Petition Tag - human rights

We believe in free transport for all disabled people within Cambridgeshire by bus.

Unfortunately we are unable to use buses before 9:30 in the morning.

I have talked to allot of disabled people and its a really big problem for us.

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Dissident sentenced to 14 years in jail.

Iranian dissident Mehdi Khazali has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, 10 years in exile and 90 lashes.

Author, critic and blogger, Dr. Mehdi Khazali is incarcerated in Evin prison and has been on a hunger strike for one month.

The director of Hayan Publications as well as a dissident blogger, Khazali received this sentence after more than 27 days on a hunger strike and he is in critically poor health.

Two days ago he was reportedly taken to the prison infirmary due to haemorrhaging of his digestive tract.

Khazali has been arrested on several occasions since the controversial presidential elections of 2009, which revealed a deep rift in the Islamic Republic establishment between the conservatives and the reformist factions.

His previous arrest occurred last July, and he was released on bail after a month-long hunger strike.

Khazali has used his blogposts to criticize the Mahmoud Ahmadinejad administration and denounce government policies.

He has written open letters to the Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khamenei, warning him against the current mistreatment of the opposition and inadequacies of the system.

Khazali is the son of the conservative cleric and member of the Assembly of Experts, Abolghassem Khazali, who has disowned his son.

Mehdi Khazali, who is also a physician, was disqualified from running in the last parliamentary elections and was denied and appointment to the board of directors of Iran’s College of Physicians.

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Saeed Ali Ibrahim,date of birth ;1st of September 1973,in Qamishli, Syria.

Date of arrest is 27th October 2011 and he is kept in "Adra Prison" near Damascus, Syria .

Fake accusations for arresting him are "financing terrorist groups" according to the government.
But the truth is that he was committed into healing and helping people that got injured during their protest against the regime's dictatorship.

He occasionally is allowed to call his mother, although only for a minute or so. He has been repetitively tortured during his imprisonment, both verbally (humiliating him, disrespecting his human rights) and physically (beaten up, and physically tortured in different ways.

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All the facts you need to know are on this website:
http://www.abort73.com/abortion_facts/uk_abortion_statistics/

Some others are that:

Babies feel pain at nine weeks. For every 3 baby's born in America one is aborted and if you do the math that's a lot of baby's just in America think about how many are killed in the entire world.

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Ehsan Houshmand, a Kurdish researcher and a journalist, has again been imprisoned. He has now been in solitary confinement for since January 6th and during this time has been allowed to call home only once.

Mehraveh, his five year old daughter cried for hours after this recent arrrest.

It is not clear why Mr. Houshmand has been detained, and the intelligence agents did not mention the reason for his detention.

Mr. Houshmand, 40, is an able and knowledgeable researcher in the field of ethnicity, and many of his works have been published in the country’s papers.

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There are too many lies and corrupt courts in the world, the courts need to be open so we can see that justice is done properly like the criminal courts, as child abuse should been seen as criminal and not only judge but jury and then they would be a fair hearing part of our human rights as children are taken away from loving familys and this causes more abuse to children.

John Bowbly child psychologist stated it will do more harm than good if a child and mother is separated, research shows children in care are more likely to end up criminals themselves and ASBO.

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Political activist Yaser Yousefzadeh arrested in the city of Babolsar.

Yaser Yousefzadeh, political activist from Mazandaran province has been detained at his residence.

Security agents who were not in possession of an arrest warrant, raided Yousefzadeh’s residence and violently detained him.

According to reports by Jemran News, when the agents showed up, Yaser’s family members demanded that they produce an arrest warrant. The aggressive agents then violently confronted the family members and in the skirmish that ensued they used pepper spray on Yaser’s father.

Yaser ran towards them with bare feet in order to prevent the agents from hurting his father, and ended up getting and handcuffed and severely beaten up to the horror of his powerless parents. The agents then forced Yaser into an unmarked car and whisked him away.

Yaser was taken from his father’s home to his own residence after this savage attack, where the agents took his personal belongings after searching and ransacking his home. During the raid on his home, the brutality of the agents caused the whole neighborhood to get agitated and the agents again used pepper spray and viciously confronted Yaser’s distraught neighbors.

Yaser Yousefzadeh is a graduate of Polytechnic University (Amirkabir) with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He was an active member of Mousavi’s presidential political campaign in Mozandaran province and was a staff member of Mousavi’s campaign 88 in the city of Babolsar during the 2009 presidential elections.

Yousefzadeh had previously been detained and held in solitary confinement in a holding cell at the Sari Intelligence headquarters.

Article in Persian: http://www.rahana.org/archives/47498

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In a new wave of arrests in 2012 against journalists in Iran:

Parastoo Dokouhaki and Marzieh Rasouli, two journalists and bloggers recently arrested, are currently being held in the Sepah Ward 2-A of Evin Prison. They are being held in solitary confinement in a section controlled by the Revolutionary Guards. They have been charged with “propaganda against the regime and acting against national security.” They have not yet had access to a lawyer or allowed visits from their families. Their families have been told to refrain from speaking with media.

Dokouhaki, a women’s rights activist and one of the first bloggers in Iran, was arrested on January 15, 2012 at her home. Security forces confiscated her some of her personal belongings. In March 2007, Dokouhaki and 32 other women’s rights activists were arrested while attending protests against the trial of fellow activist Sousan Tahmasbi. Despite her earlier involvement with numerous reformist publications, Dokouhaki’s family say this female journalist has not been engaged in any political activity in recent years.

Rasouli, a journalist with a history of working with the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) and dailies such as Iran and Shargh newspaper, was arrested on January 17, 2012. Rasouli had been previously arrested in September of 2010 and banned from traveling abroad. Rasouli had been told that her charge was “espionage” but a few weeks before her second arrest this year, she was told that the charges against her had been dropped and she was allowed to acquire a passport.

Sources: Green Voice of Freedom, Radio Zamaneh, Radio Free Europe

اطلاعیه مطبوعاتی: روزنامه نگاران بازداشت شده در بند 2 الف سپاه پاسداران هستند

2 بهمن 1390

اطلاعیه مطبوعاتی: روزنامه نگاران بازداشت شده در بند 2 الف سپاه پاسداران هستند

پرستو دوکوهکی و مرضیه رسولی، دو روزنامه نگار و وبلاگ نویس ایرانی، حدود یک هفته است که در بند دو الف زندان اوین که زیر نظر اطلاعات سپاه ایران اداره می شود در سلول انفرادی هستند. هفته گذشته مامورین به خانه های پرستو دوکوهکی و مرضیه رسولی ریخته اند و آنها را همراه با وسائل و لپ تاپ هایشان با خود برده اند. علت دستگیری این دو روزنامه نگار مشخص نیست و تنها اتهام های مبهم "تبلیغ علیه نظام" و "اقدام علیه امنیت ملی" به آنها تفهیم شده است. این روزنامه نگاران تا به حال از داشتن وکیل محروم بوده اند و موفق به ملاقات با خانواده های خود نشده اند. خانواده های آنها هم اطلاع بیشتر از وضعیت آنها ندارند و از صحبت با رسانه ها خودداری می کنند. به نظر می رسد خانواده های این روزنامه نگاران نیز همچون موارد مشابه که پیش از این بارها گزارش شده است، از سوی مقامات امنیتی مجبور به سکوت شده اند.

مرضیه و پرستو تنها روزنامه نگارانی نیستند که در روزهای اخیر دستگیر شده اند. روزنامه نگاران، وب نگاران و فعالان اجتماعی دیگری از جمله سهام الدین بورقانی، فاطمه خردمند، احسان هوشمند، سعید مدنی، فرشاد قربان‌پور، محمد سلیمانی نیا، نسرین نعمت اللهی، پیمان پاک مهر و شهرام منوچهری هم در چند روز گذشته دستگیر شده اند. تعدادی از روزنامه نگاران هم در هفته های اخیر بازجویی و تهدید شده اند. خانواده های برخی خبرنگاران مشغول به کار در رسانه های خارج از کشور از جمله خانواده های خبرنگاران بی بی سی فارسی هم اخیرا اذیت و آزار یا بازداشت شده اند. در چند روز اخیر تعدادی از دانشجویان و شهروندان عادی هم مورد بازجویی و ضرب و شتم قرار گرفته اند.

با توجه به موج دستگیری ها و فشارها در هفته ها و ماه های اخیر، به نظر می رسد برخی خبرنگاران و وب نگاران ساکن ایران و دوستان و خانواده های خبرنگاران شبکه های خارجی قربانی سیاست های امنیتی و پیشگیرانه حکومت ایران برای کنترل جریان اطلاع رسانی در مورد انتخابات پیش رو شده اند.

ما از دولت جمهوری اسلامی ایران می خواهیم این روزنامه نگاران را هر چه زودتر آزاد کند. از کلیه نهادهای حقوق بشری و جوامع بین المللی هم می خواهیم این فشارها و ارعاب ها را محکوم کنند، وضعیت روزنامه نگاران دستگیر شده را پیگیری کرده و از دولت ایران بخواهند تا این روزنامه نگاران را هر چه سریع تر آزاد کند.

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Literary translator Mohammad Soleimani Nia, 39, has been detained in Iran since January 10 for unknown reasons.

Family and friends of a well-known literary translator in Iran are concerned for his well-being after he was detained for unknown reasons nearly two weeks ago.

Mohammad Soleimani Nia, 39, has been held since January 10, according to a source close to his family.

The family doesn't know where he's being detained or why he's being questioned, but they fear he is in solitary confinement at Tehran's notorious Evin prison, according to the source. The prison is known for its harsh conditions.

Soleimani Nia's family is "so worried about his health," said the source, who did not want to be named for safety reasons. "He's not a strong person physically."
His ordeal began in late November when he was questioned by security and intelligence officers. Friends and family aren't sure the motive behind that questioning as phones are monitored in Iran and Soleimani Nia was tight-lipped about the experience, which resulted in him being banned from leaving the country, according to the source.

On January 10, officials called him to the Revolutionary Court, where he reported that morning. The court hears cases of smuggling, blaspheming, inciting violence or trying to overthrow the Iranian government.

After arriving at court, he was accompanied by security guards to the home he shares with his parents in Karaj, outside Tehran. The guards searched the house, seizing electronic devices and documents, and prohibited Soleimani Nia from speaking to his parents, the source said.

His whereabouts have been unknown since the guards left the home with Soleimani Nia in their custody.

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Fouad Khanjani Begins His Four-Year Prison Sentence

The Association Against Educational Discrimination Web site reported that he had been sentenced to four years of correctional imprisonment by Judge Moghiseh of Branch 28 of the Revolutionary court which was later confirmed by Judge Movahed of Branch 54 of the appeals court.

Previously, on April 27, 2010, he had been arrested and later released on bail after a few days. On March 2, 2010,this student who has been deprived of higher education, had been summoned to the ministry of intelligence and on two other occasions had received similar orders.

It is worth noting that his father, Mr. Alaeddin Khanjani, had also been arrested on or about April 27, 2010.

Fouad Khanjani’s grandfather, Jmalaldyn Khanjani, also is one of the leaders of the Baha’I community who is serving a sentence of 20 years in the Rajai Shahr Prison in Karaj.

This banned-from-education student, earlier, had been expelled from the Industrial Management Organization, due to his belief in the Baha’i faith.

http://www.rahana.org/en/?p=12306

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Please help Chinese girl, Cheng Li Ellison, free her mother from prison in China. Her mother is a Falun Gong practitioner; and the only crime she committed was distributing pamphlets about the practice of Falun Gong.

She was put in prison without trial or sentence, and no one is able to contact her. Cheng's father too afraid of the power of the government, so is unwilling to help - even the person is his own wife.

Cheng is now married to an Australian citizen and planned to bring out her parents to Australia with her; however now, that dream seems very far away.

Please help her bring her dreams closer to reality.

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Negar Monazami: Prisoner of the day; Arrested on International Women's Day.

hra-news: Basij forces arrested Negar Monazami, 29, on 8 March 2011, during street protests commemorating the International Women's Day. She was first transferred to Security Police and later taken to Evin Prison. She was released on bail 28 days later.

Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court, with Judge Moghisseh presiding, sentenced Negar Monazami to 14 months in prison and 75 lashes.

Monazami was arrested again on 13 June 2011 in order to start serving her prison term. Several days after her arrest, her family learned that she was inside Intelligence Ministry's Ward 209 at Evin Prison. Monazami received her flogging sentence immediately after her June arrest. According to a 10 October 2011 report, for unknown reasons, Monazami remained inside Ward 209 four months after her arrest, and the authorities refused to provide her family with any information about her situation or allow her to visit with them.

Monazami was reportedly born in prison in 1983, as her parents were both political prisoners at the time of her birth.Her father, Saeed Monazami, a Constitutionalist, was executed in 1988 during the mass executions of political prisoners in Iranian prisons.

from Ghormeh Sabzi
13-Jan-2012
http://www.iranian.com/main/2012/jan/negar-monazami-prisoner-day

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Reporters Without Borders: Arrested at Tehran Airport on 11 May 2008, Vahid Asghari, an Information Technology student in India, has been in "temporary detention" for close to four years. Yesterday, January 7, 2012, Vahid Asghari was sentenced to death by Branch 15 of Tehran Revolutionary Court with Judge Salavati presiding.

Ever since its creation by the Revolutionary Guards in March 2009, the Organized Crime Surveillance Center has played an active role in tracking down and arresting outspoken netizens.

Shortly after its creation, the center announced the dismantling of a “malevolent” online network in March 2009 and the arrests of several website moderators. Their photos and “confessions” were posted on the centre’s website, Gerdab (www.gerdab.ir), a few days later. They reportedly admitted to links with websites that criticized Islam and the government, and to their intention of “misleading” Iranian youth by publicizing porn sites. They also confessed to participating in a plot supported by the Americans and Israelis.

On 17 June 2009, two days after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed reelection triggered a wave of street protests, the center issued a communiqué announcing that it had noted “several cases of websites and personal blogs posting articles inciting disturbances of public order and urging the population to rebel.”

Detainees have been subjected to long periods of solitary confinement and to torture to obtain confessions that are used in their trials. Asghari, a leading target of the “network dismantling” policy, is one of the victims of such abuses. Aged 24 and an ICT student in India, he was arrested on 11 May 2008 at Tehran airport for possessing several credit cards.

He was held in solitary confinement for seven month and was mistreated and tortured to make him confess to organizing a pornographic network that blasphemed Islam and criticized the government in order to pervert Iranian youth. And what was Asghari’s crime? Hosting websites, including the sites of government opponents.

“I was beaten with a stick for hours and hours while blindfolded and handcuffed,” he wrote in a letter to the president of the 15th chamber of the Revolutionary Court on 17 October 2009. “With a knife against my throat, I was threatened with death and rape. I and my family were insulted. I was forced to make a confession and sign it. They then videoed my confession and broadcast the video with the national television station’s complicity although I was legally presumed to be innocent.”

According to article 168 of the constitution, defendants prosecuted on political charges should be given public, jury trials but most of the trials have been held behind closed doors. Their lawyers are often sidelined and denied access to the case files and in some cases defendants were not told they had been tried and condemned. Asghari said in his letter: “I have never seen my lawyer and, even in court, I did not have the right to say hello to him.”

Asghari also wrote: “I was alleged to have received money from abroad as a result of Google advertising on the websites I hosted. I was accused of insulting the Shiite Imams and the Prophet because of their content. And I was forced to say that Hossein Derakhshan was an agent of both the Iranian ministry of intelligence and the CIA.”

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Journalist Fatemeh Kheradmand has been arrested.

Human Rights House of Iran _ She is the wife of journalist Massoud Lavasani, who was released from Evin prison on September 8th after enduring approximately two years behind bars.

According to Human Rights House of Iran, Iranian security agents, who introduced themselves as judicial agents, searched Kheradmand’s house before arresting her. During the inspection process at her home, the security agents confiscated Kheradmand’s personal items and computer. The reason for the arrest has not been announced.

Her husband Masoud Lavasani was arrested on September 26, 2009, and transferred to Evin prison. He was initially sentenced to eight and a half years in prison by the lower court, but the Appeals Court reduced the sentence to six years in prison.

Eventually, the sentence was reduced to two years in prison. His sentence was issued by branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court, presided by Judge PirAbbasi.

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There will be a move to a New Head Quarters of OCHA REMONACA in Egypt.

The new premises are not only inadequate and extremely small, nevertheless the traffic itself is Mannes, the commute alone takes four to three hours, we have all as staff undersigned our contracts based on the fact that the office is in Maadi an extremely peaceful and quite neighborhood.

The move will be extremely destructive and disruptive in to our lives we have already started to feel the oppression of not having a saying about something that will effect and change our lives completely definitely into the worst, most of us need sun light to operate for 8 to 10 hours and some of the desks do not have access to sunlight at all simply because there is no windows!!!

If we have taken money from donors to support our operations that mainly fall under the umbrella of saving lives.. That is a total waste of money and effort..

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Update 2011-01 -10 Amir Mirzaie Hekmati, an American sentenced to death in Iran for espionage

Iranian state television aired what it called a "confession" by 28-year-old Amir Hekmati over the weekend. His family said Tuesday that he was arrested in August while visiting his grandmother and other relatives in Iran, and that his statement had to have been coerced.

The Arizona-born, Michigan-raised Hekmati joined the Marines in August 2001, after high school. His four-year hitch included an assignment to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, and a six-month deployment in Iraq in 2004, according to U.S. military records.

In 2006, after leaving the service, he started his own linguistics company and began offering his services as an English-to-Arabic translator, according to Michigan incorporation records. He contracted his services to the military as well as civilian businesses, offering training in cultural competency and working with troops at military bases to promote understanding of and positive communication with people of other cultures, his family said.

In 2010, he spent five months working as a research manager for defense contractor BAE, company spokesman Brian Roehrkasse told CNN. And Condon said Hekmati recently worked for a company that produced language-training material for the U.S. military.

The United States and Iran have no direct diplomatic relations, but Hekmati's family said he made the trip after obtaining permission from the Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington. The interests section has not responded to CNN requests for comment.

News of Hekmati's detention is the latest turn in a series of allegations of espionage and plotting between Washington and Tehran, following the capture of a U.S. surveillance drone by Iran, Iranian claims to have arrested a dozen CIA spies and U.S. allegations that Iran sought to kill Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States.

Hekmati's family said that after his August 29 arrest, Iranian officials told them to remain silent "with the promise of an eventual release," but they went public after Iranian television aired the accusations and Hekmati's statement on Sunday.

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We, overseas Vietnamese who are struggling for a democratic and free Vietnam, respectfully submit this petition to request the U.S. Congress, the United Nations, and all NGO’s Humanitarian entities to urge the Communist Vietnam to unconditionally release all innocent people whose only “crimes” is to love their Motherland Vietnam.

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TBI (Tramatic Brain Injury) survivors face difficult and challenging conditions and situations and often endure physical disabilities as well.

TBI which can happen to anyone, at any age, through millions of different occurrences (car/motorcycle accidents, medical malpractice, work related injuries, etc.) and it changes a person's life and their families' lives as well forever.

However, at the time that a person suffers a TBI, it can take years of recovery to fully comprehend the severity of this drastic life-changing event. Because of this, the statute of limitations should be extended for TBI victims/survivors by doubling the standard time frame.

Extending of the statute of limitations is deemed necessary to ensure TBI victims who had been denied access to the courts, due to their disability, were given a chance to pursue their legal claims against the responsible party.

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The 2011 Bahraini uprising, sometimes called the February 14 Revolution is a series of demonstrations, amounting to a sustained campaign of civil resistance, in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain.

As part of the revolutionary wave of protests in the Middle East and North Africa following the self-immolation of Mohammed Bouazizi in Tunisia, the Bahraini protests were initially aimed at achieving greater political freedom and equality for the majority Shia population, and expanded to a call to end the monarchy of King Hamad following a deadly night raid on 17 February against protesters at the Pearl Roundabout in Manama.

Protesters in Manama camped out for days at the Pearl Roundabout, which functioned as the centre point of protests there. After a month, the government requested troops and police from the Gulf Cooperation Council, which arrived on 14 March, and a day later, the king of Bahrain declared martial law and a three-month state of emergency.

The police response has been described as a "brutal" crackdown on peaceful and unarmed protestors, including doctors and bloggers. The police carried out midnight house raids in Shia neighborhoods, beatings at checkpoints, and denial of medical care in a campaign of intimidation. More than 2,929 people have been arrested, and at least four people have been returned dead after being detained in custody.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry was established on 29 June 2011 by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to assess the incidents that occurred in the Kingdom during the period of unrest in February and March 2011 and the consequences of these events. The Commission reported its findings on 23 November 2011.

Well it's not SAFE for us and we want the world to put on the table the human rights FIRST not the money & the interests.

If the news about the return of F1 in the US passed you by, that could be because the most discussed issue of the recently released 2012 Formula One calendar was the inclusion of the Grand Prix of Bahrain.

Canceled in 2011, Bahrain is experiencing what some have called a “human rights” issue and others have leveled torture and other crimes at the hands of the ruling royal family’s government. The year 2011 has seen a series of challenges and human rights concerns in the Middle East.

The 2011 race was eventually canceled due to the political unrest in the nation kingdom but the government of Bahrain says it’s safe to come back and 2012 is looking fine. !!

1. Two protesters sentenced to death were convicted -under torture- of murdering two policemen in April. Bahrain's state-run news agency said the Cassation Court on Monday postponed their appeals' hearing until Jan9 2011

2. MEDICS' APPEAL POSTPONED UNTIL 9 JANUARY
The appeal hearing before a civilian court of 20 Bahraini health professionals sentenced by a military court has been postponed until 9 January.

The 20 health professionals were sentenced on 29 September 2011 to between five and 15 years in prison, by a military court, in connection with popular anti-government protests in February and March. On 28 November they attended the second hearing of their appeal before the High Criminal Court of Appeal. An Amnesty International delegation was present in court, as were delegations of other NGOs and foreign media.

3. The movement in Bahrain on 2011 started on Feb14 and this date was chosen because it was the tenth anniversary of a referendum in favour of the National Action Charter of Bahrain.[43] Bahraini youths described their plans as an appeal for Bahrainis "to take to the streets on Monday 14 February in a peaceful and orderly manner" in order to rewrite the constitution and to establish a body with a "full popular mandate to investigate and hold to account economic, political and social violations, including stolen public wealth, political naturalisation, arrests, torture and other oppressive security measures, [and] institutional and economic corruption."[1] They referred to the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt as motivations for their appeal.

So it's expected to have another protests on that date again.

Finally,
Bahrain admits using 'excessive force' during protests
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15825542

And after days,,
Torture Used on Protesters in Bahrain, Report Says
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/24/world/middleeast/report-details-excessive-force-used-against-bahrain-protests.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone remains hopeful that the Bahrain GP will go ahead in 2012, but admits he may have to change his mind if definitive evidence of human rights abuses came to light.
http://www.planet-f1.com/driver/18227/7370398/Bernie-eyes-drama-free-Bahrain-GP

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While growing up, Ias a disabled person, experienced quite a few 'differences' in my education because of my apparatus (a wheelchair & walker). I was treated like an outsider by my classmates and a bother by 2 or 3 of the faculty members . College was surprizingly similar...

I would like to propose a change in the way society looks at people with disabilities. We are not to be stared at by little children, forced to use entrances at the sides or back of buildings, or be labeled as mentally deficient or diseased.

I'd like to see an education system in which children are taught about disabilities and accept people with them.

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I have a dream that one day this forum will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the slopes of general nonsense, the sons of former banned members and the sons of former moderators will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even pie and bovril, a site sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that lichtieforlife will one day post on a site where he will not be judged by the stupidity of his questions but by the quality of his trolling.

I have a dream today.

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Egyptian activist, blogger, and software developer Alaa Abd El Fattah who played a major part in the Egyptian revolution, has been unlawfully detained, after voluntarily responding to a summoning by a military prosecutor, since 30 October 2011.

Refusing to recognise the validity of the interrogation, or the military prosecutor questioning him, Alaa was faced with charges including inciting violence and theft of weapons, despite unquestionable evidence to contradict. Alaa's silence also stemmed from his belief in the huge part the military played in the killing of peaceful protesters in that particular incident.

Following an international campaign against military trials for civilians, Field Marshal Tantawi, Egypt's interim leader, ordered the case to be transferred from a military prosecutor to the State Security Court.

Expected to have been released this week, Alaa's case was rejected by an Appeals Court and The High State Security Court has added the charge of premeditated murder with the intention of committing an act of terrorism to the list of the charges he is facing.

Many believe Alaa's detention is a tactful mind game played by the military council to scare off other Egyptian activists for whom Alaa seemed embody the true spirit of the great Egyptian revolution.

His wife, Manal Hassan, is expected to give birth to their first son, Khaled, this week.

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Kobra Amirkhizi has undergone an eye operation in Labafinejad Hospital. She was then returned to Evin prison following this surgery. Because of the insanitary condition in prison, this political prisoner is in danger of acquiring an eye infection. However, prison officials refuse to acknowledge such a possibility.

According to reports from the women's ward in Evin prison, Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi, 56, was sentenced to five years of prison and exile to Gohardasht Prison in Karaj by the 28th branch of the mullahs’ judiciary.

Ms. Amirkhizi, from a distinguished family in Tehran that has had a number of its members executed by the mullahs’ regime, is mother to a resident of Camp Ashraf in Iraq, where some 3,500 members of the main Iranian opposition group, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Ms. Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi, who had suffered from bleeding in one of her eyes, is in serious danger of losing her eyesight.

She had been denied medical treatment in Evin prison. She was sentenced on May 11 by Moqseyi aka Naserian in the 28th branch of the so-called Revolutionary Court. Naserian was a member of the "death committee" responsible for the massacre of political prisoners in 1988. Ms. Kobra Banazadeh Amirkhizi was among family members of Ashraf residents who on Friday afternoon, January 16, 2009, were arrested at Tehran airport on their way to Iraq to visit their relatives in Ashraf.

The majority of those arrested were women between 60 to 80 years of age, and have been violently beaten by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.

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Due to PARENTAL ALIENATION there are millions of children displace from their parents, grandparents and family for years or a life time.

Physical separation and emotional detachment of parents and their children occur mainly through unfair divorce practices and/ or unjust intervention of government agencies such as children protection agencies.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child doesn't include PARENTAL ALIENATION as violence or abuse to protect children in spite of the global evidences of psychological damages to parents and children.

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Jailed journalist Amirali Allamehzadeh is being subjected to grave pressure in prison, his sister has told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Zeynab Allamehzadeh reported: “We want his case to proceed through the normal legal procedures because, from the way my brother talks to us, we realize that his situation is not good.”

Previously, the campaign had cited another source close to the jailed journalist saying that he is “under pressure and torture to make false confessions.”

His sister reported that lately he has been urging his family to get him a lawyer as soon as possible.

Amirali Allamehzadeh was arrested in Tehran in September and has been held ever since in the Revolutionary Guards section of Evin Prison.

Zeynab Allamehzadeh says: “My brother has been in solitary confinement for more than 74 days, which is a torture in and of itself.” She added that in all that time, the prisoner’s family has not been informed of any charges against him. He has reportedly been allowed brief visits with his family, during which they are not allowed to discuss his case.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran has expressed deep concern about Allamehzadeh’s situation and called on authorities to honour his right to due process.

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Press Release: Reza Shahabi’s Condition Alarming
THURSDAY, 01 DECEMBER 2011

HRANA News Agency – The administrative office of Human Rights Activists in Iran has issued a press release to express concerns over Reza Shahabi’s condition in prison after this political prisoner began his hunger strike, and the news of his deteriorating health was reported.

Human Rights Activists in Iran has requested that the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations to pay immediate attention to this prisoner of conscience. Demanding immediate and unconditional release of the labor activist Reza Shahabi, this organization has also reminded the government of Iran that the freedom to form and participate in labor unions is an integral part of international obligations towards human rights.

Pointing out that the Islamic Republic of Iran has historically neglected the health and general wellbeing of political prisoners, Human Rights Activists in Iran has announced that this organization holds the government of Iran including the State Prisons System, the Judiciary Branch and the Intelligence Agency responsible for the health and life of Reza Shahabi.

This press release as published on the organization’s official web site contains the following:

Reza Shahabi is a labor activist and the board member of SWTSBC, the Syndicate of Workers of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company. He was also previously in charge of the labor committee of Human Rights Activists in Iran. On Saturday, June 12, 2010, four security agents arrested Reza Shahabi at work around 10:00am. Since then, he has been in temporary custody in a legal state of limbo. On Tuesday, November 22, 2011, Reza Shahabi began his open ended hunger strike to protest against the present conditions under which he has been incarcerated.

The current hunger strike is just another form of objection in a series of attempts made by Reza Shahabi to protest against being imprisoned illegally. On May 25, 2011, Reza Shahabi appeared in the 15th branch of the Revolutionary Court in order to face charges filed against him. Although the presiding judge announced that a ruling would be issued within four days after the trial, Reza Shahabi still remains in a legal state of limbo indefinitely.

While locked up in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, Reza Shahabi has been in hunger strike several times in the past. He suffers from osteoarthritis, low blood pressure, and heart and liver problems. During his incarceration, the degenerative arthritis has resulted in the loss of control over the left side of his body such that physicians have strongly recommended immediate surgery for him.

Given Reza Shahabi’s serious medical problems threatening his life and the fact that there has been no news of him since he began his latest hunger strike, Human Rights Activists of Iran has become increasingly concerned about this political prisoner’s current condition.

Human Rights Activists of Iran announces that this labor activist has been in a legal state of limbo for nearly 18 months. According to Article 9, part 3 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, anyone arrested or detained on criminal charges shall be brought promptly before a judge and shall be entitled to a trial within a reasonable amount of time or must be released. Additionally, Article 32 of the Islamic Republic’s constitution strongly reiterates that the charges against an individual who has been detained must be formally given to him in writing, and within 24 hours, the initial case must be referred to the judicial officials in order to begin criminal proceeding as soon as possible.

Moreover, Reza Shahabi’s life has been endangered due to the lack of proper medical care during his incarceration. Such treatment is in violation of Article 22, Part II of Geneva Convention defining the rights of prisoners and Article 103 of the State Prisons System’s regulations requiring the availability of all necessary medical care to inmates who might have to be taken outside the prison to seek treatment.

Human Rights Activists in Iran hereby requests that the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations to pay immediate attention to this prisoner of conscience and his current condition. Human Rights Activists in Iran also demands immediate and unconditional release of the labor activist Reza Shahabi and reminds the government of Iran that the freedom to form and participate in labor unions is an integral part of international obligations towards human rights.

Since the Islamic Republic of Iran has historically neglected the health and general wellbeing of political prisoners, Human Rights Activists in Iran hereby holds the government of Iran including the State Prisons System, the Judiciary Branch and the Intelligence Agency responsible for the health and life of Reza Shahabi.

The Administrative Office of Human Rights Activists in Iran
November 29, 2011

http://www.en-hrana.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=585:press-release-reza-shahabis-condition-alarming&catid=2:statements&Itemid=4

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On Dec 10, the international community will celebrate the day in 1948 that the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the first ever global enunciation of human rights-- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The UDHR consists of 30 articles expressing rights to which all human beings are entitled, regardless of citizenship, race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

In honor of International Human Rights Day, we invite you to sign this petition, and make the pledge to support and uphold human rights to the best of your ability, in your own life and community.

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Bullying. The term has been synonymous with school children and teens. This is not always so.

What happens when bullies graduate? They sometimes become even bigger social deviants. (spouse abusers, thieves, corrupted leaders, etc, etc...) That's not to say that all bullies become a problem for society.

Ever since the beginning, there has been depression, hatred, anger, sadness, illness, racism, personality disorders, poverty, and even death attributed to bullying. This is unacceptable! Bullying trends on the human rights of nearly every demographic on Earth.

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This petition is designed to put pressure on the Australian Government to encourage them to assist Julian Assange in regard to his current circumstances related to WikiLeaks in releasing sensitive information, the related sex charges and politically motivated attacks on him as an individual.

By collecting signatures on a petition we intend to demonstrate to the Australian Government of the large amount of support for Julian Assange. To show that people don't believe the political spin being used to try to discredit him and to justify the Australian Governments inaction.

Australian people expect their Government to support all of its Citizens and we want the government to know this.

Please watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1q9eqhT5UM&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-03/assange-adviser-calls-for-australian-intervention/3616170

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/8866322/Julian-Assanges-lawyers-call-on-Australia-to-step-in-over-extradition.html

Supported by http://fleurcom.atspace.co.uk/Julian.htm

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Another Iranian journalist sentenced to prison

Iranian journalist Mehran Faraji received a confirmed prison sentence from the appellate court today.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reports that Faraji’s six-month suspended sentence comes on top of a six-month jail term for “propaganda activities against the regime.” He was sentenced to one year in prison in the preliminary court.

According to the report, Faraji was held in solitary confinement throughout his arrest and was denied a defence attorney at court.

Faraji was arrested last December and released two months later on bail of $100,000.

Faraji has worked with several Iranian dailies as well as the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) and the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA).

In the past two years, many journalists have been arrested on similar charges and many have received stiff sentences.

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