A Report on Trading Body Parts in Islamic Republic Prisons

A Report on Trading Body Parts in Islamic Republic Prisons

Islamic Republic uses students like Human spare parts

We have previously documented reports of physical torture, long illegal detentions, suspicious deaths that sometimes happen because of baton blows, and high rates of suicide because of hard conditions in Rajayi Shahr prison, Karaj.
But the last news we got really shows the height of cruelty and enmity with humanity. We have documents that prove judiciary officials and prison organizations are involved in trading prisoner body parts. One of these documents is hereby published. This dates back to 2005 and in it, Ali Haj Kazem, prison chief, and other officials of Prisons Organization and Judiciary claim that a kidney of Afshin Karimi was wrongly taken out. The name of the person that Karimi’s kidney was given to in Madani hospital in Karaj is identified.
Managers of Prisons Organization commit that if anything happens to his other kidney, they would get him another one. Now that four years has passed, Prisoner Afshin Karimi has acute kidney problems, but the prison has not even sent him to a hospital outside the prison.
Afshin Karimi is only one of the prisoners that started a lawsuit after he found out that his kidney was taken out of his body and sold without his permission. There are a lot of prisoners like this: Ahmad Hannani, Shervin Goodarzi, Abdollah, just to name a few.
My research proves that top-notch judiciary officials and a lot of prison authorities have been removing body parts of prisoners out of their bodies since at least 2005, selling them at high prices.
A while ago, in the same prison, we saw the forced transfer of jailed girls to Dubai. After being exposed, the prison Chief and Chief of Karaj Revolutionary Court were arrested and dismissed, but were unfortunately released very soon.
We have repeatedly asked judicial officials, General Inspection Organization, and Parliamentary Committee for Article 90 to form a research committee on crimes and human rights violations in Iranian prisons, but unfortunately because revealing these crimes will question a lot of Islamic Republic officials and their nature, nothing has been done.

Even when I was in solitary cells of Section 1 – Hall 2 for six months, an hour before Mr. Dah Pahlevan, inspector for Prisons Organizations came to see me, they sent me to solitary cells of Section 5. After he left, I was sent back to my own cell. The reason the prison did this can be due to the lack of legal documents needed to keep me in solitary, and because I did not reveal crimes I witnessed in the last 10 years in Gohardasht Prison, Karaj. There is no doubt that if the Islamic Republic holds on to group media and the GIO system weakens, more information will come out about crimes that the prisons committed.
In the oppressive situation inside Iran, Human Rights Council of the United Nations should send an independent research committee to Iran to reveal crimes that happened in the past and happen now so authorities know that power is not a carte blanche that can be just spent on their will.
Behrooz Javid Tehrani, Political Prisoner,
Karaj’s Gohardahst Prison, Section 1, Hall 1

No news on the status of Koohyar Goodarzi, Human Rights activist

Human Rights Reporters Committee – There is no update on the status of Koohyar Goodarzi, human rights activist, who was arrested on Sunday December 20.

according to his lawyer, Mina Jafari, the case for this human rights activist and journalist has not been sent to any of the branches of the Revolutionary Court and there is no update on possible charges against him.

Koohyar Goodarzi is a famous activist in attempts to abolish the capital punishment, especially execution of teenagers. He has made many attempts to get the permission of the victim’s parents to stop execution of teenagers and also to bring down the number of executions in Iran by raising awareness.

He was dismissed from Sharif University in November with the pressure of security forces. He was studying aerospace engineering in this university. This journalist and human rights activist has been active as a member of the Islamic Association of Sharif University, ex-secretary of Human Rights Reporters, programmer for Radio Zamaneh, member of Human Rights Committee for Tahkim Vahdat Alumni organization and a member of Tahkim Vahdat office-Alameh.

Behjat Karimzadeh on Death Row for Murder of Husband

Human Rights Reporters Committee – Behjat Karimzade’s case for retaliation has gone to the stage of asking permission and its likelihood has thus increased.

Behjat, a woman who is detained in Rajayi Shahr prison with the accusation of murdering her husband currently suffers from a bad mental condition.

Two of Behjat daughters and her father-in-law, who is also her uncle, consistently have asked for retaliation (.i.e. her execution) to happen.

Behjat claims that she was raped by her cousin when she was seven and was then forced to marry him.

Behjat was under psychological care while in prison in recent years. She regards her childhood past, he husband’s addiction and his abuse toward her as the reasons and motive for murder.

Rashid Esma’ili Arrested

committee of human right reporters - Rashid Esmaa’ili, one of the members of the Organization of Students of Advar, was arrested by security forces in Isfahan yesterday.

Thursday, December 24rd, Rashid Esma’ili, a student deprived from his studies in Human Rights and a member of the Organization of Students of Advar, was arrested and transferred to the detention centre of the Information Department in Isfahan.

Rashid Esma’ili has been a cancer patient for the last two years. He is in need of daily medical treatment under the supervision of his doctor. There is no information regarding the charges against him or his current condition.

Iran protesters killed, including Mousavi's nephew

At least four people have been killed and hundreds arrested amid violence between anti-government protesters and police in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Opposition sources said the nephew of reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi was among those killed when police opened fire.

Officials say three people died in accidents and one was shot dead but not by police, who they say were unarmed.

Witnesses say clashes are continuing overnight in parts of the city.

Opposition website Jaras said police were firing tear gas to disperse protesters, but more demonstrators had gathered near the state-run radio and television headquarters.

Other opposition websites have also reported four deaths in Tabriz, north-western Iran, however there is no confirmation of this.

Leaders of opposition parties had urged their supporters to take to the streets on Sunday as the Shia Muslim festival of Ashura reached a climax.

People were chanting "Khamenei will be toppled", opposition sources said, a reference to Iran's Supreme Leader.

According to witnesses, demonstrators defied attempts by security forces to disperse them and some attacked police.

Police responded by firing into the crowd, opposition sources say, although this is denied by the authorities.

"Police [have] not fired any shots in Tehran and security forces were not in possession of firearms," Tehran's police chief Commander Azizollah Rajabzadeh was quoted as saying by the Iranian ISNA news agency.

Commander Rajabzadeh was among dozens of security force members injured in the clashes, Iranian state-owned channel Press TV reported.

Iran's deputy police chief, Ahmad-Reza Radan, said one of those killed fell from a bridge, two others were hit by cars and one other was shot dead "by an unknown assailant".

He said the fatal shooting was being investigated.

Mr Mousavi's website said his nephew, Seyed Ali Mousavi, was shot in the back as security forces fired on demonstrators

Mr Mousavi rushed to a Tehran hospital where his nephew had been taken, the website added.

As the clashes escalated, police helicopters were seen flying over central Tehran and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky, reports said.

Security forces clashed with protesters trying to reach central Enghelab Square, witnesses said.

Protesters chanted "this is the month of blood" and called for the downfall of Ayatollah Khamenei, according to opposition websites.

At the same time, pro-government demonstrators marched on Enghelab Street in support of the ayatollah, witnesses said.

Protests were also reported in the cities of Isfahan and nearby Najafabad.

In a statement, the White House said it strongly condemned the "unjust suppression of civilians in Iran".

The French foreign ministry said it condemned the "arbitrary arrests and the violent actions" committed against protesters defending "their right to freedom of expression and their desire for democracy".

The French government has continued to lobby the Iranian authorities to release a French university lecturer who was charged with spying during the election. Clotilde Reiss remains in Tehran, and last appeared in court on 23 December.

Disputed election

Tensions have risen in Iran since influential dissident cleric Grand Ayatollah Hoseyn Ali Montazeri died a week ago aged 87.

Mr Mousavi' supporters have sought to use Shia religious festivals to show continued defiance of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government.

Denied the right to protest, the opposition chose the highly significant festival of Ashura when millions of Iranians traditionally take to the streets for ceremonies and parades, BBC Tehran correspondent Jon Leyne says.

The festival mourns the 7th Century death of Imam Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

Mr Mousavi came second in the June election, and anger at the result saw mass protests in Tehran and other cities that led to thousands of arrests and some deaths.

Mr Mousavi has said the poll, that returned Mr Ahmadinejad to power, was fraudulent.

BBC

Several killed, 300 arrested in Tehran protests

Tehran, Iran- Several people were killed and more than 300 were arrested in anti-government protests in Tehran Sunday, Iran's Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radan said on state television station IRINN.

The toll was the result of clashes that broke out between demonstrators and security forces as large crowds gathered for Ashura, a major religious observance.

Four people were reported killed in the fighting, according to Iranian state-run Press TV. A French government statement put the number of fatalities at eight. With tight restrictions on international media, CNN could not independently verify the casualties.

Without giving an exact number of casualties, Radan said those killed included one person who fell off a bridge and two others who were killed in a car accident during the protests.

One of the victims was killed by a bullet, Radan said. but "considering the fact that the police did not use firearms, this incident is extremely suspicious, and is being investigated," he said.

The reformist Web site Parlemannews reported that one of the victims Sunday was Saeed Ali Mousavi, nephew of opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi. Press TV reported that the younger Mousavi was not a victim of Sunday's clashes.

Tehran Police Chief Azizollah Rajabzadeh denied any protesters were killed by security forces.

Police did not fire any shots in Tehran, "and security forces were not in possession of firearms," Rajabzadeh told the semi-official news agency ISNA.

Video: Iran street protest

Video: New protests in Iran

RELATED TOPICS

• Tehran
• Iran
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Since the disputed presidential elections in June, protesters have turned public gatherings into rallies against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was declared the overwhelming winner of the race.

Police, wary of the potential that Ashura gatherings could present, were out in full force Sunday to quell disruptions but did not stop demonstrators holding widespread protests.

Near Imam Hussein Square in central Tehran, security forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators and blocked roads to prevent more from arriving, a witness said.

Protesters seized a motorcycle belonging to a security force member and set it on fire.

Elsewhere in the city, witnesses reported seeing protesters being beaten with batons. Demonstrators chanted "death to the dictator" and some ripped down a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Police helicopters hovered above city squares while small trucks brought in more riot police in parts where clashes were fierce.

Protesters played cat-and-mouse with security forces -- gathering, then scrambling and gathering elsewhere.

U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer said the United States condemns the "violent and unjust suppression of civilians in Iran seeking to exercise their universal rights."

"Governing through fear and violence is never just, and as President Obama said in Oslo -- it is telling when governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation," Hammer said in a statement.

The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement Sunday expressing "great anxiety" following the violent clashes.

The statement said at least eight people were killed and several were wounded in the clashes.

France condemns the arbitrary arrests and the "acts of violence committed against demonstrators who came to defend their right to freedom of speech and their aspiration to democracy. Facing the persistence of popular movements and the worsening of the repression, France is calling for a political solution in Iran," the ministry's statement said.

The unrest Sunday followed daylong clashes between the two sides in the streets of Tehran on Saturday.

On Saturday evening, a pro-government mob barged into a mosque where former president and reformist leader Mohammad Khatami was speaking.

The dozens-strong group forced Khatami to end his remarks abruptly when it interrupted the gathering at Jamaran mosque.

Earlier Saturday, scores of security forces on motorcycles charged protesters on sidewalks whenever they started chanting anti-government slogans, witnesses said.

Sunday marks Ashura, the observance of the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Muhammad.

Hussein, who was killed in battle in Karbala in 680 A.D., is regarded as a martyr. The battle that led to his death is one of the events that helped create the schism between Sunnis and Shiites, the two main Muslim religious movements.

Iran is predominantly Shiite.

During Sunday's protests, some demonstrators compared Khamenei to Yazid, the caliph who killed Hussein.

Religious mourning during Ashura is characterized by people chanting, beating their breasts in penance, cutting themselves with daggers or swords and whipping themselves in synchronized moves.

Sunday also is a week to the day since the death of Grand Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, a key figure in the 1979 Iranian revolution. Montazeri, who went on to become one of the government's most vocal critics, died December 20.

The seventh day after a death is a traditional time for mourning in Islam.

CNN

Tehran 27th december 2009

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