Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran
1. Fatemeh Karroubi, the wife of Mehdi Karroubi publicised a letter directing at public describing her husband’s physical condition. She indicated that yesterday, after a difficult 9-day treatment period and two operations Mehdi Karroubi was discharged from the hospital and was transferred to a secure building of the Ministry of Information.
2. Mohammad-Reza Pour-Shajari, an imprisoned blogger started a hunger strike in protest against the unacceptable behaviour of the authorities. Mr Pour-Shajari is currently being held in Hall 7 of the Central Penitentiary Prison in Karaj.
3. Last week, The Amnesty International, one of the world’s largest human rights organizations, announced that since the start of 2014, 40 people have been executed by hanging.
Women’s rights
1. On Wednesday 15th January 2014, Mahdiyeh Farahani, a woman’s rights activist, had her court carried out in branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court. During the hearing, the judge of branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court mistreated Ms Farahani and her lawyer, and resorted to shouting and insulting. Mahdiyeh Farahani is a women’s right activist, whom during the past year, had her materials based on women’s rights on various websites, such as Fair Family Law.
Workers and vulnerable communities
1. A number of employed and unemployed workers of the “Bridge Crossing” project in Urumiyeh Lake, under the supervision of the Marine Industry, Iran-Sadra, on Thursday 16th January 2014 attended the ILNA office in Urumiyeh to protest against being unclear about their future career situation, and demanded their unpaid wages.
2. Furthermore, in the previous week, the nurses of the city of Mahshahr of the Khuzestan Province protested against the lack of rights and wages for the past two years whichcoincided with the visitation of the Minister of Health (HajiehNargis). They gathered in this hospital and conveyed their objections to the minister.
3. Approximately 400 workers of the factory of PellyEkrill in Isfahan once again protested against the downsizing policy of the company and staged a protest on Monday 20 January.
4. Furthermore, Sodium sulphate processing company plant workers’ “SafaeieGolshan” have not received their wages for six month. In addition to a6-month delay in the payment of salaries, 35 workers of “SafaeieGolshan” have been made redundantover the past two years.
5. More than 400 workers of Iran Tire have stopped the production within the factory and gathered in front of the factory gate (5 Kilometer of Special Road of Karaj)in protest against the dismissal of 80 of their colleagues.
Sentences: death, flogging, amputation, imprisonment and detention
1. According the reports, on Thursday morning 16th of January, a prisoner accused of carrying and maintaining drugs named HasanSanij, was executed in central prison of Tabas.
3. Furthermore, SamanNasim, a political prisoner imprisoned in the central prison of Orumieh charged with being a member of PKK, was sentencewith the death penalty by the Supreme Courts.
2. Five people convicted of drug trafficking and possession of drugs were hanged in ShahRood on the 16th of January.
4. Mohammad-Hussein Rigi, a 23 year old who has been arrested for 7 months, and held in section 4 of Zahedan’s central prison, on Saturday 18th January 2014, was sentenced to death by judge Mah-Goli, in branch 1 of the Revolutionary Court.
5 Ali Kheirjoo, who was arrested for taking part in the protest that took place against the drying out of Urumiyeh Lake, received his sentence of six months imprisonment by the appeal court of Ardebil.
6. Hussein whom last year was accused of murder for picking up a butcher knife and attacking pedestrians, which lead to the death of one victim, was charged again, and sentenced to death.
7. On Monday 20th January 2014, a 27 year old youngster called Sajjad Pour-Najaf, accused of murder in the central prison of Tabriz, and Changiz Shahnavazi, another prisoner accused of murder in the central prison of Zahedan, were both executed by hanging.
The rights of the followers of ethnic – prisoners of conscience in Iran
1. Despite the physical deterioration of Shahram Ahmadi, and Arash (Ramin) Sharifi, these two ideological prisoners are still deprived of medical treatment.
2. 50 days after the arrest of Manoochehr Kholoosi, a Bahai’ citizen in Mashhad, on Thursday 16th January 2014, Mr Kholoosi was given permission to meet his wife, father and mother. This meeting lasted about 30 minutes with the supervision of security officers. It is not clear why Mr Kholoosi was prevented from visiting his two sons.
3. The appeals court in Iran condemned a Baha’is citizen calledShamimEtehadi this week to 3 years imprisonment, two years banned of travel and a fine of 40 million Rials .On the 17thof March 2013,ShamimEtehadishowed a 4-minute video of the destruction of the Baha’i cemetery in Yazd to a satellite network channel called Manotoo.
4. On Sunday19th January 2014 by following the commemoration a poet named Mullah FazelSekaranyfrom Ahwaz city, least 45 Arab citizen from Ahwaz city were arrested.
5. Furthermore, following the Coast Guard Police opening fire on four young Balochicitezens, three were wounded and one of them named KhaledGargij died.
6. ToulooeGolkar, a Baha’i resident of Tehran was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for charges of communicating with the Virtual University of Bahai.
7. The authorities in Tabriz city prevented the washing the buryingof a few Baha’i bodies’ in accord with the Baha’I religion. After the destruction of Baha’i cemeteriesin August 2012,the Baha’I citizens of Tabriz have not been allowed to wash the body of Baha’i people who are have passed away.
8. In recent months, a wave of new pressures and restrictions on captive dervishes has started; in this pressure, KasraNoori, a Dervish prisoner who has served nearly two years in Adel Abad prison in Shiraz city, was transferred to Nezamprison without any explanation by the security forces. His family have not been able to visit him in nearly three weeks.
Press and cyberspace
1. According to reports, after waiting for more than 10 years, the permission to publish a book called “Refugee Women” has been declined. The author, MahnasHedayati, is living in England and has spent five years writing this novel with the aim of publishing it in Iran.
Other human right’s violation
1. The visitation rights of two exiled political prisoners in theCentral prison has been taken away by the prison authorities. Mohammad Amin Abdollahi and FakhredinFarajiare exiled prisoners of Central Prison and are banned fromvisitation rights, reading newspapers and books and making phone calls.
2. A lack of attention to the state of health of prisoners has continued and the health condition ofAfifNaimi and Amanullah Mostaghim is reported to be serious.
3. During Saturday 18th of January, prison authorities attempted to replace the lock of theprison library and banned political prisoners from using the library.
4. The prosecutor rejected Behnam Irani’s medical leave, and three weeks ago had ordered that he should be sent for treatment to a protected hospital on his personal cost.
5. According to the news on Wednesday 22nd January Hamed Ahmadi, Kamal Molayi, Jamshid Dehghani and Jahangir Dehghani from Unit 3 of Ghazal Hesar prison of Karaj, were transferred to an unknown location.