Iran: turn and turn

Thursday five people are hanged in the prison of Qom, south of Tehran.
Mohammad Reza (37), convicted of sexually abusing a boy two years ago,
Hamid (22) convicted of sexually abusing a boy,
Alireza (41) convicted of immoral relationships and claiming that he was the 14th Shiite Imam,
Hossein (37) and Ismaeil (26) convicted of drug trafficking.


In Tehran is the Center for the Defense of Human Rights, headed by Shirin Ebadi closed by the police.
Plainclothed and uniformed police-agents shut down the Centre hours before a ceremony was to take place commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
A special prize for oppressed dissidents was supposed to be given to Taghi Rahmani, an opposition figure who had been arrested several times, for his work promoting human rights in Iran.
According to the organization police knew about the activities, the police says that the center did not have the appropriate permits.
Mehrnews wrote that an Interior Ministry commission that issues permits for political organizations said the center was carrying out illegal activities, such as publishing statements, writing letters to international organizations and holding news conferences.
In a telephone interview, Ebadi called the shutdown illegal and unacceptable, she wants to reopen the center and said that the police actions are against the law.
Since its founding, the organization has taken on 5,000 pro bono cases defending politically active women, journalists and students.
The center was financed with the $1.4 million Ebadi received when she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.

The validity of official statistics on the unemployment rate in Iran has been questioned.
The recent figures released by the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI) put unemployment at 10.2 percent, indicating a 3.3 percent increase compared to the corresponding figure last year. The SCI statistics have been used to suggest that the problem of unemployment is being dealt with by the government.
Fars newsagency reported that the recent drought has led to the unemployment of 400,000 rural women that increased unemployment rate.
The site Tabnak says in a critical report that the unemployment rate in Iran is rapidly rising.
At a population of over 70 million people,each year 750,000 people seek spots in the job market each year.According to Tabnak, however, only 250,000 people entering the market per year have been able to find jobs in the past three years.
The report further suggests that Labor Ministry requirements are that people with one work hour per week be classified as employed.


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