Iran: treaty treaties

A man was hanged in public on Tuesday in the city of Jahrom.
According to ISNA the man, Ali Mohammad A. was accused of murdering 12 relatives over a land dispute.






The European Union sharply condemned on Wednesday the arrest of Mansour Ossanloo, the President of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company.
It urged Tehran to respect fully the rights to freedom of expression and association and the right to form or join trade unions.
The EU calls on Iran to uphold its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and to honour its commitments under the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work



Iran's income from exports of crude oil and its by-products saw an increase of 15% in the first eight months of its calendar year.Despite the income growth, President Ahmadinejad plans to ask parliament for a supplementary budget as his government will run out of money in the last three months of the current year (December-March).
This comes at a time when, in a surprise move, the government has withdrawn $12.2 bln from its Oil Stabilisation Fund,
The fund was initially set up in 2000 to prevent lavish spending of oil revenues, support the private sector to create job opportunities and create a buffer to protect the country's heavily oil-dependent economy in case of oil price fluctuations
Economists have criticised Ahmadinejad for spending pledges he has given on provincial trips as well as for spending oil revenues on construction projects
Iran produces about four mln barrels per day of oil.


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: choose

108 million ballot papers are printed for the elections on Friday.
46 million people are qualified to participate in the fourth round of Experts Assembly elections and 44 million in the third round of council elections.
The difference between the two figures is because the ministry cannot hold council elections in villages with less than 20 families and in townships that are not linked to a city.
128,000 ballot boxes and 64,000 polling stations have been set up nationwide.


The blog under underground by Yasser, a student at Azad university has an entry about how elections change people behaviour...at least till the end of the elections.

The blog inside iran by Jadi, an Iranian from Teheran has the answer on 10 questions, asked per mail by Joe who wants to know how people in various countries do common things like garbagedisposal, greetings, and clothing.



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: consume

At Tehran Amir Kabir University,yesterday students disrupted a speech, hold by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, also setting fire to his picture.
A number of students shouted 'death to the dictator'.
It was the latest in a series of student demonstrations in recent days, the first time in at least two years that such protests have taken place on this scale at Iranian universities.


"It is my honour to burn for the sake of the nation's ideals and defend the system," Ahmadinejad was quoted as telling protesters who set fire to his picture, ISNA said.






The European Court of Justice annulled the decision to freeze the assets of Mujahedin Khalq
EU member states ordered the freezing of funds of the People's Mujahideen in 2002. It was the armed wing of the France-based National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), but has stated that it has renounced military activity since 2001.
Herewith is the decision on freezing annulled.


The Ministry of Commerce launches a crackdown on bakeries which have raised bread prices illegally.

Mahmoud Tahmasebi, deputy commerce minister for flour and bread disciplinary affairs, told ISNA that the government is yet to make a decision on bread prices, stressing that as long as the decision is not finalized, bakeries which increase bread prices will be punished severely.
Such bakeries’ flour quota will be suspended and their shops will be shut down.

Some bakeries in Tehran and other large cities have increased bread prices by as much as 30 percent in recent days.



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: sensitive

In the city of Miandoab, West-Azerbaijan province is Thursday a man hanged in prison.
The hard-line daily Qods wrote that the man, Davoud, was convicted for rape and murder.




Today has the 2-day Holocaust-conference been opened.At this, by a lot of countries in the world condemned meeting, will be talked about questions as to in how much extend did the nazis use gaschambers in WorldWarII and other Holocaust related questions.
Iranmania.com wrote that BBC's correspondent in Tehran, said that Iran knows this conference is going to cause outrage abroad but wants to test the limits of the West's commitment to freedom of speech.

The gathering is condemned worldwide by Holocaustsurvivors, jewish organizations, human rights organizations and western governments.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in September that the Holocaust is a historical fact.

By the picture:
Rabbi Moishe Ayre Friedman, left, from Austria, give his business card to a Muslim clergyman, as Rabbi Ahron Cohen from England, looks on, at a conference on the Holocaust, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Dec. 11, 2006. (AP / Vahid Salemi)

The Majlis (parliament) is agreable to replacing the US dollar with the euro in Iranian foreign transactions, said Morteza Tamaddon, member of the Majlis Planning and Budget Commission. Reducing Iran's dependence on the US dollar would eventually make the country less vulnerable to the dollar. He says "Even European countries have concluded that they should replace the US dollar with a stronger currency".
Iran's minister of finance announced last week that the government had decided to replace the US dollar with the euro in its international transactions.He said that the move was in response to the Bush administration's hostile policies towards Iran.




According to newsagency Fars have four weapensmugglers been arrested in Khuzestan province. Two of them were hospitalized due to injuries.Law enforcement and security forces confiscated 60 rifles and pistols, one Kalashnikov machinegun and a pile of bullets.
The gang intended to smuggle the cargo to Ahwaz-city and Shadegan.




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: uncomfortable

Amnesty Nederland held yesterday in Maastricht a torchprocession for Abdullah al Mansouri. This was on the eve of International Human Rights Day, which is yearly held December 10.

In "Crossroads" an english language online magazine for expatriates in the Maastricht area is an article written by Danya Chaikel, a Canadian woman, now living in Holland about Abdullah al Mansouri and the action "we want to see al Mansouri" from Amnesty Nederland.




Newspaper 'Tehran-e Emrouz' has written that a women-only taxi company in Tehran is launched, aimed at women who feel uncomfortable riding in close proximity with members of the opposite sex.
The companies name is "Ladies' Safe Trips", and it will be the first such private firm in the capital.
Such companies have been operating in other cities in Iran for several years.The company will employ only female drivers.
Under Islamic law in Iran, men and women mostly travel in separate sections on public transport.But it is common for men and women to share taxis in many cities,


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: need

December 7, Amnesty International repeated her call for urgent action on behalf of the Ahwaz-Arabs in fear of imminent execution. For completeness here the list of names as provided by Amnesty International:

Abdullah Suleymani (m) 27
Abdulreza Sanawati Zergani (m)
Qasem Salamat (m) 43
Mohammad Jaab Pour (m)
Abdulamir Farjallah Jaab (m)
Alireza Asakreh (m)
Majed Alboghubaish (m)
Khalaf Derhab Khudayrawi (m)
Malek Banitamim (m) 30
Abdul Husain Haribi (m)
Husain Maramazi (m)
Husain Asakreh (m)




Amnesty gave an update on charges against Human Rights Defender Abdolfattah Soltani .

Abdolfattah Soltani is currently free from prison on bail while he appeals his sentence.
Abdolfattah Soltani has stated
"my crime is accepting political cases including cases of journalists, students, and two nuclear defendants…otherwise, I did not break the law. They are trying to treat me in a way so that no other lawyer would accept political cases."
Amnesty thanks everybody who sent appeals on Abdolfattah Soltani’s behalf.
Furthermore Amnesty asks to please continue to send politely worded appeals.


Fars News agency says that The Netherlands' Economy Minister Joop Wijn voiced enthusiasm for the Dutch companies for developing trade ties with Iran.
Wijn made the remarks in a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Amsterdam on Friday.
Both Ministers stressed over the need for an agreement which deals with Dutch and Iranian trade.



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: difference

According to Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bot, the familymembers of Abdullah al Mansouri can get a visum to visit him in prison in Iran.

Iranian Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said that the upcoming trial of Abdullah al Mansouri will be an 'open' trial, with possibilities for familymembers and the Dutch consulate to be present at court.
He also told Minister Bot that Iran will appoint someone to look after the well-treatment of Mr.al Mansouri.
In May, Abdullah al Mansouri was arrested and extradited from Syria to Iran.
According to Iranian authorities Mr. al Mansouri entered Syria on false papers, he is named on the Interpol searchlist and he is involved in terroristic activities.They also say he confessed to this involvement.
Iran will charge Mr. al Mansouri for terroristic activity.




The website of The New York Times is again accessible in Iran says Reporters without Borders .
The website of You Tube is still being filtered.
Iran does not yet have a centralised filtering system, so it happens that a website may be blocked only by some providers.



On various blogs and websites it says that the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been rushed to the hospital somewhere between December 3 and 4.One report speaks about cardiac problems.

Officially nothing is found verifying these.




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: freedom

November 30, Amnesty International called for a urgent action for Abdullah al Mansouri 60 years, president of Ahwaz Liberation Organization (ALO), also known by his Persian name Abdullah Nikouseresht,who was forcibly returned to Iran from Syria.

He was been sentenced to death in 1988 by a military court, apparently in connection with his activities as a member of the Ahwazi Liberation Organization (ALO).He fled Iran, and since then lived in The Netherlands where he acquired Dutch nationality.
Also is called for urgent action for
Rasool Mezrea (m), ALO member
Taher ‘Ali Mezrea (m), 40 years
Jamal ‘Obeidawi (m), 34 years, student,Chair of Ahwazi Student Union in Syria
All four Iranian men named above are now believed to be held in Karoun Prison,
in Ahwaz city in Khuzestan.
All four are believed to be at risk of the death penalty, as well as torture and ill-treatment.


IranPressNews reports that yesterday everywhere in Iran protestmeetings on universities were held.During demonstrations slogans were chanted and an upsidedown portrait of president Ahmadinejad was held.
In the city of Kerman more than 500 students gathered; in Shahr’eh-Kord more than 400 and cities such as Zahedan, Bandar-Abbass hundreds of student held demonstrations. Also in Tabriz universities, Zanján, Ghom, Karaj and Mazandaran similar demonstrations were held. Students of Sahand University in Tabriz chanted slogans such as “Student prisoners must be freed” and “If I rise and you rise, everyone will rise”. The student anthem Yaar’eh Dabestani was sung at every campus by all student protestors.

Here and here published The National Council of Resistance in Iran photos.

English translation of ongoing photo: “AS IF WE WANT ANYTHING OTHER THAN FREEDOM"
http://regimechangeiniran.com/



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: act

Monday a man was publicly hanged in the city of Kermanshah.

The not identified man was convicted for murder and armed robbery.





The almost two months ago arrested political activist and member of Iran National Front Kourosh Zaim is according to his lawyer released from Evinprison in Tehran on bail.
He is charged of ‘acting against national security and publishing sheer lies’.






In Iranpressnews is an article about the fact that on the anniversary of "Students Day", many students are imprisoned or otherwise are oppressed.
Ahmad Batebi,is detained in Evin209 and is according to his family in extremely worrisome health, just like Kianoosh Sanjari who is in solitary confinement and under severe torture; Kheirollah Derakhshandi, Abolfazl Jahandar, and Keyvan Ansari are also enduring similar conditions in prison.
Other students are convicted to long jailterms or are excluded from study.
The student committee for the defense of political prisoners calls to demonstrate, “The University is Alive” , today, at 12noon at Tehran University college of technical studies.




President Ahmadinejad was according to television footage present and watching a female song and dance show, at the opening ceremony of the Asian games in Doha, Qatar.
Due to islamic legal code in Iran women are forbidden to sing and dance before a male audience.
Religious fundamentalists are asking why he attended a ceremony that violated his own government's strict interpretation of Shia Islam.


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: deroute

So far 45 British members of parliament already accepted an EDM-motion
in which the Iranian gouvernment is called to respect the human rights of all its peoples and to commute the death penalty in the cases of the 11 convicted Ahwazi.



Taliya News reports that following the short, mistaken filtering of Wikipedia website’s English page, the said filter was removed as of Sunday.
Past months, mistaken filtering even made the website of the International Police Force, Interpol, mistakenly filtered on Saturday.





The Iranian parliament voted to unite the presidential elections with the upcoming parliamentary ones.
The proposal passed with a 80% majority.
The law still has to be ratified by the Iranian constitutional committee.
If the law is passed this can shorten the term of sitting President Ahmadinejad by 18 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: public

On my Dutch blog I copied full text of the renewed Dutch asylumlaw for Iranians.
Because I am not a translator and lawtexts are very difficult to translate due to their juridical consequences, I only put it on the Dutch blog.




In the city of Zahedan, Sistan-e-Baluchestan province, are Saturday two man publicly hanged.
The two men, who were accused of kidnapping several years ago, were not identified by name.
On Sunday are according to newsagency Fars in the city of Langeroud, Gilan province, two men publicly hanged.
The two men 25-year-old Taqi J. and 28-year-old Massoud M. were accused of murder.



Iran yesterday shut down access to some of the world's most popular websites. Who tried to open the sites met a page reading: "The requested page is forbidden."
According to The Guardian it concerns among others Amazon.com, You Tube, Wikipedia, The New York Times, IMDB.com, a online film database.
Iran has some 7.5 mln internet-users, Iran is believed to have the highest rate of web use in the Middle East after Israel. There are 100,000 bloggers, many opposed to the Islamic regime. Some blogs are substitutes for Iran's once-flourishing, but now largely supressed, reformist press.


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: use

The opening of Iran's first private petrochemical unit in Mahshahr (Mashour), on the Gulf coast of Ahwaz (Khuzestan) has increased the fear for environmental problems in the region.

The first phase of the Rejal Petrochemical Complex was being completed this week, with the opening of a polypropylene plant.
Next year March, the production has to reach full capacity and then a unit to produce mega methanol starts.
Ahwazi environmentalists believe that Mahshahr is already an environmental disaster zone due to high levels of pollution. In October there were reports that thousands of fish died off the coast of Mahshahr due to toxic chemicals from Bandar Imam Petrochemical Company and Qatar recently banned the import of seafood due to too high radiation levels.



The Guardian Council (which has the authority to vet all bills to determine their compatibility with rules of Islam and the Constitution before they become law), has approved the legislation of the law to inspect and fingerprint all US nationals upon arrival in Iran.
The speaker for the Guardian Council Abbas-Ali Kadkhodaei said that the law neither against Islamic sharia or the Constitution is.



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: journalism

Iranian government wants all websites dealing with Iran will have to register with the culture ministry in the next two months.This way it will be easier to close or filter sites.
Reporters without Borders is afraid that this provides legal basis for the online censorship that already exists in Iran.
Baztab.org, a conservative website that supports Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and often criticises President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s policies, has protested against the decision.

Shirko Jahani,the correspondent of the Turkish news agency Euphrat in the northwestern city of Mahabad, has been arrested November 27, in the local prosecutors office, for writing critical articles that were published in the foreign press. Jahani also belongs to an organisation founded by fellow journalist Mohammad Sedigh Kabovand that defends human rights in the Kurdish part of Iran.
Hussein Saidpour is arrested November 28,and the weekly he edits, Sepass, was closed for an alleged “ethnic insult” in one of the answers to the crossword in the latest issue.
He is reportedly being held in Tehran’s Evin prison.


Meanwhile, five pro-reform and independent weeklies in Zanjan province,


Payam-e Zanjan,
Bahar-e Zanjan,
Seda-ye Zanjan,
Alborz-e Khorram and
Mowj-e Bidari
announced in a joint statement that they have decided to suspend publication in protest against the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad government’s repressive policies towards the media, above all the restrictions and judicial harassment.


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: labour

According to ISNA and an authentic copy of a court verdict, Mohsen Hakimi has been sentenced to 2 years imprisonment by the Branch One of the Saqez’ Revolution Court.
In May 2004 he was arrested, before he, labour activist and member of the Iranian Writers’ Association could speak, although he was invited to speak at the May Day event in Saqez on May 1st 2004.
Prior to the event, many people, organizing labour activists, including Hakimi were arrested. Since then there have been several court trials.
At the moment recent sentences in the Saqez case are as follows:
Mahmoud Salehi: 4 years
Jalal Hosseini: 2 years
Borhan Divargar: 2 years
Mohsen Hakimi: 2 years
Mohammad Abdipour: acquitted.



According to daily Etemaad Melli, the wife of November 19 re-arrested labourleader Mansour Osanloo has been told that he has been incarcerated in section 209 of the Evin Prison and the authorities are presently engaged in “negotiation” and “discussion” with Mr. Osanloo.
According to ILNA he was taken from Evin prison to the Branch 14 of the Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office of Tehran on Sunday, November 26, 2006, for the purpose of investigation and probing.
ILNA reports that the judicial authorities claim that they issued an arrest warrant for Osanloo because he did not appear in court.

His family still wasn't allowed to contact him.






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