Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran
1. As a result of city officers using bulldozers to demolish the houses of seven Arabic citizens in the Shelang-Abad area of Ahvaz, two men, named Shahrokh Zamaani and Khaled Hardaani have been on hunger strike since Saturday the 18th of May in order to show their support towards the seven families and to protest against the actions of the security forces.
2. The annual report of the US Department of Foreign Affairs, states that with regards to religious freedom around the world, Iran has been accused with systematic violations towards the freedom of religious minorities. In this report, the US Department of Foreign Affairs announced that hundreds of arrests have been made towards Iranian citizens who had converted to Christianity during the past year. It is also stated in this report that: “The Iranian government has increased the suppression of Sufi communities and their religious practices and that the intelligence and security forces have increased harassment and intimidation towards Sufi leaders.”
3. During the past week, the oldest son of Mehdi Karroubi, one of the Iranian opposition leaders, wrote a letter to Ali Khamenei, objecting about what he has read, such as the non-ethical and non-religious behaviours of security forces in Iran and also the seizing of personal properties belonging to anyone in opposition.
4. On Tuesday the 21st of May, more than 2000 prisoners from Ghazal Hesar prison went on a hunger strike, in order to protest against the recent mass executions by hanging that have been taking place on a weekly basis, and against the brutal tortures of defenceless prisoners.
5. Since Sunday the 19th of May, Mostafa Mosri, a Kurdish political prisoner, held in the central prison in the city of Oroumiye, went on hunger strike by sewing his lips together. This political prisoner started his hunger strike because he was prevented from being transferred to the prison in the city of Naghdeh.
6. Furthermore, around 2100 prisoners from halls number 1, 2 and 3 in the second unit of Ghazal Hasar prison, have gone on hunger strike in order to protest against the following: 1) Allowing one of the ex-prisoners to become the president of the second unit of this prison. 2) Lack of basic facilities for prisoners. 3) Lack of judicial proceedings towards cases. Thirty of these protesters were transferred to solitary confinement.

Women’s Rights
‪1.During the past week, Ayatullah Mohammad Yazdi, a member of the Guardian Council of Jurisprudents described the process of studying the qualifications of presidential candidates, and said that, women who have become presidential candidates are like people who express their opinions about a subject, when they are not even allowed to enter the field of that subject.
2. Mrs Gohar Eshghi, the mother of Sattar Beheshti who lost his life in prison, announced that she is preparing herself for a debate with the Leader.
3. Womens’ studies has been virtually eliminated and the University of Tehran is not accepting any students in the subject of Women Studies for the academic year 2013.
‪4.Based on the 2013 master’s course selection test, the admission of female students into seven major subjects in the Industrial University of Isfahan, has been discontinued.
‪5.The Industrial University of Isfahan has stopped accepting female students in seven subjects. Isfahan Industrial University is only accepting male students this year in the section of master’s degree in the subjects; Trends in Agricultural engineering Irrigation, Animal Science and Machinery, Engineering in Natural resources in watershed planning, desertification and trends in the field of water structures.

The rights of ethnic and religious diversity in Iran
1. The court session of two Baha’is by the name of Nica Kholoosi and Nava Koloosi from city of Mashhad was held on 6 May 2013. These two Baha’is were charges with ‘being member of Baha’is organizations’, ‘propagating Baha’ism’ and ‘activities against the regime of Islamic republic.
2. On Monday 20 May 2013, Mr Aman Alah Mostaghim, from Bahai’s academic institution in Iran was arrested.
3. Based on the decision of the judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran four Kurdish civilians were executed in the central prison of Orumiyeh.
4. In recent days, Iranian military officials at the border of Namshir, in Baaneh city shot and wounded a 45 year old Kurdish citizen called Ahmed. So far, no official reason for the shooting has been reported.
5. On Saturday the of 18 May, the security of Evin prison entered the Clergy-Ward of the prison and forced Mr. Kazemini Boroujerdi to take his personal belongings and then transferred him to solitary confinement.
6. On Wednesday the 22nd of May, agents of the Ministry of information entered The Holy Congregation Church (Jamaat Rabbani Church) in Tehran and arrested one of the ministers. They then ordered the Chapel to be shut down.
7. On Wednesday the 22nd May, Ali Moaazemi, a Gonabadi Dervish was sentenced to two years imprisonment on charges of ‘gathering and collusion to disturb national security’. The Court of Appeal in Tehran later affirmed the sentence.
8. Last week, the authorities of the Karaj prison denied medical leave for Behnam Tehrani, a newly converted Christian, who is suffering from complex health problems.

Press releases and cyber space
1. Ali Yali the Chief Police of Feta, North Khorasan, has indicated that three internet cafes in Bojnurd, despite police warnings, have broken the laws and guidelines laid out for internet cafés and as a result have been shut down.
2. Following the slowing down of the speed of the majority of Internet service providers in Iran, communications have been severely disrupted.
3. Recent reports indicate that The Bahar newspaper site has been filtered. It is also worth mentioning that, in the past few days many other sites have been inaccessible.
4. On the eve of the presidential elections Heshmat Tabarzadi, an imprisoned journalist and head of the Democratic Front of Iran who was on leave, was summoned to prison.
5. On Saturday the 18th of May, Fouad Sadeghi, chief editor of the Baz Tabe- Emroz website and one of the activists close to Hashemi Rafsanjani, was arrested after having been summoned to the prosecutor.

Universities and Academics
1. On Monday the 13th of May, Tabriz University students gathered and marched in protest against the changing of exam dates from June to May, because of the eleventh holding presidential elections.
2. ‪On Saturday the 19th of May, Hojjat al-Eslam Ahmad Hamidi, the social director of the University of Tabriz, in order to expand the “Culture of Hejab” has announced the ‘development and covering standards’ within the university.
‪3.On Wednesday the 22nd of May the Right to Education council, issued a statement announcing that this year, at least 54 students in Public and Private Universities across the country and mainly in the graduate Master’s degree section, for the first time in a new and illegal manner, were excluded from further study. Also during this academic year, a group of Baha’i citizen students have been expelled from university in the same way, simply because of their religious beliefs.

‪Workers and vulnerable communities
‪1.On Monday the 20th May, Gylana Tile factory employees protested against their unpaid wages for the past 9 months.
2. On Wednesday the 15th of May employees at the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane factory went on strike.
3. On Sunday the 19th of May, Baneer Dam workers protested in front of the dam contractor Stratus Company against their unpaid wages for the past four months and their entitlement to bonuses for the previous year.

The Sentences: Execution Flogging, amputation, imprisonment and custody
1. According to reports, on Friday the 17th of May, Ismail Ali Mirzaei, head of the Mosharakat party of West Azerbaijan province, has been arrested by the security forces.
2. On Monday the 20th of May, two people known as “P.A” and “S.L” who were accused of murder, were hanged in the Hamedan Prison by the direct order of Khamenei.
3. Following a telephone conversation with the security forces, Mohammad Bagher Moradi, a citizen of Qum and a member of the Writers Union, was summoned to the section 26 of revolutionary court and was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment on charges of ‘gathering and collusion to disturb national security’ by the Judge Pir Abbas.
4. Dr. Hani Yazerloo, a political activist, who was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment and 15 years exile, has been sent to prison to serve his sentence.
5. On the 29th of April 2013 the public court in the city of Sarand announced the sentence of the charity workers. According to the verdict, the charity workers were sentenced to a sum of 10 months imprisonment and fine of 95 million rials.
6. A Tehran prosecutor announced that, Mohammad Heydari and korosh Ahmady were executed on Sunday the 19th of May. They have been charged with spying for foreign intelligence services.

Other human rights violations
1. On Saturday the 18th of May, Zanyar Moradi, a political prisoner with a death sentence, who was transferred to the hospital for treatment, was moved to Karaj Rajaey-Shahr prison without any further treatment.
2. On Sunday the 19th of May, Akbar Amini Armaki who was head of the presidential election campaign team for Dr Ghasem Sholeh-Saadi was summoned to the Office of the Ministry of information.
3. The reformist youth campaign team headquarters, affiliated to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for Presidency, due to pressure from the security forces was shut down temporarily.
4. On Tuesday the 30th of April, marking the start of the implementation of a social discipline plan in Tehran, 17 provinces and other big cities, hundreds of citizen were arrested and charged with the following offenses: ‘being thugs and street ruffians’, ‘wearing inappropriate clothing’ and ‘making noise pollution’.
5. According to reports received, on the eve of the presidential election, Zila Karam-zadeh Makvandi, Masoud Baastani, Ahmad Zida badi, Bahman Ahmadi Amou-yei and Didar Raoofi were returned to prison.
6. Reza Akbari Monfared, a political activist and a family member of the 1988 massacred victims, has been kept in ward 209 of the Evin prison since his arrest four months ago.
7. According to the news received, Hossein Saj-di-nia, chief of Tehran police reported 74 people have been arrested on charges of being thugs and street ruffians.
8. According to the statistic in 2012 the number of people committed suicide with rice pills have raised by 23% compared to the previous year.
9. Sharif Hosseini, city of Ahvaz’s representative in Iranian parliament satted: -“drinking water in some area of the city, not only that is not suitable for drinking, but it is not even good enough for washing hands and faces.
10. On Wednesday the 22 May, a day after announcing presidential candidates, whereby 8 candidates were approved and 2 disqualified, the security forces were on alert in some parts of Tehran.