Responses to Human Rights Abuses in Iran

1 . 28 female Dervishes who took part in the gathering in front of the Tehran Prosecutor’s office and protested against the conditions of imprisoned dervishes, all wrote a letter of complaint to the police officials after being beaten by specialised police guards during the second day of this gathering.

2 . Mohammad-Amin Agooshi, a 54 year old retired teacher from the city of Piran-Shahr who is currently serving his 10 years sentence in Zahedan Prison, sewed his lips together and started a hunger strike in order to protest against prison officials objecting to his medical leave.

3 . During the past week, the sixth annual report of the Human Rights Organization of Iran, read by Dr Mahmoud Amiri in the British Parliament in London, stated that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of executions in Iran in 2013.

4 . On Saturday 15th March 2014 a number of human rights activists cooperated with the International Organization to Preserve Human Rights in Iran, and formed a gathering in front of the building of the Central Bank of Iran in Hamburg, protesting in support of the mass hunger strikes of political and religious prisoners, including Gonabadi Dervishes, in the dungeons of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

5 .On Friday 14th March 2014, after delivering his annual report to the Human Rights Council about human rights in Iran, Ahmad Shaheed, the United Nation Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran took part in a press conference and said that: “Regretfully, I must say that despite the statements made by the Iranian president, and the gentle steps that have been taken towards reform, the human rights situation in Iran remains a serious concern”.

6. On Tuesday 18th of March, a group of peaceful protestors demonstrated against the destruction of monuments.

Press releases and virtual space

1. There have been reports that the newspaper staff and journalists of Tabnak newspaper, a newspaper reflecting the views of Mohsen Rezai, have not been paid a paid salary for three months. The staff of the newspaper have already gone on strike in december of this year due to the delay in the payment of their salaries.

Followers of the rights of ethnic diversity – of conscience in Iran

1. Shahram Ahmadi is a prisoner of conscience who is sentenced to death in Evin prison. Last week he was faced with a bleeding kidney and yet the authorities refused to allow him to get treatment.

2.. On Sunday morning of the 16th of March, Mr. Ebrahim Sadeghi, a dervish from Shiraz city was interrogated by by security police for hours in a threatening manner.

3. On Sunday evening of the 16th of March, Yekta Fahandej, a Bahai citizen wes arrested by intelligence ministry agents. Intelligence officers entered and searched her house, confiscated her personal laptop, books and supplies, and took her with them.

4.On Tuesday 18th of March, prison guards attempted to inspect ward 10 of Rajai Shahr prison where Sunni prisoners are kept. The guard soldiers and other security forces damaged the personal property of the prisoners at the same time as their inspection.

5. On the 13th of March, the wife of Saeed Abedini, an Iranian-American priest, said the following in relation to the deterioration of her husband’s health and his transfer to Dey Hospital in Tehran: “They transferred him from the prison to the hospital with handcuffsand chained legs. Theychained a priest to a hospital bed! In the hospital, the behaviour of the officials towards him was not good and his family has not been allowed to meet him

6. Plainclothes security forces in village of Namanj, in the providence of Pyranshah,r after arrestingSyamandSoltan, a Kurdish citizen,went to his father’s house in order to do a search, during which time, they subjected his family to violence.

Workers and vulnerable communities

1. Representatives of a textile factory called “Moghadam” reported the delay in payment of wages of 4 months as well as the Persian New Year Festive bonus of more than 200 of employees.

Sentences: death, flogging, amputation, imprisonment and detention

1. Qader Mohammadzadeh is a political prisoner who is held at section 4 of the central prison of Orumieh among other prisoners, some of whom are drug traffickers and murderers. According to reports, a few days ago he was attacked by several prisoners accusing him of armed robbery and drug trafficking and was badly injured from the neck and back area with a knife. Authorities even refused to transfer this injured political prisoner to the hospital for treatment and after using stitches and bandages for treatment in the prison, the officials returned him back to section 4 of the prison. It is worth mentioning that 8 political prisoners in the central prison of Orumieh are held in sections related to murder and drug offenses even though they should not be kept in the same section.

2. Hosein Farzin is the former deputy mayor of the city of Mashhad as well as a TV director. His sentence of 20 lashes was carried out in Vakilabad prison of Mashhad on Thursday 13th of March.

3. On Sunday 16 March, a prisoner accused of murder, known by the name of H. P. the son of Mohammad-Reza, was hanged in the central prison of Semnan .

4. Jamal Agooshi the son of Amin Gooshi, a political prisoner in Zahedan central prison, was sentenced to 1 year imprisonment on charges of having contact with human rights organisations.

5. The governor of BandarAbbas city has announced that three people convicted of “Sexual Assault” and one person convicted of “Murder” were hanged in the city of Bandar Abbas. This was donein the presence of political, administrative and judicial officials, and with a full security presence, the intension being to create public fear.

6. On wednesday 19 March, a man named Ali, who by introducing himself as a pharmacist, anesthetized and harassed eight women and young girls, was sentenced to death by a court.

Other human rights violations

1. Fifteen children in a centre for the protection of the physically and mentally disabled, run by the Organization for Welfare, have died. Despite claims being made about the occurrence of neglect and carelessness, welfare officials have said that

the deaths of the children occurred naturally.

2. Despite the passage of 20 days since the arrest of Azerbaijani political activist Akbar Azad his status and situationremain unknown.

3. Afshin Baimani political prisoner who is in ward 12 of Rajayishahr prison at the moment, is still prohibited from taking sick leave despite the authorisation from the relevant authorities

4. Arjang davoudi, a political prisoner in Bandar Abbas central prison, has been held in a solitary confinement for four month ago. It has been said that ArjangDavoudi, who has completed his first 10-year sentence, has been convicted of new charges and has now been sentenced to a further 20 years and 8 months