Iran: exchange

In west-Iran have, although spring has started,winter conditions returned with 10 to 20 centimeters of snow.
Many roads in Zanjan, Isfahan, Lorestan and Qazvin provinces were blocked. Meteorologists expect the snowy weather will hold to Wednesday, with temperatures expected to drop.
Many fruit blossoms and fruit trees have been damaged by snow and wind.
The damage to crops caused by the late spell of snow and winds could have an economic impact on production in the New Year and result in a downturn in agricultural revenues in affected regions.
source: PressTV


The German Erich Rutemoller was apponted temporarily as bondscoach, after Ali Daei was sacked, by IFF until the IFF appoints a new manager.
Afshin Qotbi, Amir Qalenoi and Mohammad Mayelikohan are considered possible candidates, although the latter two have formerly led Iran's national team, and have been sacked for poor results.
source: Press TV


Iranian official state newspaper ‘Khorshid’ (Sun) ceased voluntarely publication.
According to IRNA this was in line with the Supreme Leader’s speech and his nomination of the new Iranian year as Year of Reforms in Consumption Pattern.
The daily was affiliated with Social Welfare Organization (SWO) and the publicity office said that the manager said they have had lenghty discussions about it.
source IRNA

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: result

Azerbaijan civil rights activist Ramin Sadeghi was arrested February 5 in Ardebil.
Since then he is imprisoned in a detention centre of the Ministry of Information office in Ardebil. His brother, Rahim Sadeghi, who was arrested also, is released after paying a bail from $30.000.
A released prisoner told that both brothers have been tortured to make fals confessions.
They signed a confession that together with three other Azarbayejani activists ,they passed Aras river, a borderriver between Iran and Azarbayjan, and had close contact with foreign mercenaries in order to receive guidance for distribution of CD's and pamphlets in general to execute the movement of Azarbayjan.
source: Iran Watch Canada


More then 150 hectares of forest near the Lala village in the city of Sari in Mazandaran province, has been destroyed by fire.
The managing director of Mazandaran Natural Resources Protection Department says that the fire has caused a damage of $280,000 to the province.
According to him the forest fire was caused by human activities.
source: Press-TV


After the crucial lost qualificationgame football for the World Cup against Saudi-Arabia, which was lost by Iran, has Iran sacked national soccer coach Ali Daei. Iran lost the game with 2-1. Critics claim the Iranian coach refused to take responsibility for the home defeat.
For the game he told the press that Saudi-Arabia would leave Iran empty-handed. Iran is in fourth place in Group Two with just six points from five games.Iran has to play three more games.
The names of Afshin Ghotbi or Mayeli Kohan are among candidates for the job of national coach.
source: Press-TV


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: reading material

Iran Human Rights Documentation Center published a report (pdf) about the illegal practices of nahadhayih ittila’tiyih muvazi, or Parallel Intelligence Apparatus (PIA), which is linked to numerous governmental agencies and branches of Iran and effectively operated under the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei during the Presidency of reformist Khatami.
During this period, the clandestine activities of the PIA aided the conservatives in their efforts to retain governmental powers.
Members of the PIA were responsible for the intimidation and silencing of reformists, political dissidents and critics.
Their primary targets were journalists, webloggers and student activists.
The 78-page report provides an in-depth factual and legal analysis of the illegal activities of the PIA and is also based on documents and witness-statements.
Although PIA activities later decreased as a result of the closing ideological gap between the Office of the Supreme Leader and President Ahmadinejad, there is no reason to believe the political balance between reformists and conservatives will remain forever static.
source: ihrv.org

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: intention

Stop Child Executions reports that Abu Moslem Sohrabi,24 year-old, is sentenced to death for a murder he should have committed in 2001, when he was 17 years old.
His execution has been approved by the Supreme Court and passed to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences, the body that is responsible for seeing that all sentences, including executions, are carried out.
Amnesty International asks for urgent action,for instance by writing to the Head of Justice, Shahroudi.
source: Stop Child Executions


Iran plans to invest $150million in bordersecurity to block the entry of terrorists and drug smugglers into the country.
This calendaryear $73 million will be invested in sealing the borders.
Iran is located on a major drugssmuggle route from Afghanistan to Europe. There are also terroristic groups in borderregions.
In the south are a number of terrorists killed in the Lar-region (Fars province). On the eastern border, the Pakistan-based group Jondullah is active, and in the west attacks come from the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) an off-spring of Kurdish PKK.
source: Press-TV


The Iranian film "Outcasts 2" by director Masoud Dehnamaki breaks all boxoffice records in Iran.
The movie premiered on March 21, 2009 (the first day of the Persian New Year) and brought the first-week earnings to $1,300,000.
The fmovieis part of a trilogy and recounts the story of a gang of thieves and junkies who emerge in the front line of the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88).
The first part of the trilogy sold more than $1,000,000 in 2008.
The movie is on show in theaters across the country and is expected to continue its success over the next weeks.
source: Press-TV



Iran plans to open some of its oil and gas fields to foreign investment to help boost output by 2015 to 5.3 million barrels per day, from the current 4.2 million barrels per day.
The Iranian oilminister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said last week that the oilreserves have grown last year from 90 billion barrels to 138 billion barrels.
Exploration had been carried out without any foreign involvement.
With the end of the last calendaryear there were 10 international oil and gas tenders.
source: Press-TV



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: varied

The comittee to protect bloggers writes that the site FarsiChristianNewsnetwork reports that February 22, 3 Christians, Mazaher R.,a Christian blogger, Hamed S.,and a woman were lured to a meeting in a house in Ordibehesht Street in Isfahan by a man, calling himself pastor Reza.
After arrival they were arrested by plain clothes agents, blindfolded and transported to an unknown location.
There were also recent closures of Christian websites and web blogging sites.

source: Committee to protect bloggers.



Thursday were 12 women arrested in Tehran, 10 of them were members of OneMillionSignatures Campaign. They were meeting up to go for New Years visits of families of imprisoned social and political activists.
Their names are:
Delaram Ali, Leila Nazari, Khadijeh Moghaddam, Farkhondeh Ehtesabian, Mahboubeh Karami, Baharah Behravan, Ali Abdi, Amir Rashidi, Mohammad Shourab, en Arash Nasiri Eghbali.
Also were 2 other women arrested: Soraya Yousefi en Shahla Forouzanfar .
All women were transported to Evinprison.
Reports say they will be charged with disruption of public opinion and disruption of public order.
source: We Change



Sources of National Council for Resistance in Iran report that February 21, 16 dervishes were arrested by agents of the Ministry of Information and Security for celebrating Dervish Day.
Most are in their 60s and 70s. There also are reports from severe beatings.
source: ncr-iran.org


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: reservations

Iran Human Rights Voice writes an article about the more frequent occurrance of prsioners who die in Iranian prisons.
They write that the dead of two prisoners within two weeks show that the judiciary apparatus and prison authorities are not committed to preserving and securing the lives of prisoners while they are incarcerated.
Amir-Hussein Heshmat-Saran and Omid-Reza Sayafi were two prisoners with multiple physical ailments and needed to seek proper medical care and treatment outside of prison..
Nevertheless the Ministry of Information and the Revolutionary Courts don't allow political prisoners out of their sight,limiting the extent of the prisoners’ treatments inside the prison.
Article 102 and 103 of Iran Prison System Constitution and Prison’s Responsibility for Providing Care clarify the medical treatment for prisoners, in which article 102 provides medical testing to all prisoners in medical facilities at least once a month and article 103 states that when prisoners require medical care outside of the prison, the attending physicians are required to alert the prison authorities who ask the judge to authorize. In emergencies prisonauthorities can authorize themselves.
In the past two years, at least five political prisoners have died under such conditions.
It seems that the improper and insufficient medical care administered inside prisons will result in the deaths of more prisoners in future.
The next three prisoners require urgent need of proper medical care outside of prison.
Mohammad-Sedigh Kaboodvand,the head of Kurdistan Human Rights Defense Organization, detained in Evinprison, last year suffered a number of heart attacks, and is in urgent need of treatment outside the prison.
Abas Khorsandi chairman of the Iran Democratic Party, convicted to eight years in prison.He is considered to be a political prisoner. He has a heart ailment, he is also suffering from a psychological disorder, continuous headaches and gastrological problems, and requires close medical attention.
Mansour Osanloo Head of the management board in the bus drivers’ union. He is convicted to 5 years in prison. He suffers from an acute eye problem, for which he even though he had an eye surgery, got not enough time for convalescence in the hospital.
Ebrahim Madadi another boardmember of the Union, suffers from diabetes and has a prostratecondition.
source: ihrv.org


Kurdish political prisoner Anvar Hussein Panahi went into a hunger strike at the beginning of this Iranian New Year.
With this hunger strike he protests to his deathsentence.
source: hrairan.org




The body of Ali Badozadeh who was arrested and transferred to an unknown location by Intelligence agents mid March, was discovered in the town of Mahabad after 8 days.
He was arrested on accusations of cooperating with the Kurdish political parties, and having information regarding the activities of his nephew and some others who have been collaborating with the Kurdish political parties in the past couple of months.
His body was bearing the evidences of beatings and torture.
source: hrairan.org

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: examined

The Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi threatened to go on a hunger strike should she remain in custody.
She was arrested more then a month ago for 'illegally' working as a journalist after her press card was revoked.
March 6, a deputy prosecutor in Tehran said that she would be released soon.
source: Press-TV


March 14, did intelligence agents during an initial inquiry search the house of Masomi, a Baha'i in Shiraz.
The family was not at home and after the search a hearing summons was issued.
March 18, Haleh Hoshmandi and Farham Masomi reported to the Ministry of Intelligence.
Both were detained and transferred to the intelligence detention center known as Block 100 in Shiraz.
source:ihrv.org


Two leftish students Sanaz Allahyari and Amir-Hussein Mohammadi were according to Amir Kabir Newsletter freed March 22.
Both students were arrested March 1.
Previously Allahyari’s father had commented on instances of mistreatment after paying his daughter a visit in the detention center.
source: ihrv.org



Mehrnews agency reported that in the city of Rasht, Gilan province 10 people have died, from drinking poisoned home-made booze.
Local police reported that at least 27 people were being treated in hospital and that two were in critical condition.
In Iran is according to Islamic law, consuming of alcohol strictly forbidden and violations are punishable by jail or the lash. Alcohol is still smuggled or home-made on a regular base.
Regularly there are reports about people who died of consuming poisoned alcohol.
source: AFP


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: large numbers

Amnesty International published a list of countries who are known to have abolished the deadpenalty.
Abolitionist for all crimes: 92
Abolitionist for ordinary crimes only: 10
Abolitionist in practice: 36
Total abolitionist in law or practice: 138
Retentionist: 59.
The list of countries where the deadpenalty is retained for ordinary crimes:
Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad And Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States Of America, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
The rapport on deathsentences and executions 2008 (pdf-alert) is published.
This rapport shows that in Europe and Central Asia, the deathpenalty totally is abolished.
In the America's only the USA consistently executes.
Countries in Asia carried out more executions in 2008 than the rest of the world put together.The Middle East has the second highest number of reported executions.
In 2008, at least 2,390 people were known to have been executed in 25 countries and at
least 8864 people were sentenced to death in 52 countries around the world.
source: amnesty international

Iranian security forces have confiscated 4,465 kilo of drugs in several operations in the province of Tehran. These included crack, hashish and opium.
The drugs were seized Sunday from nine smugglers in the cities of Karaj and Robat-Karim.
source: Press-TV


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: whereabout

Hamid Mafi, former editor of " Farhang Ashti" and "Hadis Ghazvin" newspaper is arrested 12 days ago by security agents at his home.
The reason for his arrest and his whereabouts are unknown. Also his family doesn't know where he is.

source: Iran Watch Canada



In the city of Izeh in Khuzestan province are three cultural activists arrested.
Jamshid Moradi, Kianoush Moradi and Zora Moradi, ,members of Lur Bakhtiari of Iran Homeland Center, celebrated Chahar-Shanbeh Suri on March 17 with fireworks, when they were arrested.
source: ihrv.org
Photo: peymanplanet



March 8 is Ali Nejati unionmember of Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane Factory Trade Union, in his house arrested by security agents.
March 12 a judge at Shoush Revolutionary Court issued a temporary detention order. On the same day judiciary officials told Nejati’s wife that he has been transferred to the prison in Dezful.
When his wife wanted to visit him, she witnessed his transfer out of that prison in a car.
When his wife requested information, the authorities told her that the judge who issued the order had left to celebrate the New Year and would not return until 4 April. There is nothing known about his whereabouts.
A spokesman of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran says that it is completely unacceptable to withhold information about him and that he may be suffering torture and ill-treatment.
Nejati and three other union members have also been subject to prosecution for trade unionist activities. On 17 and 23 February, their trial was held, although their sentences have not been publicly announced.
source: iranhumanrights.org


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: prison

According to IRNA are in last Iranian calendaryear(21 March 2008-March 20,2009) in Arak, Markazi province 21 people hanged.
17 of those hanged were convicted of drug trafficking, while 4 were charged with murder.
Official Iranian media,used by Iran Human Rights reported only 6 executions in that period.
This means that that the actual number of 350 executions last year, reported by Iran Human rights, is probably much higher since only some of the executions are reported by the media.
source: iranhr.net



Amnesty International published a pressrelease following the second death in custody in less than two weeks.
Omid Reza Mirsayafi, an internet blogger died March 18, 2009 in Evinprison, Tehran, less than six weeks after he is said to have began serving a 30-month prison sentence. He was convicted of "insulting the Supreme Leader" and "propaganda against the system".
He overdosed his medication and despite requests to do so, he was refused to transport him to a hospital for treatment.
March 6, 2009, Amir Hossein Heshmat Saran died in the hospital of Karaj, to which he was transported from Raja’i Shahr (Gohardasht) Prison.
He was since 2004 serving an eight-year sentence for establishing the United National Front political party. March 4 he became seriously ill and his wife told that March 5, he was in a coma and transported to the hospital.He died of brain haemorrhage and a lung infection. The doctors told that he should have been hospitalized sooner.
The deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, says that these recent deads underline the urgent need for the Iranian authorities to improve prison conditions and to take immediate measures to ensure that all prisoners in their custody are treated humanely.
Other political prisoners have died in custody in suspicious circumstances in recent years, among them Abdolreza Rajabi, Akbar Mohammadi en Valiollah Feyz Mahdavi.
Convicted prisoners in Iran are held in prisons run by the State Prisons and Security and Corrective Measures Organization, which is under the control of the Head of the Judiciary.
source: Amnesty International USA


On Iranian New Years Day familymembers of detained activist students in Evinprison, were together with student activists, arrested by security-agents.
They wanted to celebrate New Year in front of Evinprison, to be close to their relatives and friends.
The arrested are:
1. Mother of student Nariman Mostafavi,
2. Mr.Mehdi Arabshahi,
3. Mr. Milad Asadi council member of Daftare Tahkime Vahdat,
4. Ms. Bahare Hedayat council member of Daftare Tahkime Vahdat,
5. Mr. Majid Dori deprived student of "Alameh University",
6. Mr. Said Faizollahzadeh deprived student of " Alameh University",
7. mother of Milad Asadi,
8. Farid Hashemi council member of" Tahkim Vahdat",
9. Amin Nazari council member of " Tahkim Vahdat".
Security-agents also confiscated the plate number of Keyvan Samimi's car.
Samimi is secretary of "Committee Following up the Arbiterary Arrests".
The security-agents dispersed the crowd by using teargas.
source: Iran Watch Canada


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: chances

In the prison of Sirjan, Kerman province, is a man hanged.
The man, Reza was convicted for a murder eight years ago.
source: iranhr.net


The recommendation of the head of Iran’s judiciary Shahroudi, to grant amnesty to Ashraf Kalhor who was sentenced to 15 years in prison and stoning of adultery and accessory to murder was rejected by the Judicial Commission for Amnesty and Clemency.
According to this recommendation it was assumed that her stoning sentence had been cancelled. But two years later the Judicial Commission for Amnesty and Clemency decided the implementation of the verdict.
source: Change for Equality



In an interview with the newspaper Hammihan Maryam Behroozi, chairwoman of Zeinab Society,that according to a Parliament approved bill which is currently under review by the State Expediency Council, women can run for office of the president.
Women’s presidential candidature has been forbidden due to a legal interpretation of the term, “rejal,” a qualification for candidacy, as applying to only men.
There has been controversy about the issue in the past.
If the bill is approved women’s human rights will be considered more seriously and they will be treated the same as men.
source: Change for Equality



GlobalVoicesOnline writes that Iran has around 60,000 active blogs and up to 20 million people are connected to the internet.
Iranian authorities filter the access to thousands of sites, worldwide.
Not only pornographic sites, but also political or social blogs and websites.
Iran has no clear red line of what needs to be filtered or not.Also Islamic websitesites are filtered.
In the top filterranking are:
BBC Persian, AmirKabir, a student news publication, and Balatarin, a popular citizen media portal, Women’s rights activists, student movements, anti-government, political, anti-filtering and human rights blogs, Social networkingsites as Flickr and Orkut.
In the last two months Iranians have been able to access Facebook and YouTube, they also can access MySpace and Twitter.
source: GlobalVoicesOnline


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: new year events?

National Council of Resistance of Iran writes that Tehran authorities reported that during
Chahararshanbeh Soori Celebrations in Tehran, more then 750 people were arrested charged with “disrupting peace and creating fear during Fire Festival.”
Many people, mainly young people used the celebrations to protest against the regime.
State Security Forces SSF and Bassij were dispatching forces to disperse the crowds.
In Karaj 120 people were arrested.
source: ncr-iran.org


The father from arrestedreporter Roxana Saberi says that "she is under great psychological pressure and her condition seems to be dangerous now".
While her mother is Japanese, her father wants to write a letter to the Japanese authorities, asking to help with officials in Japan’s embassy in Tehran to free his daughter.
He is concerned that his daughter may remain in prison for at least two more weeks, while the government goes into recess for the Iranian new year, which begins on Friday.
source: Iranvnc.com


Fars newsagency reports that the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei granted amnesty or commuted sentences of 950 Iranian prisoners, convicted at general, revolutionary or military courts. IRNA says that the the pardon was made at the request of Judiciary Chief Hashemi Shahroudi and is on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the prophet, March 15.
Iran usually grants pardon during the Iranian national or religious events.
source: english.farsnews.com


The disciplinary committee of Martyr Beheshti University in Tehran has in spite of the Persian New Year and students are away on holiday, announced the sentences for a number of student activists who held a hunger strike.
Katayoun Rahimi charged with disorderly conduct on the university campus, refusal to observe Islamic dress, and for being an adherent of the banned Baha’i religion: expulsion from university.
Nilofar Sadeghi charged with disorderly conduct on university grounds and calling for other students to join in protest: one-term suspension and loss of privileges.
Bahman Hiochi charged with disorderly conduct on university grounds and calling for other students to join in protest: one-term suspension and loss of privileges.
Saber Bazrafshan, Amir-Reza Mohammadi, Iler Tavasoli, Zahra Karimirad, Nahid Mobayani, Ehsan Malekhusseini, Shahrzad Mohammadian all were issued a written citation, which was recorded in their permanent school files and loss of privileges.
Gholam-Reza Madanian, a lawyer and a candidate for a doctorate degree in law: for contacting other political groups he was temporarily censured from entering the university campus and his case was referred to the central disciplinary committee.
More than 20 other students received oral or written citations.


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: move

March 18, Iranian blogger Omidreza Mirsayafi, 29 died in Evinprison.
He was charged with insulting the authorities and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
In an interview with International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran he told in December that his blog just was a private blog and was read only by a few of his friends.
He also said that expert testimony by an Intelligence Ministry official during his trial emphasized this point and that he should not receive such a heavy sentence.
Most of the articles on his blog were about traditional Persian music and about culture.
Mirsayafi committed suicide by taking overdose of his medication against his serious depression.
source: iranhumanrights.org


Amnesty International has voiced concerns at the repressive measures against members of Iran's religious and ethnic minority communities, trade unionists, women's rights activists and students.She asks to release the eight arrested students immediately.
In a statement of March 12, the Centre for Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) condemns the arrests and urges to reinstate the banned students.
February 5, four students of Amir Kabir university were arrested: Esmail Salmanpour, Majid Tavakkoli, Hossein Torkashvand en Koroush Daneshyar.
After a demonstration February 24 were detained Mehdi Mashayekhi, Nariman Mostafavi, Ahmad Qasaban en Abbas Hakimzadeh .
Amnesty International has called on the Iranian authorities to ensure that the students detained on 5 February and those arrested on 24 February be protected against torture or other ill-treatment and that they be allowed immediate access to their family and lawyers.
source: Amnesty International



Somali pirates in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland have hijacked an Iranian vessel,on accusation of illegal fishing.
An official at the East African Seafarers Assistance Program told Reuters that it happened Monday.
He said the villagers have taken it because of fishing illegally or for damaging fishing equipment. He told that they usually move when you destroy their nets or boats and hold the ship until they are paid back.
source Press-TV


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