Media that ignored the prohibition would be subjected to publishing bans or other sanctions, he warned.

23.02.2015 – Journalist arrested to serve old jail sentence
Reporters Without Borders condemns the 21 February arrest of Ali Maghamai, a journalist and son-in-law of a prominent human rights defender, to begin serving a jail sentence he received more than a year ago.
Originally arrested on 27 December 2010 and then released on bail, Maghamai, was sentenced to four months in prison on 11 January 2014. He was also given a suspended eight-month jail sentence. He did not appeal and was not told that an appeal court had upheld the sentence.
The editor of the networking section of a website specializing in information technology, Maghamai also worked for several reformist newspapers including Mardom Emroz, which was closed last month.
Like Mardom Emroz editor Mohammed Ghoochani, he is the son-in-law of Emadoldin Baghi, a leading journalist and defender of prisoner rights who has been hounded by the authorities.
Prosecutors attached to the Tehran “media and culture” court charged Ghoochani on 26 January with “insulting Islam” for publishing a front-page photo of US actor George Clooney under an “I am Charlie” headline on 13 January.
The Islamic Republic’s intelligence services still often harass the relatives of leading journalists and human rights defenders as a way of putting pressure on the media.

13.02.2015 - Six months in jail and 74 lashes for “insults”
Reporters Without Borders condemns the six-month jail sentence imposed on former journalistAbass Salimi Namin, who heads an Iranian history research society and edits its website (http://www.irhistory.com/index.php).
In an open letter on 2 February revealing the sentence and requesting the help of his colleagues, he denounced “the repeated and baseless complaints” brought against him by the prosecutor and “the profits made by those who own power and wealth.”
Namin was given the six-month sentence for his comments about former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a 2011 TV debate, in which he said “Ahmadinejad’s extravagance was the result of the conservatives’ silence.” He was also sentenced to 74 lashes and a fine for insulting the judicial authorities and those running the University of Tehran.
Namin used edit to Kyhan Havai ­– a supplement of the newspaper Kyhan that was targeted at diaspora Iranians and stopped publishing in 1998 – and for years was one of a number of journalists known to have close links with the intelligence services.

03.02.2015 - Court closes online paper run by Ahmadinejad supporters
Reporters Without Borders condemns the Tehran culture and media court’s decision to close the online newspaper HMA, which derives its name from the initials of “Supporters of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad” in Persian.
The newspaper posted the court’s decision on its front page today. Issued on 26 January, the ruling said HMA is to be closed under paragraph D of article 7 of the press law for “publishing without permission,” and in order to “prevent the occurrence of a crime” under paragraph 5 of article 156 of the constitution.
President from 2005 to 2013 and, like Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, named as a Predator of Press Freedom by Reporters Without Borders, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was one of the architects of a relentless crackdown on opposition politicians, journalists and human rights defenders accompanied by Stalinist-style trials.
Dozens of newspapers were closed during his two terms in office and more than 200 journalists and bloggers were arrested after his controversial reelection in June 2009. Some of them are still in prison.

29.01.2015 – Reformist weekly closed “to prevent a crime”
Reporters Without Borders condemns the closure of the reformist weekly Setareh Sobh (Dawn Star) by Tehran’s culture and media court on 12 January. The court said it was closed to “prevent the occurrence of a crime” under paragraph 5 of article 156 of the constitution.*
In its 10 January issue, the weekly published an open letter by Ali Motahari, a moderate conservative parliamentary representative for Tehran, to Mohammad Sadegh Amoli Larijani, the head of the Judicial Authority.
It criticized Larijani’s claim that the detention of the three leaders of the protest movement against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s controversial reelection in 2009 was “legal and ordered by the High Council for National Security.”
The three detainees include two 2009 presidential candidates. They are Mir Hossein Mousavi, a former prime minister and owner of the closed newspaper Kalameh Sabaz, and Mehdi Karoubi, a former parliamentary speaker and owner of the closed newspaper Etemad Melli. The third detainee is Mousavi’s wife, best-selling author Zahra Rahnavard.
Detained on 24 February 2011, they have been held under house arrest and denied all rights.
Before its closure, Setareh Sobh had been planning to publish its first issue as a national daily this week.
*Article 156 of the Iranian constitution: The judiciary is an independent power, the protector of the rights of the individual and society, responsible for the implementation of justice, and entrusted with the following duties:
1. Investigating and passing judgement on grievances, violations of rights, and complaints; the resolution of litigation; the settling of disputes; and the taking of all necessary decisions and measures in probate matters as the law may determine;
2. Restoring public rights and promoting justice and legitimate freedoms;
3. Supervising the proper enforcement of laws;
4. Uncovering crimes; prosecuting, punishing, and chastising criminals; and enacting the penalties and provisions of the Islamic penal code; and
5. Taking suitable measures to prevent the occurrence of crime and to reform criminals.

27.01.2015 - Newspaper editor charged with insulting Islam
Reporters Without Borders has learned that Mohammed Ghoochani, the editor of the reformist daily Mardom Emroz, was charged yesterday before a Tehran “media and culture” court with “insulting Islam” for publishing a front-page photo of US actor George Clooney under an “I am Charlie” headline on 13 January.
Ghoochani’s lawyer, Mahmoud Alizadeh-Tabatabaie, said he was granted a provisional release pending trial after payment of 100 million toman (100,000 euros) in bail. Mardom Emroz was closed on 17 January.
Reporters Without Borders has also learned that Mehrdad Sarjoui, a Tehran-based journalist who used to work for several English-language newspapers, was released on 13 January after being deemed to have completed his main sentence.
Sarjoui was returned to prison on 28 November 2012 after getting a three-year jail sentence and a suspended seven-year sentence. He was previously arrested on 14 January 2011 and sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Tehran court on a charge of “espionage by publishing interviews of citizens of enemy countries.” An appeal court subsequently commuted the sentence.

21.01.2015 - Journalist and rights activist arrested at her home
Reporters Without Borders has learned that Zahra Khandan, a former journalist with several reformist news outlets who defends women’s rights online, was arrested at her Tehran home on 19 January by Revolutionary Guard intelligence operatives in plain clothes. Her home was also searched. The authorities have not said why she was arrested or where she is being held.
According to the information obtained by Reporters Without Borders, several other women’s rights activists have been arrested in Tehran after campaigning for the release of Mahdieh Golro, a fellow activist arrested during a protest outside the parliament building in Tehran on 22 October in protest against a series of acid attacks on women in Isfahan and Tehran.

20.01.2015 - Young woman arrested in court over Facebook video
Reporters Without Borders condemns young human rights activist Atena Ferghdani’s arrest in a Tehran court on 11 January when she responded to a summons about the video she posted on Facebook and YouTube on 26 December in which she described what happened to her after her arrest last August.
After her arrest on 24 August, she was incarcerated in Section 2A of Tehran’s Evin Prison – a section controlled by Revolutionary Guards – and was held until 2 November, when she was released on bail on 600 million toman (700,000 euros) pending trial.
I was interrogated for nine hours a day,” she said in the video. “The questions were mainly about my activities and what I posted on Facebook (...) In the bathroom, they had installed cameras that filmed everything we did. I found it very embarrassing. When I protested, the guards said they were turned off (...) but one day I took a plastic cup back to my cell and guards arrived within two minutes and tore my blouse in order to get it back. I just wanted to use it to do drawings.”
Ferghdani is charged with “activities against national security,” “anti-government propaganda by means for performance art,” and “insulting government officials and parliamentary representatives in a published cartoon.”
Her family said that during her appearance in court she was the victim of violence by the guards who took her off to prison. “The guards slapped my daughter right in front of us,” her father told journalists. She is currently being held in Gharchak prison in Varamin, a city to the south of Tehran. It is a prison used for holding non-political detainees.
Link:
http://en.rsf.org/iran-press-freedom-violations-recounted-21-01-2015,47521.html



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