Petition Tag - political prisoner

دکتر هانی یازرلو فعال سیاسی باسابقه در منزل شخصی خود بازداشت شد.

بنا به اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، ارگان خبری مجموعه فعالان حقوق بشر در ایران، دکتر هانی یازرلو فعال سیاسی با سابقه که پیشتر از سوی شعبه ۲۶ دادگاه انقلاب تهران به ریاست قاضی یحی پیرعباسی به ۱ سال حبس و ۱۵ سال تبعید محکوم شده بود جهت اجرای محکومیت خود بازداشت و روانه زندان شده است.

یکی از نزدیکان خانواده ایشان که نخواست نامش فاش شود به گزارشگر هرانا گفت: "ماموران امنیتی امروز صبح به منزل دکتر یازرلو مراجعه کردند که ایشان را برای اجرای حکم بازداشت کنند، ولی به دلیل نبود ایشان در منزل مامورین چند ساعت بعد دوباره مراجعه میکنند و به محض ورود دکتر یازرلو به منزل، وارد خانه میشوند و با ارائه‌ی حکم از اجرای احکام دادسرای مقدسی اوین، وی را بازداشت و روانه زندان می‌کنند."

وی همچنین ادامه داد: "در حکمی که ماموران به همراه داشتند ذکر شده بود که ایشان از ۳۱ اردیبهشت تا ۳۱ خرداد باید خود را به زندان معرفی کند که در مقابل اعتراض دکتر یازرلو به اینکه تا یک ماه دیگر وقت معرفی دارد وی را با خود بردند."

وی در خصوص مکانی که هانی یازرلو به آن منتقل شده گفت: "ما هنوز اطلاع دقیقی نداریم، اما به احتمال قوی به بند ۳۵۰ زندان اوین منتقل شده اند."

گفتنی است، هانی یازرلو پیش‌تر در اردیبهشت سال ۱۳۹۰ توسط مامورین وزارت اطلاعات در منزل مسکونی خود بازداشت و پس از چند ماه با قرار وثیقه از زندان آزاد گردید.

وی که پیش‌تر در دادگاه بدوی (شعبه ۲۶ دادگاه انقلاب به ریاست قاضی یحیی پیرعباسی) به ۱ سال زندان در ایرانشهر و ۱۵ سال تبعید به ایرانشهر محکوم شده بود، در شعبه ۳۶ دادگاه تجدید نظر به ریاست قاضی زرگر به ۱ سال زندان در مشهد و ۱۵ سال نفی بلد به این شهر محکوم گردید.

اتهامی که دکتر هانی یازرلو بابت آن محاکمه و به این مجازات سنگین محکوم شده، "تبلیغ علیه نظام جمهوری اسلامی" می‌باشد و دلیل این اتهام نیز مصاحبه ایشان در زمانی است که دو فرزند و همسرش در زندان بودند و زندان از آزادی یکی از فرزندان وی (هود یازرلو) که دوره محکومیت قانونی خود را به پایان رسانده بود خود داری می‌کرد.

دکتر هانی یازرلو از زندانیان سیاسی قبل از انقلاب بهمن ۵۷ و همچنین دهه ۶۰ می‌باشد و زمانی که در اردیبهشت ماه ۱۳۹۰ بازداشت شد، دوفرزندش بنامهای حامد یازرلو و هود یازرلو و همچنین همسرش بنام نازیلا دشتی در زندان دوران محکومیت خود را سپری می‌کردند.

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نامق محمودی زندانی سیاسی کرد زندان رجایی شهر کرج که در آستانه نابینایی بسر میبرد، همچنان با بی توجهی مسئولین زندان روبروست.

بنا به اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، ارگان خبری مجموعه فعالان حقوق بشر در ایران، نامق محمودی زندانی سیاسی ۶۲ ساله سالن ۱۲ زندان رجایی شهر کرج که مدتهاست از بیماری آب‌مروارید رنج میبرد و در آستانه نابینایی قرار دارد با وجودی که قرار بود روز دوشنبه برای انجام عمل جراحی در بیمارستان فارابی تهران بستری شود، با کارشکنی مسئولین از انجام مراحل درمانی خود بازمانده است.

یکی از همبندیان این زندانی سیاسی به گزارشگر هرانا گفت: "دکتر بیمارستان فارابی برای نامق محمودی سیتی اسکن تجویز نموده بود و قرار بود بعد از این کار وی مورد عمل جراحی قرار گیرد. ولی مسئولین بجای اینکه وی را جهت آزمایش سیتی اسکن به بیمارستان منتقل کنند، نامق را به بیمارستان رجایی کرج برده که فاقد دستگاه سیتی اسکن می‌باشد."

وی ادامه داد: "پزشکان معتقدند که آب مروارید وی در حال پیشرفت است و باید در اولین فرصت مورد عمل جراحی قرار گیرد، ولی مسئولین زندان بدلایلی هربار در کار وی تاخیر ایجاد میکنند."

نامق محمودی زندانی سیاسی ۶۲ ساله، ۱۷ فروردین ماه سال گذشته به همراه سه فرزند خود، توسط وزارت اطلاعات بازداشت و در بند اطلاعات سنندج و سپس ۲۰۹ اوین مورد بازجویی قرار گرفت و سپس به سالن ۱۲ زندان رجایی شهر کرج منتقل گردید.

لازم به یادآوریست، هر سه فرزند وی در آبان ماه گذشته آزاد شده‌اند.

شایان ذکر است که آقای محمودی به اتهام "محاربه" از طریق "همکاری با یکی از احزاب کردی" در بازداشت موقت به سر می‌برد.

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6 February 2013
Yasan Mousavi arrested and transferred to prison

Keywords : Political Prisoners

فارسى

Committee of Human Rights Reporters – On Sunday, February 3rd, agents from the Ministry of Intelligence detained Yasan Mousavi at his home in Tehran and transferred him to Evin prison.

Yasan Mousavi, born in 1984, was an activist at Mir Hossein Mousavi’s 2009 presidential campaign. His brother Hooman Mousavi was arrested during that time and since then, Yasan Mousavi has been summoned and interrogated many times.

According to news obtained by CHRR, Yasan Mousavi was arrested without notice on February 3rd, and two days later on February 5th, judiciary agents contacted his family and informed them that he will be kept in temporary detention for one month.

Yasan Mousavi was alone at his residence when he was detained. According to witnesses, Intelligence agents entered his home by breaking the locks, conducted a massive search of his home during the arrest and seized personal items such as his computer and satellite dish.

Yasan Mousavi’s brother Hooman Mousavi is a former political prisoner who was arrested during the time of unrest following the contested presidential election results of 2009, and spent 2 years behind bars in Evin prison. Their parents were also political prisoners and were executed by the Islamic Republic in the late 1980’s during the period of mass executions in Iran’s prisons.

هرانا؛ بازداشت یکی از فعالین صنفی بازار تهران
سه شنبه 17 بهمن 1391 ساعت 23:49 |

خبرگزاری هرانا - یاسان موسوی از فعالین صنفی بازار تهران روز یک شنبه ۱۵ بهمن ماه بازداشت و تاکنون موفق به تماس با خانواده خود نشده است.

بنا به اطلاع گزارشگران هرانا، ارگان خبری مجموعه فعالان حقوق بشر در ایران، یاسان موسوی متولد ۱۳۶۳ از فعالان صنفی بازار تهران و از فعالان ستاد میرحسین موسوی که پدر و مادر وی در دهه ۶۰ اعدام شده‌اند روز یکشنبه ۱۵ بهمن ماه با یورش مامورین امنیتی به منزل مسکونیش بازداشت شد.

مامورین امنیتی که اقدام به شکستن در منزل کرده بودند پس از تفتیش منزل وسایل شخصی وی مانند دوربین عکاسی، آلبوم خانوادگی، کامپیو‌تر و ریسیور را ضبط کرده و با خود بردند.

یکی از بستگان یاسان موسوی به گزارشگر هرانا گفت: "امروز سه‌شنبه ۱۷ بهمن ماه از دفتر پیگیری وزارت اطلاعات با ما تماس گرفتند و گفتند برای یاسان یک ماه قرار بازداشت موقت صادر شده و اکنون در زندان اوین بسر می‌برد."

وی ادامه داد: "ما از وضعیت سلامتی وی هیچ‌گونه اطلاعی نداریم و خانواده نگران وضعیت وی می‌باشند."

گفتنی است، یاسان برادر هومان موسوی می‌باشد که در طی حوادث پس از انتخابات سال ۸۸ بازداشت و بیش از دو سال در زندان اوین بسر برده بود.

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Fardin Moradpour is an political prisoner and activist for the rights of the Azerbaijanis in Iran. 21 year old Moradpour is serving six years of jail term since May 2010.

Fardin Moradpour undertook a hunger strike in protest at being severely beaten.

Association for Defence of Azerbaijani Political Prisoners in Iran (ADAPP) believes him to be a prisoner of conscience, held for the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.

Background Information:

On November 24, 2009, brothers Fardin and Morteza Muradpour were sentenced to 6 years and 3 years respectively, having been charged with "propaganda against the regime" and "threatening national security." Fardin Moradpour was additionally charged with "possession of explosives" for having fireworks in his pocket at the time of arrest.

Fardin Moradpour (18) was arrested during an Azerbaijani rights protest, which interrupted a government-sponsored fitness walk in El Goli Park in the city of Tabriz on May 22, 2009. He was detained while chanting Azeri language rights slogans and wielding signs that called for the establishment of Azeri-Turkic language schools.

Security forces responded by firing off their weapons directly into the crowd and shooting tear gas to disperse the protesters. Moradpour was struck and injured by a bullet and upon falling to the ground, a few fireworks explosives that were in his pocket went off, injuring him further. When Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) agents arrived on the scene, they prevented Moradpour from going to a hospital, claiming that he should "bleed to death."

Fardin Moradpour's father, Hasan Moradpour, later arrived on the scene after learning of his son's condition. After calling an ambulance for Fardin, he was detained and taken intoarbitrary custody by the MOIS for one month.

The following day Fardin's brother Morteza Moradpour, a university student who had been present in the El Goli protest but was not arrested, went to the local MOIS office in search of his father and brother. Upon arrival, he was immediately detained. He and his brother, Fardin, were held in arbitrary detention for 3 months only to be released for trial at a later date.

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جعفر اقدامی بار اول، در تیر ماه سال ۱۳۷۸ به‌دنبال جریانات کوی دانشگاه تهران توسط نیروهای لباس شخصی دستگیر و پس از یک‌ماه بازداشت با تودیع کفالت آزاد شد.
جعفر اقدامی بار دوم، در سال ۱۳۸۰ به‌دلیل فعالیت‌های سیاسی توسط نیروهای امنیتی دستگیر و سپس به ۶ سال زندان محکوم شد. او حدود ۴ سال از این دوره حبس را در زندان رجائی‌شهر کرج گذراند و در اردی‌بهشت ۱۳۸۶ با پایان دوره محکومیتش آزاد شد.
وی در تاریخ ۸ شهریور ۱۳۸۷ برای بار سوم و در گورستان خاوران بازداشت شد و مدت ۹ ماه را در سلول‌های انفرادی و بند ۲۰۹ زندان اوین تحت فشارهای شدید روحی سپری کرد. وی به جرم شرکت در مراسم سالگرد اعدامهای دهه ۶۰ در گورستان خاوران و خواندن شعری به یاد قربانیان آن دهه ابتدا به ۵ سال حبس و پس از تجدید نظر خواهی در اقدامی نامتعارف به ۱۰ سال حبس محکوم شد.
جعفر اقدامی اکنون در زندان بشدت بیمار است، وی از نوعی سندرم عصبی رنج می‌برد که وی را تا مرحله فلج کامل پیش برده است و مسئولین تا کنون کوچک‌ترین اقدامی برای درمان وی صورت نداده‌اند.
جعفر اقدامی اکنون به گناه خواندن شعری بر مزار کشته شدگان دهه ۶۰ در بند است و ما وظیفه خود می‌دانیم که حمایت و پشتیبانی خود را از این جوان آزادیخواه اعلام کنیم. جعفر زندانی است به جرم آزادی خواهی. او نه قاتل است و نه بزهکار و نه سارق. او در زندان است برای دفاع از حقوق بشر و حقوق پایمال شده مردم ایران. پس اینک بر ماست که دست در دست هم به این ظلم و بی‌عدالتی که در حق جعفر شده، اعتراض کنیم و خطاب به خودکامگان جهان بگوییم که با در بند کردن آزادگان نمی‌توانند افکار آن‌ها را در بند کنند.
ما امضاء کنندگان ذیل این نامه جملگی خواستار آزادی کامل جعفر اقدامی و سایر بی‌گناهانی که در زندانهای ایران تحت عنوان زندانی سیاسی نگهداری می‌شوند می‌باشیم

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The Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran (CFPPI) has declared the 20th of June as The International Day in Support of Political Prisoners in Iran. In response to this call, demonstrations were held in 50 cities around the world.

Why the 20th of June?

The 20th of June 1981 was an important turning point in the history of the struggle of the people in Iran against the Islamic regime. In 1979 the current regime hijacked the revolution in Iran and imposed their theocratic authoritarian power on millions of people.

Also in 1981, less than two years of coming to power, on the 20th of June the regime started its crackdown on the opposition parties and organizations including their members. Further, waves of mass arrests, tortures, and executions were carried out: the regime executed 300-500 people every day, a total of up to 7000 people were executed that year, some for merely reading opposition handouts. There is no precise information about the exact number of people that were arrested and executed since the regime carried out this cleansing act in secret and buried the bodies in unmarked mass burial sites. The parents of those executed were never informed of their children’s grave. Some estimate that between 1981 and 1988 a total of 20,000 innocent men and women were executed by the current regime in Iran.

20th of June 2011

In support of the call by CFPPI the International Day in Support of Political Prisoners in Iran was held in 50 cities across the globe. For more information please Contact us.

20th of June 2010

CFPPI called 20th of June to be recognized as The International Day in Support of Political Prisoners in Iran. This was done to highlight the imprisonment, torture and execution of thousands of political prisoners in Iran over the past three decades.

20 June 2009

Following the so-called “election” of Ahmadinejad in summer of 2009, thousands of demonstrators came to the streets in different cities in Iran. Thousands of demonstrators, some of them as young as 13, were arrested, brutally tortured and raped. As you read these lines, many of them are still in prison and awaiting their death sentence.

On the 20th of June 2009 the day that Neda Agha-Soltan (a 27-year-old philosophy student) was shot to death by the snipers of the Islamic regime on the streets of Tehran, regime arrested more than 500 of the demonstrators!

Farsi: http://tinyurl.com/bsbuuma

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UPDATE Radio Zamaneh 05/21/2013

Reformist candidate inspires end of hunger strike

Mehdi Khazali, a prominent Iranian political prisoner, has ended his hunger strike after 140 days following the announcement of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani’s decision to run for president.

Kaleme reports that Khazali’s son quoted his father saying that he was convinced to end his hunger strike as soon as he was informed that Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani had agreed to join the presidential race.

Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani was reluctant to join the race after four years of attacks from the conservative camp. Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, had condemned Hashemi’s support for those who challenged the result of the 2009 presidential election and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory.

However, Ahmadinejad has also fallen out of favour with the Supreme Leader in the past few years, raising the possibility that the reformists could return to the political scene.

Khazali’s son reported that Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani had sent a message to his father in prison, urging him to end his hunger strike, and he has apparently agreed to do so in view of the moderate cleric’s candidacy.

Mehdi Khazali was arrested with a group of writers last November as part of the government crackdown on reformists. While all the detainees from that day have been released, Khazali has remained behind bars.

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UPDATE Radio Zamaneh April 19 , 2013

Health concerns rise for jailed Iranian activist

The wife of political prisoner Mehdi Khazali says her husband is being held in a “tight cell without any basic services” and his health is seriously at risk.

The Kaleme website reports that a number of political activists visited the family of jailed activist Mehdi Khazali, and they were told that his calls to the family have been getting shorter and the family is very concerned about his health in solitary confinement.

The report indicates that Khazali’s spouse has written to senior members of the clergy to urge them to break their silence in view of the “cruelty [her] husband is being subjected to.” She warned that Mehdi Khazali’s current circumstances at Evin Prison are threatening his life.

Mehdi Khazali, the disowned son of conservative clergyman Ayatollah Khazali, has been critical of the government crackdown on election protests over the past four years, and his critical blogs and his association with reformist figures have resulted in his persecution by the authorities.

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UPDATE January 12 , 2013

Radio Zamaneh

Mehdi Khazali renews hunger strike

Mehdi Khazali, a jailed Iranian physician and blogger, has begun his sixth round of a hunger strike in Evin Prison.

The Kaleme website reported on January 11 that Mehdi Khazali has been refusing food since nine days ago and he has been transferred to solitary confinement by Evin authorities.

Mehdi Khazali was last arrested in November of 2012 after security forces attacked a writer’s gathering.

Kaleme reports that Khazali had broken his earlier strike when prison authorities promised to meet his demands. However, a lack of commitment to those promises and the persistent “illegal treatment of prisoners by the interrogators and judiciary officials” have led Khazali into another hunger strike.

Mehdi Khazali has been critical of the government in his blogs, and that has earned him 14 years in jail. He is also sentenced to 90 lashes.

Khazali is the son of Abolghasem Khazali, a hardline member of the Assembly of Experts, and the senior Khazali has disowned his son for his reformist stance in politics.

UPDATE December 9, 2012;

40 Days After Arrest Dr. Mehdi Khazali Contacts Family & Launches Another Hunger Strike
By persianbanoo

http://persianbanoo.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/40-days-after-arrest-dr-mehdi-khazali-contacts-family-launches-another-hunger-strike/

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UPDATE : 31 Oct 20122:
Arrested during a raid against Pen Club - Sent to Evin 209 and immediately begins a dry hunger strike

UPDATE : 31 Oct 2012: Arrested during a raid against Pen Club - Sent to Evin 209 and immediately begins a dry hunger strike

UPDATE : 18 Mar 2012: On 70th day of hunger strike, released on bail - Lost 30 kgs

UPDATE ; March 6 , 2012

[Kaleme] Following 57 days of a hunger strike, Mehdi Khazali incarcerated reformist, war veteran, blogger and vocal critic of the ruling government launches a dry hunger strike protesting the lack of responsibility by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

UPDATE ; February 17, 2012 – Kaleme - Incarcerated dissident critical of the government, Dr. Mehdi Khazali was reportedly transferred to Taleghani hospital a few hours ago after suffering a heart attack.

UPDATE ; February 16 2012 ; Wife & daughter of Mehdi Khazali were released today on bail !

UPDATE ; February 15 2012 - Radio Zamaneh
Wife and child of political prisoner abducted



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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25 Apr 2012: Released on bail - Suffers ear and jaw problems because of torture

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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Reported released.

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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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Currently, lots of civil and cultural Azerbaijani activists have been arrested by the Iranian intelligence service. Since environmental activists in Tabriz, Urmia and other cities started to protest against Iranian parliament indifferences regarding Lake Urmia’s drought, the number of prisoners has been significantly increased. Most of them physically were tortured and some of them have been taken to unknown places.

"Abbas Lisani" is one of the Azerbaijani civil rights activists who several times have been arrested and imprisoned by Iranian regime. Lately Mr. Lisani was arrested on 10th September 2011 in his house and was taken to Ardabil's intelligence service center. According to the prisoners, who recently released, he was tortured and bitten by prison authorities. It is said that, other prisoners heard his painful voice when he was tortured.

"Abbas Lisani" is said to suffer from stomach problem, and pain in his ribs, which is allegedly a result of torture inflicted during previous periods of detention. He has started his hunger strike against unlawful condition of his arrest. However in his latest contact he told that ended his hungry strike. Said his wife Mrs. Rughayye Lisani. As result of Mr. Lesani’s gloomy situation, Mrs. Lisani suffers from nerve's disease and her health situation is undesirable.

Now Mr.Lisani's life is in serious danger. His family phone line is monitoring by "Iranian intelligence service" and whoever wants to visit his family are threatened by Iranian security forces.

We refer to human rights activists and organizations to inform other related organizations in order to condemn Iranian regime and ask to release Mr. Lesani by providing him sufficient aids regarding his health situation.

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UPDATE Hrana May 22 , 2013

Editor: Human
Translator: Houman Niyazi

HRANA News Agency – Shahrokh Zamani and Khaled Hardani, the two political prisoners in Rajai Shahr prison are on hunger strike.

After destroying the houses of 7 Arab families in Shelang Abad of Ahwaz by the security forces using dozer, Shahrokh Zamani and Khaled Hardani have stated a hunger strike protesting this since Saturday 18th May.

According to a report by the committee to defend Shahrokh Zamani, these two political prisoners want to attract the attention of Iranian and international organizations in order to support these families.

The officers have destroyed their houses using dozers not even allowing them to bring their properties out the houses and the 7 families are now living in tents nearby their destroyed houses without having the basic life requirements.

Source : Hrana
https://hra-news.org/en/shahrokh-zamani-and-khaled-hardani-are-on-hunger-strike

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UPDATE 11 February - 2013 : CHRR :

Shahrokh Zamani barred from face-to-face visitation and phone calls.

Committee of Human Rights Reporters – Shahrokh Zamani, labor activist who was arrested on June 7, 2011, sentenced to 11 years in prison, and transferred to various prisons, is now banned from face-to-face visitations and phone calls. Zamani is a member of the Council of Representatives of Labor Organizations and the Painters’ Union. His heavy sentence was handed down by Branch 1 of the Tabriz Revolutionary Court on the charges of "propaganda against the regime", "endangering national security" and "participating in organization of an illegal group" by setting up a coordination committee to help with the creation of independent labor unions.

In a letter to Amnesty International, Shahrokh Zamani stated that his lawyer was not given access to his court files or allowed to speak in court, and that his sentencing was pre-determined. He described how he had been kept in solitary confinement for 36 days and put under severe psychological and physical duress in an effort to extract a false confession, which he refused. He was transferred to the public ward after launching a hunger strike and endured 4 months of brutal interrogations before his court date.

Shahrokh Zamani’s mother, Zarin Najati discussed the present situation of her son in an interview with CHRR on February 9, 2013.

Some websites have reported a bail has been set for Shahrokh Zamani; can you confirm if he is being granted furlough?

No this news is not correct. We have not been contacted. Shahrokh is innocent and he is being kept behind bars. Shahrokh’s daughter had a suitor but we could not accept because how can we, when her father is in prison. Shahrokh’s children are left on their own while their father is transferred from one prison to the next.

When was the last time you were able to visit Shahrokh and how was his mental state?

His father, brother and I went to visit him Thursday of 2 weeks ago (January 31st). Shahrokh tried to be reassuring and told us that one day his innocence would be proven.

Besides the official charges against Shahrokh Zamani, what do you think is the real reason for his arrest? What has he done that caused his arrest and prevention from furlough?

Shahrokh says he did nothing and he doesn’t understand how they could keep him locked up. He said he told the authorities that he is a laborer; he has work to do, has done nothing wrong and should be released. He said he got angry with them and so the authorities are punishing him by handing down this heavy sentence. The others who were arrested with him told the court that they had falsely confessed under duress because they were beaten and they were released. But they kept Shahrokh behind bars.

Has the arrest of your son had any effect on your livelihood?

My husband is retired so we cannot help Shahrokh’s family. Nobody can help them. His wife, Mrs. Zamani has a job and barely manages to handle their expenses. Everything is so expensive now but what can they do? Their son and daughter are students, so responsibility falls on Shahrokh’s siblings and us.

Has there been a formal furlough request for Shahrokh Zamani? If so, what has been the response of the judiciary?

They said no, it is not possible and he must serve his sentence. Not only that, he is banned from face-to face-visitations. When he was in Tabriz prison he was allowed to talk to his father and I by phone. But since his transfer to Tehran, he is not allowed to make phone calls, and we see him from behind a glass when we have visitation.

What is your request of the judicial authorities?

I ask that they allow me to see my child. He is a laborer; he has a wife and kids. What is his crime? Clearly he is a laborer so he defended his fellow workers and there is nothing wrong with doing that. They must release him.

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Shahrokh Zamani, have been sentenced to heavy prison term in Tabriz, Iran.

Shahrokh Zamani was sentenced to 11 years in prison on charges of organizing an opposition group and propaganda against the regime.

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Amir Khorram was kidnapped following the summons order by the court in order to serve his sentence.

His 6 year prison sentence was issued for his participation in the Ashura protests and for his membership in the Freedom Movement of Iran. He is an Iran-Iraq War veteran. He has been the member of the Freedom Movement of Iran since 1986.

He was arrested in 2001 along with several other members of the group for the charge of attempting to overthrow the government. The accusation was later forgotten. He spent 3 months in solitary confinement.

He was sentenced to 4 years and 8 months in prison for acting against national security by membership in the Freedom Movement if Iran.

There is no information as to his whereabouts.
Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/44206

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* UPDATE 03/04/2013

Iran Sky-high Bail Keeps Rights Lawyer
Abdolfattah Soltani in Jail

Radio Zamaneh 03/04/2013

Jailed human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani has been practically prevented from getting a furlough after the judiciary set his bail at 12 billion rials.

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran quoted Soltani’s daughter on Monday March 4 saying that Soltani’s bail should be commensurate with the number of years remaining in his sentence. She said the 11 years still outstanding in Soltani’s 13-year sentence would put his bail amount at around 1 billion rials, but the authorities are asking 12 times that amount.

Abdolfattah Soltani has announced that such an amount for bail violates the laws of the Islamic Republic.

Soltani is currently in section 350 of Evin Prison and is serving out a 13-year sentence for receiving the Nuremberg Human Rights Award, speaking with the foreign media about his clients and co-founding the Human Rights Defenders Centre in Iran.

Source : Radio Zamaneh

* UPDATE October 9 , 2012

Iranian lawyer and human rights defender Abdolfattah Soltani is today named as the winner of the 2012 International Bar AssociationHuman Rights Award. The announcement comes during the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference taking place in Dublin, Ireland.

Mr Soltani, who co-founded the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) with Nobel Peace Prize winner Ms Shirin Ebadi, has been conferred with the title for his outstanding contribution as a legal practitioner to human rights. Mr Soltani has worked courageously and determinedly throughout his career to provide pro bono legal counsel to those in need.

As a result of his human rights defence work, Mr Soltani has endured persistent persecution from the Iranian government and has been imprisoned on several occasions. He is currently serving a 13-year prison sentence in Iran that stems from a number of charges including co-founding the DHRC, spreading anti-government propaganda and endangering national security. The imprisonment began on 4 March 2012.

Mr Soltani’s daughter, Maede Soltani, and fellow Iranian lawyer, Mahnaz Parakand, will accept the Award on his behalf at the IBA’s Rule of Law Symposium being held on Friday at the conclusion of the week-long IBA Annual Conference. The presentation will be made in Auditorium, Level 3 of the Conference Centre Dublin, Spencer Dock, North Wall Quay, Dublin 1, Ireland.

* UPDATE June 12 2012

Daughter: Iran dissident gets 13 years in prison

BERLIN (AP) — A prominent Iranian human rights lawyer has been sentenced to 13 years in prison by a Tehran revolutionary court, his daughter said Tuesday.
Maede Soltani, who lives in Germany, said her family was officially notified Monday of last week's ruling, which came during the appeals process.

Her father, Abdolfattah Soltani, co-founded a human rights group with Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. He was arrested last year.

A court in March initially sentenced the 58-year-old to 18 years in prison on various charges, including co-founding the Center for Human Rights Defenders, spreading anti-government propaganda and endangering national security.

"My father was told that his sentence would be reduced (further) if he would apologize and speak out against Ms. Ebadi in an open letter or an interview," Maede Soltani said. "He declined."

Amnesty International maintains Soltani is a "non-violent political prisoner who is being jailed only for his legitimate activities" as a human rights lawyer.

"Abdolfattah Soltani is one of the bravest human rights defenders in Iran," the group said after his detention last September, urging his immediate release.

Maede Soltani told The Associated Press that last week's "politically motivated" ruling cannot be appealed a second time.

Soltani was previously arrested for seven months in 2005 and again for several months in the wake of Iran's disputed presidential elections in 2009.

The revolutionary court also upheld the decision to transfer Soltani to a remote prison in the city of Borazjan, about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southwest of Tehran, Maede Soltani said, adding that the family will barely be able to visit him there.

Working alongside Ebadi, the lawyer also represented the family of photojournalist Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian of Iranian origin who was arrested for taking photographs in front of Evin prison and died several days later in the prison, possibly after being tortured.

An investigative panel concluded Kazemi died of a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage caused by a "physical attack," but the findings were rejected by Iran's conservative judiciary.

SOURCE : AP

* UPDATE - March 5, 2012*

Human rights lawyer sentenced to 18 years in jail
Sun, 03/04/2012 Radio Zamaneh

Abdolfattah Soltani, an Iranian human rights lawyer, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, exile and a 20-year ban from practising law.

The RAHANA Human Rights House of Iran reports that Soltani was charged with “propaganda against the regime, establishing the Human Rights Defenders Centre and assembly and collusion against the regime.”

The report indicates that he is also charged with “acquiring pelf” by receiving the Nuremberg Human Rights Award in 1995.

Soltani has been under arrest for more than seven months in Evin Prison. He was also arrested six years ago and was held in solitary confinement for 219 days.

Saeed Mortazavi, Tehran’s prosecutor at the time, had charged him with spying for revealing information about his clients. He was sentenced to five years in jail and a five-year ban from practising law, but the appeals court cleared him of all charges.

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Iranian authorities have arrested the prominent human rights lawyer Abdolfattah Soltani in Tehran, according to reports out of Iran.

Security officials reportedly searched his home for hours today, Saturday, and later produced an arrest warrant for Soltani, who is also a member of Iran’s Human Rights Defenders Centre.

The charges have not been verified.

Soltani was previously arrested in June 2009 during the mass protests that broke out after the presidential election, over allegations of vote fraud in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s victory. The lawyer was held for 70 days and released on $100,000 bail.

The Iranian judiciary accused him of “challenging the elections, propaganda against the regime and establishing a group to act against national security.”

Germany’s Human Rights Office in Nuremberg gave Soltani a human rights award in December 2008, which he was unable to receive due to travel restrictions imposed on him by the Islamic Republic. His wife, Masoomeh Dehghani, accepted it on his behalf.

This past June, Dehghani was arrested and released on bail after five days. Soltani, who acted as his wife’s attorney, told ISNA that she was accused of distributing a 15,000-euro prize that came with the award among the families of political prisoners. Soltani added that he had not yet received any such prize.

Dehghani’s file remains open, and no sentence has been issued so far.

Soltani has represented numerous human rights cases, including those of Ali Afshari, Akbar Gangi, Haleh Esfandiari, the family of Zahra Kazemi, the family of Zahra Bani-Yaghoub and several Nationalist-Religious figures. He has also acted for numerous closed-down publications and student activists.

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UPDATE 2013- 05-05

HRANA 4th May, 2013

Editor: Human

A bail of 100 million Thomans and a guaranty have been determined for Akram Alsadat Sanjari and her son Milad Yazdan Nejad.

Akram Alsadat Sanjari is the mother of Misagh Yazdan Nejad who has been sentenced to 14 years of prison charged with enmity against the God.
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Political prisoner Misagh Yazdan Nejad has been denied medical care by judicial and prison authorities. Currently, he is behind bars in critical condition in Rajai-Shahr Prison.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), although the medical examiner and the medical commission have recommended to the prosecutor and prison officials that Misagh Yazdan Nejad needs to undergo a surgery, nothing has been done thus far.

Last year, after an urgent recommendation was issued by the medical commission, Misagh Yazdan Nejad was taken to an operating room in a hospital outside the prison, but the surgery was halted for unknown reasons.

Misaghh Yazdan Nejad is a 24 year old student who studied in Payam Nur College to become a translator. During a raid by intelligence agents, he was arrested on September 10, 2007 while attending a memorial service for the19th anniversary of political prisoners executed in 1987. He was subsequently sentenced to 13 years in prison by Judge Abolqasem Salvati.

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Vajih Nasheri, Baha’i citizen and wife of Vajihollah Mirza-golpour who had been led around the city with shackles, has been arrested.

Baha’i resident of Sari Vajih Nasheri has been arrested by three Intelligence Ministry agents.
During the arrest, her husband Golpour who had previously been arrested, interrogated and led around the city with shackles, asked to accompany his sick wife but his request was denied.
Mrs. Golpour is 60 and is suffering from diseases such as stomach ache. Even though 8 days have passed since her arrest, her husband has been unable to transfer her medications to her.
He had been told that he has to wait a week for the indictment while according to law a prisoner must be indicted within 24 hours.
It looks like a case has been filed against her following the letter she wrote describing what her husband went through during his arrest.
Persian Article: http://www.rahana.org/archives/43678

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Behnam Darvishian was arrested in 2010 and transferred to Qazvin Intelligence Ministry. His father’s house was searched and his belongings were confiscated afterwards.

A source close to the family informed the Human Rights House of Iran that Darvishian has not had prison visits with his family for the past 8 months and the follow-ups of his family have been inconclusive. He has only called them once last week and has informed them of his breathing problems.

The source added that he is held in solitary confinement units of Qazvin Intelligence Ministry and is in poor physical condition.

Darvishian is a blogger and a computer engineermg student. Another contributer to the same blog Ali Shafie was also arrested last year.

Darvishian was sentenecd to 3 years in prison for anti-regime propaganda and acting agianst national security by creating a blog. His sentence was upheld by the appeals court.

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"I wish for a day when high standard laws are put in place according to human rights charter where no political prisoner spends an hour in jail."~Behrouz Javid, November 2010.

Behrouz Javid Tehrani is an Iranian student who was first arrested following the Iran student protests of July, 1999. He has spent most of the past ten years in jail, and is currently in poor health due to torture. In 2009, Human Rights Watch expressed concern at his condition and called for his immediate release.

Behrouz Javid-Tehrani was arrested in June of 2005 and spent 3 months in solitary confinement under physical and psychological pressure.

According to the Human Rights House of Iran, Javid-Tehrani made a complaint against his interrogators for the injuries sustained on his head during the interrogations but his complaint was never reviewed by the authorities.

He was tried and sentenced to 7 years in prison and 74 lashes which was upheld by the appeals court. His charges included anti-regime pr0paganda, insulting the Supreme Leader, gathering in front of the office of the United Nations and membership in the Democratic Front of Iran.

Contrary to the existing laws, he was taken to the Rajei Shahr Prison which is a place for holding criminals. He was beaten on numerous occasions by the guards and transferred to solitary confinement several times.

He has gone on hunger strike several times in order to protest the violation of his rights . He has also made complaints about having to change his prison ward frequently.

He is currently held in Solitary Confinement at Evin Prison and has been denied furlough despite the fact that 6 years has passed since his arrest.

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Iranian government officials have denied medical care to Kourosh Kohkan who is a social activist locked up in Evin Prison since January 2010.

According to a report by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), Kourosh Kohkan suffers from meniscus tear (torn cartilage) of the knee caused while intelligence agents were interrogating and torturing him in Evin Prison.

In April 2011, Kourosh Kohkan went on hunger strike to demand medical care and surgery for his knee. Subsequently, he was transferred to Taleghani Hospital and had a knee operation. Upon his return to Evin Prison after the surgery, due to the lack of medical care, the surgical site became severely infected. So far, prison officials have refused to provide further medical treatment to this political prisoner.

Judge Pierabasi presiding over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 26, has sentenced Kourosh Kohkan to three years and six months in prison and 74 lashes. For the time being, Kourosh Kohkan is serving his sentence in Evin Prison, Ward 350.

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Bahman Ebrahimzadeh, labor activist, stood trial for the second time after spending more than a year in prison. During the second trial, Judge Moqayaseh presided over the Revolutionary Court, Branch 28.

According to a report by the Committee of Human Rights Reporters, Bahman Ebrahimzadeh was initially tried by the Revolutionary Court, Branch 15, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Following his request for appeal and the Supreme Court’s approval, he was tried again. It has been reported that Bahman Ebrahimzadeh’s attorney is optimistic about the second trial and hopeful that his client will receive a lighter sentence.

Bahman Ebrahimzadeh is also an advocate against child labor and has supported the Society to Defend Child Laborers and Street Children. He was arrested in June 2010 and was locked up in one of the solitary confinements in Evin Prison’s ward 2A. Bahman Ebrahimzadeh has been denied furlough since then.

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Masoud Bastani, 32-year-old journalist was born in Arak. He has been editor of Jomhouriat website, and has had journalism backgrounds in Shargh newspaper, Jomhouriat and Kargozaran. He was arrested in 2002 and 2005 before of his recent arrest.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment for defending Akbar Ganji and other political prisoners, and he spent this term in 2005 in prison of Arak.

Masoud Bastani was arrested on 5th July 2009, while he was referred to the court to track the status of his arrested wife, Mahsa Amrabadi. Earlier, security forces had gone to his house to arrest him, but when he was not at home, they arrested his wife and she had been transferred to Evin prison.

Masoud Bastani was arrested along with other political activists and journalists in Iran after the disputed presidential election. He was forced to confess against himself – in one of the Stalinist show trials which followed the post-election protests- due to severe physical and psychological pressure during interrogation, as was also the case with other defendants.

In the fourth trial, he was forced to discuss subjects and heavy charges against himself, rather than defense. One of the factors in his confessions was his detained wife who had been kept in prison to pressure him.

Mohamed Sharif – Masoud Bastani’s lawyer – was not allowed to meet with his client or to access the case file. He said about the court on 26th August 2010: “One cannot call this ceremony a judicial trial.”

Bastani was sentenced to six years in prison in September. This sentence includes: one year on charge of propaganda against the system, and five years on charge of gathering and colluding to create anarchy. He also was sentenced to a fine of the amount that was uncertain.

Bastani was transferred from Evin prison to Rajaei -Shahr prison on 25th January 2010, and was kept in “Prison for murderers”. It was unlawful act and contrary to the principle of separation and classification of prisoners. Additionally, and contrary to Iranian prison statutes, Bastani has been denied any prison leave.

On June 2, 2011 Bastani was viciously beaten by a prison guard in front of his visiting mother, wife and mother-in-law. After simply requesting that the guard allow him a couple of extra minutes to say goodbye to his loved ones, the guard grabbed him by the collar and banged his head against the wall.

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Bahareh Hedayat, a prominent student and women’s rights activist, is suffering at the hands of the Iranian authorities in Iran’s notorious Evin prison. Bahareh is a leading member of Iran’s pro-democracy student movement, Daftar-e Takhim-e Vahdat (Office for Consolidating Unity), and was active in the One Million Signatures Campaign for women’s equality.

Bahareh has received one of the heaviest and harshest prison sentences to date. She has been imprisoned for over one year under severe conditions in the women’s ward of Evin Prison in Tehran. The injustices and oppression inflicted upon Bahareh are retaliation for her peaceful activism as a university student and as an advocate of equality for women in Iran.

Around midnight on December 31, 2009, after the fraudulent June 2009 elections, Bahareh was arrested by the Intelligence Ministry of Iran for the fifth time over the past four years and was initially placed in solitary confinement in Ward 209 of Evin Prison. On May 5, 2010, after an unjust trial, the authorities laid 16 charges against her. Bahareh was sentenced to 9 ½ years’ imprisonment—one of the harshest sentences a student movement leader has received in recent years.

In December 2010, while serving her sentence in Evin Prison, Bahareh published a statement in honor of “Students’ Day” along with two other imprisoned student activists. Because of this act, Bahareh was again called to the municipal court to face new charges.

From the moment of her arrest on December 31st 2009, she has spent three months in solitary confinement, has been deprived of temporary leave from prison, and over the past three months her weekly visitation rights and phone privileges have been revoked.

Before December 2009, Bahareh was arrested on four other occasions. Over the past three years, this brave and unremitting activist has spent Nowruz (the Iranian New Year) behind bars.

بهاره هدایت، فعال برجسته ی دانشجویی و زنان، در زندان مخوف اوین در شرایط دشواری به سر می برد. بهاره یکی از اعضای پرسابقه ی جنبش دانشجویی دموکراسی خواه ایران و عضو شورای مرکزی دفتر تحکیم وحدت و سخنگوی این اتحادیه و نیز از اعضای کمپین یک میلیون امضا است.

بهاره یکی از سنگین ترین احکام حبس که تا کنون صادر شده را دریافت کرده است. او بیش از یک سال است که در شرایط بسیار سخت در بند زنان زندان اوین در تهران به سر می برد. این همه بی‌عدالتی و ظلم، تنها به سبب فعالیت‌های منتقدانه دانشجویی و فعالیت مسالمت آمیز برای حقوق برابر زنان بر او وارد شده است.
ب

بهاره نیمه شب دهم دی ماه ۱۳۸۸ پس از کودتای انتخاباتی برای پنجمین بار طی چهار سال اخیر توسط وزارت اطلاعات بازداشت و روانه سلول انفرادی بند ۲۰۹ زندان اوین شد، و در پانزدهم اردیبهشت ۱۳۸۹، در پی برگزاری دادگاهی ناعادلانه با ۱۶ اتهام از سوی مقامات دادگاه مواجه شد. بهاره در نهایت به ۹ سال و نیم زندان محکوم شد. حکمی که یکی از سنگین ترین احکام حبس جنبش دانشجویی در سالهای اخیر، محسوب می شود.

در همین حال و در شرایطی که وی در حال گذران دوران محکومیت خود در زندان اوین است، به علت ارسال پیامی به مناسبت روز دانشجو از داخل زندان، مجددا به دادسرا احضار و با پرونده قضایی جدیدی روبه‌رو شده است.

وی از لحظه بازداشت در تاریخ دهم دیماه ۱۳۸۸ به مدت سه ماه در سلول انفرادی نگهداری شد و تاکنون از داشتن مرخصی محروم بوده و در طول سه ماه گذشته از داشتن ملاقات‌های هفتگی و تماس تلفنی نیز محروم بوده است.

پیش از دی ماه ۱۳۸۸، بهاره چهار بار دیگر نیز در موقعیت های مختلف بازداشت شده بود. این فعال شجاع و خستگی ناپذیر سه سال است که نوروز را در زندان می گذراند.

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After the election and the eruption of widespread anti-government protests, through intimidation and false promises, Iranian student Hamed Rouhinejad was forced to plead guilty in a show trials which resulted in issuing a death penalty by branch 28 of the Revolutionary Court. According to his father, Rouhinejad was initially charged with spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic. At his trial, he was accused of membership in the Association of Iran's Monarchy.

Rouhinejad has denied the charges. On Jan 2010 the death sentence of Hamed was reduced to 10 years of suspended imprisonment by the supreme court.

Hamed suffers from multiple sclerosis, and is in critical condition in Zanjan prison, northwestern Iran, where he is being held in solitary confinement. He has been denied visits and phone calls.

On Oct 19 2010 his father in an interview with radio farda said I visited Hamed 3 weeks ago on that occasion "He was in very poor health, physically and mentally."

He added that physicians at Evin prison and Imam Khomeini hospital have said that Hamed should be released from jail for at least three months for medical treatment, but neither the judge, nor the prosecutor agreed to that.

When he was transferred from Tehran to Zanjan, Hamed’s health deteriorated considerably due to lack of medical care. He is now at serious risk of dementia and death.

His Father added : I ask from all internal and international organizations, the Secretary-General of the UN, and Doctors without Borders to please examine my son’s situation. If they conclude that my son can endure being in prison under these conditions, there will be no objection. But anyone who sees Hamed just for a few minutes knows that he will not survive these conditions. I don’t believe my child will survive another month.

The barbaric human rights violations carried out by the Iranian regime cannot be allowed to continue.

Please do not stand by. Please sign this petition.

Hamed Facebook Page:
http://on.fb.me/99MibR

News Sources:

http://www.rferl.org/content/Iranian_Father_Worried_For_Jailed_Sons_Health/2194687.html

http://persian2english.com/?p=15308

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Abbas Amir-Entezam (born 1933) was the spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister in the Interim Cabinet of Mehdi Bazargan in 1979. In 1981 he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of spying for the U.S., a charge critics suggest was a cover for retaliation against his early opposition to theocratic government in Iran. He is now "the longest-held political prisoner in the Islamic Republic of Iran".According to Fariba Amini, as of 2006 he has "been in jail for 17 years and in and out of jail for the last ten years, altogether for 27 years.

Imprisonment

In 1981, Sadegh Ghotbzadeh, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, asked Entezam to come back quickly to Tehran via an encrypted message. After coming back to Tehran, he was arrested because of allegations based on some documents retrieved from U.S. embassy takeover, and received life time prison from court. He was released in 1998, but in less than 3 months, he was arrested again because of an interview with Tous daily newspaper, one of the reformist newspapers of the time.

In smuggled letters, Entezam has related that on three separate occasions, he had been taken blindfolded to the execution chamber - once being kept "there two full days while the Imam contemplated his death warrant." He has spent 555 days in solitary confinement, and in cells so "overcrowded that inmates took turns sleeping on the floor - each person rationed to thee hours of sleep every 24 hours." He suffered permanent ear damage, skin disease, and spinal deformities. He has attacked the regimes saying.

Islam is a religion of care, compassion, and forgiveness. This regime makes it a religion of destruction, death, and torture.

As of 2008 and after more than 25 years, Amir-Entezam is still in prison. He has always denied all the allegations that have been put against him in his trial and asks for a retrial.

For more info please visit: http://bit.ly/bu9gIV

Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/bu9gIV

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September 14, 2010:

Abdollah Momeni, a prominent Iranian activist jailed since June 2009, has described to the world, that he is being severely tortured, was forced to make false confessions, and subjected to a “show trial” in a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Momeni is serving a 4 years and 11 months prison sentence in Ward 350 of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison.

There is no better way to describe what has happened to Abdollah Momeni, except to read this excerpt for yourself in his own words, a letter from Momeni:

Allow me to describe the first days of my detention. After being arrested in the manner described above, I was transferred to solitary confinement–cell 101 in Section 209 of Evin prison. Upon entry into the cell I noticed that there were feces under the carpet in the room, so I objected. I was told, “You are not worthy of anything better than this.”

After two days in Section 209, I was taken to Section 240 and transferred to the charge of the Ministry of Intelligence . After this, the conditions of prison became even more difficult and increasingly inhumane. Contrary to the regulations adopted by the Sixth Parliament, and the orders of Ayatollah Hashemi Shahroudi, which required that two solitary confinement cells be combined into one to allow for extra space for prisoners, it seemed that in this Section each cell was divided into two cells reducing space and measuring 1.6 meters by 2.2. The width of the cell was shorter than my height and I could only lay down in one position. There was a metal bucket placed over a sewage hole, to make a makeshift toilet where we could relieve ourselves. A water faucet was placed over this makeshift toilet so that the prisoner would not have to be brought out of his cell for basic needs. Unfortunately, the positioning of this tomb-like cell, which benefited from the deathly silence of the ward, was such that the Qiblih [the direction of prayer] was in the same direction as the makeshift toilet and the distance between this toilet and my prayer position was only a few inches. There was also a light projector which was on 24 hours a day, so as to prevent prisoners from even imagining a good night’s rest. Enduring solitary confinement and difficult and lengthy interrogation sessions was something I had to become accustomed to. But along with solitary confinement, repeated sleepless nights resulting from lengthy interrogation sessions, being forced to stand on one foot for lengthy periods, enduring beatings and being slapped repeatedly were the preferred options in our Section during those days. The pressure and being taunted by interrogators for having refused their demands was so great that at times I would pass out during interrogation sessions.

The iron fist of interrogators would also result in my passing out. On several occasions the interrogator in charge of my case strangled me to the point of me loosing consciousness and falling to the ground. For days following these strangulations, I suffered such severe pain in the neck and throat area, that eating and drinking became unbearable. Of course, the negative impact of torture is not something which prisoners such as I have to contend with alone. At times, the interrogator himself suffers as a result of inflicting torture. I remember during one of my interrogations, after receiving repeated blows to the mouth, the interrogator, who would hit me with the back of his hand, noticed that his fingers had suffered cuts as well.

Interrogators even used my screams and cries which resulted from the beatings I was receiving to taunt other prisoners. Later I heard from some prisoners that during their interrogations, which were purposefully scheduled at the same time as mine [in a different room], they could hear my squealing. It seems that my screams were used to inflict emotional pressure on others.

Full English translation text: http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2010/09/letter-momeni-khamanei/

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The Thai government which is not elected by the people of Thailand, does not follow any international rules and regulations, including the Geneva Convention. They don't care about human rights or anything else.

This historical event was followed earlier this year on 10th April and 19th May 2010, with two tragic massacres. The Thai military and government shot down a pro-democracy activist movement in the streets of Bangkok. 91 unarmed civilians were killed, 2,000 injured, and also more than a few hundred people were jailed under the executive decree law.

Therefore, I would like you to take some strong action against this dictatorship, for the freedom, democracy, human rights and safety of the Thai people. In order to avoid future tragic losses and to defend democracy, we demand that the Thai government:

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Keyvan Samimi (62 years old) is an Iranian journalist who was arrested on June the 14th 2009, soon after the presidential election, at the very beginning of the crackdown carried out by Iranian authorities.

He was chief editor of the now banned monthly Nameh ("Letter") and of the website Kharabat. He’s also a Human Rights activist and a member of the National Peace Council, the Committee against Arbitrary Detentions, the Committee in Defense of Citizens’ Rights, and the Right to Education Council. He was a political prisoner during the Shah's regime.

In June 2009, security forces broke into his house in the middle of the night, arrested him and confiscated his personal computer and belongings. According to his lawyer, Nasrin Sotudeh, she visited him for the first time on 10 September 2009 in presence of his interrogator. Mr. Samimi told her that he was beaten twice, and the prison’s doctor certified that the sign of torture was seen on his left leg. Sotudeh also said that she has had no access to his file, but during the visit, Mr. Samimi and his interrogator informed her that he was charged with membership in the illegal groups, including the "National Religious Coalition", the "National Peace Council", and the "Committee to Investigate Arbitrary Detentions" (http://www.iranhumanrights.org/2009/09/report09/).

Since the day of his arrest, Keyvan Samimi spent long time in solitary confinement in Evin prison (Tehran). He was allowed to leave the prison briefly in two occasions: in december 2009, when his daughter got married, and for the Persian New Year, in march 2010. He was finally sent back to prison the morning of April 20.

Keyvan Samimi was at first sentenced to 6 years of jail and to a lifetime ban from any journalistic, social and political activity. The main charges in Keyvan Samimi’s indictment were propagandizing against the regime and conspiring against national security. The indictment also included charges such as participating in post-election protests and issuing statements questioning the validity of the election results.
The Court of Appeal upheld 6 years of imprisonment but reduced the ban from life to 15 years (http://www.rhairan.us/en/?p=5251).

In the summer 2010, Keyvan Samimi was one among the 17 political prisoners in ward 350 of Evin jail who were on hunger strike from 26 July to 10 August 2010, to protest against inhuman prison conditions, after their transfer to solitary confinement. Even if Samimi was the eldest among them, he was also on "dry" hunger strike for almost a week (4-10 August) along with journalist Bahman Ahmadi Amouii and students’ leader Majid Tavakoli. Furthermore, he did't break the strike when his younger fellow inmates did. He has continued his protest until he and all his ‘imprisoned children’ have been transferred from solitary confinement to the general ward of Evin prison.
He ended his hunger strike after 24 days.

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*Updates:

Iranian woman has not been executed, official says

Iranian women 'in slavery': stoning woman's lawyer

Petition: Free Sakineh's son Sajjad, lawyer Houtan Kian, and two German Journalists

Jailed Iranian Woman's Son Reported Missing

Final verdict not yet decided on Iranian woman sentenced to stoning

Sajjad Ghaderzadeh, son of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: My mother is innocent

Lawyer: Woman facing stoning in Iran has been whipped

Son seeks proof Iranian stoning case 'on hold'

Iran: Woman's stoning sentence on hold

Iran orders 99 lashes for woman facing execution, rights group says

Final verdict postponed for Iranian woman facing stoning

Sakineh Mohammadi was forced to "confess" on TV

* SAKINEH IS IN DANGER OF STONING OR ANOTHER METHOD OF EXECUTION

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani’s case review postponed; final judgment will be made in 20 days

Islamic Republic judiciary authorities to decide Sakineh’s case on July 21

Children of Sakineh Ashtiani Mohammadi, have written a letter! MUST READ!

** June 23, 2010: SAKINEH HAS ASKED FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO FORGIVE HER, THEY [[[[[REJECTED!!!!]]]]] PLEASE KEEP SIGNING, AND SPREAD THE NEWS ABOUT HER! WE CAN SAVE HER!

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Radio Free Europe | Radio Liberty

A lawyer and activist close to the case of an Iranian woman convicted of adultery say she may soon be stoned to death, RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

Women's rights activist Soheila Vahdati spoke to Radio Farda on June 17 about the case of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ashtiani, who has two children, has been imprisoned in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz since 2005.

Vahdati says Sakineh was earlier sentenced to 99 lashes in 2006 for having "illicit relationships." The sentence was subsequently carried out and her case was closed.

But authorities later charged Ashtiani with murder. Prosecutors alleged that Ashtiani and her boyfriend had killed her husband.

In making the murder case against Ashtiani, activist Vahdati says the court "illegally" reopened the adultery case against Ashtiani. It was the second time Ashtiani would be tried for the same alleged adulterous conduct.

According to Vahdati, Ashtiani was sentenced to be stoned to death for the same alleged act of adultery for which she earlier had been convicted to 99 lashes. It is not clear when she was sentenced.

While denying the charges against her, Ashtiani has asked the authorities for a pardon.

According to activist Vahdati, Ashtiani told the authorities, "if I have done any wrong, I repent."

Her clemency request was rejected.

Lawyer Mohammad Mostafaie, who represents Ashtiani, also maintains her innocence. Writing on his personal blog, the lawyer described Ashtiani's stoning as imminent and said his client will be executed "for an offense she has not committed."

According to Article 83 of the Laws of Islamic Punishment in Iran, ratified in 1991, the penalty for adultery is death by stoning.

However, murder is not punishable in Iran by stoning. Murderers who receive the death sentence are hanged.

http://www.rferl.org/content/Fear_For_Iranian_Woman_Facing_Death_By_Stoning_/2075376.html

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**Facebook (for Sakineh): www.Facebook.com/SaveSakineh

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Update: September 21, 2010 Trial has been held and the prosecutor has requested the death penalty by execution for Hossein 'Hoder' Derakhshan. The sentencing verdict has not been delivered to the court but the risk is implied. Please sign and forward petition to all contacts. Thank you.

Hossein 'Hoder' Derakhshan is an Iranian-Canadian Blogger, journalist, and internet activist. He has been advocating the use of the internet as a means for social and political reform in Iran.

He is credited with starting the blogging revolution in Iran and is called by many journalists as the father of Persian blogging or the 'Blogfather'. He also helped to promote podcasting in Iran. His weblog, like some other political Persian blogs and websites, has been blocked (or filtered) by the government in Iran, since 2004

On leaving Iran, he was shortly detained and summoned to the Ministry of Intelligence. A few days later he was interrogated by an intelligence official over the content of his blog and was forced to sign an apology before being allowed to leave Iran.

After returning to iran On November 1, 2008, Derakhshan was arrested at his family home in Tehran.
As of late April 2009, the New York Times stated that Derakhshan remained under detention and had not been charged. However, by late October 2009, approaching the one-year anniversary of his arrest, his family began speaking out to Persian and English-language media. His father, Hassan Derakhshan, most notably released an open letter to the new head of the Iranian Judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani. asking for more information about his son's detention.

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Writers expressing themselves in Azeri are deprived of linguistic freedom consisting of freedom of speech and freedom to write in their mother tongue and face perpetual problems having their work published in Azeri.

The arrested writers are being held in solitary confinement in Evin prison in Tehran, and are at risk of torture and other ill treatment.

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In September 2008, the following poets and writers were arrested and imprisoned merely because they wrote in their mother tongue:

Azeri: Alireza Sarrafi, Hasan Rasedi, Akbar Azad, Saeid Muganli, Mehdi Neemi, Hamid Arghish. They are now in solitary confinement in Evin prison.

They are deprived of Linguistic freedom consisting of freedom of speech and freedom to write in their mother tongue, facing perpetual problems having their work published in Azeri Freedom to have their children educated in mother tongue.

These issues apply to all Azeris in Iran. Between 16 and 23 million Azeris live in Iran.

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