Committee for Free Referendum in Iran
(News bulletin number 3)
A report on publicized repression in Iran since Sep. 3. 2004 to Sep. 9. 2004
Although there were protests by all different sectors of the society like teachers, workers, etc or they wanted to make a protest rallies or even demonstrations demanding their legitimate rights form Vali Faqih's system during the recent week , but Vali Faqih's security forces did not give them permission to this legitimate right. According to the mounted repression and suppression state run news agency, ILNA quoted the head of the security forces:" Due to the increase in armed attacks it is necessary to increase the number of executions in the society".
Wrap up of the repression in the recent week Sep. 3rd to Sep. 9th:
1. Execution: There were 11 hanging. 5 people were hanged in Karaj- a city 40 Km west of Tehran, one person was hanged in Abadan, southwest Iran, and 5 were hanged in Evin prison. It should be noted that six of them were hanged publicly.
Executions:
Mashhad Sep. 3. 2004: The city general court issued execution verdicts for three and said they would execute very soon. But the executions not yet being announced. Therefore it is not known if they should be counted in for the executed numbers or those on the death row list.
Abadan Sep. 7. 2004: A 32 years old man called Ahmad Mahmoodi was hanged in public at Zolfaqari circus in Abadan at 0930 a.m. His body was left on the gallows tree for 35 minutes. His family was present at the gallows scene. The first time they hanged him for 10 minutes he was still alive, but they repeated hanging. In order to stop any rioting against the despotic rulers and their agents, security forces controlled the gallows by sending 300 Special Forces from Khoramshahr and Abadan since to Zolfaqari circus 0800 a.m.
Karaj Sep. 8. 2004: Two men were hanged in public separately in different places early morning.
Tehran (Evin prison) Sep. 8. 2004: Five men were hanged in Evin prison at 4 a. m.
Death row list: It was also announced that eight people are in the death row being executed soon, including a 16 years old Afghan boy, and three youngsters aged eighteen, they were convicted when they were below eighteen. Three were announced to be in the death row charged carrying narcotic, and one in Abadan charged for murder.
2. Arrests , convictions and imprisons: This week Sep. 3 to Sep. 9- there were many publicized arrests for political reasons that can be observed below, these people were arrested by intelligent ministry agents or security forces. There were also 283 arrests with the charges from taking part in parties and enjoyable ceremonies, wide spread arrests of youngsters under the pretext of "disturbance", or arresting rural people alleged of helping the armed struggles against security forces.
The overt announced arrests, convictions, and imprisonments are as follows:
Mahabad a city in west Azerbaijan Sep. 3. 2004: The head of the security forces in west Azerbaijan announced 245 people were arrested in this period.
Isfahan Sep. 5. 2004: The former member of the Rafsanjan University's Islamic society and the chair secretariat of Isfahan medical science university's Islamic society were summoned before the court. Their charges were disturbance of the public mind and disrepute the officials and publishing forbidden articles in the universities publications.
Kerman Sep. 5. 2004: The former member of Rafsanjan University and one of the founders of Students Human Rights Society, Mohammadreza Nassab Abdollahi was summoned upon the court in Kerman. The charges were publishing false articles.
Oroumieh Sep. 5. 2004: Guard Corp arrested almost 20 villagers from Oroumieh suburb called "qoolishikhan" village.
Tehran Sep. 5. 2004: The head of police, Mohammad Rouyanian said: 34thousands were arrested during the last five months under the pretext of street disturbances.
Tehran Sep. 6. 2004: Bina Darabzand, Hassan Qissari, Behrooz Javid Tehrani, and Dr Farzad Hamidi were arrested in front of the UN bureau in Tehran about a month ago Aug. 17. 2004 - and still they are imprisoned. According to Ali and Mohammad Tabarzadi, sons of Mr Heshmatollah Tabarzadi Secretary General of Iran Democratic Front Party who has been imprisoned for more than two years convicted under the pretext of 'acts against state security' being detained in ward 350 in Evin prison who were set free after 25 days imprisonment, Bina darab and Dr Farzad Hamidi's health deteriorated after twenty days of hunger strike, such that they are disabled of any movement. These four detainees are deprived visiting their families and there is no news about them.Their lawyer Khalil Bahramian said since he has taken this responsibility, he had not given the chance to pass his authorization to his defendants to sign. He was told at this stage the lawyer can not take part because the case is not overt, and this contradicts the law that every convicted should be perceived about the charge and presenting a lawyer is essential. According to the Human Rights Charter that Iran has also signed it the protest was their legitimate rights. He added I don't know they are kept in which prisons, but I just know they are imprisoned. He said according to the informal information I received they must be held in Evin prison. But when I went to Evin prison I was told they know nothing about them. And their names are not in the prison's computer list.
Mashhad Sep. 6. 2004: The journalist resident in Mashhad, Ahmadreza Shiri, was summoned to the branch of 'revolutionary court' by the head of this branch, judge Hojattipour, and sentenced one year suspended imprisonment in five years. According to the news papers his charge was attempts against the security of country and the membership in Democratic Front Party of Iran.
Sabzevar Sep. 6. 2004: A member of Sabzevar city council was condemned for 2 years of imprisonment and receiving 148 lashes. The charge was misleading the public mind and disgracing the officials.
Rasht Sep. 6. 2004: The security forces arrested ten people convicted under the pretext of disturbing the law and order in the city.
Tehran Sep. 7. 2004: Some weblog owners issued a statement announcing the disappearance of some of weblog holders. Some part of the statements reads: Since the protest rally in front of the UN bureau in Tehran on Aug. 17, the owner of the 'Nefrin Nameh' weblog which is a socio- political weblog has been disappeared and there is no news about him.
Tehran Sep. 8. 2004: Some agents with civil dress arrested the cultural service secretary of the Etemad newspaper, Shahram Rafiezadeh, there is no news about him since then.
Tehran Sep. 8. 2004: Two weblog owners and the clerk of the websites, Mehdi Derayati, Massoud Qorayshi and Reza Vatankhah were arrested; there is no news about them.
Tehran Sep. 9. 2004: According to the reports there is a new wave of repression and arrests of Internet writers by the new secret police called the accommodation office. The arrests started few weeks ago but it has recently been intensified. Accordingly a member of the editorial section of the Hayate Nou Eqtesadi news paper, Babak Ghafori Azar with two other journalists were arrested with the charge of false publishing. One of them is Roydad website journalist, Hanifreza Mazrouii. It should be taken to your information that a new step was taken by arresting the father of a journalist, Saeid Mottalebi, a 62 years old, artist and stage manager. This was done to make silent his son, a journalist who is active overseas, Sina Mottalebi Sina was arrested and was one and a half year imprisoned before leaving Iran. His father is old and suffering from heart disease and his family are very worried for him. This is an overt hostage taking by Vali Faqih's ruling system. The arrests of the journalists, Babak Ghafoori Azar, Shahram Rafiezadeh, Qoraishi, Hanif Mazrouii, Mehdi Derayati, Reza Vatankhah, and Saeid Mottalebi has taken place under the supervision of judge Mortazavi Tehran prosecutor convicted of murdering Canadian- Iranian photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi and the cases are controlled and followed by him.
Rajahiishahr and Evin prisons Sep. 9. 2004: According to the reports from these prisons political prisoners staged a new hunger strike protest. Some of them are the families of those who were arrested in front of the UN bureau in Tehran on Aug. 17.
Karaj Sep. 9. 2004: Compas News Agency, a Christian news agency reported Vali Faqih's security forces assaulted the annual conference of Evangelists in Karaj and at least Eighty of Iran's church leaders arrested. The news agency said 10 priests are in detention and the rest were freed. The families of the 10 priests have no information about them. The priests' names are as follows: Vartan, Sooren, Harmik. JorJ, Omid, Farhad, Neshan Khaataashoorian, Hamid, Hanri Manookian, and Robert.
Compas said those who were arrested, moved around with folded eyes in order not recognizing where they were taken to. It added they were interrogated separately and the questions revealed that intelligent officers had full and exact information about the individuals being arrested. Compas quoted an Iranian:" This is the biggest crises of Evangelists since murdering three protestant priests ten years ago".
Tehran Sep. 9. 2004: A taxi driver, Aliakbar Najafi, who wrote on his taxi:" Despotic rulers time is over" was arrested, transferred to Evin prison on June 2004 and was sentenced six months imprisonment. His lawyer, Mohammadali Dadkhah said:" My client was recognized innocent from taking part in protest rallies against Islamic Republic But he was sentenced imprisonment for what he had written on his taxi, and this is astonishing because in this case all the poets, writers and freedom fighters in the Iranian history are convicted". He said this conviction should be revised. The taxi driver use to live overseas and recently came back to Iran, he has spent months in prison since June and set free by giving dead pledge.
Tehran Sep. 9. 2004: One of the lawyers of imprisoned religious- national movement Saber, Reza Alijani, Taqi Rahmani, Mohammad Sharif complained of legal and judiciary uncertainty about his defendants' dossiers. He said: "My clients' statuses are still uncertain". He added that it has been fifteen months since they were imprisoned but judiciary system has no answer about their cases and there are contradictory stances about their cases.
Najafabad Sep. 9. 2004: Since Aug. 17. 2004 two political activists of Najafabad Freelance University were disappeared. It should be noted that they had been arrested and tortured for taking part in the university students' demonstrations on Jul. 9. 2002 and were sacked from the university. There are also some hints that they might be arrested for websites internet activities, because they were cooperating closely with many websites. Last time they left their home was the day there was a protest rally in front of UN bureau in Tehran and they aimed to join the protest rally.
Rasht Sep. 9. 2004: 38 women and men were arrested by security forces in Rasht northern city- and taken to prison. There were 18 women and 20 men. Security forces assaulted the party and arrested all of them. The conviction was 'improper social moral'.
3. Complimentary public terrorization (wiping, ): Eight people including some women were lashed publicly in Mashhad in addition to imprisonment. Their convictions were armed rubbery. Four men were also lashed publicly in Zolfaqari circus in Abadan. Of course the people could not bear the torture and set fire the security forces tent, therefore the security forces could not lash more people publicly.
Intelligent ministry has done lot more about the writers, journalists, newspapers. Relevant to this case is a man called Amirreza Amirbakhtiar who is the head of secretariat of Iran party in Khuzistan. He has been threaten several times by intelligent ministry and his family were also threatened, and pursued.
4. Publications and websites were seized:
According to the public information eight publications and weeklies were seized. These included: Two local weeklies called "Aabider" printed in Sannandaj Kurdish province center, other local publications as:'Ashti', 'Assoo', and 'Tabian' received warning from government supervising office. Amirkabir university publication called 'Etesale Kootah' and Gilan university publication were seized by prosecutor office.
There were covert filtering of weblogs and arresting their owners but unfortunately there is no accurate information available about them.
5. Women repression
Roydad news paper affiliated to the former chief commander of Guards Corps and the present speaker of the Vali Faih's system's Expedients Assembly, Mohssen Rezaii, wrote:" for the militarization of the country relevant to the presidential election, conservative's first priority in the 'staff correction meeting' was given to the 'improper veiling' confrontation. Accordingly the arrest of women was more overt and formal, such that the security forces gave prizes to those who arrested the women with so called 'improper veiling'. Some of the events are as follows:
Tehran Sep. 3. 2004 - On Friday, Sep. 3rd, at praying sermon in Tehran in order to mobilize Vali Faqih's repressive forces and agents against women a relevant speech was made. After the praying sermon an exhibition of women's photos- who were so called "improper veiled" was arranged, and a rally was performed in of the main streets in Tehran, Enqelaab, and shouted slogans for instigating and increasing the suppression imposed on women. The same acts took place in other cities. It should be remembered that any gathering is labeled 'acts against state security' therefore there is no doubt that the state security and state official arranged this rally to repress women in larger scale. Of course the same procedure followed in the other cities.
Tehran Sep. 4. 2004: Special security forces prepared in advance and had brought many mini buses in the crowded city center area called Sa'adi street in Tehran , they attacked women under the pretext of 'improper veiling' and arrested them in groups and forced them into minibuses and took the innocent, deprived, helpless women to unknown places. There were young girls crying and asking for help, but people had no choice but swearing at Vali Faqih's security forces for suppress women so overtly. The Special Forces along with repressive women police were dispatched for this purpose. This repressive measures took place after the Friday praying speeches.
Tehran Sep. 4. 2004: The head of the security forces announced rewards would be given to those who arrested any woman with so called 'improper veiling'.
The Committee for Free Referendum in Iran urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Louise Arbour, to submit a new resolution to the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly in New York to condemn the Iranian regime for the blatant violations of human rights, and to assign a special representative to monitor the situation of human rights in Iran.
Long Live Freedom
Committee for Free Referendum in Iran
Sep. 16. 2004