Iran: substitution

Deutsche Bank AG and Commerzbank AG, the two largest European banks to continue doing business with Iran despite recent U.S. pressure, say they will end most of their ties to Iranian companies.
Iran's state media reported earlier this year that the country was seeking to expand ties to Germany.
Tehran hasn't responded to the latest developments.
This development could drive Iran closer to nations that are less sympathetic to U.S. efforts to pressure its government.


The chairman of the Experts Assembly in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Akbar Meshkini (86), died in hospital Monday.
This could be the start of a powerstruggle within the Experts Assembly.
Hashemi Rafsanjani has emerged as favourite to succeed Meshkini, but is almost certain to be challenged by Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi, a radical cleric who is seen as a religious mentor to president Ahmadinejad.
The Experts Assembly is empowered to choose and remove Iran's supreme leader.
Rafsanjani could use the leadership of the assembly as a springboard to the supreme leader's post.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: in motion

October will be the launch of the Fiat Siena sedan.
Bonyan Auto, a venture of the agreement between Fiat and Pars Industries Development Fund starts production of versions of the Siena and ambulance versions of the Doblo van.
The Multipla minivan, Strada pickup truck and other Fiat models are planned for later.
Bonyan will offer CNG fuel options for all models.

An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale has jolted sunday the city of Bafq, Yazd province.
Four and a half hours later, a mild 3.5-magnitude quake jolted the area.
In Yazd province occur many earthquakes.
Five temblors have hit the area only in the past few months while around 1,000 have shaken it in the last five years.
There are no reports mentioning damage.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: "socially dangerous"

Tehran's chief prosecutor Saiid Mortazavi has announced that the execution of 17 "socially dangerous" people "is imminent".
The authorities have informed the families.
The mother of one of them, Meysam Lotfi told that her son was arrested at dinnertime at the family home after in the afternoon he had tried to defend some young women who had been mistreated by the police because of their clothing

The authorities have also published the names of those executed.
Among those were two political prisoners who spent many years in jail without a trial and two others who were not "socially dangerous" .
One was in jail for what he had written in his personal blog and the other was arrested because he was in possession of videos of Iranian singers from Los Angeles.
It is not known whether among those hanged were five people arrested on charges of having homosexual relations.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: students

Human Rights Watch published a pressrelease in which she urges Iran to release immediately all arrested students and activists.


The names of the students arrested on July 9 in front of the main gate of Amir Kabir University are:
1. Bahareh Hedayat
2. Mohammad Hashemi
3. Ali Niko-Nesbati
4. Mehdi Arabshahi
5. Hanif Yazdani
6. Ali Veghfi

The names of the students and activists arrested on July 9 at the Office of the Alumni Association are:
1. Abdollah Momeni
2. Bahram Fayazi
3. Morteza Eslahchi
4. Mojtaba Bayat
5. Habib Haji-Heidari
6. Massoud Habibi
7. Saieed Hosseinia
8. Arash Khandel
9. Ashkan Gheysvandi
10. Ezatollah Ghalandari
11. Mohammad Hossein Mehrzad

Activists who have been in contact with the detainees� families have confirmed to Human Rights Watch that at least eight persons detained on July 9 are being held in solitary confinement. They are:



1. Bahareh Hedayat
2. Mojtaba Bayat
3. Abdollah Momeni
4. Ali Niko-Nesbati
5. Hanif Yazdani
6. Ali Veghfi
7. Mehdi Arabshahi
8. Mohammad Hashemi


Human Rights Watch is also concerned about the well-being of
19-year-old Amir Yaghoub Ali, a student supporter of the One Million Signatures Campaign. July 11 he was arrested collecting signatures, since then his family is denied to contact him.


Yaghoub Ali is July 12th transferred to Evinprison, ward 209.



In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: disturb

Thursday is in Sari, Mazandaran province, a man hanged in public.
His name was not revealed. According to the statetelevision he was convicted for two rapes and arrested during the 'crackdown on hooliganism'.



Among the twelve prisoners hanged on Sunday were, according to the website of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, two political prisoners.
Fazel Ramezani and Haj-Morad Mohammadi,members of the Bakhtyari Tribe (southwestern Iran), were transferred from Gohardasht prison to Evin prison.

Executing political prisoners under the pretext of drugssmuggler is common practice in Iran.



According to the reformist paper Shargh, the managing director of ‘Bahar-e Boroujerd’ Weekly, Mostafa Farhad is detained in the prison of Boroujerd on charge of "spreading lies and disturbing public opinion".




In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: confess

Three students out of eight student editors and activists arrested on Amir Kabir University, have spent the past 80 days in jail, the other five have been released.
Majid Tavakoli, Ahmad Ghasaban, and Ehsan Mansuri are charged with inciting public opinion and insulting Iran's leaders.
Rights activists and student groups say the charges are "fabricated," and that the students were jailed in retaliation for a protest against Iranian President Ahmadinejad, who visited the university in December.
The families of the three detained students have addressed an open letter to the head of the country's judiciary, Ayatollah Mahmud Hashemi-Shahrudi, in which they describe ill treatment and torture that they say is aimed at coercing false confessions.
Not only they are under heavy psychological pressure, but they are tortured also.
The students have been deprived of food and sleep, beaten unconscious, and were forced into "insupportably tiresome" positions for long periods -- including being made to stand on one leg for 18 hours -- and authorities have used threats of murder against the students and their families.
The about 15 students who have been in jail since July 9 are facing similar pressure to confess.



In Iran authorities arrested a number of Iranians allegedly connected to two Iranian-Americans detained on charges of conspiring against the government.
The intelligence minister Gholam Hossein Ejehei, announced this.
He did not say how many people were arrested or give details on their alleged connections to Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh.
Stateradio said that their names and reasons of detention will be announced later.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: to carry out

President Ahmadinejad presented a bill to the Iranian parliament calling for longer prison terms for those found guilty of possessing or smuggling firearms. IRNA reports that the law aimed at preventing the crime, which is rising due to the insecurity in the eastern and western neighboring states of Afghanistan and Iraq,
The punishment, ranging from three to 15 years in prison, has been envisaged for manufacturing firearms and munitions, keeping, smuggling or carrying firearms, as well as chemical, radioactive and microbiological ingredients, used for producing munitions.
The bill also envisages life in prison and death penalty for those who resist arrest by the police.


Independent rightwing lawmakers urged President Ahmadinejad to respect Article 24 of the constitution which supports a free information society.
They said in a letter, which was handed out to parliamentary reporters, that if the current information atmosphere were to continue, the domestic media will lose credibility in foreign and domestic circles.
The letter states that it is necessary for the government to create a situation wherein criticism is a principle and they expect the government to accept others criticism.


The Iranfocus website shows shocking footage of a public execution of a woman and two men in Iran.The video was made by a bystander and smuggled out of the country.
Satellitechannel Simay-e Azadi aired the footage and said it obtained the video from supporters of the People’s Mojahedin (MeK).


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: unknown

Monday is in the province of Khorassan Razavi a military plane crashed.
The pilot has reportedly managed to eject moments before the plane crashed
The cause of the accident is under investigation.



The head of the Energy Committee of Iran’s parliament said that foreign tourists could use open market gasoline at 64 cents per liter with credit cards.

The Energy Committee is convinced that the government has no alternative but to supply open market gasoline.




July 18 were Loghman Mehri and his wife arrested in Tehran by plain clothes officers.
Their whereabouts are since then unknown.
Loghman Mehri is member of Kurdistan Human Rights Organization (RMMK). He has been arrested several times before and is convicted to five years in prison, which verdict up or around July 11 was confirmed in appeal and by the Supreme Court.
Other Kurdish human rights defenders have been detained recently.
Mohammad Sadiq Kabudvand, chair of the Kurdish Human Rights Organization (RMMK) based in Tehran, is July 1 detained and transferred to Evinprison section 209.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: western

According to an article in The Guardian since last week is fathers-to-be allowed to be inside a delivery room for the birth of their child.
A custom long seen as a sign of western behavior is now being adopted by doctors of the Sarem hospital in Tehran in an effort to reduce the number of caesarean births.
About 70% of babies in Iran are born by caesarean section, largely due to women's fears about the pain of childbirth and the worry that natural births make them less attractive to their husbands.




Today, Iran is to launch a new crackdown on slack dressing that targets both men and women.
The police will act against those whose trousers are too short, have skin-tight coats, shirts with Western logos and Western hairstyles.Those arrested will be asked where they bought their clothes and where they had their hair cut so those outlets can be closed down.
Ahmad Reza Radan, the head of Tehran's police said anyone arrested would receive a warning and have their name added to a list. "If they reoffend, there will be no pardon".
Since the drive began in April, thousands have been warned and hundreds were fined or arrested. Many conservatives have applauded the crackdown, but moderates have publicly questioned whether Iran would be better off tackling poverty and crime rather than slack dressing.

In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: technical

Sunday, Iran hanged 12 people in Tehran. Statetelevision reported on her website that they were convicted of rape, drug trafficking and kidnapping.
Prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi said that four other people had been executed last week in Tehran for drug trafficking.


Iranian airline Mahan Air is suspended from flying to Britain for safety reasons.
In June, Mahan Air increased the regularity of its flights from Tehran to Manchester to five times a week.
Their aircrafts have been involved in a number of recent incidents.

In Iran also started the sale of the last and final Harry Potterbook like all over the world.
Saturday, 2:30 am local time (12:00 midnight Greenwich Time) 120 fans queued to purchase the Bloomsbury English edition of the book.
The head of Bayan-e Salis Institute, as the representative of Harry Potter’s Publisher “Bloomsbury” in Iran, told that the first customer in Iran was a 12-year-old child.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: interests

According to newsagency Agence France Presse are during clashes with drugstraffickers and rebels in Sistan-e-Baluchestan province, eleven Revolutionary Guards killed and nine got wounded.




According to his lawyer, Mansour Osanloo is charged with "acting against [Iran's] national interests.".
July 10 Osanloo was arrested and transferred to Evinprison.
His attorney said he can expect to remain in detention for at least a month pending an investigation.



July 20 Amnesty International started an urgent action for Mosleh Zamani who was sentenced to death in 2006.
He is sentenced for abducting a woman some 10 years older than him, with whom he was allegedly having a relationship, and forcing her to have sex with him.
After spending nearly 4 years in the prison of Sanandaj his sentence was upheld by Iran's Supreme Court in early July and could be carried out at any time.
He is now 20 years old.

According to an Iranian newspaper, the Bloodmoney (ghisa, money for the family of the victim) for Sina Paymard of $160,000 is complete.
Probably he will be released soon.
The father of Sina Paymard raised $80,000 and the remainder of the blood money was paid by Dr. Rasul Ganji, an Iranian university professor.
Nasrin Sotoudeh, lawyer of Sina Paymard said that in addition Dr. Ganji, other funds were contributed by human rights activists and Iranians.



In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: charges and sentences

The daily Jomhouri Eslami reported that in the city of Zabol, Sistan-e-Baluchestan province, a man is hanged in public.
The man, Naeim Moulai was accused of drugstrafficking.



In Kurdistan province are journalist Adnan Hassanpur and activist Hiwa Butimar sentenced to death.
Both will appeal their death sentences.
The men are currently being held at an unknown location.

According to reports they are convicted for acting against the country's national security.


Yesterday the second part of a programme was shown, in which Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbakhsh confessed working for organizations who are trying to change democracy in Iran.
Both are being held on suspicion of spying and endangering Iranian national security.
If charged and found guilty, they could face the death penalty .



In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: with or without support

Last night the Iranian state television aired the first part of a documentary in which the detained Iranians-Americans Haleh Esfandiari en Kian Tajbaksh admitted their involvement in US-backed pro-democracy projects for students and women.
A full confession of spying or trying to topple the government they didn't make, but they acknowledged links to projects intended to strengthen opposition media, student groups and civic organisations.
Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh appeared separately in the video clips, but they appeared to be in residential homes or offices.
Both are since May detained in Evinprison on charges of spying and endangering national security.
The second part will be broadcasted tonight.



According to the conservative newspaper Resalat, Guardian Council (GC) Spokesman Abbas-Ali Kadkhodai said that in line with the Supreme Leader's instructions, the GC will prevent entry into presidential and legislative elections, those whose beliefs, conduct and ideology is in contrast with the Islamic system.


In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: delay

In Iran Sina Paymard is in fear of imminent execution. He is sentenced to death for a crime he committed when he was 16 years old. Reports say he is transferred to Evinprison to be executed.
Amnesty International started an urgent aktion to halt this execution.
According to his lawyer he was been told that he was scheduled to be executed July 17th.

According to Khaleej Times Online Irans head of judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi halted the execution for 10 days so a settlement with the victims family (about the Bloodmoney) can be made.

In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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

Iran: notice

The daily Iran reported that a man is hanged in public in the city of Arak,Markazi province.
The unnamed man was accused with murder.


The Iranian state television aired footage from two detained Iranian-Americans.
Haleh Esfandiari and Kian Tajbahksh are arrested in May, on charge of espionage.
The trailer was part of a program which will be aired Wednesday.
This program entitled "In The Name of Democracy", will also carry statements from Iranian-Canadian Ramin Jahanbegloo, who was arrested on similar charges and released in 2006.


Photo Gulf Times ( Islamic Republic of Iran News Network show)




The Iranian government has decided not to offer gasoline in excess of the rationed quota.
The special representative Ali Akbar Mehrabian said the gasoline rationing plan will continue until the yearend (March 2008). No second price (for excess quota) will be announced.
According to him at present, less than six million out of eight million vehicles are
privately owned.
One third of the total Iranian households own a car.
And only a small percentage of these carowners, is willing to buy gasoline in excess of the quota.

In Iran there are childoffenders, still on death row.

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