Reactions to the violation of Human Rights in Iran

1. Hossein Ronaghi Maleki has been refused medical leave by the prosecutor handling his case. On the 10th September, his father, Ahmad Ronaghi Maleki, requested help from Ahmad Shaheed, who is the United Nation Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran, claiming that Hossein’s life is in danger due to interrogations. He has asked Ahmad Shaheed, to urgently address his son’s problems.
2. The employees of the wrestling federation staged a gathering in front of their head office, in protest of their unpaid salary. According to one of the employees of this federation, they have not been paid their salary for 5 months, and have not been paid their insurance premium in 9 months.
3. On Saturday 7th September 2013, Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist and Vice President of Human Rights Defenders, wrote a letter to the ministry of Iran, regarding the way in which police officers behaved with her. In her letter, which was addressed to Mr Rahmani-Fazli, Narges has described her story and the publication of several photos of her in various websites.

Women’s Rights
1 .Last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose Marzie Afkhami as spokesperson. Ahmad AlamAlahdi, member of the Elite Assembly, criticised the election of a woman, claiming that this decision is against the Quran.
Universities and Academics
1. A number of doctoral exam candidates were faced with the phrase “defects in file” when receiving their exam results, preventing them from further education. Similarly, in recent years, many Master’s degree exam candidates have also been prevented from further study by the indication of the phrase ‘has a star’ on their certificates.
2. During a press conference on Monday the 9th September 2013, a reporter questioned the judiciary with regards to the condition of Arash Sadeghi, an imprisoned student. The spokesman for the judiciary denied that Arash Sadeghi is being confined in prison.
3. In recent weeks, the security of the Medical Sciences Department of Shiraz University has increased. The university safeguards had been disregarding the privacy of students, entering into the rooms of student activists and trade union activists in the Shahid Dastgheib Dormitory.
4. Hojjatoleslam Hassan Malek Mohammadi, the deputy head of the council of Islamic Azad University, reported the implementation of gender segregation in the Damavand, Esfehan, and Rasht branch of the Islamic Azad University.
Workers and vulnerable communities
1. On Sunday 8th September 2013, 5 workers in the factory of Almahdi in Bandarabbas were arrested for protesting against not getting any pay rise and demanded a 20% pay rise.
2. On Monday 9th September, KazemAhmadian, a trade unionist representative of construction workers in the city of Shahriar, said that: “following the government’s approval on separation of the city of Shahriar from the Alborz county and its annexation to the Tehran Province, approximately 5 thousand construction workers whom in the past had received professional skills certificate from the office of the technical profession of the city of Karaj, now are not accepted by Shahriar’s social security Administration”.
3. The lowers representing 200 expelled workers from three production units “PelliOutan 1”, “PelliOutan2” and “Arish Automobile” reported that “these workers while in these workplaces, because of fear of loosing their jobs, did not have the courage to file a complaint about the danger at their workplace, are now filing a complain and demanding damages for the injuries they incurred while working there”.
4. Of the 180 Northern tea factories in Iran, 80 have been made to reduce production to half their capacity, whilst the other 100 have been totally shut down.
5. Sayed Noori Mir Babaee, a representative of the contractual workers’ cement factory of Loshan, reported the dismissal of 76 workers from the factory “Khoshayand Khazar”.
6. Kian Tyre workers have faced two months of struggle, gathering in front of the presidential office and giving ultimatums to intensify their protesting. On Monday 9 September, they gathered in front of the ministry of industry in the hope that their demands will be dealt with as soon as possible.
7. Fatollah Bayat, the head of the Workers Contract Union of the country, expressed his concern on the eve of the new academic year for the children of unemployment workers who are dropping out of school. He also expressed a concern for the increasing number of workers who are worried about meeting their childrens’ current education expenses.
8. More than 90 workers from bakeries across the city of Saghez in the province of Kurdestan have held a protest against “the lack of insurance and validity” in the Labor Department of the city.
The Sentences: Execution Flogging, amputation, imprisonment and custody
1. According to recent reports, on Saturday 7th September 2013, the death sentence of Mehdi, a young victim who had been sentenced to death for murdering his friend with a bayonet was confirmed by the Supreme Court.
2. On Sunday 8th September 2013, a prisoner who had been sentenced to death for armed robbery was hanged in the Karevan Prison of the city of Ahvaz.
3. Furthermore, the head of Gochsaran Prison calmed that “On Sunday 8th September 2013, Mr H. A. P, accused of murdering a young citizen of Dehdashti named Ayatollah Aziz, was hanged in the yard of the Gochsaran Prison”.
4. On Monday 9th September 2013, the death sentence for Naser was confirmed by the Supreme Court. He is accused of murdering his wife by throwing acid.
5. According to reports, the defense lawyer of Nejadmalayeri’s family announced that “On Tuesday 10th September 2013, the death sentence of four members accused of the serial killings in the city of Kerman has been confirmed by the Supreme Court”.
6. On Tuesday morning10th September, two prisoners accused of drug trafficking were hanged in the prison of the city of shahrood. In the past few days 5 prisoners have been hanged in the cities of Rasht, Ahvaz and Gachsaran.
7. Last week on 10th of September 6 prisoners accused of drug trafficking were hanged in the Uromia’s city central prison, one of them was a woman.
8- On 11th September, two prisoners accused of drug trafficking were hanged in Kermanshah’s Dizel Abad prison.
9. Three civil activists named Ramin Rezai, Ali Hedayati and Yadollah Dashti have been sentenced to 91 days, 5 months and 6 months imprisonment respectively.
10. On Saturday 7th September 2013, a person accused of murdering and two accused of drug trafficking were hanged in the Lakan Prison in the city of Rasht.
11. Seyed Ahmad Mousavi, a political prisoner and one of Karroubi’s campaign officials in the province of Fars was arrested by the security forces in the city of Shiraz and subsequently has been sentenced to serve four months imprisonment in the Adelabad Prison of Shiraz.
The rights of the followers of ethnic minorities – prisoners of conscience in Iran
1. On Tuesday 3 September 2013, Adel Abad Prison’s Intelligence Unit officers entered the Ebrat section of the prison and forcefully shaved the Gonabadi Dervishes’s beards and their mustache as well as physically assaulting them.
2. Security forces prevented Lotfollah Meysami, a national-religious activist, from giving a speech on the anniversary of the late Ayatollah Taleghani in the city of Zanjan.
3. According to reports, two Kurdish citizens, Namigh Moradi and Hosein Alizadeh, have been arrested and are currently in the intelligence office in the cities of Saghez and Salmas. Their families have no information on their current situation.
Press releases and virtual space
1. According to reports, the Department of Information and Media has announced that it will monitor and review content published on social media networks such as Facebook by newly elected government ministers.
Other human rights violations
1. Mohammad Husain Farhangi, a member of the board charged with approving ministerial appointments, stated in an interview that there may be a legal base for some of the rejected members of Mr Rohani’s suggested cabinet being punished.
2. Furthermore, Ismail Ahmdy Muqhadm, Iran’s Police Chief, ordered police to monitor and penalise citizens who do not have “adequate cover” in clothing.
3. Colonel Reza Ghnylu, member of the faculty of Eloome Entezami University says, the city tours which take boys and girls to smaller town should be reconsidered because we cannot be sure what immoral acts are happening.
4. Dealing with “people who don’t wear the right clothes” which has long been intensified in Tehran continues. On Sunday 8 September 2013 police attended the Milad Tower which was the venue of a concert. As well as preventing the entry of the people to the concert, some of the participants were arrested because they were not “appropriately” clothed.
5. Akbar Amini has been reportedly held under arrest for over 93 days. His condition is unknown and his family have not been permitted to visit him.
6. After receiving a court order, Sari police arrested several youngsters in the city and took them around the city.