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

Iran: between the lines

The interim chairman of Iranian Football Federation (IFF),Mohsen Safaei Farahani says that Iran will face problems if FIFA regulations are not met in IFF elections.
FIFA has opposed the candidacy of members of Iran's Physical Education Organization (PEO) in the IFF presidential elections. He says that there are certain rules on who can and who cannot run for the IFF presidency.
If FIFA objections are removed, there will be no ban for Iran.



Reporters without Borders called on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, to act over the unresolved murders of five Iranian journalists and intellectuals, nine years after the killings.
"Although 15 Iranian intelligence agents were eventually tried and found guilty of the 1998 murders those behind the killings (see blog) were never prosecuted.An Iranian parliamentary commission concluded that high-ranking figures were implicated in the cases but it was impossible to confront them with it.
These killings caused an outcry and many people still hold commemorations of them, despite the efforts of the authorities to stop them being held.
It is essential that the UN takes a stand to give new hope to the families of the victims that justice will be done one day and those who ordered these murders, will perhaps be put on trial, however much influence they may have."RSF said.



The daily Jamajam published on her website a serie photos showing persons, held for 'bad hijab'.The 'moral police' started a crackdown last week on winterfashion. For instance: wearing boots over trousers.




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: increase

Hundreds of Iranian students protested yesterday at Tehrans university against the recent governmental crackdown on student-activists.
According to several reports on student-websites and a witness who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, there were some 1500 students involved.
It was the 2nd demonstration within a weeks time.
Also students from other universities in the country took part on the demonstration which lasted two hours and during which one of the gates around the university broke down.


Iran's Oil Minister announced that the monthly gasoline ration of private cars would go to 120 from current 100 liters.
He said that at the moment, they were trying to identify the weak and strong points of the first gasoline rationing plan



Reza Jafarzadeh,speaker of Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization said that there are no barriers for the employment of Iranian women in various fields of the aviation industry.
He said no resolution has been made, or circular issued to prohibit women’s employment in this industry.
Aviation companies are allowed to employ male or female competent forces including pilots, copilots, aviation engineers, or workers for other sections.




Newsagency Fars reported that a 24-year-old French student has been shot dead at a busstation in Isfahan.
The criminal is known with police, but could yet not be arrested.
The French embassy confirmed the police statements.

The city of Isfahan is visited by thousands of foreign tourists each year.


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: view

Iran abandoned selling crude oil against American dollars.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said that considering its devaluation and the resulting loss suffered by oil exporters,the dollar is no longer a reliable currency.
According to ISNA Iran's crude oil sales are now being paid for in non-US currencies, mainly the Euro.


Press-tv publishes an interview with Fatemeh Alia,head of the Iranian Parliament's Committee for Women and Family Affairs and member of the Majlis Cultural Commission.
In this interview she expresses her view on womens position and equal rights for men and women in Iran.

On the website we-change.org is a column written by Nafiseh Azad about the campaign for equal rights in Iran and reactions of the authorities on the women who are active for the campaign.



The Iranian statetelevision reported on Sunday that Iran's Intelligence Ministy has detained a group of activists. The group planned to stage an illegal gathering in Tehran University.The report said the activists, who came from various cities, entered the university using fake identification cards.
Concussion grenades, illegal books and statements as well as alcoholic beverages were confiscated.



The date of the arrests was not elaborated, but Wednesday 28 people, among them four women, were arrested on the campus of Tehran University.
(see blog).


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