Iran: 2007

Everybody, whoever and wherever you are, a happy, safe, peaceful and healthy 2007

Iran: shame

Thursday is in Saravan, Sistan-e-Baluchestan province , a man, named Amanollah hanged in public.He was accused of armed robbery.
Monday two men identified as Youssef H. and Pordel B. were hanged in Zahedan.
Thursday, a man near the southern port city of Bandar Abbas,only identified by his initials H.A. is hanged in prison, reported Isna.





Mohsen Mojtahed Shabestari, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in East Azerbaijan,acknowledged the existence of 470.000 illiterates in this province.
According to newsagency Fars he told Thursday that the existence of 470,000 illiterates in the province is extremely shameful.






In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: dance

Meysam Zamanabadi en Mohammad Zomorodian , the manager and political editor of the Iranian news site iranews.org have been arrested on December 28 in connection with the release of video footage that shows Iranian Vice President Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaee taking part in a ceremony in Turkey where unveiled women were dancing.
Under Iran's Islamic laws men are not allowed to watch women dance and sing.
A member of iranews.org staff said the video footage of Mashaee, who is the head of Iran's Tourism and Cultural Heritage Organization, had been posted on the website.
"And because of that last night, Mr. Mashaee had arranged a meeting with Mr. Zamanabadi. But Mr. Mashaee did not come and some unknown people arrested mr.Zamanabadi."



In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: Not near is my coat, not nearer is my skin.

Iran's Housing Minister Mohammad Saeedi-Kia said since funds for the quake-stricken city of Bam has been delayed, reconstruction projects will be postponed till September, 2007.
He emphasized that construction of 25,000 residential units in rural areas of Bam have been planned.
He pointed out that the construction of 23,900 residential units has begun in Bam and 16,500 residential units have already been built.
Kerman Governor-General Abdolmohammad Raoufinejad said on Tuesday about 6,000 bln rials have been spent on the reconstruction of Bam in the past three years.He told IRNA that reconstruction of Bam presently faces no financial problem.
Asked why the credits to the city are delayed, he noted that delays are not serious and they do not affect the reconstruction of Bam.
Commenting on the problems of Bam residents, Raoufinejad said they mainly face mental and psychological problems.




Iran has poured more than $200 million in aid into AfghanistanThe money is meant to broaden its political and religious influence.

The New York Times wrote this on Wednesday.
As far back as the 1980's when Afghans were fighting Soviet occupation, Iran contributed to the struggle and later funded the fight against the hardline Sunni Taliban government.
Iran is now building highways, stringing power lines and fiber optic cables, building schools and medical centers in Afghanistan.
Afghan officials acknowledge receiving $4.5 billion since 2001, which has been used to build more than 1,000 schools, government buildings and clinics and paved some 1,200 kilometers.




In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: Bam

Three years ago the devastating earthquake, strenght 6.7 Richter occurred in Bam.More than 26000 people lost their lives and the city was destroyed.For the anniversary of December 26, 2003, Iranian actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mahtab Keramati visited the city of Bam.
Along with a group of UNICEF members she visited the region to observe the progress of the world body's reconstruction operations.



Three years after the earthquake, many people are still living in Red Crescent tents.
On this site is a photogallery with pictures from 2004 and now.



On the blog Inside Iran is an entry in which the blogger expresses that the situation in Bam is not so rosy as Iranian authorities like everybody to believe. As soon as the pictures he spoke about, are online, I tell it here.


In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: dissatisfaction

A bill is being compiled by the judiciary to intensify the punishment for invaders of privacy and distributors of obscene films. Judiciary’s Public Relations Director General Ehsan Qazizadeh told this to IRNA.
He also told that the bill is aimed at preventing such crimes and reinforcing social security.
Current laws do not seriously confront public distribution of personal films and photographs.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with tabloid newspapers and gossip magazines. He concluded that the judiciary will stop activities that disturb the society.



The Iranian parliament (Majlis) has Wednesday ratified with 161 MPs voted in favor, 15 against and 15 abstained, a double-urgency bill urging the government to speed up Iran's peaceful nuclear activities and make a revision in the country's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to meet interests of the nation.




In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: dry, drier, driest

A film crew making a movie at the ancient Palace of Persepolis, left fake bloodstains on the walls of the palace of King Xerxes.
Last week, Persepolis security guards arrested a film crewmember for trying to steal heads of two Achaemenid bas-reliefs.
Following this incident, the provincial Cultural Heritage Police Department confiscated all their filming equipments and asked the filming crew and casts to immediately evacuate Persepolis.
A team of experts is now cautiously removing the paints from the walls using special detergents.
experts had previously warned that the number of security guards at Persepolis is by no means sufficient,
An average of 1200 daily visitors come to see the historic site.


In Iran, exports of dried fruits during the first eight months of the current calendaryear increased with 44,1%.
The nation exported 289,201 tons of dried fruits and nuts in the current year, posting 25.4% growth as compared with the corresponding period in preceding year.
The United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Germany, Russia and Italy were the main importers of Iran’s dried fruits and nuts.





Oil Minister Seyed Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh assured oil consumers that the UN Security Council sanctions (resolution 1737)on the Islamic Republic would leave no impacts on Iran's oil industry and exports.He told this to Fars News Agency.
"It is now almost many years that Iran lived under different sanctions, during which many world companies stopped their cooperation with Iran under the US pressures."
The minister said, assuring Iran's oil consumers about the free flow of Iran's oil supplies to the world countries:
"They (the oilconsumers) don't have to worry because they are one of the two decision-making parties in such transactions and they can prevent adoption of irrelevant decisions."





In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: wishes

In Zahedan, Sistan-e Baluchestan province, three men are hanged in public. Mohammad Sh was convicted of kidnapping, banditry and trading more than 220 kilos of opium. Changiz N. was convicted of banditry, armed robbery and murdering two people, Ali B. convicted of possessing 16 kilos of heroin.
According to ISNA they were executed amidst cheering crowds.





The speaker of Majlis, the Iranian parliament spoke christmas greetings to all parliaments of christian countries and The speaker called on the followers of all religions to avoid war and violence.
Khatami also felicitated Christians from both Iran and the entire world .On December 23, President Ahmadinejad also felicitated all christians.

Among other he said he hoped for a world without prejudice and discrimination.





In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: extinct

More than 2,600 animal and plant species are on the verge of extinction, told Deputy head of the Department of Environment for natural environment and biodiversity, Delavar Najafi, ISNA.
He said from the total 10,363 animal and plant species in the country, 2,448 plant and 156 animal species are under threat of extinction.
He criticized the small number of environmental patrols and guards and singled out both government and non-state organizations for their roles in environmental degradation and violating environmental rules.

“Under the circumstances, we will have to stop protecting some areas or reduce our patrols in others.“




Islamic Republic of Iran Police Force (IRIP) Commander Brigadier General Esmaeil Ahmadi Moqaddam said boosting control of the borders and improving traffic affairs in major urban areas are among the priorities of his forces.
During the first eight months of the Iranian calendaryear armed robbery decreased by 17%, robbery 7% and kidnappings 20%.
n the same period, thefts from homes fell by 13%, from shops 5%, banks 39% and car burglary 2%.
Police also seized 240 tons of different illegal drugs, including opium and heroin.


Iran's judiciary will fine and jail professional "fortune tellers" who have reportedly been demanding large sums of money to cast magic spells.
Fortune telling, divination and exorcism is regarded as a crime according to law and those who deceive people in this fashion as a profession are subject to jail and fines.
Deputy Tehran prosecutor, Mahmoud Salarkia, said this to the Kayhan newspaper.
According to media reports, some fortune tellers have made a fortune by charging impoverished people huge sums of money in return for casting spells to solve their problems.
He also said said some fortune tellers have already been arrested.




In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: conform

Iran wants to fight the use of fake names for the "Persian Gulf", and will not clear the goods re-exported under other names.
A member of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce said, according to ISNA that doing away with the re-export issue is the best way to counter the unjustifiable moves by some Arab countries of the Persian Gulf region in refraining from mentioning the word “Persian” when referring to Persian Gulf.




On December 19 lifted FIFA the ban on Iran.
The negotiations resulted in the establishment of a Transitory Board ('Haiet Raiseh Enteghali' in Farsi). In this Board will be Mohsen Safaei Farahani as chairman, Qumars Hashemi as deputy chairman and Mohammad Hassan Ansarifar, Dr Hassan Ghafiri, Dr Mohammad Khabiri and Ali Reghbati as members. The main task of the Transitory Board will be the drafting and ratification of new statutes for the IRIFF based on the FIFA Standard Statutes.
The whole process of transition will be completed by March 2007.



In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: punishment

Iranian authorities have named the three men they executed Tuesday. It are
Ali Matouri Zadeh,




Malek Bani Tamim and




Alireza Asakre






They prevented relatives of the men from burying them in accordance with Islamic custom and instead buried them in a mass, unmarked grave site called Lanat Abad or "place of the damned"



Jamsheed Lack, one of the Sufi dervishes of the Gonabadi sect in the city Ghom was sentenced to 6 months in prison, 74 lashes and a $112 cash penalty.
He was found guilty on charges of lies, slander and insult [against the regime].
This because Jamsheed Lack published a criticism of the regime’s highest authorities in which he protested against the brutal physical abuse at the hands of the disciplinary guards.


A 15-year-old teenager named Hedayat Neeroumand, from the village of Ghareni near the Kurdish town of Naghdeh has been charged with murdering his father and is sentenced to be executed.
Due to his age, his execution sentence has been suspended until the 15-year-old turns 18; until then he will remain in prison.




In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: execution

Monday three men were hanged in public in the city of Rafsanjan, Kerman province. The men, Gholam Hazrat, Nour Ahmad, and Shah Mir,were accused of rape.

Wednesday six men were hanged in Evinprison in Tehran. The men were only identified by their first names Hassangholi, Hossein, Kheyrollah, Mohammad-Hadi, Vahid, and Yadollah.



Iran has despite the appeals of UN, EU, members of british parliament and many human rights organizations, started execution of sentenced Ahwaz Arabs.
The Khuzestan branch of ISNA (farsi) has reported that three Ahwazi Arabs have been executed for "waging war on God".
ISNA did not name the men and it is believed that the executions were carried out in prison.
A further 11 Ahwazis are awaiting execution.




Mansour Ossanloo, the president of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company, has Tuesday been released on bail. He was re-arrested last month. His arrest was criticised by among others the EU.

Earlier this year he was detained for more than 7 months.









In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: arrest

Sunday December 10, the Iranian secret police arrested leaders of one of the Islamic republic’s indigenous house churches. They also searched their homes in Tehran, Karaj, Rasht and Bandar-i Anzali.
Computers, CDs, tapes, bibles and printed evangelistic literature were confiscated.
The names of the arrested pastors and active members are Behnam Irani and Peyman Salarvand from Karaj; Behrouz Sadegh-Khandjani, Shirin Sadegh-Khandjani and Hamid Reza Toluinia from Tehran; and Yousef Nadarkhani, Parviz Khalaj and Muhammad Reza-Taghizadeh from Rasht.

Two of the arrested, Seyed Abdolreza Ali Haghnejad from Bandar-i Anzali and Bahman Irani from Karai were released.
Members of the same community of 600 or more have been warned by police authorities not to spread any news about the arrests outside of Iran.




The Fars Newsagency reported that authorities will hang in prison six men on Wednesdaymorning. The men are accused of separate murders.
Further information is not available.






In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: terms

After the protest against President Ahmadinejad last week at Amir Kabir university, some students have gone into hiding in fear for their lives.
One student fled after being photographed holding a banner. At least three others have gone underground after being seen burning his picture.
Vigilantes from the militant Ansar-e Hezbollah group have been searching for them.







Kianoosh Sanjari was permitted to meet with his mother in the ward 209 of Evin prison.Last week Kianoosh Sanjari had to appear for the Revolutionary Court in order for the judge to talk to him regarding his release; the condition however was that Sanjari agree and confess [to the bogus charges leveled against him] in accordance with the demands of the ministry of intelligence and security.

According to the report Kianoosh Sanjari, refused the conditions for his bail and release and was therefore returned once again to ward 209 and solitary confinement.Also during this hearing, he was deprived of being represented by an attorney and he was brought into court blindfolded and shackled.





In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl

Iran: quota

Commercial fishing is banned on certain marine creatures during particular times of the year.
Shrimp fishing is forbidden during the months November and December, said an Iranian expert adding that the period is subject to changes whenever the situation arises.There are also limitations on the catching of green tiger shrimps and white shrimps in the Iranian side of Persian Gulf.
He added that deep sea bottom trawling has to stop. It is considered the most destructive form of fishing.
Ninety-five percent of the material caught in deep sea bottom trawlers' steel nets that are dragged along the seabed, are thrown back overboard, dead, destroyed or dying.



Head of and Internet Services Provider (ISP) company Hossein Ejtehadian said Friday in an interview with ISNA, that Iran’s optical fiber network is disconnected once a month, on average.
Disconnections in country’s optical fiber network create problems for the users mostly, and for the ISP’s secondly.
At times when the country’s optical fiber network is disconnected the subscribers assume by mistake that the ISP’s are to be blamed.
In advanced countries due to diversity of optical fiber networks, at times of disconnection of one the others are automatically replaced and the uses do not even notice the problem.
Ejtehadian emphasized that the capacity of present back up systems is enough for 60 to 70% of the country’s Internet traffic.He said that the way to give an end to such problems is to provide parallel paths.
“The infrastructure companies pay some compensation to the country’s telecom network at times of problem emergence, and the Iranian TCI, too, pays fines for the suffered losses to the ISP’s and ICP’s in the long run.”


An Iranian-Italian consortium is going to build 220 passenger wagons for the nation’s railroad sector.
The wagons should be delivered to Iran’s railroad company within a period of not later than 50 months. Iranian Ministry of Roads and Transportation is prepared to conclude a €200 million agreement with Ministry of Defense and a consortium consisting of an Italian company.
Also , Shahid Kolahduz, an industrial complex affiliated to the Ministry of Defense will assemble 120 other wagons for the railroad company.A German company has undertaken to produce in Iran the buggies required for the 220 train coaches.


In Iran deathpenalty is in use. Also for child offenders.

Children are being hanged to death.
A child will be hanged to death.
Poster amnesty.nl