Monday, November 24, 2008

NEWS))))))

Third Committee of the UN General Assembly condemns widespread human rights violations in Iran
On Friday night the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly issued a resolution condemning the gross violations of human rights in Iran. According to the (National Council of Resistance of Iran) NCRI’s statement the action came despite frantic attempts by the Iranian regime to bribe some governments into adding it to escape the international censure for its rights abuses. This is the fifty-fifth such resolution by various United Nations bodies. This year’s resolution was based on the UN Secretary General’s report on Iranian regime’s human rights violations. It expresses deep concern over the 'ongoing systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of the Islamic Republic of Iran' such as 'torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment such as flogging and amputations, public executions, stoning as a method of execution, execution of persons who were below 18 years of age at the time their offence was committed, arrests of and violent crackdowns on women exercising their right to assembly, increasing discrimination and other human rights violations against persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities, ongoing and serious restrictions of freedom of opinion and expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the increasing harassment, intimidation and persecution of human rights defenders.' In addition, the resolution 'Requests an update from the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, including its cooperation with international human rights mechanisms, at its sixty-fourth session.'Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the Iranian Resistance said: 'At the time when the world is witnessing the execution of juveniles and political prisoners under torture in Iran, despite the fact that the resolution covers only a fraction of the crimes committed by the mullahs’ regime, it clearly demonstrate the fact that the ruling religious fascism does not value any of the basic human rights principles and international covenants. Thus, it has no merit to be a part of international community and should be isolated.'She said, with the passing of the new resolution, it is high time to refer the Iranian regime’s dossier to the U.N. Security Council and the leaders of the mullahs’ regime to stand trial in an international tribunal for the gross violations of human rights including more than 120,000 political executions as well as its terrorist crimes abroad. The regime’s crimes in the past three decades amount to crimes against humanity.

Iranian regime opposes UN vote for death penalty ban
A majority of the world’s nations voted in a U.N. committee Thursday to signal support for abolishing executions, reported the Associated Press. The 105-48 vote in the U.N. General Assembly’s human rights committee was the second year in a row that nations have urged a global moratorium on the death penalty. Thursday’s vote marked slightly more support from the final 104-54 vote in the plenary of the General Assembly last December, with one more vote in support and fewer opposed. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has been encouraged by the trend in many areas of the world toward ultimately abolishing the death penalty, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said. According to the Associated Press, Iran is among the states which opposed the UN resolution of death penalty ban.

Iran fails to halt U.N. assembly rights resolution
Reuters reported on Friday that Western nations claimed a success on Friday when a U.N. General Assembly resolution condemning human rights violations in Iran passed through a key committee more easily than in the past. Iran’s bid to halt action on the resolution in the assembly’s third committee -- meaning it would have been shelved -- was defeated by 81 votes to 71. A similar move on a similar resolution last year was stopped by just one vote.The committee then passed the resolution by 70 votes to 51, although 60 countries abstained. The resolution goes to the full assembly next month, but diplomats said the outcome was expected to be the same and the key vote was in the committee.The nonbinding resolution sponsored mainly by Western countries and put forward by Canada, expresses ’deep concern at serious human rights violations’ in Iran.It urges Iran to end alleged torture and cruel punishment of detainees, executions of juveniles, stoning to death, violent repression of women demonstrators, discrimination against ethnic minorities and members of the Baha’i faith, and restrictions on freedom of religion and belief. ’The importance of this resolution is to put the spotlight on Iran’s very poor human rights record,’ British Ambassador John Sawers told reporters.
Another execution in Iran for "drug trafficking"!!
Associated France Press reported Saturday that an Iranian man convicted of drug trafficking has been hanged in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The man, identified only by his first name Majid, was hanged for smuggling more than 300 kilos (660 pounds) of morphine, Etemad newspaper said, without specifying when the execution took place. The latest hanging brings to at least 203 the number of executions in Iran this year, according to an AFP count.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

NEWS))))))

Ban Ki-moon reiterates on the rights of Ashraf residents
National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement: In his latest report to the UN Security Council on the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated the rights of the Ashraf residents in Iraq. In article 45 of his report he emphasized on the need for 'continued close monitor of the situation of the People’s Mujahedin.' Following is a full text of the article: 45. UNAMI continued to monitor closely the situation of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran members who are living in the Ashraf camp in Diyala Governorate. They are still under the protection of the United States army following an agreement signed in 2004, but the Government of Iraq has expressed its intention to take full control of the camp in the near future. In a letter dated 15 October 2008 to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Government of Iraq to protect Ashraf residents from forcible deportation, expulsion or repatriation in violation of the non-refoulement principle, and to refrain from any action that would endanger their life or security. It is also important that the humanitarian needs of the camp’s residents, including access to food and medical care, be met by those protecting the camp.

Two prisoners hanged in Lakan north Iran
The Iranian regime hanged two prisoners identified as Parviz.K and Afrasyab.N in the Lakan Township in Northern Province of Mazandaran, reported the official news agency IRNA on Thursday. In a report on October 21st to the UN General Assembly, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern over the rights of women and minorities in Iran, as well as over the death penalty, including juvenile executions and stoning. The report said there has been a sudden surge of executions in recent months, and the UN Human Rights Committee has sounded the alarm over the “extremely high numbers of death sentences, many resulting from trials in which the guarantees of due process of law had not been properly applied.”

Special police patrols
The Iranian regime announced the start of a new 'security drills' in Tehran for a six day period beginning on Monday. Simultaneous with the games, the State Security Forces (SSF) - mullahs’ suppressive police - has tightened the security by having Special Patrols on Tehran traffic jammed streets. According to reliable reports from the Resistance sources in Iran, most street corners are manned with 10 SSF agents. In addition, there are Special Patrol Vehicles roaming around the city districts making their presence visible to local residents. They intentionally turn on their sirens and beacon lights to terrorize the public. Rajabzadeh called the new move 'public security and serenity.' He then went on to say,'30,000 SSF agents with 4,000 military vehicles and 50 helicopters will guarantee Tehran’s security during the manoeuvres.'On November 1, Brig. Gen. Abdullah Iraqi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC) Prophet Mohammad’s garrison in charge of Tehran’s protection announced a new security plan for the capital, reported the state-run news agency Fars. 'Units from Bassij [paramilitary Bassij force] joining the regular State Security Forces (SSF) began patrolling the streets of capitals,' Iraqi said. 'We tested these units for their performance on duty with regular SSF units and the results were overwhelming. Thus, since October 28, the mix Bassij and SSF units went fully operational throughout Tehran. The units will replace the fixed check points operating in the capital,' Iraqi added. He said that the reasons for the changes were a better security respond to the citizens’ growing need for higher security in Tehran’s districts. However, the real reason behind the IRGC and SSF new plans are adopting more suppressive measures against rising popular protests in Tehran and elsewhere in the country.

2,000 students stage anti-government sit-in for 5th day in south eastern Iran
More than 2,000 students of Sistan and Baluchestan University in south eastern Iran staged strike and sit-in for five consecutive days. While chanting anti-government slogans and singing the 'school friend', the students continued their protesting move. They asked for dismissal of the University President, director of guards and the director of 'disciplinary Committee.' According to latest reports, all classes at Sistan and Baluchestan University are shut down and the students continue to ask for their demands. The student who was stabbed by the government agents on Monday is in critical condition due to severe injuries to his kidney and digestive system.

Sunday, November 09, 2008

NEWS))))))

Prisoners set fire to their blankets and clashed with guards in a protest in Evin prison
In a protesting move against the anti-human measure by the Iranian regime agents in Evin Prison, who had turned off heating facilities of wards, political and ordinary prisoners set fire to their blankets and clashed with jailor. According to reports from Evin Prison, despite the cold weather, the prison officials are using this severe cold to torture the prisoners, especially the political prisoners, and have turned off the prison’s heating installation. According to some prisoners, the weather is so cold that the bodies of some prisoners including Ayatollah Kazemaini Boroujerdi have been numbed, and they are unable to move.

200 Sunni students in northwestern Iran demonstrated against religious discrimination
More than 200 Sunni students of Pardis University in Orumiyeh (northwest of Iran) staged a demonstration to protest against the religious discrimination by the clerical regime. The protesting students said that the Iranian regime’s agents have omitted the Sunni students by cheating in the university’s internal examination’s results.

US clamps down on Iran
The Associated Press, Washington, reported on November 7th that: The Bush administration moved Thursday to clamp down on Iran by barring financial institutions from routing certain money transfers through the United States on behalf of Iranian banks, Iran’s government and others in the country. Specifically, the Treasury Department announced that it is revoking Iran’s so-called 'U-turn' license that until now has allowed for such money transfers under certain conditions. 'This regulatory action will close the last general entry point for Iran to the U.S. financial system,' the department said in a release.Prior to Thursday’s action, U.S. financial institutions were allowed to process certain money transfers for Iranian banks and other Iranian customers as long as the payments were initiated offshore by a bank that was not neither Iranian nor American and only passed through the U.S. financial system en route to another offshore bank that was neither Iranian nor American. 'Given Iran’s conduct, it is necessary to close even this indirect access,' said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. The action comes as the Bush administration has repeatedly warned U.S. banks that Iran is using an array of deceptive practices to hide its alleged involvement in nuclear proliferation and terrorist activities. The United States says Iran is resorting to such alleged practices to evade detection and skirt financial sanctions.Levey said that at one point 'U-turn' licenses were widely used to process trade transactions. However, over the last two years there have been fewer 'U-turn' transactions reflecting less willingness on the part of U.S. banks to handle them given the United States’ ongoing financial crackdown on Iran, Levey told reporters at a briefing on the matter.Still, Iran has used the 'U-turn' transactions 'as a hook to solicit foreign banks to process transactions through the United States on its behalf, sometimes with requests to substitute another bank or code word for the Iranian institution,' Levey said.The action doesn’t affect otherwise permissible payments such as for shipments of food and medicine, family remittances and the export of informational materials to Iran, Levey said.Thursday’s step marks the latest effort to tighten the financial noose on Iran, which the United States accuses of bankrolling terrorism and seeking a nuclear bomb. The United States has already imposed sanctions on several state-run Iranian banks and businesses along with elements of its defence ministry and Revolutionary Guard Corps.Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., has pressed the administration to impose financial sanctions on Iran’s central bank. The department has warned U.S. banks that Bank Markazi, Iran’s central bank, is involved in deceptive practices to hide involvement in nuclear proliferation and terrorist activities.

British MPs condemn death of Iranian prisoner
Middle East times, London, November 6, 2008: British lawmakers Thursday called on the government to lobby for sweeping sanctions against Iran for human-rights abuses and the death of a political prisoner. Abdolreza Rajabi, a member of the dissident People’s Mujahedin of Iran, died Oct. 30 while in detention at the Gohardasht prison near the Iranian capital, Tehran. Human Rights Watch, in a 2007 report, called on Tehran to investigate prisoners who had died 'under suspicious circumstances' at Gohardasht. The PMOI, along with several other Iranian opposition groups, said Rajabi died from torture at the hands of Iranian authorities while in custody. Lawmakers with the British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom Thursday issued a statement condemning the news, saying it was indicative of Iran’s continued human-rights violations. 'The torture committed by the mullahs is a crime against humanity,' said Labour MP Peter Kingsley Archer, a former British solicitor general. The British lawmakers also called on U.S. forces to maintain their security around the PMOI stronghold in Ashraf City, Iraq, rather than handing authority over the enclave to the Iraqis. The PMOI is considered a terrorist organization by several nations, including the United States, though it has been actively lobbying against that listing, saying it has ceased all violent activity in opposition of the current Iranian regime. The British Court of Appeals in May said London erred in its decision to continue to list the PMOI as a terrorist organization.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

NEWS))))))

Political prisoners in Iran commemorated Abul Reza Rajabi
Following martyrdom of Abul Reza Rajabi (from PMOI) under torture by the clerical regime, the political prisoners held a commemoration ceremony in Evin and Gohardasht Prisons to mark his memory. According to received reports by the People’s Mojahedin of Iran, the political prisoners of ward 350 of Evin Prison, by kindling candles, chanting anthems and stating memories of Abdul-Reza Rajabi, commemorated his memories; the political prisoners vowed to continue their resistance in the clerical regime’s notorious prisons at any conditions until reaching freedom and democracy. Also the political prisoners of wards 4 and 5 of the Gohardasht Prison in Karaj held a ceremony to commemorate Abul Reza Rajabi and emphasized that they would continue his path. They asked for investigation of murder of Abul Reza Rajabi under torture by a dispassionate international delegation.

New York Sit-in, Day 50"International Committee for Ashraf Residents’ Rights Watch" announced its formation
On the 50th day of sit-in of supporters of the Iranian Resistance and families of Ashraf residents outside the UN headquarters in New York, 'The International Committee of the Ashraf residents’ Rights Watch', by holding a press conference announced its formation. The formation of the committee was initiated by tens of religious leaders and human rights activists and political personalities residing in New York and other US states.In this conference reverend David Larry, a prominent New York clergy, lawyer Daniel McCaughan from New Jersey, professor Daniel Zucker, chairman of the committee 'Americans for Democracy in the Middle East' , and reverend Lloyd Land participated.During press conference, the names of some US Congress and Senate members who had supported the rights of Ashraf residents during last 50 days of sit-in was read that included Bob Filner, California (D), Ted Poe, Texas (R), Tom Tancredo, Colorado (R), Sheila Jackson-Lee, Texas (D), and John Bozeman, Arkansas (R).In his speech, Professor Daniel Zucker, referring to the Iraqi people’s support of Ashraf residents, said: It was Ashraf residents who made Iraqis aware of the clerical regime’s threats, and the reason for conspiracies of the Iranian regime against Ashraf residents is that its ominous intentions are disclosed.Reverend Lloyd Land, referring to the US elections, said: No matter to which party the US president belongs, the rights of Ashraf residents are recognized rights that all should be committed to them; the present government or any government that is elected in the US has the legal and humanitarian responsibility with regard to Ashraf residents because the US government’s duties regarding Ashraf residents originates from the commitment of the US to the international law.