NEWS))))))
Man hanged in south-western Iran
Iran Focus, reported on 17th of February that authorities hanged a man in south-western Iran, state media reported on Tuesday. The man was identified only by his initials A. Y.He was hanged in the city of Bushehr, the semi-official daily Kayhan reported, without stating the date of his execution.At least 59 people were executed in Iran in January.
Another execution in Iran Associated France Press reported on Saturday that an Iranian man who was sentenced to death by stoning after he was found guilty of having illicit relations with a teenage girl has been hanged, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Abdullah Fareivar, a 50-year-old music teacher, was hanged on Thursday in a prison in the northern town of Sari, the Etemad Melli newspaper said. It said Fareivar was sentenced to death despite his family saying his relations with the 17-year-old girl were not illicit as he had entered into a contract marriage with her and that his first wife was aware of it. Under Iran’s Islamic law, adultery is still punishable by stoning, which involves the public hurling of stones at a partially buried convict. A man is buried up to his waist and a woman up to her shoulders.
Man set himself on fire in protest against regime in Tehran
Protesting against the clerical regime, one of the Iran-Iraq war handicapped persons set himself on fire outside the Martyrs’ Foundation building in Tehran and died, the state-run Jomhouri-e-Eslami reported.The daily wrote: He was named Hojjat Farzad and was a resident of Khorramabad; in order to follow his problems, he and his wife referred to the Martyrs Foundation, and outside the building he poured gasoline on his body and set himself ablaze that led to his death.Also another Iran-Iraq war disabled person had set himself on fire last week outside the Iranian Parliament and died.
Nine million criminal cases in mullahs’ judiciary
Mahmoud Salar-Kia, Tehran’s deputy prosecutor, described nine million open cases in Iranian regime’s judiciary in 2008, 'as alarming,' reported the state-run daily Etemaad on Wednesday. He was appointed to the job in 1998 when there were five million criminal cases before judicial system. In ten years the figures have doubled and he found them 'alarming' for a country with a population of 70 million. 'In next two years we will be faced with an influx of 10 to 12 million cases,' Salar-Kia said. He attributed much of the disaster to mullahs’ regime economic and social policies. Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, the head of the mullahs’ Judiciary, said on February 27, 2008, 'The trend of legal cases in the Judiciary is overwhelming. The creation of eight million judicial cases during the past year signifies a legal and judicial malady as well as a serious harm to society.'
Iran still not cooperating on nuclear programme: IAEA chief
According to Associated France Press on Feb 17, 2009, Iranian regime has failed to provide any clarification on the possible military dimension of its nuclear programme, the UN atomic watchdog’s chief Mohamed ElBaradei said Tuesday. ’Iran right now is not providing any access, any clarification with regards to the whole area of the possible military dimension,’ said ElBaradei who heads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).’They are not following what the Security Council asked us to do, that is ’please clarify this issue’,’ he said at a conference in Paris.Iranian regime has faced three sets of UN Security Council sanctions over its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment activities but Tehran has pressed on with its controversial nuclear work.
The New York Times wrote on February 20th that in their first appraisal of Iran’s nuclear program since President Obama took office, atomic inspectors have found that Iran recently understated by a third how much uranium it has enriched, United Nations officials said Thursday.The officials also declared for the first time that the amount of uranium that Tehran had now amassed - more than a ton - was sufficient, with added purification, to make an atom bomb.In a report issued in Vienna, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had discovered an additional 460 pounds of low-enriched uranium, a third more than Iran had previously disclosed. The agency made the find during its annual physical inventory of nuclear materials at Iran’s sprawling desert enrichment plant at Natanz.
Demonstration outside the White House in protest to limitations on Ashraf
The Iranians staged a demonstration outside the White House on Friday February 20 to protest limitations and pressures on Ashraf residents and their families.The demonstrators also revealed and condemned the brutal attacks on PMOI member families and their arrest in Tehran by the Iranian regime. Referring to limitations the Iranian regime imposes on Ashraf residents through its agents in Iraq, Moslem Eskandar Filabi, NCRI’s chairman of sport commission, said in his speech: 'Those who promised to prevent pressures against Ashraf residents according to the international law must comply with their commitments. But as far as the Iranian people are concerned, we stand here to the end for freedom of Iran, and continue our support for Ashraf residents.' The solidarity messages of the families of Ashraf residents in the United States and Canada were read out in the demonstration.
Iranian regime offered a deal to stop troop attacks in Iraq for West ignoring its nuclear drive
The mullahs in Iran offered the European countries to stop killing their troops in Iraq and asked them to turn a blind eye on its drive to obtain nuclear weapons in return. Sir John Sawers, Britain’s current ambassador to the United Nations, told the BBC that Iranian officials had privately admitted their role in supporting insurgents’ roadside bomb attacks on British and US troops. 'The Iranians wanted to be able to strike a deal whereby they stopped killing our forces in Iraq in return for them being allowed to carry on with their nuclear program,' Sawers told the BBC.He paraphrased the terms of the proposed deal as: '’We stop killing you in Iraq, stop undermining the political process there, you allow us to carry on with our nuclear program without let or hindrance’.'Apparently, the mullahs’ official had proposed the deal in a series of they had with their counterparts in European capitals. 'There were various Iranians who would come to London and suggest we have tea in some hotel or other,' Sawers told the BBC.'They’d do the same in Paris, they’d do the same in Berlin, and then we’d compare notes among the three of us.'
Monday, February 16, 2009
NEWS))))))
International Jurists Organization asked Iraqi government to observe Ashraf residents’ rights
Subhash Chandra Birla, chair of the International Jurists Organization, sent a letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Iraqi Foreign Minister, and Iraqi Human Rights Minister and pronounced prohibition of the families to Ashraf violation of the International Declaration of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and called for observance of Ashraf residents’ rights by the Iraqi government.The letter dating 15th of Feb. reads: I am writing to you on behalf of the 'International Jurist Organization' concerning the situation of the residents of Ashraf city in Iraq. The International Jurist Organization in special Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations and with membership in 35 countries world-wide, has called for the basic human rights of residents of Ashraf to be respected by all parties concerned including the Iraqi government. One of the elementary rights based on International Humanitarian Law with regard to the Ashraf residents which Iraq has committed itself to respect is to facilitate their family visits.Unfortunately, we have been informed that in an unlawful act, upon the request of the foreign regime, Mr. Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraqi National Security Advisor has ordered Iraqi forces not to allow families and relatives of Ashraf residents from entering the camp. The group has come from Iran to visit their loved ones. Since February 9, fifteen family members of the Ashraf residents including nine women have been stopped outside the gates in extreme conditions. Six elders in their late fifties are among the group. A 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and two 16 and 17-year-old girls are also among those remaining outside the camp. By committing such measures it is feared that Ashraf City is going to be turned into a prison which constitutes a war crime. Preventing the families from entering the camp is a blatant violation of fundamental rights of Ashraf residents and their families, Human Rights Charter, International Humanitarian Law and international law. The Iranian Resistance calls for an urgent action by the UN Secretary General, the UN Security Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and all other human rights organizations to put an end to the restrictions imposed on the Ashraf Residents and their families, particularly those stopped at Ashraf gates. We demand you to interfere to remove the restrictions on Ashraf residents as soon as possible and facilitate the visit of the anxious families.The National Council of Resistance of Iran also said in a statement on Feb. 12 that Allegations that the PMOI officials refused to allow the families to meet privately with their relatives in Ashraf is just a rehash of ridiculous claims voiced by the Iranian regime. It is a common knowledge that in the past six years thousands of Ashraf residents have met with their families freely and in private. To find out the truth, representatives of international organizations and journalists are invited to go there and witness how the most fundamental rights of Ashraf residents and their families are violated. This group of families which include a 10 and 11 year old, two 16-year-olds and a number of parents aged over 50, are presently housed in two trailers with minimum living facilities in bad weather conditions. In a bid to intimidate them, the security guards often load their guns in the middle of the night.
3,500 workers marched in Ahwaz
3,500 workers of the pipeline industries marched in the streets of the southwestern city of Ahwaz on Monday said the Iranian resistance. The workers decided to march when on Monday the news of their factory shutdown spread. Workers demand job security as their first priority since the government-run factory management refuses to pay their back pays. Hundreds of workshops and factories went on strike over payments in 2007 and 2008. Factories such as Haft-Tapeh sugar cane mill, Kiyan-Tire making car tires, Iran Khodro car manufacturer are some of the biggest with tens of thousands of workers. In the past decade, most of Iran’s factories have been privatized by the Iranain regime opening the doors to even more suppressive measures against the Iranian workforce. The new managements were appointed by the regime without adequate protection for workers and their families who make the most vulnerable part of the population.
Mullahs’ official says Iran has no political prisoner
National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on Friday that Amin Hossein Rahimi, head of the Judiciary Committee in the Majlis (parliament) claimed on Wednesday that the most import achievement of the Islamic Republic was 'freedom of expression,' reported the official news agency IRNA. He said, 'Today we have no political prisoners. Those jailed for acting against national security are not considered political prisoners.'We have had valuable achievements in past three decades and those held for political charges are tried in accordance with our penal codes and by no means are considered political prisoners, Rahimi said.
Iran’s Teachers threaten to walkout this month
The Iranian Teachers’ Union has threatened to have all its members go on a nationwide strike over pay disputes with the regime beginning February 21. A member of the Teachers’ Union said, 'Teachers are demanding fair pay. Since 2000, the teachers are struggling with the regime’s Majlis (parliament) to pass the bill on that issue. In 2006, under pressure by the teachers, the bill finally passed in the Majlis, however, it has not become operational yet. According to the bill, the government must establish a uniform pay grade for all government employees regardless of the nature of the jobs.''The Iranian regime’s excuse for not complying with the bill’s mandate is that it increases the inflation,' he said. The teachers are also demanding that the Ministry of Education sign a new permanent job contract, as it was promised last year by the government, with their part-time colleagues, the member of Teachers’ Union said. In February 2007, the streets ending to the Majlis were the scene of protests by more than 15,000 teachers demanding their full pay rise in accordance with the sky rocketing cost of living for the fix income families. With teachers very low pay grades, they are hardly able to cope with the cost of living.
International Jurists Organization asked Iraqi government to observe Ashraf residents’ rights
Subhash Chandra Birla, chair of the International Jurists Organization, sent a letter to the Iraqi Prime Minister, Iraqi Foreign Minister, and Iraqi Human Rights Minister and pronounced prohibition of the families to Ashraf violation of the International Declaration of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and called for observance of Ashraf residents’ rights by the Iraqi government.The letter dating 15th of Feb. reads: I am writing to you on behalf of the 'International Jurist Organization' concerning the situation of the residents of Ashraf city in Iraq. The International Jurist Organization in special Consultative Status with the ECOSOC of the United Nations and with membership in 35 countries world-wide, has called for the basic human rights of residents of Ashraf to be respected by all parties concerned including the Iraqi government. One of the elementary rights based on International Humanitarian Law with regard to the Ashraf residents which Iraq has committed itself to respect is to facilitate their family visits.Unfortunately, we have been informed that in an unlawful act, upon the request of the foreign regime, Mr. Mouwaffaq al-Rubaie, Iraqi National Security Advisor has ordered Iraqi forces not to allow families and relatives of Ashraf residents from entering the camp. The group has come from Iran to visit their loved ones. Since February 9, fifteen family members of the Ashraf residents including nine women have been stopped outside the gates in extreme conditions. Six elders in their late fifties are among the group. A 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old boy and two 16 and 17-year-old girls are also among those remaining outside the camp. By committing such measures it is feared that Ashraf City is going to be turned into a prison which constitutes a war crime. Preventing the families from entering the camp is a blatant violation of fundamental rights of Ashraf residents and their families, Human Rights Charter, International Humanitarian Law and international law. The Iranian Resistance calls for an urgent action by the UN Secretary General, the UN Security Council, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and all other human rights organizations to put an end to the restrictions imposed on the Ashraf Residents and their families, particularly those stopped at Ashraf gates. We demand you to interfere to remove the restrictions on Ashraf residents as soon as possible and facilitate the visit of the anxious families.The National Council of Resistance of Iran also said in a statement on Feb. 12 that Allegations that the PMOI officials refused to allow the families to meet privately with their relatives in Ashraf is just a rehash of ridiculous claims voiced by the Iranian regime. It is a common knowledge that in the past six years thousands of Ashraf residents have met with their families freely and in private. To find out the truth, representatives of international organizations and journalists are invited to go there and witness how the most fundamental rights of Ashraf residents and their families are violated. This group of families which include a 10 and 11 year old, two 16-year-olds and a number of parents aged over 50, are presently housed in two trailers with minimum living facilities in bad weather conditions. In a bid to intimidate them, the security guards often load their guns in the middle of the night.
3,500 workers marched in Ahwaz
3,500 workers of the pipeline industries marched in the streets of the southwestern city of Ahwaz on Monday said the Iranian resistance. The workers decided to march when on Monday the news of their factory shutdown spread. Workers demand job security as their first priority since the government-run factory management refuses to pay their back pays. Hundreds of workshops and factories went on strike over payments in 2007 and 2008. Factories such as Haft-Tapeh sugar cane mill, Kiyan-Tire making car tires, Iran Khodro car manufacturer are some of the biggest with tens of thousands of workers. In the past decade, most of Iran’s factories have been privatized by the Iranain regime opening the doors to even more suppressive measures against the Iranian workforce. The new managements were appointed by the regime without adequate protection for workers and their families who make the most vulnerable part of the population.
Mullahs’ official says Iran has no political prisoner
National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on Friday that Amin Hossein Rahimi, head of the Judiciary Committee in the Majlis (parliament) claimed on Wednesday that the most import achievement of the Islamic Republic was 'freedom of expression,' reported the official news agency IRNA. He said, 'Today we have no political prisoners. Those jailed for acting against national security are not considered political prisoners.'We have had valuable achievements in past three decades and those held for political charges are tried in accordance with our penal codes and by no means are considered political prisoners, Rahimi said.
Iran’s Teachers threaten to walkout this month
The Iranian Teachers’ Union has threatened to have all its members go on a nationwide strike over pay disputes with the regime beginning February 21. A member of the Teachers’ Union said, 'Teachers are demanding fair pay. Since 2000, the teachers are struggling with the regime’s Majlis (parliament) to pass the bill on that issue. In 2006, under pressure by the teachers, the bill finally passed in the Majlis, however, it has not become operational yet. According to the bill, the government must establish a uniform pay grade for all government employees regardless of the nature of the jobs.''The Iranian regime’s excuse for not complying with the bill’s mandate is that it increases the inflation,' he said. The teachers are also demanding that the Ministry of Education sign a new permanent job contract, as it was promised last year by the government, with their part-time colleagues, the member of Teachers’ Union said. In February 2007, the streets ending to the Majlis were the scene of protests by more than 15,000 teachers demanding their full pay rise in accordance with the sky rocketing cost of living for the fix income families. With teachers very low pay grades, they are hardly able to cope with the cost of living.
Monday, February 09, 2009
NEWS))))))
Iranian Resistance urges Munich conference to adopt a firm policy toward the Iraanian regime
National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on Feb. 4th that while the religious fascism ruling Iran is the biggest threat to the regional and international peace and security, the Iranian Resistance urges the Munich Conference to take serious and immediate actions to confront Iran’s nuclear weapons project and its growing meddling in the region from Iraq to Lebanon, and Afghanistan. The Iranian Resistance condemns the participation of Ali Larijani, Speaker of the mullahs’ Parliament (Majlis), in this conference emphasizing that attendance of the clerical regime’s representatives in such conferences only emboldens it in export of terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.Ali Larijani has played a major role in buying time for the mullahs’ nuclear program and has constantly insisted on defying the UN Security Council resolutions on the regime’s nuclear program. Inviting Larijani to a conference scheduled to discuss prevention of proliferation of the WMD is analogous to putting foxes in charge of protecting the chicken coop. To expect such an invitation to be significant in stopping Tehran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions is futile. The religious dictatorship ruling Iran is overwhelmed by political and economic crises. It is desperately trying to survive by plundering Iranian people’s oil revenues and spending it on repression at home, export of terrorism abroad and pursuing its nuclear weapons.The illusion in the past six years that by offering incentive packages to Tehran it would in return give up the drive for obtaining nuclear weapons, a key element for its existence, only helped it to get much closer to the bomb. It also put the world on the brink of an unprecedented crisis. The international community cannot afford losing any more time.
Iranian regime to carry out gruesome punishment
Iran Focus an Iranian news agency in exile reported on Feb. 3rd, that Iran’s State Supreme Court upheld on Monday an earlier court ruling for a man to be blinded with acid, state-run press reported on Tuesday. The defendant, identified only by his first name Majid, 27, was in November sentenced by a court in Tehran to be blinded in both eyes, the official state daily 'Iran' wrote.
Commemoration of slain PMOI member by political prisoners in Gohardasht and Isfahan Prisons
On occasion of anniversary of martyrdom of PMOI member Hojjat Zamani, killed under tortures by the mullahs’ regime’s executioners on February 6, 2006 at Gohardasht Prison, the political prisoners in Gohardasht and Isfahan Prisons held commemoration ceremonies.The memorial ceremony in Gohardasht Prison was held on Thursday and in Isfahan Prison on Friday. In this memorial ceremony a number of political prisoners recounted their memories of endurance and resistance of Hojjat during imprisonment.
Iranian Resistance urges Munich conference to adopt a firm policy toward the Iraanian regime
National Council of Resistance of Iran said in a statement on Feb. 4th that while the religious fascism ruling Iran is the biggest threat to the regional and international peace and security, the Iranian Resistance urges the Munich Conference to take serious and immediate actions to confront Iran’s nuclear weapons project and its growing meddling in the region from Iraq to Lebanon, and Afghanistan. The Iranian Resistance condemns the participation of Ali Larijani, Speaker of the mullahs’ Parliament (Majlis), in this conference emphasizing that attendance of the clerical regime’s representatives in such conferences only emboldens it in export of terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism.Ali Larijani has played a major role in buying time for the mullahs’ nuclear program and has constantly insisted on defying the UN Security Council resolutions on the regime’s nuclear program. Inviting Larijani to a conference scheduled to discuss prevention of proliferation of the WMD is analogous to putting foxes in charge of protecting the chicken coop. To expect such an invitation to be significant in stopping Tehran from pursuing its nuclear ambitions is futile. The religious dictatorship ruling Iran is overwhelmed by political and economic crises. It is desperately trying to survive by plundering Iranian people’s oil revenues and spending it on repression at home, export of terrorism abroad and pursuing its nuclear weapons.The illusion in the past six years that by offering incentive packages to Tehran it would in return give up the drive for obtaining nuclear weapons, a key element for its existence, only helped it to get much closer to the bomb. It also put the world on the brink of an unprecedented crisis. The international community cannot afford losing any more time.
Iranian regime to carry out gruesome punishment
Iran Focus an Iranian news agency in exile reported on Feb. 3rd, that Iran’s State Supreme Court upheld on Monday an earlier court ruling for a man to be blinded with acid, state-run press reported on Tuesday. The defendant, identified only by his first name Majid, 27, was in November sentenced by a court in Tehran to be blinded in both eyes, the official state daily 'Iran' wrote.
Commemoration of slain PMOI member by political prisoners in Gohardasht and Isfahan Prisons
On occasion of anniversary of martyrdom of PMOI member Hojjat Zamani, killed under tortures by the mullahs’ regime’s executioners on February 6, 2006 at Gohardasht Prison, the political prisoners in Gohardasht and Isfahan Prisons held commemoration ceremonies.The memorial ceremony in Gohardasht Prison was held on Thursday and in Isfahan Prison on Friday. In this memorial ceremony a number of political prisoners recounted their memories of endurance and resistance of Hojjat during imprisonment.
Monday, February 02, 2009
NEWS))))))
EU takes Iranian group off EU terror blacklist
Associated Press reported on Jan. 26 that the European Union decided Monday to remove an Iranian opposition group from the EU’s terror list and lift the restrictions on its funds, a move likely to further damage relations strained over Tehran’s nuclear program.The decision by the 27-nation bloc’s foreign ministers means that as of Tuesday, the assets of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, or PMOI, will be unfrozen. It is the first time an organization has been 'de-listed' by the EU.Shahin Ghobadi, a spokesman for the group said $9 million (euro7 million) had been frozen in France alone, with 'tens of millions of dollars' worth of assets also locked away in other EU countries.The group had been blacklisted as a terror organization by the EU since 2002, but waged a long legal battle in the EU’s court of justice to reverse that decision. Several EU court decisions went in the group’s favour, concluding the EU had failed to properly explain why it froze the assets of the Paris-based group.'What we are doing today is abiding by the decision of the court, there is nothing we can do about the decision,' said Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief.The People’s Mujahedeen, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, is the military wing of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is based in Paris. The council said it is dedicated to a democratic, secular government in Iran.It was founded in Iran in the 1960s and helped followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrow U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979.But the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq fell out with Khomeini, and thousands of its followers were killed, imprisoned or forced into exile. The group said however, it has renounced violence in 2001 and hasn’t kept any arms since 2003.Maryam Rajavi, who heads the Paris-based National Council of Resistance, the political wing of the PMOI, said Monday’s decision was 'a crushing defeat to Europe’s policy of appeasement' with Iran.'The blacklisting of the Iranian Resistance contributed to the prolongation of the rule of religious fascism in Iran,' she said in a statement. 'The Iranian regime did not refrain from using all political and diplomatic pressures to maintain the PMOI on the list.'Rajavi said her group would now focus its attention on getting the United States to drop the PMOI from its terror list.
Three hanged in Shiraz and Kazeron
A 29-year-old prisoner identified by only his first name as Heshmat was hanged by mullahs’ judiciary in the southern city of Kazeron, reported the state-run daily Iran on Saturday. Two other prisoners were hanged without being identified in the provincial capital of Shiraz, reported the state-run daily Etemaad on January 31. On January 31, 2008, the mullahs’ judiciary chief, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, ordered death penalty should be carried out behind closed doors.
Six more executed in Iran
According to Associated France Press on January 28, Iranian regime has hanged 6 prisoners in the prisons of the north eastern city of Mashhad and the central city of Isfahan.The latest hangings bring to at least 38 the number of executions in Iran so far this year. Iran executed at least 246 people last year, according to an AFP count.Since last year, the Islamic republic has stepped up its use of the death penalty in what it says is a bid to improve security in the society.
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The human rights organization, Amnesty International called on the “Iranian authorities to immediately stop the destruction of hundreds of individual and mass, unmarked graves in Khavaran, south Tehran, to ensure that the site is preserved and to initiate a forensic investigation at the site as part of a long-overdue thorough, independent and impartial investigation into mass executions which began in 1988, often referred to in Iran as the ‘prison massacres’.’Amnesty International said in its statement on Jan. 20th: The organization fears that these actions of the Iranian authorities are aimed at destroying evidence of human rights violations and depriving the families of the victims of the 1988 killings of their right to truth, justice and reparation.Reports indicate that between 9 -16th of January 2009, the numerous ad hoc grave markings made by the families of some of those executed in previous years were destroyed by bulldozer. The site was at least partially covered by soil and trees were planted.Amnesty International additionally calls on the Iranian government to act on its standing invitation to UN mechanisms and to facilitate the visit to the country of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. In his visit he should be allowed to have an unhindered access to the Khavaran site with a view to indicating how best to conduct an investigation into the events of 1988, including in relation to the unmarked graves at Khavaran.The Iranian authorities have the obligation to conduct an impartial investigation into the events and bring to justice those responsible for the “prison massacres” in fair proceedings and without recourse to the death penalty. Destruction of the site would impede any such future investigation and would violate the right of victims, including the families, to an effective remedy.The Iranian authorities also have a responsibility to ensure that the body of anyone secretly buried who was not the victim of a crime is returned to his or her relatives. Destruction of the grave site would prevent this from happening and inflict further suffering on the families of the victims of the “prison massacres” who have been yearly commemorating the killing of their loved ones by gathering in Khavaran.BackgroundBetween August 1988 and February 1989, the Iranian authorities carried out a massive wave of executions of political prisoners - the largest since those carried out in the first and second year after the Iranian revolution in 1979. In all, between 4,500 and 10,000 prisoners are believed to have been killed.Amnesty International has repeatedly called for those responsible for the “prison massacre” to be brought to justice in a fair trial without the death penalty.For further information, see Iran: The 20th anniversary of 1988 ’Prison Massacre’, AI Index: MDE13/118/2008, 19 August 2008, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/118/2008/en andAmnesty International’s report, Iran: Violations of human rights 1987-1990 (AI Index MDE 13/21/90).
EU takes Iranian group off EU terror blacklist
Associated Press reported on Jan. 26 that the European Union decided Monday to remove an Iranian opposition group from the EU’s terror list and lift the restrictions on its funds, a move likely to further damage relations strained over Tehran’s nuclear program.The decision by the 27-nation bloc’s foreign ministers means that as of Tuesday, the assets of the People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran, or PMOI, will be unfrozen. It is the first time an organization has been 'de-listed' by the EU.Shahin Ghobadi, a spokesman for the group said $9 million (euro7 million) had been frozen in France alone, with 'tens of millions of dollars' worth of assets also locked away in other EU countries.The group had been blacklisted as a terror organization by the EU since 2002, but waged a long legal battle in the EU’s court of justice to reverse that decision. Several EU court decisions went in the group’s favour, concluding the EU had failed to properly explain why it froze the assets of the Paris-based group.'What we are doing today is abiding by the decision of the court, there is nothing we can do about the decision,' said Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief.The People’s Mujahedeen, also known as the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq, is the military wing of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is based in Paris. The council said it is dedicated to a democratic, secular government in Iran.It was founded in Iran in the 1960s and helped followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini overthrow U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979.But the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq fell out with Khomeini, and thousands of its followers were killed, imprisoned or forced into exile. The group said however, it has renounced violence in 2001 and hasn’t kept any arms since 2003.Maryam Rajavi, who heads the Paris-based National Council of Resistance, the political wing of the PMOI, said Monday’s decision was 'a crushing defeat to Europe’s policy of appeasement' with Iran.'The blacklisting of the Iranian Resistance contributed to the prolongation of the rule of religious fascism in Iran,' she said in a statement. 'The Iranian regime did not refrain from using all political and diplomatic pressures to maintain the PMOI on the list.'Rajavi said her group would now focus its attention on getting the United States to drop the PMOI from its terror list.
Three hanged in Shiraz and Kazeron
A 29-year-old prisoner identified by only his first name as Heshmat was hanged by mullahs’ judiciary in the southern city of Kazeron, reported the state-run daily Iran on Saturday. Two other prisoners were hanged without being identified in the provincial capital of Shiraz, reported the state-run daily Etemaad on January 31. On January 31, 2008, the mullahs’ judiciary chief, Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, ordered death penalty should be carried out behind closed doors.
Six more executed in Iran
According to Associated France Press on January 28, Iranian regime has hanged 6 prisoners in the prisons of the north eastern city of Mashhad and the central city of Isfahan.The latest hangings bring to at least 38 the number of executions in Iran so far this year. Iran executed at least 246 people last year, according to an AFP count.Since last year, the Islamic republic has stepped up its use of the death penalty in what it says is a bid to improve security in the society.
******
The human rights organization, Amnesty International called on the “Iranian authorities to immediately stop the destruction of hundreds of individual and mass, unmarked graves in Khavaran, south Tehran, to ensure that the site is preserved and to initiate a forensic investigation at the site as part of a long-overdue thorough, independent and impartial investigation into mass executions which began in 1988, often referred to in Iran as the ‘prison massacres’.’Amnesty International said in its statement on Jan. 20th: The organization fears that these actions of the Iranian authorities are aimed at destroying evidence of human rights violations and depriving the families of the victims of the 1988 killings of their right to truth, justice and reparation.Reports indicate that between 9 -16th of January 2009, the numerous ad hoc grave markings made by the families of some of those executed in previous years were destroyed by bulldozer. The site was at least partially covered by soil and trees were planted.Amnesty International additionally calls on the Iranian government to act on its standing invitation to UN mechanisms and to facilitate the visit to the country of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. In his visit he should be allowed to have an unhindered access to the Khavaran site with a view to indicating how best to conduct an investigation into the events of 1988, including in relation to the unmarked graves at Khavaran.The Iranian authorities have the obligation to conduct an impartial investigation into the events and bring to justice those responsible for the “prison massacres” in fair proceedings and without recourse to the death penalty. Destruction of the site would impede any such future investigation and would violate the right of victims, including the families, to an effective remedy.The Iranian authorities also have a responsibility to ensure that the body of anyone secretly buried who was not the victim of a crime is returned to his or her relatives. Destruction of the grave site would prevent this from happening and inflict further suffering on the families of the victims of the “prison massacres” who have been yearly commemorating the killing of their loved ones by gathering in Khavaran.BackgroundBetween August 1988 and February 1989, the Iranian authorities carried out a massive wave of executions of political prisoners - the largest since those carried out in the first and second year after the Iranian revolution in 1979. In all, between 4,500 and 10,000 prisoners are believed to have been killed.Amnesty International has repeatedly called for those responsible for the “prison massacre” to be brought to justice in a fair trial without the death penalty.For further information, see Iran: The 20th anniversary of 1988 ’Prison Massacre’, AI Index: MDE13/118/2008, 19 August 2008, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/MDE13/118/2008/en andAmnesty International’s report, Iran: Violations of human rights 1987-1990 (AI Index MDE 13/21/90).
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