Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran

1. Habib-Ollah Golpari-Pour’s relatives, who had come to the governmental centres in order to retrieve the dead body of Habib-Ollah, were confronted by officials while trying to take his body, in addition to receiving threats and a ban from holding a funeral for him. The father of this executed political prisoner said: “Habib-Ollah’s body was not handed over to us”. He continued that “Habib-Ollah’s execution was due to him being Kurdish. When someone is being executed for the crime of carrying books, what more do you expect? Where else in the world is it a crime to read and write books? Habib-Ollah never went near any type of weapons, and his work simply consisted of printing and publishing books.”
2. Ayatullah Ali-Mohammad Dast-gheib, a Shia Marja, and a member of the Assembly of Experts in Iran, has requested that Hassan Rohani, the president of Iran, to make clear his policy on the status of political prisoners, and to make an effort to free Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi.
3. During the past week, 50 political prisoners and prisoners of conscience wrote a letter to the president of Iran and warned him of the unjust conditions of the prison. A section of this letter reads: “Our lives are in danger”.
4. On Tuesday 29th October 2013, 31 political prisoners in section 350 of Evin prison, wrote a statement in which they condemned the illegal actions imposed on imprisoned lawyers who are in the Gonabadi Dervishes section of the prison, and expressed their concerns regarding the physical conditions of Hamid-Reza Moradi and Mostafa Daneshjoo.
5. During his speech, Abdol-Karim Lahiji, Head of International Human Rights (FIDH), condemned the executions of 16 Baloch civilians in Iran. Retaliation of the tragic killings of 14 border patrol guards is a flagrant violation of international law. Mr Lahiji said: “These executions are particularly striking in this regard that the Baloch prisoners didn’t have any connections with the insurgent attack”.

Universities and Academics

1. The Tabriz Central Prison Council and the judge overseeing the justice in Tabriz prison refused the leave request of Arash Mohammadi, a student activist held in this prison.
2. According to reports, On Monday 28th October 2013, Saeed La’aali, Amir Yaari, and Mohammad Pooladi, three student activists and dissident bloggers were arrested in the city of Esfahan.
3. Over 2,500 graduates from Amir-Kabir University of Technology protested in a statement about the involvement of the president of the university in weakening the civil society and trade.
Sentences: death, flogging, amputation, imprisonment and detention

1. Reportedly, on Saturday 26th October 2013, the prosecutor of Zahedan city, in a rushed decision, carried out execution of 16 political prisoners, who were accused of being members of opposition of the regim.
2. On Saturday 26th October, Reza Esmaili, a Kurdish political prisoner was executed in the prison of Salmas city with charges of cooperating with the Kurdish Hayat Azad (pezhak) Party.
3. Furthuremore, the commander of the Iranian revolutionary guards, Mohammad Hasan Rajabi, announced that 5 people who were referred to as “anti-revolutionary agents” have been arrested and killed by the security forces, in the city of Baneh.
4. Reports suggest that prior to Reza Esmailli’s execution on Saturday 26thOctober 2013, this political prisoner was physically abused.
5. Reportedly, Pegah Ahangarani, an actress, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by the revolutionary court of Tehran
6. On Sunday 27th October 2013, one person accused of cooperating with Jendallah and Abdol-Malek Rigi was executed in the Parseloon prison in the city of Khoram-Abad. It is said that the identity of the executed prisoner is unknown.
7. On Tuesday 29th October, at least two prisoners of Rajayi prison in the city of Karaj, charged with first degree murder, were transferred to solitary confinement.
8. On Tuesday 29 October 2013, a woman named Rahbar, accused of murdering a policeman together with another prisoner accused of murder were hanged in the Rajayi Prison in the city of Karaj.
9. The death sentence of Mansour Arvand was confirmed by the Supreme Court, and he is about to be hanged.
10. On Tuesday 29 October 2013, an Iranian citizen whose death sentence had been confirmed by the Revolutionary Court of Sari Province was hanged in the prison.

The rights of the followers of ethnic minorities – prisoners of conscience in Iran

1. Mehdi Mohamadnejad, an ideological/political prisoner, despite having served his period and suffering from Acute Renal decease, was prevented from being released by the authorities of the prison.
2. It is 15 months since three ideological/political Sunni prisoners named Hosein Ghaderi, Yousef Moradi and Azad Saghezi have been imprisoned; however their cases have not yet been formed by the court.
3. On Wednesday 23rd October 2013, a Gonabadi Dervishes’ lawyer, Mostafa Daneshjoo, who is currently imprisoned in branch 350 of the Evin Prison, fainted while taking a bath. He was taken to the prison clinic by the prison authorities; however they refused to transport him to the main hospital for further treatments.(In fact: Mostafa Daneshjou who had been taken to the Shohada e Tajrish hospital on an emergency basis on Aban 5, 1392 (Oct 27, 2013) and was in Coronary Care Unit (HDU/CCU), despite doctors’ opposition, sunday morning 12th Aban 1392 ( Nov 3, 2013) returned to Evin prison in very poor health condition to protest against undue interference of irresponsibles in the medical care and treatment process to the political prisoners including Mr. Hamid-Reza Moradi and officials’ lack of concern for the life and health of sick prisoners of conscience who require outside medical care.)
4. Reports suggest that the Appeals Court of the Fars province has confirmed the conviction of 6 Christian converts to a total of twenty years imprisonment.
5. Nasim bagheri a Bahia’s citizen and one of the online Baha’is university workers was sentenced to four years imprisonment by the Revolutionary Court.
6. There is no information regarding the condition of Namagh Mahmoodi a Kurdish political prisoner who was transferred 15 days ago to an unknown location.
7. On Tuesday 29 October, families and relatives of eight Baluch Sunnis citizen, who were hastily executed as retaliation, went to the cemetery of Zahedan, in absence of corpses to fulfil their religious ceremonies.
8. Despite illness of two ideological – political Sunnis prisoners Jamshi Dehghani and Sedigh Mohammadi, the prison authorities have not given the permission to transfer them to a hospital.
9. It is 3 years since imprisonment of Farzad Honarjoo and Farshid Naseri and they are still in prison and in limbo.
10. Mr Saleh Moradi –Sarvestani and Mr Behzad Noori two Gonabadi Dervishes from the city of Shiraz in a letter addressed to the head of the judiciary Mr Aamoli Larijani, have highlighted and protested against disregarding the rights of dervishes in the country, particularly in the judicial system.

Press and cyberspace

1. According to the news on Monday 28th of October, Bahar Newspaper was banned by the Press Supervisory Board, and then the case was sent to the court for judicial review.

Other human rights violations

1. Daughters of Mirhussein Moosavi and Zahra Rahnavard, who were allowed to visit their parents on Wednesday 23rd October on Eid day, were faced with humiliating disrespect by the prison officers on their way out of the prison.
2. Bahman Salimi, Esmaeel Abdi, Balal Ahmadi and Moseb KHezri, four prisoners of Dizel Abad prison are banned from any visits and making phone calls.
3. Habibollah Golparipour, nicknamed as Haval Bahooz (storm’s fellow) by his friends went to the gallows while singing the song of Haval.
4. In section 2 of Ghazal Hesar of Karaj prison which the drug related prisoners who are sentenced to death are kept, interference mobile wave producing devices have been installed.
5. According to the news received, despite arranging bail and getting promises from the officials, Afshin Baymani was prevented from temporary leave from prison.