Iran: punishment

The imprisoned Iranian trade union leader Mahmoud Salehi was rushed into hospital. According to Amnesty International he was delivered unconscious to the hospital in Sanandaj on December 11. He suffers from a heart disease and chronic kidney disease, for which he requires dialysis. According to the Committee in Defence for Mahmoud Salehi,he was returned to prison December 16, despite being extremely ill.
On http://amnesty.org.uk/actions_details.asp?ActionID=386 calls Amnesty International for urgent action to release Salehi immediately or to ensure he urgently receives appropriate medical treatment.


December 16 is Ebrahim Madadi, vice president of the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company,released.
He was charged with “acting against national security by gathering outside Mansour Osanloo’s residence”. According to his lawyer he is acquitted of this charge. He however spent since August 9th, totally unjustly in jail for these charges.
Reza Dehghan, member of the Founding Committee of the Syndicate of Building 's Painters and Decoration's Workers, is released after paying bail of 50,000,000 toman.
He was arrested November 18.


A top cleric in Iran, Hojatolislam Gholam Reza Hassani said on Wednesday that women in Iran who do not wear the hijab should die.
The imam, who leads Friday prayers in the city of Urumieh, and is the representative of the Supreme Leader Ayatolla Ali Khamenei in eastern Azerbaijan, said that he does not understand that these women 30 years after the Islamic Revolution, are still alive.
He said that these women and their husbands and their fathers must die.
Thousands of women in Iran have already been warned this year for their "un-Islamic dress".

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: imprinted

Iran's largest gasoline supplier, Swiss-based oil company Vitol, is planning to end its contract with the country in the coming year.
Reuters reports that Vitol has made the decision because it had made a loss of an estimated $70 million for the calendar year 2007 . The source did not mention any political considerations.
About 60 percent of the gasoline needs of Iran are met by Vitol.



According to Civil Aviation spokesman Reza Ja'farzadeh Iran will add 130 passenger planes to its fleet . He told IRIB that despite US pressure on its aviation industry, Iran is determined to purchase the aircraft and authorities are preparing the way for the purchases which will take place over a ten-year period. The planes are Tupolev models which are manufactured by Russia's Gorbunov Company.



The journalist Yaghub Salaki Nia is released against paying a bail of 80.000Euro.
He was arrested October 31.
Adl Mazri, editor of the newspaper Sobh e Zahedan, was released on 12 December, four days after being summoned and arrested. He is now awaiting trial. The charges are publishing false information and disturbing public opinion.
The wherabouts of Omid Ahamadzadeh, who contributed for Aso and Didgah,two newspapers that have been suspended since 2005. is still unknown. He was arrested November 28.
Abolfazl Abedini Nasr of the daily Bahar Khozestan has been charged with “complicity with a terrorist entity.” .He was arrested November 13 in Ahwaz city and is suspected of links with someone responsible for a bombing.
Said Matinpour of the weekly Yarpagh has meanwhile been allowed to receive a visit from his family for the first time since his arrest on 28 May.



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: reconsider

According to the daily Iran are Wednesday 3 men and one woman hanged in Evinprison.
The men, Qasem Yaqoubi, 29-year-old Reza, and 28-year-old Erfan were accused of murder and rape.
The woman, Zahra had been found guilty of poising her husband to death.



Thursday are 18 members of the Jundallahgroup killed or arrested by Iranian police. General Ghaffari, provincial policecommander in Sistan-e-Baluchestan province. said arms, explosives, communication equipment and documents were seized, showing that the Jundallahgroup were planning attacks with foreign back-up.
The daily Iran says that members of the group were hiding in the city of Iranshahr and they planned to assassinate provincial officials.

Ehsan Mansouri, Majid Tavakoli and Ahmad Ghassaban students of Amir Kabir university, who were sentenced to three years in prison for publishing anti-islamic images in four student newspapers.were acquitted of some charges by the Tehran public court and they were given new four-month terms, which means they will be released on Saturday.
Their detention led to fierce studentprotests in the previous months.


The ban on exporting shrimps to the European Union has been lifted.
The European ban on shrimps was made five years ago.
According to Managing Director of Iran Seafood Farm and Exports Cooperatives Arsalan Qasemi,this ban was lifted through efforts by the Ministry of Agricultural Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and without this the ban would have lasted longer.
Both Ministries have together with a special committee and a laboratorium made plans. With the lifting of the ban, other obstacles to the development of the industry should be removed in an effort to make optimum use of the potentials.
President Ahmadinejad has ordered in a letter the banks to reconsider lending rates and fines imposed on shrimp farmers’ who had defaulted in payments.
The letter has been notified to all banks by deputy commerce ministers for banking affairs and if banks support shrimp farmers, output could reach 15,000 tons.




The Dutch tenor, Marcel Beekman, will hold workshops in Tehran on December 25-26, as part of programs for the 23rd Fajr International Music Festival.
Beekman is a soloist in both the Baroque/Classical and the contemporary concert and opera repertoire and has performed with many orchestras, namely the Berlin Symphoniker, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century and Netherlands Bach Society.
The secretary of the festival told that one of the goals is to familiarize Iranian musicians with orchestration of classical instruments.


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: research

The wife of missing Robert Levinson arrived in Tehran Tuesday.
She is expected to hold talks with Iranian officials in meetings set up in coordination with the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which looks after American interests in Iran.
Robert Levinson went to the island Kish to meet Dawud Salahuddin (former name David Belfield), an American-born convert to Islam who has lived in Iran for almost three decades and is wanted by the United States on charges of murder.
Levinson works as a privat-detective and he was investigating cigarette smuggling in the area on behalf of a private client.


Yesterday, the lawyers of People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI) filed a new complaint against the European Union’s Council of Ministers after the denial from the British Home Office to remove the PMOI from the blacklist after a recent verdict by the Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission (POAC) which described the blacklisting of the PMOI as “perverse.” .
December 2006, the EU Council of Ministers also refused to do so after a similar verdict by the European Court of Justice.



In the vicinity of Haftkal, Khuzestan province, drilling operations of an exploration well resulted in discovery of a huge gas reserve of 28 km long and 5km wide.
A well with a 2,500 meter depth had been drilled in the regio In the pre-revolution era, but due to some problems and rigidity of layers, the well had been deserted.
According to onshore operations manager of National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) Mehran Makvandi, Fat’h Derrick 65 was installed and helped the drilling depth rise from the previous 700 to 4,380 meters.
The Exploration Department of National Iranian Oil Company is conducting complementary studies on the gas deposit and possible in situ oil of the field.
In the near future two more wells would be drilled to get further data about the reserve.


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: insufficient

A court in Hamedan sentenced nine teachers for 91 days on charges of disturbing public opinion by encouraging colleagues to stage illegal protests,said daily Seda-ye Edalat (The Voice of Justice).
According to the daily, the teachers were arrested during late March and spent nine days in solitary confinement.
Teachers have staged protests over the past year demanding better pay and conditions.


Hossein Haghi, 20 years old, is in fear of imminent execution for an alleged murder in August of 2003 at the age of 16.
During a group fight in August 2003, he alledgedly stabbed another boy, Mehdi, with a sheet of metal and the victim died.
According to the a police investigator report , there were no witnesses to testify that they saw Hossein Haghi stabbing Mehdi.
ossein's was sentenced to death 9 month later. His execution verdict was subsequently approved in June of 2004 by the superior court.
His lawyer notified StopChildExecution that Hossein's file has now been sent to Ayatollah Shahrudi, the head of Iran's judiciary for final signature before execution.
On the site are the adresses you can mail protests.


Twenty Romenians, members of the team on an offshore oil drilling platform, have been released after six days by the Iranian port authorities from Kharg island in the Persian Gulf.
December 13th, they sailed to Dubai from Oriental 1 platform. When the vessel ran out of fuel, they anchored off Kharg island where they were arrested.
The reason for the detention of the crew was the fact that they had not requested for an authorization to enter the port area.
The Romanian embassy in Tehran and Iranian Foreign Ministry contributed to the faster resolution of the situation.


President Ahmadinejad has withdrawn his candidate to head the national football federation.
FIFA threatened to ban Iran from world football if they did not comply with their rules.
The by Ahmadinejad promoted candidate is a conservative and was seen as a direct challenge to the acting head of the federation, Mohsen Safayee Farahani, a reformist who is allied to the president's political opponents.
The vacuum at the top has also impeded the underperforming Iranian national team's search for a new coach. Officials have said an appointment can only be made after the federation elections.



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: show

Ronak Safarzadeh and Hana Abdi two womans rights activists from Kurdistan province, are, according to an investigationsjudge, charged with taking part in "terrorist" actions and belonging to the militant Kurdish separatist group PEJAK.
The two women were using their activities as women's rights activists as cover for their connections to the PEJAK.
IRNA said that the judge, whose name was not reported, said that the arrest of the women has no link to the OneMillionSignatures campaign. They were carrying out activities as part of the objectives of the PEJAK group.
People have also been arrested in Tehran for having carried out acts in favour of PEJAK under the cover of the OneMillionSignatures campaign.


In the last days are 24 Internet cafes and other coffee shops closed down and 23 people detained as part of a broad crackdown on immoral behaviour.
Colonel Nader Sarkari, a provincial police commander said that among the reasons why they have been closed were using immoral computer games, storing obscene photos and the presence of women wearing improper hijab.
Sarkari told the official IRNA news agency that police had inspected 435 coffee shops in the past 24 hours, and 170 had been warned.


The Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission (POAC) has denied to remove the Mojahadeen Khalgh Organization (MKO),(People's Mujahideen Organisation of Iran (PMOI)) from the terrorist blacklist.
A request by the British Home Office was rejected.
The case is now taken to the Court of Appeal.



According to Newsagency Fars MP Ahmad Nateq-Nouri said that the soaring prices are gradually razing those at the bottom of the economic ladder to the ground.
The parliamentarian blamed the economic planning of the government and also the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) for underestimating the rate of inflation.




President Ahmadinejad said that Iran's government is planning to fight the rising inflation by limiting the government's role in the economy and encouraging investments in the oil sector.
He did not give concrete details.
According to official figures, inflation rose by 19,1 % last month, but many ordinary Iranians complain official data does not correspond to price rises they see in shops.


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: develop, reform

Iran's reformists announced Friday a coalition inspired by ex-president Khatami to win back parliament and "save Iran from the crisis that was created by President Ahmadinejad".
The coalition brings together 21 moderate parties, including the allies of Khatami and Ranfsanjani.
Leader's representative to the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Hassan Rowhani and Mohammad Hashemi of the Expediency Council are according to Mehr News seen as definite contenders in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Russia's energy giant LUKOIL is talking to Iran about more oil and gas investments .
LUKOIL said in October that the company might be forced to stop work at Iran's Anaran energy project due to US sanctions.



According to Iran Daily details about the second stage of the gasoline rationing plan will be announced today. The first stage ends December 21st.
Earlier, the Oil Minister announced that the quota for private motorists would increase from December 22 from the current 100 to 120 liters per month.


The manager from Iranian band Arian, Mohsen Rajabpour told Reuters that the Ministry of Culture officially announced that there are no objections for holding a joint performance by Arian and Chris de Burgh in Tehran. They are trying to organize the concerts, scheduled for June or July.
According to Fars News, Chris de Burgh will visit Iran early next year as a tourist for discussions on the project.
Chris de Burgh recorded together with Arian the song The Words I Love You, Melody for peace, in English and Persian.
The song will be one of the songs of the fourth album of Arian Band.

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: target

Two earthquakes jolted the city of Mianeh in East Azarbaijan province and caused some panic.
The citizens left their homes and crowded the streets.
The first quake measured 4.5 on Richterscale, the second quake 3.7 on the Richterscale.
The earthquakes were 5 minutes apart, at Friday 22.16 GMT and 22.21 GMT.


According to Javad Shamghadari,cultural counselor to President Ahmadinejad, the President has decided to accept the offer by Oliver Stone to make a documentary film about him.
Stone has already done a biographical documentary on the life of Cuban President Fidel Castro.
The director starts filming in February 2008 and will travel to Iran in the end of January.




The murderer who killed a French tourist Julien Van Waesberghe this Monday at a busstation in the city of Isfahan, is arrested. A source at local police forces told this to Fars Newsagency.
The criminal is a 27-year-old man, Kazem Shafiyee from Shiraz who was on the run after an armed robbery.
According to Fars further details about the case are broadcasted on statetelevision tonight.


Dozens of feminists, human rights activists, studentleaders and journalists in Iran have received an e-mail death threat in the last few days.
The e-mails tell recipients they have been targeted for their anti-Islamic activities and are told they are included on a list with those who deny their faith.The sender calls himself "martyrdom volunteers".
Most of the recipients of these e-mails are women. One of the recipients, who wants to remain anonymous said she had to take the threats very seriously. The growth of the feminist movement in Iran and the strong presence of women in civil society annoys someone, and perhaps many people,who want to stop them by intimidation.


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: direction

Robert Levinsons wife received her visum and has planned to leave for Iran next week.
Nobody has heard from him since his disappearance in March. Iranian authorities say they couldn't find a trace of him.
Levinson disappeared March 8 on Kish island.





Iran Daily reports that Tehran's Prosecutor General Saeed Mortazavi asked the judiciary for a new investigator for Hossein Mousavian.
Moussavian was freed from the accusation of transferring intelligence concerning Iran's nuclear activities to foreigners in the British Embassy.
The judiciary's move was criticized by President Ahmadinejad who called for making talks between Mousavian and the British Embassy public.



Iran, Malaysia and Turkey, will launch a car in 2011, Manouchehr Manteghi, head of Iran Khodro announced this December 12.
The Malaysian director of Proton said in November the three countries would develop the car with Islamic features such as a compass to determine the direction of Mecca.
Manteghi said that this car will measure up to all global standards but denied that any Islamic features would be standard and said the car could be marketed in non-Muslim countries.His company was chosen by the Organisation of The Islamic Conference (OIC) to lead the project.



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: clashes

Iranian statetelevision reported that police killed 12 rebels during clashes in Sistan-e-Baluchestan province.
A police officer told that the group had planned bomb attacks in Iranshahr.
IRNA reported that 4 man got killed, 10 arrested, and 150 pounds of explosives were confiscated.





ISNA reported that Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam, commander of the Islamic Republic of Irans Police (IRIP) told that smart cards will be issued for addicts in Iran.
He said that addicts try to conceal their identity, therefore smart cards, which contain the addicts fingerprints, will help police to identify them.
He said also that the use of traditional drugs has reduced and addicts are turning toward synthetic drugs such as crack, crystal and ecstasy pills.
The number of drug addicts treated by methadone in Iran has increased by 30% during the first nine months of the Iranian year.


Several clerics sitting as MPs in the Iranian parliament have criticised the Tehran police chief for showing excessive zeal by ordering a crackdown on women's high boots.
Clerical MP Seyed Hadi Tabatabai told the newspaper Etemad that no officials have the right to mix religion with emotions and issue decrees and implement them on behalf of clerics. Such behaviour tarnishes Islam.
The chief of Tehran's police had described women wearing such fashions as an example of "Tabarroj", an Islamic term which means revealing one's beauty and bodily contours to unrelated men.
Cleric MP Mohammad Taghi Rahbar said that a Muslim woman wearing high boots with a coat and other coverings does not contradict Islam.



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: effect

In the city of Bojnourd, Khorrasan Shomali province is a man hanged in public.
Three other men were hanged in prison.
They were convicted for drugssmuggle.



Mohammad Saleh Abuman, Farshad Doostipour, Javad Alizadeh and Sohrab Karimi, who spoke in support of human rights for ethnic Kurds during a protest Sunday at Tehran university, are arrested.
They also called for the release of four detained journalists and the suspension of the deathpenalty on Adnan Hassanpour.
According to a spokesman for the judiciary, between 20 and 24 students are in jail.
A total of five people were arrested during the latest demonstrations.


Abdollah Farivar Moghaddam, 48-years-old is sentenced to death by stoning by the court in the city of Sari, Mazandaran province.
He was sentenced for adultery and the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence



The managing director of Iran's Bank Mellat says sanctions imposed by the US on bank Mellat, bank Melli and bank Saderat are not affecting the economy.
Before the sanctions got in effect, bank Mellat abandoned dollar transactions and a major chunk of the banking activities are domestic.
The bank may soon be privatized via Tehran Stock Exchange. Middle Eastern and European investors can acquire at least 10 percent of its shares.

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