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25 houses of the indigent were demolished by the clerical regime in Ahwaz
In a brutal raid, the agents of the clerical regime attacked the deprived district of Hassirabad in the city of Ahwaz, southwestern Iran and demolished the people’s homes. This measure took place at 3.0 a.m. when the people were asleep; according to reports 25 houses were totally demolished by the mullah’s agents and the residents were left homeless. One of the residents whose house was destroyed said: We had previously built a house at Sepidar district but the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) seized it to build residence compound for its forces.


Iran gets shirty over ties
AFP: A top Iranian customs official has called for imports of ties to be banned because they are "against Iranian culture," the Fars news agency reported on Thursday, amid a crackdown on un Islamic dress. "Imports of some apparel are not banned but serious action should be taken to stop the import of ties which contradict the nature of Iranian culture," state customs bureau deputy head Asghar Hamidi was quoted as saying. "We need to change the country's import regulations to this end," said Hamidi, who is also head of a state plan for the "development of culture, chastity and the veil." The wearing of ties was promoted under the deposed US-backed shah. But has been banned in government offices since the 1979 Islamic revolution as a sign of Westernisation. Members of Iran's Basij militia on occasion even went out on to the streets armed with scissors to snip off the offending accessory in the post-revolution period. Iran launched an unprecedented moral crackdown on unIslamic dress last year, particular against woman who are obliged to fully cover their hair and body and against "Western" hairstyles. In recent years many women have pushed the boundaries by showing off bare ankles and fashionably styled hair beneath their headscarves or wearing tight overcoats and it has become increasingly popular for men, particularly doctors and businessmen, to wear ties.

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Iran Focus reported on May 11th that Iranian authorities have hanged five men including a teenager in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, state media reported on Monday. The men were hanged in a prison Sunday 11th of May, the state-run daily 'Iran' wrote. They were identified only as Hadi, 24; Hossein, 19; Javad, 24; Mehdi, 24; and Morteza, 21. They were accused of rape and murder.

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According to Associated France Press’s report on Sunday, Canada expressed concern over the apparent arrest of six Iranian Bahai followers and called for their release, while deploring an "ongoing decline" in the country's human rights situation."Canada is deeply concerned by the arbitrary arrest of six Iranian Bahais" on May 14, Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said Friday."These individuals were detained solely on the basis of their faith. This is unacceptable (and) we call on the Iranian authorities to ensure the immediate and safe release of these prisoners." The Bahai faith is banned in the Islamic republic, which Bernier said "has a history of abuse against religious minorities" and continues to show disregard for the rights of its people. "Canada and the international community remain alarmed by the ongoing decline in the state of human rights in Iran," he said, and urged Tehran to live up to its commitments to protect freedom of conscience and religion. Bernier indicated that those arrested are members of the Friends of Iran, a group which coordinates activities of the Bahai community and which has been targeted by the authorities for years "despite its peaceful nature." The arrests follow the Iran judiciary's sentencing in January of 54 Bahai members for anti-regime propaganda. The Bahai faith was originally developed in Iran in 1863 but today is not recognized by the government. Its followers are regarded as infidels and have been persecuted since the 1979 revolution and also under the deposed shah. Bahais consider Bahaullah, born in 1817, the last prophet sent to Earth by God, while Muslims believe the last messenger of God is the Prophet Mohammed.

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UK Court of Appeal issues definitive ruling to remove PMOI from terrorist list
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on Wednesday that: This morning, the British Court of Appeal, presided over by the Lord Chief Justice Phillips, refused the UK Home Secretary’s leave to appeal the November 30, 2007 judgment of the Proscribed Organizations Appeal Commission (POAC). As such, the POAC ruling on the removal of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran from the terrorist list became definitive and cannot be appealed. After a long examination of this case, POAC had determined that the PMOI was not concerned in terrorism and thus ordered the Home Secretary to lay a draft order before the Parliament to remove the PMOI from the list of proscribed organizations. POAC had described the decision to maintain the PMOI on the list ’unlawful’ and ’perverse.’ Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance, congratulated the Iranian people, the Mojahedin in Ashraf City, the Iranian Resistance’s Leader Massoud Rajavi, and all advocates of justice and freedom, over the Court of Appeal ruling. She described it as the victory of justice and human values. Mrs. Rajavi called on the British Government to abide by the Court’s ruling and end the injustice and the violation of law. She urged the UK to immediately remove the PMOI from the terrorist list and lift all the consequent restrictions. Underlining that the European Union’s designation of the PMOI had been based on the decision of the UK’s Home Secretary, Mrs. Rajavi said that following the ruling by the Court of Appeal, the Council of the European Union must remove the PMOI from the terrorist list at once. She added that any delay by the UK Government or the EU in doing so would amount to the violation of law and submitting to the demands of the religious fascism ruling Iran.The Iranian Resistance’s President-elect said that the terror label has inflicted enormous damage on the Iranian people and Resistance. Western governments have in effect contributed to the mullahs’ suppression of the Iranian people, hamstrung the potentials of the Resistance and provided a pretext for the torture and execution of PMOI prisoners, she added. She stressed that Western governments have thus placed a major road block on the path of change in Iran. The United Kingdom and Western governments owe the people of Iran an apology over this shameful designation. The Iranian Resistance’s President-elect emphasized that change in Iran by the Iranian people and the Resistance is the only option in confronting with the mullahs’ threats to regional and global peace and security. She said European governments must recognize the Iranian Resistance, which is striving for the establishment of democracy and popular sovereignty in Iran. Mrs. Rajavi described the 35 members of the British Houses of Commons and Lords, who challenged the PMOI’s designation, as the aware conscience of the people of Britain for challenging this great injustice to the Iranian people and Resistance. She offered her gratitude to the appellants in this case and all lawmakers, jurists and lawyers who had fought long and hard to remove this proscription.

Anti-government demonstration by over 1000 students in Tehran
Over 1000 students from three technical colleges in Tehran staged protesting gathering on Tuesday in front of Iran’s Science Ministry.In fear of spreading out of the protests, the suppressive State Security Force (SSF) agents were stationed at the gathering place and prevented propagation of its news.The state-run news agency, IRNA, admitted to this protesting move and wrote: This morning, during students’ gathering, the IRNA photographer was detained for several hours; they confiscated his camera and demolished his photos.


1000 Birjand University students protest; 30 in hunger strike
The students of Birjand University (Northeastern Iran) staged dry hunger strike to protest against the clerical regime’s suppressive measures in the University.According to reports, on Saturday, 1000 students from Birjand University started their protesting gathering. The gathering, which was staged in solidarity with protests in other universities, spread out rapidly. Faced with regime’s indifference on their demands, the students staged a hunger strike. The reports indicate 30 students are presently on dry hunger strike, the physical condition of some of them is reported as critical.

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Angry people clashed with SSF in southern Iranian city
In protest against the suppressive State Security Force (SSF) agent’s crime, the angry people of Arsanjan, in Fars province, southern Iran, clashed with them. According to reports, this confrontation took place when the criminal agents started to beat several youth; the people came to help them and clashed with the regime’s agents. The regime’s forces shot at the people and injured three people named Yousef Ebrahimi, 20, Abdulhamid Afghan, 18 and Bahrami, 40 who were transferred to hospital by the people. In protest to this crime, the people staged a sit-in in front of the hospital.

Thousands of Iranian workers demonstrated in various cities against Iranian regime on May Day
Despite suppressive measures by the mullahs’ regime to prevent marking the Labors day, thousands of workers staged demonstration in Pounak neighborhood in Tehran. The workers chanting slogans against Ahmadinejad and the regime turned the ceremony into a big protest against the fundamentalist regime of Iran. Over three thousand workers gathered in this rally which was surrounded by suppressive forces that were dispatched to prevent workers from marching. In Rasht, northern Iranian city, 4,000 workers staged anti state rally. In Sanandaj and Isfahan, two other major cities, the workers refrained to go to work on May Day. Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, May 1, 2008 announced in a statement that in the run-up to the international Labour Day, most of Iran’s factories and workshops came under severe crackdown by the mullahs’ regime.Since the early days of the new Iranian year in the end of March, workers in dozens of Iranian factories and workshops have been suppressed by the government-run security apparatus. They were protesting over non-payment of their overdue salaries and benefits. The following are a number of such factories:Tabas Mining Factory, Sarcheshmeh Cupper Factory in the southern city of Kerman, Jahad Agriculture in the southern city of Bushehr, Gavmishan Dam Factory and Sugar-Beet Factory in the western city of Kamyaran, Siyah-Roukh Factory in the western city of Divandareh, Energy Company in the southern city of Asaloyeh, Aras China Factory in the northwestern province of Azerbaijan, Pashmineh Baf Factory in the western city of Qazvin, Mehrpouya Textile Factory in the central city of Isfahan, Navard Company in the western city of Karaj, Iran’s Telecommunications and Sandouq Nasouz in Tehran, Hamid China Factory, and municipal workers in Sa’adabad, Avangan factory in the central city of Arak and Iran Khodro in Tehran. Alireza Mahjoub, Director of Labor House said in an interview with the state-run news agency ISNA on April 29, 'In the private sector we have no criteria to specify the number of part time workers. But in The government sector we have some 2,500,000 workers on part time basis employment in the labor market.' He referred to an official figure of part time workers only employed in the government sector. However, in Iran, workers are hired under part-time conditions and automatically are deprived of all the benefits of a full time worker. Management, mostly tied to the regime, welcome the part time employments since they do not have to bind themselves with the minimum benefits of labor laws. This constitutes an inhuman method used by the managers to fire the worker at any time. Separately, some independent labor unions set up by the Iranian workers have been attacked by the regime and their members have been Jailed. The Iranian Resistance on the occasion of the May Day calls on labor organizations and unions in particular the International Labor Organization (ILO) to condemn the clerical regime’s anti-labor policies and suppression of workers in Iran and urges support for their just demands.