Reactions to the violation of Human Rights in Iran
1. On Friday 16th August, a number of Zanjan citizens formed a gathering for the second time in protest of the lead and zinc factory not being shut down, during which they were confronted by security forces in the city centre, Sabzeh Square. This campaign acting against Zanjan Lead and Zinc factory was launched earlier this year by a group of youths in social networks, as this factory is one of the main sources of environmental pollution in the city.
2. Zoleikha Moosavi, the mother of Hossein Ronaghi, while criticizing the prosecutors and officials of neglects, said that: “Hossein started his hunger strike on 9th August and no matter how much we do to resolve his problem; the prosecutorial and judicial authorities do not pay any attention. If they continue not to respond to us, pay no attention to Hossein’s physical condition, and chose to keep him in prison in this state, then within the next few days, I, along with my son will also start a hunger strike; maybe this will help my voice to be heard.”
3. During the past week, 6 Sunni civilians were imprisoned in the Ghezel Hesar prison in Karaj, by the names of Hamed Ahmadi, Kamal Melayi, Jamshid Dehghani, Jahangir Dehghani, SadighMohammadi and Haadi Hosseini. They have written a letter to the international human rights authorities asking for their sentences to be halted, and indicated that: “during this period of time for several times we have been threatened of execution, and because the Sunnis in Iran are active in variety of fields such as politics, religion, science, economy and culture, we have been oppressed, and this has made it very hard for us to prove our innocence to the world. The Iranian regime has easily managed to execute, imprison and exile these elites and our youngsters.”
4. On Saturday 27th August, Abolfazl Abedini, a journalist and a human-rights activist started a hunger strike in objection to his transfer to Karoon prison in Ahvaz from section 350 of Evin prison, and now his condition is a cause for concern as he has been losing weight drastically.
5. On Saturday 17th August, a number of Arak citizens demonstrated and marched in protest against the city’s air pollution.
6. Furthermore, a group of families of political prisoners issued an open letter addressed to the Head of the Judiciary and expressed their disagreement with the encounters that took place with Majid Dorri, referring to the physical and psychological tortures on Majid Dorri during his transfer from Bahbahan prison to Ahvaz prison, in which the signatories requested the head of the judiciary to address this issue.
7. On Thursday 22nd August, a group of drug prisoners’ families gathered by the parliament and urged the representatives to replace death penalties given to drug dealers with alternative punishments.
8. The mother of Hossein Ronaghi started a hunger strike, in support of her son, who has been on a hunger strike since Friday 9th August.
Women’s Rights
1. During the past week, the vice president of women football federation affairs announced that “Tanin Naraghi Iranian women’s national football player has been banned from playing any competition after talking against the federation in an interview”. Additionally, she was charged with a fine of 200 thousand Toman.
2. Since 8th August 2013, that is the first and the last telephone call from Maryam Shafi-Pour who informed her family about her arrest, her family are put in darkness about her situation.
3. The Friday prayer leader of the city of Sarab, started his preach by objecting the instalment of pictures of girls who wear makeup in the awarded university entrance exam and also announced that ” families and schools should prevent displaying these girls’ pictures and also the security officers must start confiscating them”.
Workers and vulnerable communities
1. On Saturday 17th August, a labour activist in the city of Semnan, informed about the 11 months delay in payment of the workers of car factory of Mashin Lent.
2. Furthermore, Ali Akbar Hedayati one of the 235 workers who have been sacked from the steel factory of the Zagros announced that the annual volume of wastage of this factory is around 6 thousand tons and then further added that ” on Sunday 18 August 2013, the authority was trying to transfer and sell some of the property of the factory, but this was stopped at the right time by the workers who entered the premises”.
3. Reports indicate that 23 labours of the municipality bus company have lost their jobs in the city of Bandar Abbas. These workers have not been receiving any payment for two months.
4. Furthermore, Mousa Mirjahanmardi, a labour activist in the province of Boushehr announced that “the workers of the shipyard-factory of Iran, Sadra have not been paid for 3 months due to the economical impact on the manufactory production”.
5. Abdollah Belvasi, head of the association for bakery workers in the cities of Marivan and Sarvabad has criticised the social services in these cities for lack of hospital and outpatient clinics.
6. Following the Zanjan citizens gathering in protest against the pollution caused by the Lead and Zinc factory and the closure of the factory on Wednesday 14th August 2013, on Wednesday morning 21st August 2013 400 workers from the Lead and Zinc factory, whose jobs were threatened, gathered in front of the County Governorate Building.
Sentences: death, flogging, amputation, imprisonment and detention
1. According to the reports received, more than 200 citizens whom were present in the hall of “Aamfi Hamayesh Aafarinesh Mehr” to participation in a rock concert were arrested. The police of Iran have not yet informed about the situation of the arrested people, however the four organisers Puriakamali, EhsanMahmoudi, Ali Ehtemami and Mohamad Kheradmand were given overall bail of 50 million Tomans but because the incident happened at the end of the banking hours, they were transferred to the Rajai Prison in the city of Karaj.
2. On Saturday 17th August 2013, three prisoners accused of “Rape” were hanged in three different places of Karaj city.
3. On Wednesday 21st August 2013, a prisoner accused of kidnapping and murdering who had escaped from the Jahrom Prison six years ago, was arrested and hanged in public in the city of Jahrom.
The rights of Religious and Ethnic diversity in Iran
1. The security forces of the Ardebil province took Ramin Eidalkhani, a Baha’i prisoner to outside of the Ardebil province and released him and indicated that he cannot return to Ardebil province as he is forbidden to enter this province for the next 5 years.
2. Favad Ahmadnoori, a Sunni believer and a political prisoner who was accused of movement against the national security and was imprisoned to 15 years has been deprived from visits from his family and relatives in the last two years of his imprisonment.
3. Seven Bloch citizens named Molavi Fata Mohamad Naghshbandi, Malak Abadian, Nezamadin Molazadeh, Jabar Abadian, Hadi Abadian, Javad Abadian and Gol Mohammad Balideyi have been kept in the solitary confinement in Zahedan’s Intelligence agency for the past two years, and are at the risk of receiving death sentence by high court.
4. Last week, following the arrest and trial of the new Christian converts in Iran, Ebrahim Firoozi has been sentenced to one year imprisonment and exiled of two years to one of the deprived border cities of Iran, by the Revolutionary court in Robat Karim city.
5. Furthermore, the head of Saghez Prison has ordered, the two Sunni prisoners, FarzadSamadi and Aram Mikaeli, to be remained in quarantine until they shave their beard and hair.
6. The intelligence officers of the city of Isfahan entered the house of a Baha’i citizen, interrogated those who were in the house, took their religious books and mobile phones and arrested three Baha’is by the names of Banafsheh Ferdoosian, Afrooz Roohi and MasoudVojdani, and transferred them to the Dastgerd Prison in the city of Isfahan.
The press and the virtual space
1. Hamed Tajik, the imprisoned journalist in the ward 350 of the Evin prison, is banned from having any face to face visit with his relatives.
2. Furthurmore, Mohammad Nasiri’s sentence for nine years and six months imprisonment in Genaveh Port Prison was approved. Mr Nasiri is accused of running a Facebook under the name of “Campaign of reminding Imam Naghi to Shiites “.
3. The Farsi section of the Wikipedia website has been filtered and it is no longer available for internet users inside of Iran.
4. On Tuesday 13 August Reza Akvanian has been arrested by the security forces, outside the parliament. This author and human rights activist is accused of coordinating protests and is now under severe physical and mental pressure by the security forces in Evin Prison.
5. On Wednesday 21st August Abbas Karimizadeh, the director of the publishing house, Negeen in the city of Kerman was summoned to the Court.
Other human rights violations
1. On Wednesday 14th August, the Family of 30 political prisoners, in the city of Rajaie prison, whilst visiting their loved ones, were confronted by the prison staff and were forced for their finger print and photographs to be taken.
2. With nearly two months after the arrest of Ahmed Askarihis, his condition is unknown and the officials do not disclose any information to his family about him.
3. After 79 days of detention of Akbar Amini, he has so far failed to call or meet any members of his relatives.
4. Ahmad KarimiGaleh, political prisoner held in ward 350 of Evin prison since his arrest, almost 3 years ago has been deprived of his right to any day-off.
5. According to the reports received, following the refusal of a request to an extension of day-offs, MehrdadAhanKhah and Hassan Faraji joined his companions in ward 350 of Evin prison.
6. On Tuesday 29th August, Dr Sadegh Zibakalam, a University professor and a political analyst, by the order of the security of the Broadcasting was banned from participating any national media.
7. There is no information available on the status of Yaghoob Moqanni a Karaj citizen, who was arrested on 12th June.
8. The security guards in Rajayishahr Prison of Gohar-Dasht attempted to beat and insult Jafar Eghdami in the prison.