Weekly report on Human Right Violation in Iran (09/06/2013)

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Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran
1. 40 Political and religious prisoners of the prison of Rajai Shahr have written a letter to Mardani the head of the Rajai Prison to show their exception against the beating up and torturing of Namegh Mahmoudi and the frequently delays in the treatment of the named prisoner.
2. On Saturday the 1st of June, Many Taxi Drivers had protested in the city of Kamayaran against the taxi fares being very low, many of them have gone on a hunger strike hoping to increase the taxi fares from 2000 Rial to 4000 Rials which is double the current taxy fair.
3. On Wednesday the 29th of May 2013, four Human right experts and activists of Iran gathered in the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in Switzerland, while reviewing the processes of the Iranian Presidential Election, they had announced the Prohibition of women candidates is against the internationals basic human right law. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran has also announced that this process is a fundamental violation of the discriminatory right to political participation, and any disqualification should only be based on the impartial and reasonable criteria.
4. On Monday the 3rd of June 2013, the international organization of “Dideban” Human Rights, has requested from the Iranian authorities that “the Approved Islamic Panel Codes Must be Banned” in this letter they have mentioned Islamic Panel Codes such as Sangsar “Stoning to death” instead this organisation has announced a new punishment for “Violation of Basic Human Rights”
5. Arash Sadeghi who was a member staff of Mir Hosein Mousavi in the 2009 election was beaten in prison on Monday the 3rd of June 2013, since then he has started a hunger strike to protest against this unfair situation.
6. Miss GoharEshghi, mother of Satar Beheshti who was an Iranian blogger who died in early November 2012 several days after being arrested by the Iranian security forces of Iran, has written a formal letter to Ali Akbar Nategh Nouri who is responsible for the Office work of Ayatolah Khameneyi’s the Islamic leader of Iran. In this letter she has requested to use all the facilities and capacities of the office to organize a fair court to deal with her son’s murder case. Because it has been 7 months since Satar Beheshti was killed in the Fata Police station and there has not been any court to investigate his case since.
7. The international organization to preserve human rights in Iran have protested in front of the Embassy of Islamic republic of Iran as well as in many different parts of the city of Berlin because of the 50th birthday of Nasrin Sotudeh a human rights and many political prisoners lawyer in Iran who is currently imprisoned in the Evin prison.

Universities and Academics
1. On Sunday 1st Jun, Mohsen Barzegar, the former cultural secretary of the ‘Islamic Student Association of Noshirvani Industrial University’, and current student of the university in the city of Babol, who was sentenced to two years imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court of Babol, charged with ‘acting against national security and insulting the Supreme Leader of Iran’, has been recalled to Babol prison to serve his sentence.
2. On Thursday 30th May, the security police and the committee for student’s welfare fund signed an agreement, granting the security police more authority to control and supervise the student residence.
3. Afshin Keshtkari one of the student activists in the Shiraz Industrial University, has been transferred to Adel Abad prison of Shiraz for six months of imprisonment.
4. Aboolfazl Hasani, the ‘head of the office of development of science, research and technology ‘stated that so far, 15 public universities have been given licenses to be unisex and 4 others in principle will be receiving their licences.
5. Authorities of the Shiraz medical Science University, on the eve of the presidential election attempted to install CCTV in front of the university dormitory.

Workers and vulnerable groups of society
1. Jahan-bakhsh Mijani, a member of the Islamic council of paper factory, in the city of Karoon, has called the situations of the redundancy of the workers “regrettable” and criticized the authorities for their lack of care for these workers saying that “the troubles of the factory, since 2001, were not known about by the workers and due to these troubles the workers were gradually made redundant”.
2. Since last week the working condition for the workers of Iran-khodro factory, has become harder and many of their facilities have been closed down.

Sentences: Death, Flogging, Amputation, Imprisonment and Detention
1. According to the reports received, on Sunday 2nd June, Sayed Zia-eddin Reza Tofiqi, the head of Mr Hashemi Rafsanjanis campaign group and the chief of the Mujahidin of Islamic Revolution Committee in Kohgi-luyeh and Boyer Ahmed County and three central committee members of this campaign group were arrested.
2. Last week two male prisoners, one of them an Afghanistan citizen called Mohammed and the other called Ali-Reza, were executed in the city of Karaj in Rajaee Prison.
3. On Sunday 2nd June, two prisoners accused of possession of drugs were hanged in Khorram Abad prison.
4. Reza Agha Khani, Nasrollah Lashni, Alireza Akbar Zadeh’ and Hosein Bahiraee were arrested in Tehran. These gentlemen, who were either political or cultural activists, interested in national/religious movements, or followed Dr. Shariati’s ideology, were arrested at their work place and their homes were searched intensively by security forces. So far, there has not been any indication of the reason for the arrest.
5. According to the news received on Monday 3rd June, following Mohammed Reza Aaref’s visit to Tehran Bazaar, three of his companions started shouting slogans in support of Khatami and Aaref and consequently, were arrested.
6. According to reports, on Tuesday 4th June a number of participants in the funeral of Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri in Esfahan were arrested. Naim Salavati, son of Fazlollah Salavati, a political activist in Esfahan was one of them.
7. On 31st May, Mahmud Beheshti Langrudi, a cultural activist and former spokesman of the trade union of the Iranian teachers, who was earlier released on bail for one hundred and fifty Million Toman, had his five years prison sentence confirmed by Abulghasem Salavati, the judge of branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court.
8. On Monday 3rd June, the Ministry of Intelligence of Iran announced the execution of two spies. According to the authorities they were the head of spies in Iran, working for CIA and Mossad. The Ministry has not provided much detail or any names about these two people, but has indicated that they confessed to their crimes.

The rights of ethnic and religious diversity in Iran
1. Amir Eslami, one of imprisoned dervish prisoner was refused from sending him to medical centres outside of prison by Evin prison security guards, despite his severe stomach pains, digestive system disorders, and being told by the prison’s infirmary for his emergency transport to medical centres outside of prison.
2. Rahman Vafaei and Hamid Eslami, two Baha’i citizens from the city of Shiraz, both of whom were imprisoned in Shiraz since Saturday the 14th of July 2012, have been sentenced to a total of 6 years, by the Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge Kheshti.
3. During the past week, Saleh Moradi, a human rights activist, who was temporarily released from prison on Saturday the 2nd of June, was sentenced to one year suspended imprisonment and one year banishment. Prior to this, Mr Moradi had spent 20 months imprisonment in Adel Abad prison of Shiraz.
4. On Wednesday the 29th of May, Mohammad-Reza Farid, Saeed Saafi and Hamid-Reza Ghadiri, members of “private church” in Isfahan, were arrested and taken to an unknown location by the security officers.
5. Furthermore, on Wednesday the 29th of May, Mohammad-Ali Dehghan, Mohammad-Ali Sadeghi, Mohsen Esmaeeli, and seyyed Ebrahim Bahrami, four Gonabadi Dervishes were transferred from Shiraz to an isolated region of the Adel Abad prison. Currently, each of these prisoners is in separate cells in the basement of Adel Abad prison, and is being prevented from visitations and any contact from outside.
6. On Wednesday the 29th of April, Aman-Allah Mostaghim was transferred to section 4, hall number 12 of Rajaee-Shahr prison in Karaj, after being arrested on Monday the 20th of May, because of vising the Evin prison.
7. The security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have started to install dozens of CCTV cameras in the streets and in public places in the city of Kermanshah, in an attempt to gain more control over citizens of this city.
8. On Saturday the 1st of June, more than 60 Gonabadi Dervishes gathered in front of Adel-Abad prison of Shiraz, in order to protest against the unspecified states of four imprisoned Gonabadi Dervishes.
9. On Saturday morning, the 1st of June, Kasra Noori, was surrounded and transferred by the security forces from the “green” section of this prison to an unknown location. So far, there is no information about his situation and whereabouts.

Press releases and cyber space
1. Following the publication of an interview with the manager of the Serat news website Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Web Content, have requested from Mehr news server provider to delete this news.
2. On Monday 3rd 2 – of June a blogger was arrested in Uromia west Azarbayjan province, his charges was “spreading corruption on the Internet”.

Other Human Rights Violations
1. Behroz Agha-janloo, the chief of police in Zanjan County has indicated that “As a result of police action, they have managed to confiscate 2,846 satellites in the past few days”.
2. On Sunday 2nd Jun, Mohtram Rahmani, a civil activist and the manager of Cheshmeh Gazvin book shop was summoned to the revolutionary court.
3. Dr Mohammad Amini, the head of the ‘Agricultural and Natural Resources Research Centre’ in the Mazanderan County said “every day 40, 000 hectares of jungle are partially or completely destroyed”.
4. At present there are more than 3,800 prisoners in the central city prison of Bandar Abbas, out of which 500 are expected to be sentenced to be hanged. So far, the Supreme Court has confirmed the sentences of 300 out of 500 of them.