Week 32/33
Door: Ingezonden
Dit is de voortzetting van de nieuwsdraad, welke ooit op www.joostniemöller.com begon, over het verzet van de groene beweging in Iran. Tevens worden hier links, video's en nieuwsberichten gepost over ontwikkelingen rond de nucleaire ambities van dit land. De draad wordt per 2 weken vernieuwd. Een chronologisch overzicht kunt u vinden in de categorie "Ondertussen in Iran".
Geplaatst door: Ingezonden
op 10 aug 2010. Gearchiveerd onder Ondertussen in Iran.
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Reacties en pingen zijn gesloten.
Bereid u zich maar vast voor op een hongerwinter!
“Iran heeft aangekondigd haar geldreserves in dollars en de euro’s te verkopen als reactie op de VN-sancties over het omstreden nucleaire programma.”
http://www.spitsnieuws.nl/archives/buitenland/2010/08/iran_dumpt_vieze_dollars_en_eu.html
17 Year Old Tortured at Hands of Revolutionary Guard Intelligence Division
Revolutionary Guard intelligence tortured seventeen year old Ali Niknam after his arrest on November 2, 2009.
Ali Niknam protested the election results last year and was arrested by Revolutionary Guard intelligence for the possession of anti-government leaflets and literature. Ali Niknam tells HRANA about his arrest and torture at the hands of the Revolutionary Guard: “On the afternoon of November 2, 2009 while in possession of leaflets calling for protests on November 15, 2010, my friend asked that we go distribute the leaflets. We then left home located on Takht e Tavoos Street…He then took the leaflets from me and walked up the block. When we got to the end of the block he passed me the leaflets with the excuse that he had to tie his shoes. Immediately Revolutionary Guard intelligence personnel, who had apparently orchestrated this with the help of my so-called friend, arrested me and took to me to a base located around Helal Ahmar Square (although I found out later that this is where I was taken). On the way they repeatedly shocked me with electricity, severely beat me and verbally abused me. Once at the location they physically and psychologically tortured me further.”
http://www.en-hrana.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=206:17-year...
“My Father is in Great Spirits, But His Heart Condition Might Cost Him His Life,” says Mehdi Saharkhiz
Mehdi Saharkhiz, son of distinguished journalist and prisoner of conscience Issa Saharkhiz, told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran that despite his poor health, his father’s spirits are high.
About a letter written by several journalists in Rajaee Shahr Prison proposing a live debate with Ahmadinejad, Mehdi Saharkhiz said, “After Ahmadinejad’s latest request to debate with Mr. Obama, and as his request was rejected again, [the imprisoned journalists] suggested in order to prevent dishonor and embarrassment of the Iranian people, at least allow the willing and able journalists to have a live debate with him in a free place. They’ve said, ‘If you want to manage the world, come and have a live and uncensored debate with us.’”
“I’ve been informed, from a series of sources, that he has been given a 15 months prison sentence, nine months of which is for [attempt] to topple [the regime], and six months for insulting the Supreme Leader. In addition to the 15 months, a 5-year separation from service has also been issued,” he said about his father’s sentence.
http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/08/saharkhiz-son-prison-condition/
Iran Digs Graves For U.S. Troops, In Case Of Attack. No More Dollar, Euro Sales
A former commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards says Tehran has dug mass graves in which to bury U.S. troops in case of any U.S. attack on the country.
The digging of the graves appears to be a show of bravado after the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said last week that the U.S. military has a contingency plan to attack Iran, although he thinks a military strike is probably a bad idea.
The United States and some of its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover to build nuclear weapons. Iran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is geared merely toward generating electricity, not weapons.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Digs_Graves_For_US_Troops_In_Case_Of_Attack/21...
Iran and Russia: Pies Falling from the Skies
Until just a few months ago the official commentariat in Tehran
was building a lot of pies in the sky with the prospect of a new axis to oppose the global influence of the American “Great Satan.” The axis would consist of Venezuela, Russia, China and the Islamic Republic.
With its experience of challenging the United States throughout the Cold War, Russia was supposed to play a central role in the imagined axis.
Now, however, it seems as if Russia is being out of the imagined axis to be included in the “the club of Iran’s enemies”, according to a commentary published by IRNA, the official news agency on 12 July.
In that commentary, President Dmitri Medvedev is described as an American “puppet” and advised to listen to “the wise counsel of Russia’s elder statesmen”, presumably including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
http://aawsat.com/english/news.asp?section=2&id=21789
Iranian Small Business Squeezed By Ahmadinejad’s Policies
Even as the latest UN, U.S., and European Union sanctions against Iran create new hardships for the country’s economy, most Iranians outside the government seem to place the blame for the situation on President Mahmud Ahmadinejad’s uncompromising policies. At the same time, officials are trying mightily to ignore or downplay the effects of the sanctions.
Earlier, Tehran focused on demonizing the United States for isolating Iran. In recent weeks, however, Ahmadinejad’s government has added the European Union and, now, Russia to its enemies’ list, after the EU approved a new round of sanctions and Russia (and China) joined with other UN Security Council members in approving a fourth resolution of UN restrictions.
Nonetheless, Ahmadinejad and his government have been loudly stressing that the sanctions will have only a minimal effect on Iran’s economy. Ahmadinejad said in a recent speech that ties with the EU comprise just $24 billion of Iran’s “$900 billion economy.” “Maybe the Iranian nation will someday celebrate the introduction of these sanctions,” he asserted, “because we will make our economy a strong, global power completely independent of imports.”
“Nobody takes him seriously,” says Hossein, a trader in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, when I ask him about Ahmadinejad’s statements. “You just wonder what kind of logic he and his supporters are using. It is exactly such baseless and aggressive statements that have triggered more and more sanctions against our economy.”
http://www.payvand.com/news/10/aug/1086.html
Professor Shahla Talebi: The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Rape of Men
On July 1, 2010, the Radio Zamaneh Persian site published excerpts of a speech given [on date not specified] by Shahla Talebi, an Anthropology professor at Columbia University (New York City). The topic was “sexual tensions between the nation of Iran and its government.”
Talebi was imprisoned both during the Shah monarchy and the Islamic Republic regime. Her husband was a victim of the 1988 prison mass executions.
In her talk, she recalls one of her memories of the year 1981: the mother of a leftist activist reports her son’s ideological and religious views to the regime. Her son is consequently executed. Talebi explains the Iranian regime’s male dominated vision and approach:
Imagine the scenario: the regime shows a mother on state television and introduces her as the mother who delivered her own son to the authorities. The regime describes the woman as even braver than the character in Maxim Gorky’s book titled Mother. The mother in Gorky’s story followed her son’s path as a result of her motherly love for him, but the Iranian mother puts her motherly love aside and prefers her love for Islam, Imam Khomeini, and the regime.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13409
Hunger Strike Prisoner Majid Tavakoli Sent to Evin Clinic
RAHANA reports that student political prisoner Majid Tavakoli was sent to the prison clinic in Evin today after his health began to deteriorate and he lost consciousness as a result of a hunger strike he and 16 other political prisoners began 15 days ago to protest their transfer to solitary confinement and the violation of their legal rights. Tavakoli is in dire physical condition from taking his hunger strike a step further by cutting out water as well (I.e. dry hunger strike). Tavakoli is on the sixth day of his dry hunger strike. The 17 political prisoners are denied all contact with anyone outside of the prison.
The long duration of the hunger strike has caused serious concern among the families of the protesters and human rights activists. Many political activists and groups, including the leaders of the Green Movement, have published statements requesting that the protesters end their hunger strike.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13429
Fifteen prisoners in Evin end hunger strike
Following many calls to end their hunger strike, fifteen inmates at Evin prison have announced that they have ended their strike. The Kaleme website affiliated with Mir Hossein Mousavi said that the prisoners had managed to get their message across prison walls with the aid of “anonymous supporters of the Green Movement in Evin prison”.
The prisoners who had begun their hunger strike on 26 July in response to harsh prison conditions and solitary confinement, vowed to “continue to make [their] righteous demands which are the basic human rights of a prisoner.” “We promise you that we will continue our struggle for realising the legal rights of all prisoners which form a portion of the nation’s rights,” the statement continued.
The strikers stated that their decision to end their act of protest was “in respect” of Green Movement leaders such as Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mahdi Karroubi, Ayatollah Bayat Zanjani, Ebrahim Yazdi and “each and every one of the supporters of the Green Movement.”
http://en.irangreenvoice.com/article/2010/aug/10/2252
Exclusive: Sick livestock imported, budget diverted in Iran ministry
Tehran, Aug. 10 – Some of the funds allocated in the Iranian government’s budget for the purchase of livestock from abroad have gone missing and are believed to have been stolen by government officials, Iran Focus has learnt.
A senior source in the Ministry of Agriculture has told Iran Focus that the money has been pocketed by officials in the ministry linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The officials have purchased sick cows from Venezuela at very low prices – or “practically free” as the source says – stealing the rest of the money set aside in the budget.
The source, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals, claims Iran has turned into Venezuela’s repository for abandoned livestock.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21359:e...
Audio Reveals IRGC’s Interference in Presidential Election
A senior Iranian intelligence official, presumably from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ intelligence wing, was heard in an audio file outlining the IRGC’s involvement in dealing with the opposition before and after the June 12 election last year.
This audio file dates back to a private speech given by the general to a number of high-ranking clerics and state officials in the northeastern city of Mashhad, sometime after the June 12 election.
General Moshfegh, the intelligence official presumably heard on the audio file, accused high-ranking members of the opposition, including former President Mohammad Khatami, Assembly of Experts Chairman Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, and opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi of having direct ties to the United States and Great Britain. He said that these individuals and their families are connected to the West and “we [the IRGC] have made an effort in recent months to make this public.”
http://www.insideiran.org/media-analysis/audio-reveals-irgc%E2%80%99s-interferen...
What Is the Future of Religious Diversity in a Region Dominated by Iran?
Een goed artikel over de onderdrukking van de Bahai in Iran.
Lees ook de reacties onder het artikel, waaruit blijkt dat veel mensen in de wereld niet echt op de hoogte zijn van de situatie ten aanzien van de Bahai.
I didn’t want to press him too much but I had a specific concern: What if I am a Baha’i?
“Can you be proven to be a Baha’i?” He asked, “By the authorities in Iran?”
I told him I had published a story once in an interfaith college newsletter in undergrad that mentioned in the tagline that I was a member of the Baha’i faith.
“Then no, you can’t go. Get that article off the server at the college before you ever think of going.”
The threat facing the Baha’is of Iran has been a slow simmer that has in recent years begun to boil. This past June, the homes of 50 Baha’i families were razed in the town of Ivel, in Mazandaran province. Amateur video, shot on mobile telephones and posted on the Internet capture the homes being leveled and burned in the northern town.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maryam-ishani/what-is-the-future-of-rel_b_676180.h...
Tensions Escalate Among Top Iranian Leaders
Iran’s top leaders appear to be quarreling in public, as pressure mounts on the government due to deteriorating economic conditions. A war of words broke out between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani during the weekend and the Iranian press has taken the unusual step of publicizing their quarrel.
President Ahmadinejad reportedly slammed Sadegh Larijani in a speech to religious leaders Sunday, calling a suspended sentence against a top aide “strange.” Mr. Ahmadinejad’s deputy chief of staff, Jafar Behdad, was punished for writing an article criticizing Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, the brother of the judiciary chief.
Justice Larijani described Mr. Ahmadinejad’s speech as “unjustifiable” in the Tehran press, contending the president should use “sober, dignified and fair language.”
Tensions between the Larijani brothers, and President Ahmadinejad have received widespread attention in recent months.
Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has repeatedly criticized the president’s economic policies, recently in a parliament session.
http://www.payvand.com/news/10/aug/1094.html
Video Shows Dozens Of Graves To Bury ‘Invading Troops’ In Iran
Iran’s semi-official hard-line Fars news agency, which is said to have ties to the Revolutionary Guard, has posted a video of what it says are graves for forces that would invade Iran. The video emerges days after the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, said that the U.S. military has a contingency plan to attack Iran. Mullen added that he thought a military strike was not a good idea.
The video shows dozens of trenches in a desert area. Set to music, the video begins with comments by Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who talks about the need to know those who are standing against Iran
http://www.rferl.org/content/Video_Shows_Dozens_of_Graves_for_Burying_Invading_T...
U.S. Magazine Says Israel Likely To Bomb Iran In Next 12 Months
Mij lijkt eerder toe dat mensen zoals Jeffrey Goldberg gevaarlijker zijn dan Israel met hun gespeculeer en oorloghitserij.
The odds of an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities within the next year have risen to above 50 percent, according to a report in a leading U.S. magazine.
In a lengthy article in the latest edition of a monthly magazine, “The Atlantic,” Jeffrey Goldberg concludes that the possibility of an attack has increased amid concerns among Israeli officials about President Barack Obama’s readiness to act against the Iranian nuclear program, which Israel and the United States believe is geared to producing a nuclear bomb. Iran insists the program is peaceful.
Based on interviews with policymakers whom he asked about the likelihood of an Israeli attack on Iranian installations in the near future, Goldberg judges there is a “better than 50 percent chance that Israel will launch a strike by next July.”
http://www.rferl.org/content/US_Magazine_Says_Israel_Likely_To_Bomb_Iran_In_Next...
U.S. Secretary of States: deeply concerned with the persecution of Baha’is in Iran
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 12, 2010
The United States is deeply concerned with the Iranian government’s continued persecution of Baha’is and other religious minority communities in Iran.
This week, seven Baha’i leaders, who were incarcerated and held for nearly two years without due process, were each sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. The United States strongly condemns this sentencing as a violation of Iran’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6372#more-6372
Russia says to start up Iran Bushehr plant Aug 21
Russia said on Friday it will begin loading nuclear fuel into the reactor of Iran’s first atomic power station on Aug 21, an irreversible step marking the start-up of the Bushehr plant after nearly 40 years of delays.
Russia agreed in 1995 to build the Bushehr plant on the site of a project begun in the 1970s by German firm Siemens, but delays have haunted the $1 billion project and diplomats say Moscow has used it as a lever in relations with Tehran.
The United States has criticized Russia for pushing ahead with the Bushehr project at a time when major powers including Russia are pressing Tehran to allay fears that its nuclear energy program may be aimed to develop weapons.
But Western fears that the Bushehr project could help Tehran develop a nuclear weapon were lessened when Moscow reached an agreement with Iran obliging it to return spent fuel to Russia.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/7760534/russia-says-to-start-up-iran-bushehr-...
Why have Western feminists been so muted in their criticisms of Iran?
De grote vraag die Ik ook al vele malen heb gesteld op fora en reacties op artikelen over Iran, maar nooit enig antwoord op gekregen heb
The fate of the 43-year-old Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning took a sinister turn yesterday when she appeared on Iranian state television to confess to her “crimes”. Her lawyer fears she will now be executed imminently, probably hung by the neck until she is dead.
Many human rights groups have criticised the Iranian authorities for their brutal treatment of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, including Amnesty International and the International Committee Against Stoning. The mother of two has already received 99 lashes for committing adultery and according to her lawyer, who has fled the country after a warrant was issued for his arrest, she has been beaten and tortured in jail. Yet the response of feminists in the West has been strangely muted.
Hillary Clinton lost no opportunity to brandish her feminist credentials during her campaign to become the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee in 2008 and even went so far as to blame her failure to beat Barack Obama on the “glass ceiling”. Unfortunately, the concrete ceiling of Ashtiani’s jail cell hasn’t inspired any comparable rhetoric. All she has said is that she’s “troubled” by Ashtiani’s case.
At least Hillary Clinton was able to bring herself to mutter this mild rebuke. No other prominent feminist has spoken out about Ashtiani’s case, unless you include Yoko Ono who has signed the petition calling for her to be freed. We’ve heard nothing from Germaine Greer, nothing from Gloria Steinem, nothing from Jane Fonda, nothing from Naomi Wolf, nothing from Clare Short, nothing from Harriet Harmen.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/tobyyoung/100050550/why-have-western-feminists...
Need a little break from reality? Baha’i gardens in Haifa- A tour with lots of photo
Baha’i Gardens in Israel — a tour
Need a little break from reality? Come along on a tour of Baha’i Gardens in Haifa, Israel! I was lucky enough to visit this breathtaking site on my trip to Israel in May. There aren’t a whole lot of public gardens in this country, despite the fact that just about everyone has a little garden of their own and much of the landscape is given over to lush, productive fields growing their justifiably famous produce.
To see the whole of the Baha’i gardens site, you need to join a scheduled tour. However, if an English language tour isn’t convenient for your schedule, don’t hesitate to join a tour given in a different language. It is quite difficult to hear the guides, and you don’t need words to enjoy the spectacular views and plantings:
http://inthegarden.marthastewart.com/2010/07/27/bahai-gardens-in-israel-a-tour/
IRGC de ultieme criminele organisatie onder dekking van het Regime in Iran.
Guards involved in smuggling at Iran port
Duizenden worden opgehangen in Iran wegens drugsdelikten maar voor het IRGC dat corrupte zooitje zijn er natuurlijk uitzonderingen
Tehran, Aug. 12 – Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is running a major smuggling network from the southern Iranian island of Qeshm, situated in the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf below the port city of Bandar Abbas in mainland Iran, according to a leaked IRGC internal report.
The report indicates that in an attempt to cover up its extensive role in illegal trade, the IRGC unloads its smuggled imports at the port township of Aban on the island using very large storage facilities. It then distributes the products gradually into the Iranian market.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21405:g...
Activists continue graffiti campaign in Iran capital
Political activists in Tehran earlier this week filled public sites with anti-regime graffiti. Slogans condemning the authorities and inviting people to participate in further protests were written in a number of areas in the Iranian capital.
These areas included the northern corner of Azadi Square, Parcham Street, Nosrat, Laleh, Valadkhani, Shahriar and Shokri, Daryan-e No, Golestan and Pars streets in the vicinity of Sharif University, as well as Azizi, Akbari, and Salehi streets, according to the activists.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21402:a...
Nederland bezorgd over lot Baha’i-leiders Iran
Gas geven dan maxime Verhagen.
Nederland is zeer bezorgd over het lot van 7 leiders van de Baha’i-gemeenschap in Iran. De zeven worden ervan beschuldigd ‘vijanden van God’ te zijn en zouden volgens recente berichten tot 20 jaar gevangenisstraf zijn veroordeeld.
Nederland is bezorgd over de gebrekkige uitvoering van de rechtsgang in de zaak van de 7 Baha’i-leiders en vreest dat de arrestatie en veroordeling voortkomt uit discriminatie op basis van geloofsovertuiging.
http://www.minbuza.nl/nl/Actueel/Nieuwsberichten/2010/08/Nederland_bezorgd_over_...
Buzek on the sentencing of Baha’i leaders in Iran
The President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, is deeply troubled and concerned about the reports of the sentencing of seven religious leaders of the Baha’i faith in Iran. According to news reports, an Iranian court has sentenced seven leaders of the Baha’i faith to 20 years in prison.
En nou hebben dus een paar functionarissen een statement gegeven en zal het verder wel weer oorverdovend stil blijven vanuit de politiek.
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6406#more-6406
Huh hypocrisie ten top vanaf Juni vorig jaar nogal stil geweest aan het Europesche politieke front en nou valt iedereen over elkaar heen.
Lees deze pagina’s op Iran Press Watch maar eens en ga je verbazen hoeveel men ineens op heeft met de Bahai in Iran.
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/
Iran Analysis: Fall of the Islamic Republic, Pros and Cons (Mohammadi)
The Islamic regime in Iran is now on a path to demise and it is time to discuss the arguments for and against its survival. Every observer of Iran’s political developments will consider the advantages and disadvantages of this demise.
There have been some letters (Ezzatullah Sahabi) and statements (Mir Hussein Mousavi) describing the developments of the Green Movement and criticising its speed, but they do not offer any definition of moving fast or slow while complaining about the pace of activists’ actions. This requires discussions on the necessity or the lack of necessity to overthrow the Islamic regime, including the background and consequences.
Most of the people who are against the existing government and do not talk about its demise use this position to avoid radicalisation of the political situation and violence. They are aware of the levels of violence and bloodshed in social revolutions and are frightened of repeating the experience of 1979 when the situation went from bad to worse. Nevertheless, the continuation of this regime may lead to more bloodshed, compared to the price that protesters pay to overthrow it.
http://enduringamerica.com/2010/08/14/iran-analysis-fall-of-the-islamic-republic...
Waarom een militaire botsing tussen de U.S.A en Iran bloedje link is.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article26140.htm
- spamtest –
@ Frik
WordPress heeft me gevraagd je te informeren dat WP 3.0.1. beschikbaar is. Du moment 10:00 zitten 2 berichten van me vast.
‘Hunger Strike’ Prisoners Threatened with 6 Months Solitary Confinement
Five of the 17 Evin hunger strike prisoners detained in solitary confinement cells of ward 240 were transferred to the Prosecutor’s office. The prisoners (Kouhyar Goodarzi, Bahman Ahmad Amouie, Keyvan Samimi, Gholamhossein Arashi, and Ali Malihi) were threatened with six months imprisonment in solitary confinement, even though 20 days is the maximum allowed time spent in solitary confinement for wards covered by the Prisons Organization. They were also threatened with bans on visitation and telephone calls with family members for the duration of the six months in solitary confinement.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13544
Four Iranian Women Face Execution Any Day Now: Sakineh, Maryam, Kobra, and Azar
In an interview with Rooz Online, Javid Kian, the lawyer for the four women who received stoning sentences, has asked international organizations to act in order to save the lives of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, Maryam Ghorbanzadeh, Kobra Babaei, and Azar Bagheri.
Meanwhile, on the Wednesday night episode of the Iran state television program 20/30, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani [falsely] confessed to adultery and the murder of her husband. She also made [false] confessions against herself and her lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13522
Stoning, Rape and Execution of Women is Bad Gender Policy; It is Time to Remove the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (incl. sample letters and addresses)
Een wat oudere post maar nog steeds zeer actueel.
Worldwide Protests in Support of Sakine Mohammadi Ashtiani and Against Stoning and ExecutionEvent Report, July 11, 2010: Copenhagen Denmark Protests in Support of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani →Stoning, Rape and Execution of Women is Bad Gender Policy; It is Time to Remove the Islamic Republic from the UN Commission on the Status of Women (incl. sample letters and addresses)
Posted on July 12, 2010 by missionfreeiran
CAMPAIGN SAMPLE LETTERS AND CONTACT ADDRESSES BELOW
The Islamic Republic is a gender-apartheidist regime that uses stoning, rape, and execution to enforce its policies. This barbaric approach to gender policy development and implementation should have no seat at the table where global gender policy is set. The only seat on the world stage that the Islamic Republic should occupy is one in front of an international court of justice.
On July 9, 2010, Mohammad-Javad Larijani, chief of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights, issued a statement saying that the sentence of stoning against Ms. Ashtiani for the alleged and non-criminal act of adultery still stands. Larijani defended the legitimacy of the practice, saying, “Stoning to death exists in our constitution and our judiciary cannot change its course just because of pressure and campaigns by the West.” While calling Ms. Ashtiani a “criminal,” he again insisted that the sentence of stoning was rare, suggesting that in this case the sentence was exceptionally deserving.
By this statement, the Islamic Republic defends its barbaric and misogynist practice of stoning, which is primarily implemented against women. It also proves itself a liar about the extent of its illegal pratice of stoning: There are currently 12 women and 3 men known to be on death row under sentence of stoning; it is believed that there are up to 50 people awaiting a stoning execution – hardly a rare sentence.
http://missionfreeiran.org/2010/07/12/un-sakineh-elnaz/
More than 70 Prisoners Suddenly Executed in Mashhad
There are reports that in the past few days more than 70 people detained in Mashhad prison were executed suddenly and without prior notice. Based on the information available, prisoners under the age of 18 years were among the executed.
Based on reports by Neday-e Sabz Azadi, some of the people who were allegedly arrested in connection with drug smuggling had already received their sentences. The sentences issued did not include the death penalty, and in some cases, they had only been sentenced to pay a fine. But, in a sudden unannounced move, a judicial order was issued to execute them.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13540
Workers not paid at Iran factory
Tehran, Aug. 15 – From the Grapevine…
Workers at Sabalan textiles, which has been shut down for several months, have not received their salaries.
The owners keep making promises to the workers, a number of whom have not been paid for two years.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21424:w...
The future of Iran is waiting for our support
Al heeft de PMOI niet mijn voorkeur, naar mijn mening hebben ze ook het recht om hun stem te laten horen.
Hoewel Ik weet dat niet iedereen het met me eens zal zijn.
Why have we in the West persecuted exactly those groups that Tehran wants us to, asks Christopher Booker
By Christopher Booker
At a rally outside Paris, demonstrators hold up placards with images of the dissident Iranian leader Maryam Rajavi
There was extensive coverage last week for the charge by the First Vice President of Iran that we are “a thick people ruled by a mafia”, and also for the woman who was threatened with death by stoning for adultery. Less attention has been paid to a more complex drama involving that unhappy country – one that helps to explain why one of its senior politicians would launch such abuse against Britain and “the young lad now in charge” who is “even stupider than his predecessor”.
In recent months the regime in Tehran has stepped up the reign of terror it has imposed ever since last year’s nationwide demonstrations against the rigged elections which confirmed Mr Ahmedinajad as president. Thousands of people have been thrown into Iran’s infamous prisons and scores hanged, many in public. The regime has focused its propaganda – rather like the “Goldstein-hate” in Nineteen Eighty-Four – against the country’s main opposition group, the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), led in Parisian exile by Mrs Maryam Rajavi, and its largest component, the People’s Mujahideen of Iran (PMOI), seven of whose members are now awaiting a much-publicised death by hanging.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21422:t...
Naar boven IP Gelogd
Iran’s Telltale Stoning
Before the UN, EU, or White House draft a new proposal on Iran, they should master the details of the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, the 43-year-old woman on death/stoning row. What makes Sakineh’s case worth the policymakers’ time is more than the usual human rights argument against befriending governments that engage in medieval practices such as stoning (though why not?), but the way Iran’s regime has defined, then redefined (in light of international pressure), Sakineh’s charges — essentially rewriting the rules of their own game.
The complete story has thus far eluded coverage in part because of poor access to the main characters but in greater part because of the usual Western flaws in covering Iran’s domestic affairs, where the real story is always eclipsed by something deceivingly larger. The notoriety of the hundreds who have signed Sakineh’s petition, or Brazil’s offer of asylum to her, or the valiant defenses of the Koran by those who insist that so brutal a punishment as stoning does not exist in its text, have received far more attention than the details of the story itself.
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/new/blogs/hakakian/Irans_Telltale_Stoning
Netanyahu’s warning
Ayatollah Khomeini said:
“We do not worship Iran, we worship Allah. For patriotism is another name for paganism. I say let this land burn. I say let this land go up in smoke, provided Islam emerges triumphant in the rest of the world.”
You say, that was long ago? Israel says, this is now:
Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, says that Israel is the “enemy of God.” Tehran, proclaiming that the Holocaust never happened and vowing to complete it, sent an ambassador to Poland who in 2006 wanted to measure the ovens at Auschwitz to prove them inadequate for genocide. Iran’s former president, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who is considered a “moderate” by people for whom believing is seeing, calls Israel a “one-bomb country.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/13/AR2010081304474….
Rajai Shahr Prison: New Murder Under Torture
35 year old prisoner Hassan Ghashghaei died under torture in a solitary confinement cell in ward 1 of Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj (I.e. Gohardasht prison).
On August 11, 2010, after returning to prison from court, Hassan Ghashghaei was transferred to solitary confinement. He was blindfolded and his hands and feet were cuffed. The guards then brutally tortured him. He fell into a coma and died a few hours later.
Before his arrest, Hassan Ghashghaei clashed with security forces when he resisted against their oppressive behaviour. He was later arrested in Varamin (city in the south part of the Tehran province). He was imprisoned for five years. He was detained in ward 4 of Rajai Shahr prison but was later moved to ward 1, known as “the last verse of the song of death.” When Hassan Ghasghaei protested against the brutality of the guards, he was transferred to solitary confinement known as the “dog house”. He was murdered under torture.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13567
Political Prisoner Reza Joushan Losing Eye Sight, Denied Medical Care
According to Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran, 25 year old political prisoner Reza Joushan suffers from acute eye disease since a week ago. Despite this, Mohebbi, the chief interrogator of the Ministry of intelligence, has denied him medical treatment. Reza Joushan’s eyes are red and watery. He suffers from severe pain and the deterioration of vision.
According to reports, Reza Joushan asked one of the guards why he was not permitted to visit the prison clinic. The guard replied that he must await his turn because prisoners can only visit the clinic once every two months.
Reza Joushan protested against the lack of medical treatment, and as a result, Gerami, the manager of the prison, paid him a visit on August 10th. Reza Joushan described his eye problems to Gerami, but nothing has been done yet to remedy the situation.
http://persian2english.com/?p=13573
Sakineh Mohammadi Forced to “Confess” on TV
Dit zijn praktijken die in een westers systeem onvoorstelbaar zijn maar in Iran dagelijkse kost voor gevangenen die ten alle tijden zullen moeten bekennen dat ze zaken hebben gedaan die helemaal niet waar zijn.
In het geval van vrouwen is het zelfs zeer gewenst om valse bekentenissen te geven omdat het Regime in Iran verschrikkelijk bang is voor deze vrouwen die zoeken naar gelijkstelling met de man.
On the same day that Javid Kian, the defense attorney for four women who face possible stoning or execution in Tabriz, asked for international support to save the lives of Sakineh Mohammadi, Maryam Ghorbanzadeh, Kobra Babai and Azar Bagheri in an exclusive interview with Rooz, Iran’s national television station IRIB broadcast a program showing Sakineh Mohammadi “confessing “to have an affair and murdered her husband, and even accused her other defense attorney Mohammad Mostafai of taking advantage of her.
Kian, who spoke to Rooz along with Mostafai, announced that Sakineh’s children had been put under pressure adding that the video film that was shown of her was under duress. He reminded the country’s judiciary and that it could not justify its actions through violence, force, duress and the creation of fake situations.
http://www.roozonline.com/english/news/newsitem/article/2010/august/16//sakineh-...
Nobel laureates seek action on Iran execution
PARIS — Public figures including Nobel laureates and Hollywood stars published a letter of support Monday for Iranian mother-of-two Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani who is facing execution for adultery.
“Urgent intervention is necessary to prevent an execution that observers believe is imminent,” said a text published in France’s Liberation newspaper, signed by dignitaries including Nobel Laureates Wole Soyinka and Jody Williams.
Other names included Czech author Milan Kundera, pop star and anti-poverty campaigner Bob Geldof and actresses Juliette Binoche and Mia Farrow.
They called for “the renunciation of any kind of execution, freedom without delay and recognition of her innocence,” after Mohammadi-Ashtiani, 43, last week made an apparently coerced televised confession.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j7B-wGJbWtdmFM3gJmN5D42avnYQ
Majid Tavakoli Transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj
Wie is Majid Tavakoli http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majid_Tavakoli
HRANA- Prominent student activist Majid Tavakoli has been transferred from ward 240 of Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.
Ali Tavakoli has informed HRANA that he has not been able to establish any communication with his brother. However, a prisoner from Rajai Shahr has seen Majid Tavakoli as he was being transferred.
In regards to his hunger strike, Majid Tavakoli’s brother stated that the prosecutor general reported to Majid’s lawyer in person after meeting with him that he had ended his hunger strike.
Seventeen political prisoners in Evin Prison started a hunger strike after being transferred to solitary confinement for protesting inhuman conditions and treatment in the prison. They continued their hunger strike for sixteen days while in solitary.
http://www.en-hrana.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=211:majid-t...
Lawyer: Nokia Siemens Played Key Role In Saharkhiz’s Arrest
We reported on August 17 about the lawsuit against Nokia Siemens Networks by a prominent jailed Iranian journalist, Isa Saharkhiz, who implicated Nokia Siemens in his arrest last year. He accuses them of delivering surveillance equipment to Iran that allowed authorities to trace his whereabouts through his cell phone.
“Persian Letters” spoke to Edward Moawad, an attorney at the Maryland-based Moawad & Herischi law firm, who is representing Saharkhiz and his son, blogger Mehdi Saharkhiz.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Lawyer_Nokia_Siemens_Played_Key_Role_In_Saharkhizs_...
http://www.elsevier.nl/web/Nieuws/Buitenland/273528/Israel-heeft-nog-een-week-voor-aanval-op-Iran.htm
Ik denk niet dat Israel de kerncentrale zal bombarderen omdat de Israelische regering goed weet dat ze daarmee de politieke situatie van Iran in het midden oosten te veel versterkt.
Dat wil men met alle middelen voorkomen omdat in het midden oosten dan weer te veel stemmen op zullen gaan om Iran te helpen tegen de Israelische ägressie”
Men heeft in die uithoek van de wereld niet veel redenen nodig om Israel te veroordelen omdat de gemiddelde moslim toch meent dat Israel geen bestaansrecht heeft en daarom van de kaart geveegd dient te worden.
Het slechtste wat op dit moment gebeurd is wel de oorlogsretoriek van verschillende kanten.
Het staat als een paal boven water dat, zou Israel een kerncentrale bombaderen er een regen van Iraanse raketten richting Israel gestuurd gaat worden en ondanks alle mooie woorden van de wapenindustrie weet elk weldenkend mens wel dat het veel te moeilijk is om alle raketten die richting Israel gaan te onderscheppen en er zodoende onnoemelijke schade aan Israel toegebracht zal gaan worden.
Probable Death Sentence for Dutch-Iranian Citizen
The chief judge of the 15th Circuit of the Revolutionary Court, Judge Salavati, is expected to sentence a Dutch-Iranian citizen to death. He has handed down numerous death sentences for those arrested during the events surrounding the 2009 elections.
According to the Human Rights and Democracy Activists weblog, forty five year old Zahra Bahrami an Iranian born Dutch citizen was arrested during the Ashura protests of December 27, 2009.
Zahra Bahrami spent eight months in solitary confinement in ward 209 of Evin Prison and was not denied access to a lawyer. She objected to not having access to a lawyer while in court on Monday August 16, 2010.
http://www.en-hrana.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=212:probabl...
Iran Bans Well-Known Economic Newspaper
The Iranian state committee that monitors the press has banned the well-known economic newspaper “Asia,” RFE/RL’s Radio Farda reports.
The Deputy Head of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Mohammad Ali Ramin, said the reasons for closing down “Asia” include “publishing pictures against public chastity,” “promoting wastefulness and extravagance,” and “persistence in carrying out the aforementioned violations.”
“Asia” is known to be critical of the Iranian government’s economic plans.
Ahmad Alavi, an Iranian lecturer at Stockholm University, told RFE/RL that “Asia” was likely shut down on August 18 for divulging too much information.
http://www.rferl.org/content/Iran_Bans_WellKnown_Economic_Newspaper_/2131890.htm...
Appeals Court Should Overturn Unjust Sentencing of Baha’i Leaders
Shirin Ebadi: Trial “Riddled with Irregularities”
(10 August 2010) Seven leaders of the Iranian Baha’i community, each of whom has been sentenced to 20 years in prison on security, espionage and other crimes, should be freed by an appeals court, the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran said today.
“We consider the arrest, detention, trial, and sentencing of these individuals to be politically motivated, discriminatory, unjust, and illegal under Iranian and international law,” said Aaron Rhodes, a spokesperson for the Campaign.
“They have been sentenced for being Baha’is, nothing else, and their incarceration thus expresses a policy of oppression of the Baha’i Faith and its members,” he said.
http://www.iranpresswatch.org/post/6459
Wie is Shirin Ebadi. http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Ebadi
Tongue of Kurdish Political Prisoner Amputated, Risks Death
The website Kurdish Perspective reports that Evin prison interrogators have amputated the tongue of Matin Arjan, a Kurdish political prisoner from Batman, Turkey. He is currently in critical condition and risks death. In the past year [in prison] Matin Arjan has suffered from two strokes and paralysis in his legs.
Matin’s brother Zaki Arjan confirmed the news in a recent interview. He stated, “So far I have visited Iran four times to see my brother. Matin is constantly under torture and he is mostly detained in solitary confinement. They have cut off his tongue. He is not being medically treated and he is very close to death.” He added, “I have paid 20 thousand euros to the authorities in order to free my brother, but the authorities refused. They threatened that I would die if I stayed in the country.”
http://persian2english.com/?p=13655
UK minister meets Iran envoy on trials
A British minister has met with Iran’s envoy to London to press the clerical regime over the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, a woman previously sentenced to stoning for adultery and who still faces the death penalty.
Britain’s Foreign Office said that Alistair Burt, a junior minister, met with Iranian Ambassador Rasoul Movahedian to discuss her case and others, including the trial of seven members of leaders of Iran’s minority Baha’i faith.
http://news.brisbanetimes.com.au/breaking-news-world/uk-minister-meets-iran-envo...
Locals in oil-rich city contemplate Iran’s economic future
Ahvaz, Iran, Aug. 19 – On a recent sunny afternoon down south in Iran’s oil heartland, Majid, an engineer in his 30s gives a bleak assessment of his outlook for Iran’s energy industry and the blistering effect of global sanctions on the regime over its controversial nuclear projects.
The National Oil Company’s employees in Ahvaz recently had a 30% pay cut as the government struggles to cope with the economic impact of new sanctions.
Majid says many of the oil company’s employees are members of the paramilitary Bassij, an affiliate militia of the Revolutionary Guards, and they did not show much sign of protest over their new wage levels. Similar pay cuts are also planned for oil company employees and civil servants throughout Khuzestan Province and in neighbouring Kohkilouyeh and Boyer Ahmad.
“People are not too optimistic about sanctions, and they are right, because people end up feeling the initial pressure. These sanctions target the heart of the economy. At the same time, people also acknowledge that in the long term, the regime will be the main victim of sanctions”, Majid said, adding that university students and intellectuals know that sanctions will devastate the regime.
“But, the general population does not have a strategic outlook”.
There have been major strikes at the bazaar in Ahvaz is recent weeks, and locals generally believe that it will continue, though Majid doubts that the oil employees will be joining them anytime soon. “At the moment, I don’t see any inclination towards a strike at the National Oil Company, because most of its employees are Bassij elements, and the regime takes care of them”, he said.
“I recently found out that during protests in Ahvaz, the Bassij Force’s elements at the oil company played a direct part in suppressing the uprising and supplying and equipping the paramilitary Bassij forces. In other words, Ahvaz’s oil company backs the Bassij”.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21477:l...
Cleric smuggles narcotics into Iran prison
Het is natuurlijk duidelijk dat de clerici staan voor het welzijn van de Iraanse bevolking en niet voor hun eigen bankrekening.
Cleric Massih Mottalebi, congregation leader of Gohardash Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, is responsible for the entry of narcotics into the prison.
His involvement has become common knowledge among prisoners. Inmates who oppose his actions are transferred to other prisons.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21484:c...
Man hanged in south-west Iran
Tehran, Aug. 19 – A young man, Makki Jaradi, was hanged earlier this week in Ahvaz, in the south-western province of Khuzestan.
He was charged with drug trafficking.
Another man, Karim Sheteyetpour, was informed by Karoon Prison officials in Ahvaz that he will be hanged in the next few days.
He is also charged with drug trafficking.
In the past, United Nations Rapporteurs on Iran have confirmed that Iran routinely executes dissidents on apolitical charges, such as drug smuggling.
Ik vraag me bij deze af of voornoemde cleric ook opgehangen gaat worden na grondig onderzoek.
Of zal uit een grondig onderzoek blijken dat deze cleric nooit iets met Heroine van doen heeft gehad.
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21483:m...
Executions by country
Nog zijn er mensen die denken dat het aantal executies in Iran eigenlijk wel mee valt en dat misdaad op deze manier bestrafd dient te worden, zonder erbij na te denken dat vele veroordelingen niets met criminaliteit hebben te maken maar met pure repressie
http://www.irannewsdigest.com/2010/08/18/executions-by-country/
Openbare ophanging van 3 mannen in Lorestan, Iran, 12 augustus
Niet voor gevoelige mensen!
Prof., misschien een idee om deze draad tot en met de 30 ivm de demonstratie de 28e weer bovenaan te zetten.
Hij staat bovenaan in de kolom nu. Maarten! Goed idee!
Ahmadinejad unveils new ‘bomber’ drone
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad unveiled on Sunday a new long-range drone, dubbed Karar, which reportedly can bomb targets at high speed, state television reported.
Television footage showed the president applauding as a blue cloth which had been covering the drone was pulled back to reveal a short aircraft painted in military-green with the words “Bomber jet” written on its side.
Images were then broadcast on television showing the aircraft flying, while Fars news agency quoted Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi as saying the drone had a flight range of up to 1,000 kilometres (621 miles).
http://www.iranfocus.com/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=21506:a...
@ 57. Prof. Drs. G.B.J. VanFrikschoten augustus 19th, 2010 22:09
Het ziekelijke geroep “…… ahuakhbar” tijdens de ophanging is zo mogelijk nog moeilijker te verteren voor mij dan de beelden.
de ziekelijke en dierlijke domheid die eruit klinkt…..
Basij Members Trained To Conquer Virtual World
Controlling the virtual world is one of the priorities of Iran’s pro-government Basij force and members are receiving necessary training in that area, according to an official with the militia.
Abbas Mahmudian, an official in charge of media and public relations of Khorasan’s Imam Reza Basij force, said that through “policies and planning” the Basij organization has set the “conquering of the virtual world” as one of its priorities.
Mahmudian said in this regard over 100 members of the Basij went recently through training in Mashad:
http://www.rferl.org/content/Basij_Members_Trained_To_Conquer_Virtual_World/2134...