Weekly report on Human Right Violation in Iran (29/06/2013)

 IOPHRI Logo

Reactions to the violation of human rights in Iran
1. On 21st and 22nd June, 11 prisoners from Rajaee Shahr Prison in Karaj, in protest against the beatings of the prisoners, insulting and humiliating them, deprivation of having phone calls, lack of time given for fresh air, poor food quality, presenting problems especially for private family visits and the lack of space, went on hunger strike.
2. A number of political prisoners in Evin prison have written a letter to the family of Afshin Asanloo, expressing their condolences, and added that they witnessed the great pain and sufferings that Mr Asanloo went through in the prison. In a section of this letter indicates that “despite all the pressures, he had relatively good physical health.” The letter continues that “such a tragic death of a prisoner is common between political prisoners and is due to the pressures and tortures, lack of medical treatment, and recklessness by the prison authorities”.
3. Last week, The International Federation Journalists requested Hassan Rohani, the elected president of Iran, to fulfil his promise after taking up the responsibility of becoming president.
4. Gathering of supporters of freedom of prisoners in the dark illegal dungeons of Iran organized by the German branch of “The International Organisation of Human Rights in Iran” was held in Hanover, which was also participated by the Amnesty International and Dignity Forum.
5. Hajar Rostami, mother of Neda Agha-Soltan, requested international organisations, such as the International Court in lahay and other human rights organizations to carry out an investigation to find her daughter’s murderer. According to Mrs Rostami, her family’s attempt to find her daughter’s killer has been unsuccessful. She told the campaign group that “I have nothing to say to the government, and I have remained silent all this time. What I want in this World is someone to help me to find Neda’s murderer. I have lost my child, and my life has been destroyed. Every time I return from Neda’s cemetery, it feels as though she has just passed away”.
6. Even though, only two week remains to the submission of the report of the United Nation Special Rapporteur on the human rights in Iran, mothers of Sohrab Arabi and Neda Agha-Soltan who were killed in 2009 post election demonstration have told the International Campaign on Human Rights in Iran that their follow-up to identify the killers of their children have been unfruitful.
7. On Monday 17th June, Arash Mohammadi, a left-wing student activist started a hunger strike. He was arrested on Saturday 5th June, after the presidential elections, whilst participating a gathering in Tabriz.
8. Mostafa Abdie, a Gonabadi Dervish Rights Activist in Iran due to violations of Judge Aboulghasem Salavati during the investigation into the case and sentenced to three years imprisonment sued for judicial authorities.
9. A number of people in Rasht have sent an open letter to Hassan Rohani, the new elected president for Iran and have complained about the violent behaviour of the police towards people, during street celebrations on 18 June after Iran’s national football team which qualified for the world cup.

Women’s Rights
1. The first girl to hold a record in swimming in the open waters of Iran, where in June in a major event she broke the record for Front crawl in the Caspian Sea, to register for this important event she faced an unbelievable problem. Elham Assadaat Asghari with reference that so far the process of official record registering for 18 kilometres swimming have had no results in action she says: however, while swimming I used the full Islamic coverage and legal observers were present the whole time at the beach but after the sports ministry officials told me to forget about registering this record. (?)
2. On the other hand, presence of two venomous snake in the women’s section of Evin prison has taken away the peace of women political prisoners. The presence of the snakes have been unprecedented in the section and prisoners do not know where these snakes have entered the section and where from.
3. Gholam-Reza Falahati, Responsible for the centre of Islamic working council in the Gilan province, announced that “Even though 60% of the work is being done by female farmers, they do not receive any social support.

Workers and vulnerable strata of society
1. The employer of the Jhaveh Earthen Dam which is placed in Kamyaran Road, 20km from Sanandaj city, has fired 110 of his employees. Furthermore, around 18 months before this incident, 40 employees of the dam project which is located in Zhavroud area in the city of Sanandaj were also fired by the same employer.
2. At 17:00 on Thursday the 20th of June 2013, Afshin Osanlou, one of the founders of the outer city drivers union had a heart attack. He was then transfared to the Rajayi’s Heath care centre by a number of political prisoners and eventually was taken to the hospital. He then passed away in hospital,
3. On Monday 24th of June 2013, there are reports than an event organised to remember and mourn the death of Aftshin Asanloo (a labour activist and political prisoner) was prevented by the security service.
4‪. On Tuesday 25th of June 2013‪, six candidates of the council elections in the city of Bookan who opposed the election results (Mehdi khodayi‪, Abdullah Alayi Berzenji‪, Masoud Mahmoudi‪, Shooresh Dehban‪, Seyed Ahmad Hoseini and Zhian Rasoul) were all summoned to the intelligence office‪.
5‪. On Sunday 23rd of June 2013‪, more than five hundred members of the labour construction union across the country gathered in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly in protest of the labour insurance issues outlined in the 2013 budget.
6‪. There are reports that a labour activist who exposed the torture of fellow labour prisoners announced that the teeth of Afshin Esanlou‪, a labour activist prisoner, was broken while he was being tortured‪. Moreover‪, the security forces are said to have refused to allow memorials to be held for Afshin Esanlou in mosques around Tehran‪.

The Sentences: Execution Flogging, amputation, imprisonment and custody
1‪. According to reports‪, Ali Olia‪, head of the justice court‪, announced the execution of 14 prisoners by hanging during the past year in the province of Hormozgan‪ which had never been announced in the media before‪.
2‪. On Tuesday 20th of June 2013‪, four people accused of drug trafficking were executed. One of them was hanged in public in the city of SharheKord‪, and the other three (one of whom was a woman) were hanged in Shahrekord‪’s Central Prison‪.
3‪. Mohammad Reza Habibi, the Public Prosecutor of the city of Esfihan announced that 40 people accused of drug trafficking have already been hanged during the past year‪, he also announced that an additional 12 other individuals accused of drug trafficking have had their sentences confirmed.
4. Ali Alghasi, a general at the Shiraz Enghelab court’s persecutors stated that hand amputation sentences for six people in the city has been issued.
5. There are reports that on Thursday 20th of June, Ali Nekoonam, one of the supporters of spiritual Ayatollah Dastgheib (one of the critics of the supreme leader of the Islamic republic of Iran) was arrested as he was leaving work and transferred to an unknown location by a number of undercover police officers.
6. On Tuesday the 18th of June, Gita Rezayi-Zinlani, was arrested by security officers while she was boarding a plane destined for the city of Tehran, in Ashrafi airport of Esfehan Kermanshah. She was transferred to an unknown location. Gita Rezayi-Zinlani is a software engineer and works in an immigration consultancy company.
7. On Wednesday the 26th of June, two prisoner accused of transporting and storing drugs were executed in the city of Isfahan.

The rights of the Diversity ethnicity and beliefs in Iran
1. The security and intelligence services of Iran’s government have been putting pressure on the families of two Kurdish political activists and have threatened to arrest them. There are reports that the security and intelligence services entered Kaveh and Asrin Kanebi’s house and told their parents that they must take their children to the government’s court.
2. On 22th of June, Dr Moosa Ahmadi, a student specialising in endocrinology and metabolism, who is a Sunni and member of Quran School, was prohibited from continuing his studies.
3. Around 20 elderly Sunni citizens who have been sentenced to death by the Islamic republic of Iran are waiting to see whether the courts will repeal their sentences. In recent days, six of these Sunni activists have been transferred to Ghazalhesar Prison in the city of Karaj and are awaiting execution.
4. Police officers who were stationed in Alan-Sardasht village shot at one of the village huts and critically injured a worker called Sharid Hasanzadeh.
5. Mostafa Daneshjou, one of the lawyers of Gonabadi Dervishes following respiratory problem and exacerbation of asthma attack was transferred to the Evin prison’s infirmary. Despite the deterioration of Daneshjo’s situation and the emphasis of the prison doctors on his immediate transfer to a general hospital, due to the pending order of the head of Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court, Salavati that indicates that “transfer of any ill dervishes to any general hospital must be with authorization of the Ministry of Information”, he was kept at the same infirmary.

Press releases and virtual space
1. on 16th June, Pejhman Zafarmand, one of the members of the House of Writers was arrested at his workplace by unidentified people and was transferred to an unknown location.
2. On Thursday 29 June, Ahmad Asgari, journalist and a student activist from University of Tehran was arrested by security forces in Fadak park of Tehran.

Other human Rights Violations
1. Ali Reza Ahmadi, one of the prisoners in the section 350 of Evin prison who has been suffering from dislocation of hips since childhood and lack of health care of the prison authority, is in verge of being crippled.
2. On Saturday 22nd June, Mr. Mohammad Poorshajri (Siamak Mehr), an imprisoned blogger in the Central Penitentiary Prison of Karaj, following deterioration of his health was transferred to the prison infirmary.
3. The usual treatments of Mir-Hussein Mosavi and Zahra Rahnavard have been discontinued in the last two weeks and there has not been contact with his families.
4. on 24 June, Arash Mohammadi, a student activist who was arrested on 15th June was moved to the quarantine section of Tabriz prison.
5. According to reports received, there is no news on whereabouts of Hadi Ghazalbash of Hassan-Abbad village of the City of Salman, who was arrested by the security police.
6. On Tuesday 25th of June, Meysam Basam-Tabar (Head of the Ministry of Professional Associations) announced that: According to a new rule the teachers union is no longer permitted to engage in any form of activism or collective action.
7. According to reports, despite more than 20 days of being under arrest, there is no news on Hassan, Hamed and Shahla Saremi’s condition.
8. Following the summoning of six opposition candidates of the council in the city of Bookan, who protested against the result of the election, five more candidates where summoned to the office of the intelligence service of the city on Wednesday 26th of June.

9. In a telephone conversation with the family of Dariush Hatami (a political and human right’s activist), the intelligent service in Kalibar city ordered Daryosh Hatami’s younger brother to appear in the intelligent service’s office on Wednesday 26th of June. Dariush Hatami has migrated to turkey and currently resides there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUZJlM6Z9ulczd6jqX1wetkg&feature=player_embedded&v=J0nhtJjcKjM