Sunday, January 3, 2010
Maryam Zia, Children’s Activist, Arrested
Human Rights Reporters Committee – Maryam Zia, President of the Struggle for a World Deserving of Children was arrested by security officials today (Thursday).
Plainclothes forces went to Maryam Zia’s house for search and arrest. Since she was not there, they forced her children to contact her and ask her to come back. Upon return, she was arrested and sent to an unidentified place.
She was previously arrested in a gathering to protest “unequal laws” that took place on June 12, 2006.
There is no update on her condition.
Reporter and Journalist, Nasrin Vaziri, Missing
According to Nasrin’s family, on the night of Monday December 28th when the state agents came to arrest her, Nasrin was in the shower at the time.
After she got ready they arrested her. Since then the state prosecution office has not responded and the judicial office has stated she is not on the list of those arrested as part of the Ashura protests. This indicates a higher possibility for the source of the arrest being through fanatical forces.
Nasrin Vaziri has worked with ParlemanNews, ILNA, OnlineNews, ISNA, and Etemad Melli.
Dr. Sharif: Massoud Bastani Remains in Jail Despite Bail Allowance
Committee of Human Rights Reporters: In his latest interview about the case of Massoud Bastani, Dr. Mohammad Sharif stated that after studying Mr. Bastani’s case, he realized that from the beginning he was allowed bail but nobody was aware of it.
Dr. Sharif commented on the trend of the file of this journalist: “Before Massoud Bastani’s arrest, I was his lawyer. After his wife Mahsa Amrabadi was released, I referred to branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court as well as the court of security to follow up on the case. One day when I wasn’t in Tehran, his wife informed me through a phone call that Massoudi Bastani was taken to court. I was by no means aware of this despite being his lawyer. I did not even have any information regarding which branch of the court was dealing with his case. I eventually referred to branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court to present my letter of attorney. The judge stated that a primitive court ruling had been issued, and therefore we needed to refer to an appeal court, and take the letter of attorney there.”
After taking the file to the appeal court and after Dr. Sharif followed up with the case, he noticed that from the beginning bail was allowed in the case: “The file was taken to the appeal court. I went to them and received the file, and in complete astonishment realized that in his file there was a bail allowance issued from the beginning, and nobody was aware of it. Following this news, his family announced their readiness to pay the bail, but the appeal court asserted that these issues are not related to them.”
The important point in the case of this journalist is that in addition to the fact he was without a lawyer in his hearing, his file was not given to his lawyer to be studied until the time of the appeal court, which resulted in no one noticing the bail allowance. Even now Massoud Bastani is prevented from being released on bail.
Dr. Sharif commented on the latest condition of his client: “I asked the appeal court to arrange a meeting but so far this has been unsuccessful.
Massoud Bastani was deprived of a lawyer in his first hearing, and in his appeal hearing too- the only defense he is allowed is a written defense.
Massoud Bastani is still under arrest despite the fact that he was allowed bail.” Massoud Bastani, journalist and political activist, has been under arrest since the morning of July 5th when he went to the Revolutionary Court to follow up the case of his wife, Mahsa Amrabadi, who had been under arrest for nearly 20 days.
In his hearing without a lawyer, he was sentenced to six years in prison. One year of this prison term is for his allegation of advertising against the regime, and the other five years are for allegations of gathering and collusion with the intention of causing uproar.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Human Rights Activist Shiva Nazar Ahari Faints in Prison During Hunger Strike
The Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Shiva Nazar Ahari, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, went on a hunger strike after she was arrested by security forces on the night of Sunday, December 20th.
According to the reports received, Shiva Nazar Ahari was arrested on the night of December 20th while on her way to Qom along with a group of social activists and families of political prisoners. She spent the first two days of her arrest on hunger strike, but lost consciousness due to physical weakness and was transferred to the Evin prison hospital. Shiva Nazar Ahari’s mother has described her daughter’s condition in their meeting yesterday as undesirable.
It should be mentioned that Shiva Nazar Ahari was previously arrested on Sunday, June 14th. After nearly four months in prison, she was released on a $200,000 bail.
According to the received reports, Saeid Jalalifar and Saeid Kalanaki, two other members of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, who were arrested on Monday, November 30th, have been transferred to the public section of the prison. It should be mentioned that Saied Kalanaki finally succeeded yesterday in attaining his first outside visit.
The Letter from Prince Reza Pahlavi to Mr Ban Ki-Moon
His Excellency Ban Ki-moon
Secretary-General of United Nations
The United Nations
New York, N.Y 10017
Dec. 31st, 2009
Your Excellency:
I am writing to share with you my profound concerns about the continuing, serious and flagrant human rights violations of my compatriots by the clerical regime in Iran, and respectfully request you adopt urgent and appropriate measures to put an immediate end to such violations.
The shameful record of the clerical government’s endless violations of all the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - to which Iran has long been a signatory - needs no recounting. Since its inception thirty years ago, the clerical regime of Iran has been repeatedly cited for human rights violations by a host of international human rights agencies and organizations, including United Nations’ Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, United Nations’ Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and The International Federation for the Defense of Human Rights.
Since the fraudulent presidential election in June, the leaders of the clerical regime of Iran have opted for the use of deadly force to prevent the Iranian citizens from exercising their freedoms of assembly and speech. I was deeply grateful for your prompt expression of concern and dismay on 22 June 2009, particularly “the use of force against civilians.” However, the clerical regime in Iran chose to ignore your call on them “to respect fundamental civil and political rights, especially the freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of information” of the Iranian citizens.
According to official reports the number of those killed, injured and arrested in Iran so far is over two thousand. Many of the unjustly arrested are held incommunicado and have been subjected to unspeakable acts of torture. Sadly, the clerical government has prevented many families of those killed from receiving and burying the bodies of their slain relatives in order to obscure the cause of death. More alarmingly, the clerical government is preparing to execute a number of the detainees who are suspected of either leading or merely participating in recent demonstrations.
Your Excellency,
I cannot overstate the urgency of the matter. Widespread and increasing violations of the human rights of millions of my compatriots in Iran have reached catastrophic proportions. The continuation of the current state of affairs in Iran is potentially a serious threat to the peace and security of the region if not the international community as a whole. The situation seems particularly urgent if one also considers the insistence of the clerical government to continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions in defiance of its binding international obligations and the repeated recommendations of the Security Council of the United Nations.
I consider it my solemn responsibility to respectfully urge Your Excellency to use your singular authority to take the necessary measures to bring to a halt the intolerable and increasingly dangerous march of events in Iran. To this end, I sincerely suggest the adoption of the following measures:
· Call upon the clerical regime of Iran to immediately release all those who have been arrested and kept in detention on the basis of their participation in, or mere expression of support for, the post-election demonstrations. Pending the release of the detainees, the authorities must allow the detainees to have access to legal counsel and normal visiting rights;
· Appoint a special rapporteur to travel to Iran in order to prepare a firsthand report on the nature and dimensions of the recent violations of human rights committed by security agents, judicial authorities, and members of the revolutionary guards and the armed militia of the clerical regime in Iran;
· Inform the Human Rights Commission and the General Assembly of the United Nations of the serious nature of ongoing violations of human rights in Iran; and
· Urge the member states of the United Nations to recall their respective ambassadors from Iran as a minimal but clear indication of their support for the rights and freedom of the Iranian citizens and their serious objections to widespread and flagrant violations of these rights by the clerical regime in Iran.
I, along with my aggrieved compatriots in Iran, and all free and freedom loving peoples of the world, would be most grateful if Your Excellency take up this matter with the urgency required.
Please accept the expression of my deep esteem and gratitude,
Reza Pahlavi
Secretary-General of United Nations
The United Nations
New York, N.Y 10017
Dec. 31st, 2009
Your Excellency:
I am writing to share with you my profound concerns about the continuing, serious and flagrant human rights violations of my compatriots by the clerical regime in Iran, and respectfully request you adopt urgent and appropriate measures to put an immediate end to such violations.
The shameful record of the clerical government’s endless violations of all the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - to which Iran has long been a signatory - needs no recounting. Since its inception thirty years ago, the clerical regime of Iran has been repeatedly cited for human rights violations by a host of international human rights agencies and organizations, including United Nations’ Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee, United Nations’ Commission on Human Rights, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and The International Federation for the Defense of Human Rights.
Since the fraudulent presidential election in June, the leaders of the clerical regime of Iran have opted for the use of deadly force to prevent the Iranian citizens from exercising their freedoms of assembly and speech. I was deeply grateful for your prompt expression of concern and dismay on 22 June 2009, particularly “the use of force against civilians.” However, the clerical regime in Iran chose to ignore your call on them “to respect fundamental civil and political rights, especially the freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and freedom of information” of the Iranian citizens.
According to official reports the number of those killed, injured and arrested in Iran so far is over two thousand. Many of the unjustly arrested are held incommunicado and have been subjected to unspeakable acts of torture. Sadly, the clerical government has prevented many families of those killed from receiving and burying the bodies of their slain relatives in order to obscure the cause of death. More alarmingly, the clerical government is preparing to execute a number of the detainees who are suspected of either leading or merely participating in recent demonstrations.
Your Excellency,
I cannot overstate the urgency of the matter. Widespread and increasing violations of the human rights of millions of my compatriots in Iran have reached catastrophic proportions. The continuation of the current state of affairs in Iran is potentially a serious threat to the peace and security of the region if not the international community as a whole. The situation seems particularly urgent if one also considers the insistence of the clerical government to continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions in defiance of its binding international obligations and the repeated recommendations of the Security Council of the United Nations.
I consider it my solemn responsibility to respectfully urge Your Excellency to use your singular authority to take the necessary measures to bring to a halt the intolerable and increasingly dangerous march of events in Iran. To this end, I sincerely suggest the adoption of the following measures:
· Call upon the clerical regime of Iran to immediately release all those who have been arrested and kept in detention on the basis of their participation in, or mere expression of support for, the post-election demonstrations. Pending the release of the detainees, the authorities must allow the detainees to have access to legal counsel and normal visiting rights;
· Appoint a special rapporteur to travel to Iran in order to prepare a firsthand report on the nature and dimensions of the recent violations of human rights committed by security agents, judicial authorities, and members of the revolutionary guards and the armed militia of the clerical regime in Iran;
· Inform the Human Rights Commission and the General Assembly of the United Nations of the serious nature of ongoing violations of human rights in Iran; and
· Urge the member states of the United Nations to recall their respective ambassadors from Iran as a minimal but clear indication of their support for the rights and freedom of the Iranian citizens and their serious objections to widespread and flagrant violations of these rights by the clerical regime in Iran.
I, along with my aggrieved compatriots in Iran, and all free and freedom loving peoples of the world, would be most grateful if Your Excellency take up this matter with the urgency required.
Please accept the expression of my deep esteem and gratitude,
Reza Pahlavi
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