Iran: pressure

Iranian Student Correspondents' Association (ISCA) reported that Wednesday 7 men and 1 woman were hanged in Evin prison.
The men were all convicted for murder.
The woman, Raheleh Zamani, was convicted for murder and chopping her husband's body into pieces.
In Zahedin were two men hanged for trafficking 52,5 kg of heroin.

According to an AFP count compiled from press reports, at least 297 people were executed by Iran in the year 2007.
Human rights groups have accused Iran of excessive resort to the death penalty, but the authorities say capital punishment is an effective deterrent that is only used after an exhaustive judicial process.


The universitycouncil has in december wrote a letter to the university board with the recommendation to:
advice the presidium to make admittance of Iranian students depend on obtaining a visum for the Netherlands .
This recommendation is based on the letters appendix.
An important part of this appendix is information, given by phone by the Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst (IND)
"Dat er gekeken wordt of iemand al dan niet een visum kan krijgen om in Nederland te studeren. Hierbij kunnen Iraniërs zelfs een studie doen waarbij ze proliferatiegevoelige kennis opdoen. Bij een dergelijke situatie zal de AIVD alleen een background check doen op aanvrager. Als deze goedgekeurd wordt mag deze gewoon die studie doen."
(non official translation:To determine if a person is entitled to obtain a visum to study in the Netherlands. Iranians can even do studies with proliferation sensitive knowledge. In these cases the AIVD will do a background research on the applicant. If this is okayed, this person can do this study.)
The official university information for Iranian students is here.
All this is an outcome of resolution 1737 made by the Security Council in 2006. This resolution forbids to make nuclear technology available to Iran.
The Dutch Ministry of Education has together with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked every university in the Netherlands to produce a list of " sensitive" studies, and to be careful in admitting Iranian students.
Both ministries urge there are no extra rules to fit.Also the IND denies so.
UT Twente reports that they were asked to by letter in October.


Press-tv reports that Iran will not extend the June 2008 deadline for Shell to sign a major gas deal to invest in two phases of the South Pars gasfield.
Managing Director of Iran's Pars Oil & Gas Company said that Shell has not officially called for an extension of the deadline of June 2008.
Shell and Spanish Repsol together were to sign a preliminary deal with Tehran to invest $10 billion to develop phases 13 and 14 of the South Pars project, but reportedly Shell hesitates, due to concerns about US pressure.
Iran has called on all companies interested in investing in the country's energy sector to submit their proposals by June.


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